I've been a little hard on traditional church pastors over the past few months. In particular, I've taken a few shots (some probably deserved; some probably not) at Southern Baptist pastors.Well, today I had a great conversation with an SBC pastor who is a good friend of mine. He faithfully serves in a traditional church setting. Now obviously we have significant ecclesiological differences, but what binds us together is the Lord Jesus. Because we are both in Christ, we are one in Him regardless of how we view things such as the role of the pastor, church gatherings, etc.
I always like an excuse to meet at the new Dunkin' Donuts near us. As we drank coffees (I admit to eating one donut when I got home) we just talked about life in general: family, friends, my job prospects, funny things that have happened in our lives. We also shared struggles. Interestingly, during an hour's conversation the subject of church never really came up. I could tell that it wasn't because we were avoiding it. Instead, we were just talking naturally.
Although we church-blogger-types sometimes forget this, every conversation doesn't have to focus on the assembly.
I have given lip-service to wanting to remain united with all followers of Jesus Christ. Since my resignation I haven't exactly been seeking togetherness with Southern Baptists. Therefore, I'm happy that my friend and I were able to get together, share our lives, and build our relationship. It was great to focus on oneship in Jesus Christ instead of secondary issues that so often divide us.
I'm also looking forward to this coming Sunday afternoon when our family is going to visit with Chevis Oaks Baptist (where I served as pastor). The church will be holding a retirement party for a senior citizen, and we are going to attend. We have many sweet friends there who I'm really looking forward to seeing.
I admit that it is sometimes difficult to write/blog about important issues without seeming divisive. My friend Alan somehow manages to do it, but I've yet to learn the skill. My desire is to write in such a manner that we can have lively conversation about key issues related to the Christian life without being divisive. Doing so is a challenge.
My desire is to unite with all Christians because this is what Christ wants. John chapter 17 emphasizes this. I hope that my conversation today with a friend (who happens to be in the SBC) promotes the kind of unity that pleases Christ. I think it does.
3 comments:
Your post is really good and I like your idea of discussions. Here's some questions that may be interesting to discuss. A lot of things that are happening today sound like the end times. But I know people have been struggling with this for centuries (we don't know the exact time of His coming). With the rise in antagonism against Christians (again), do you think people will get more serious about Jesus and less serious about denominations? We know there will be a time when Christ will be our only hope- at all. What would it take to survive on earth as a Christian? Should we pray for peace or Christ's return?
Karen,
Those are some good questions. I certainly don't have all the answers.
On the issue of the second coming, we need to avoid going to either extreme. On the one hand, we shouldn't think about it so much that we can't get on with our lives. On the other hand, we shouldn't ignore the reality of Jesus' return. I think the best bet is to trust Him to know when to come and to trust Him now to carry us through our lives. As for Christians, as persecution increases, we'll see more and more "fall away" from the church. This should have a purifying effect, which will be a good thing.
I agree about focusing on each day. This verse comes to mind Matt 6:34
34"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes." My first Pastor encouraged us to memorize as much scripture as we can because there may be a time when we can't have Bibles. I'm not a great memorizer lol.
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