Homecoming

Yesterday our family returned to Chevis Oaks Baptist Church for their annual Homecoming celebration. Chevis Oaks is where I served as pastor for about 2.5 years before resigning in October of last year. Although we had previously been back, this was our first worship service attendance since leaving.

For those of you not from the South of the USA, Homecoming is a tradition where former members are invited back to the church for a sort of reunion. It gives everybody an opportunity to catch up on life together.

I'm happy to say that we had a very nice time. Although we now differ in various aspects of church practice from our friends at Chevis Oaks, the key is that we are still friends. More than that, we are one in Jesus Christ. We are brothers and sisters with God as our Father. We are part of the same spiritual family.

The best part of the time was the talking we were able to do after the worship service. I purposely downed my food quickly so that I could walk around and get reacquainted with different folks. Our family was welcomed back very nicely. Even though I had departed the church over ecclesiological differences, there are no hard feelings over this.

I'm reminded once again that Christ and His gospel are of first importance. Church practice, while critical in the life of the Christian, is secondary. Our oneness in Christ binds us together. Because of this, we can and should strive to remain as one even if what we think about church differs significantly.

I'm glad we went to Homecoming. I'm glad for these friends of mine. We are still one in Christ and will forever be so.