Labor Day Conversation

I had one of the best Vocation Labor day's I've had in -- I can't remember when. A young man from my church invited me to breakfast at a local restaurant, and we talked about God and His Word for three hours. What a great time that was.

This young man is so well versed in scripture, he has my head spinning. He pointed out some scriptural things most Baptists just assume to be "true" because of constant repetition. Many of these ideas are, in fact, borderline heresy. (That's my word, not his). I have much praying and studying to do.


So, this morning, when I saw an article in Christianity Today, "The Word does the Work," I had to read it. It is an interview with David Platt, a young, 30 year old Pastor in Alabama. Platt says this about the Bible:

I have nothing to bring to the table apart from his Word. This is the first church I've pastored. I don't have a lot of wisdom that life experience would bring. We're going to trust that his Word is sufficient and that any authority I have to lead in the church is dependent on the authority of God's Word and my attachment to it. There's no question that anything good is completely attributed to, dependent on, and accredited to the power of his Word. The Word does the work.

That pretty well sums up the conversation I had with my friend yesterday. It is really refreshing to see God working in the lives of young men the way He obviously is. Although I still have concerns about my own church, they are lessened tremendously when I talk with and read about men like these two. God is in charge and I thank Him for relieving the angst this old man might have had about the state of Christianity in America.

Does that mean I'm going to stop trying to make change where I believe scripture calls for it? Not on your life. Adjustments in how we present and perceive God's "good news" still need to be made and I will continue to work to try to affect change where I believe it needs to be made.