Posture, Purpose, Process

Today, at Grace Community Church, we heard a very very solid message to set up a sermon series. The pastoral staff is going to take the summer to tackle a different topical issue each week. They're going to speak on pacifism, personal ethics, homosexuality, environmentalism, and social justice. Being the good sociologist, I was pleased that these things would be talked about, but was relatively skeptical about what actually would be said that would be really worthwhile or beneficial... I've become a bit soured by overly conservative Christians and their inability to open their minds enough to even have a quality discussion or debate about several of these things. But pastor Rodriguez gave a message to set up the 'ground rules' for the following weeks. There were three. First, come with a posture that balances a spirit of meekness and resolve. Secondly come with and understanding that the purpose of these sermons (and the purpose of any discussion, argument, or debate about anything) is to be a blessing, not to be defensive or most importantly, to be right. Finally, the process of discussing any of these topics will, and rightfully so, include things outside of the Bible directly. The point being that all truth is God's truth so many fields of study can and should be incorporated in our discussions of such things. All in all, it was stellar and I've found that he articulated the same things that I attempt to articulate many times when I find myself in the midst of heated discussion with anyone, especially other Christians. I'll look foreword to several of those messages later on in the summer.