Life moves pretty fast these days.  Having a graduation coming up this Friday only adds to the insanity.  We will try to get a few posts up this week if at all possible.  Just know my heart is willing even if the clock isn't.

So tonight was yet another community service in my small town.  Perhaps you recall my mentioning these events over the last year.  We get together on a regular basis for worship and fellowship with all of our churches.  You may also need to know that the church word for fellowship really means to eat.  Being with our other ministers and churches is a huge blessing for me.  More than a few towns have no idea what it is that we are doing.  Those are places where churches never really get to know one another as we have here.  God truly had a miracle in mind as we launched out in this effort.  I will forever be grateful for these times.

We went a whole new direction this evening in our service.  Our host church is more in line with Pentecostal practices than any of us.  The lead pastor wanted us to have a time to pray for people to be healed.  That does not really bother me in the least.  I also live with the conviction that our God does heal even if not always by our expectations.  Who knew that a majority of those in attendance would come forward asking for prayer?  My guess is we spent about 40 minutes in all praying with and for people with various ailments and needs.  I even used some oil to lead in prayers.  Members of our host church tonight were so excited some spoke in tongues according to their tradition and theology.  There were even closet charismatics giving way to their private approaches to praying.  This again did not bother me in the least.  It may not be my habit but it didn't hurt me one bit.

I considered that approach years ago while still in college.  Visits were made to churches like this one along with reading and studying on that theology.  My resistance to the whole tongues issue is not a rejection of those who practice it.  Just because some broke out in their prayer language is no reason for me to sit in judgment.  I was able to pray or worship even without that aspect of church life.  My hope is we can all agree that some may indeed develop that sense of speaking in tongues while those of us who do not are no less a believer.  Too often we allow the peripheral issues of the church to divide us rather than be part of our growth.  We can embrace those with different ideas as long as we unite around that biblical theology of Jesus.  We may not always do that but we could.

My hope is always for us to agree on the basics or fundamentals as they were once called.  Surely we can be mature enough not to allow other aspects of theology to divide us.  We need each other in today's world.  Scripture says God is less interested in how we do our praying than how we do it with pure motives.  I do truly believe God was pleased tonight by our gathering together.  My hope is He responds to the cry of those hearts this evening with a great blessing where God gets all of the credit. 

Bro. Trey