Day 12: Preferences

    Why preferences for a title? Because I attended a pentecostal church today to help out a Christian brother on the worship team.

  

Why preferences for a title? Because I am from the Reformed camp, theologically speaking and am a member of a Southern Baptist church.
Ok.... I can hear the thoughts.... WHY PREFERENCES FOR A TITLE!!!!!!!!
Wow - so pushy.

AllllRIGHTY then - follow me on this.

    My theological bent is towards the Reformed (think Presbyterian/Calvinist) side of the house. I am Reformed in my theology by conviction. That simply means I researched, I studied, and I believe I am right. ;-) As a result, my preferences for the kind of Bible I use (Reformed study Bible), the kind of teachers I usually listen to (RC Sproul for example) and USUALLY the churches I attend (think PCA Presbyterian) are determined as a result of my decision to embrace the Reformed system of thought. These are my PREFERENCES.

     So how is it that I am a member of a Southern Baptist church (not Reformed) and how is it that today I attended a Pentecostal church to play in a decidedly NOT PRESBYTERIAN worship service? Simple. My preferences are not chains. When you have decided, through study, prayer and meditation, the church you prefer and the theological stance you will operate out of (and EVERYONE has a theological stance), two paths lay in front of you.
1. You can religiously barricade yourself behind the wall of your preferences and never venture out into a different church/denomination or a different preaching/teaching style.
2.  You can occasionally go to other churches, listen to other preachers and hear a different facet of God's voice.

     Don't hear what I'm NOT saying... I am not saying to rush out and start running around to every church, or start listening to every teacher under the sun. You have your preferences for a reason - hopefully, a well thought-out reason. What I AM saying is that as you walk through life, do not put blinders on and shut out what someone is saying or preaching, because they are "Pentecostal" or "Episcopalian" or... fill in the blank. Don't be averse to attending  a "high church" worship service (think traditional Catholic, or Lutheran or Episcopalian), because your preference is something else. Two of the most powerful worship experiences in my 35 years of being a believer happened in a Lutheran church service and a Catholic worship service, neither of which are my "preference".

      So - for this season of our lives, my wife and I are members of a Southern Baptist church. The pastor preaches topically, and is very much enamored with teaching a "real-life-rubber-meets-the-road" Christian lifestyle. Personally, I like this. Not Presbyterian - but we are serving there, and touching peoples lives there and sitting under some of the most balanced teaching around. I have no problems here. Should they start to handle snakes... well.... (Just Kidding!!!!!!!!! They don't do snakes here...)

     And today, I helped a brother out at a Pentecostal worship service. You would think that would be a wee bit uncomfortable for this closet Presbyterian. But the people were wonderful. The music was liberating, and the pastor?  I loved what I heard him say. The pastor does not know it, but God used him to give me a very specific word today. What was it? Won't tell you... yet. Still mulling it over. But had I let my "preferences" bind me to the point where I wouldn't even consider going to a Pentecostal church, who knows - would I have missed this word from my King to me? Well - as I don't really deal with woulda-coulda-shoulda scenarios, I won't even try to think that one through.

    But I know what I believe and why I believe it. I am not afraid of someone who disagrees with me, and I am not afraid of a different worship style. I generally live within the confines of my preferences, but when God directs me through circumstances to a place outside of my preferences I am not afraid. God is nurturing this Reformed Christian from within a Southern Baptist church and today He spoke to me through a Pentecostal preacher. Personally - I am digging it. I won't be attending there regularly - God has me somewhere else, and my preferences being what they are, I do not see myself being a member of a Pentecostal church. But I am NOT chained. I am NOT a prisoner of my preferences. I am a child of the King - and I am free to enjoy the company of those brothers and sisters who think differently than I. Wow... what an incredible, diverse body this universal church is. Today was a GREAT day. I heard God whisper something into my soul.

    Lord- thank You for giving me a hedge of protection in my life called my "preferences". But thank You for the neighbors I have who live outside of my hedge. I look forward to the day when all hedges are removed, and we all know ALL of the truth. But until then - You blessed me today in a church I wouldn't normally attend, through a servant of Yours that I have never heard before.
MR G out.