So we should stop judging each other. Let’s decide not to do anything that will cause a problem for a brother or sister or hurt their faith. – Romans 14:13

This morning my heart is still very much in overdrive, beating fast from all the love and the goodwill generated at the big 150th celebration at our church.

I wrote about this yesterday (A Beautiful Day of Celebration), but there is a lot more.

First, when the entire congregation breathed this prayer together – “Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me…” – I actually felt the spirit of the living God move over our sanctuary, affirming not only the 150 year ministry of this particular place but the ongoing faithful witness of the Presbyterian Church (USA).

Then, and this is today’s short video, our organist Bill Hilderbrandt (who is typically safely hidden behind the curtain – “pay no attention to the man behind the curtain“) deserves a mention. So this time I made my way up into the choir loft with my camera to offer proof that Bill is no AI-generated fiction but a real and talented choirmaster. We are blessed.

Exactly what we need:

It occurred to me, watching all the love, that this is exactly what we need; not uniformity but unity. This quality of fellowship doesn’t just happen, it requires investment in and commitment to the kind of faith that sets root in a town like Tarboro and still flourishes 150 years later.

Or to say it another way, “you won’t find this anywhere other than church.”

We are a nation, a people, a world where the definitive psychological and sociological malady is isolation and polarization along with a pathological inability to build community. When Jesus said, “On this rock I will build my church” he was prescribing the exact remedy the people of our world, our community, our churches are longing for.

Listen to this scripture:  

Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written,

“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
    and every tongue shall confess to God.”

So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. – Romans 14:10-12

Our simple mandate is to love and accept our brothers and sisters. What gives this so much power is active participation in the Body of Christ. The dangerous sin that has entered The Church is not “false doctrine” (meaning stuff you disagree with) it is division, it is lack of unity, it is the abandonment of fellowship in favor of being “right.”

God is the one with the responsibility to judge. God is the one who will take account. In the meanwhile, our responsibility is not so much to agree but to love, not so much to prove our point as to follow Jesus, not so much to be right as to do right – there is a huge difference.

Kind of like this past Sunday, when it was all about gratitude and celebration and love and our common understanding that we all need grace… and peace… and mercy… and redemption. Not only that, but we need each other.

In love and gratitude – DEREK