Random Questions

The third and final round of Random Questions is over. I thought I would weigh in on a few thoughts I had during this series as I looked out at all the faces these past weeks. I wish I had a picture of the surprises, laughter, shock and awe, red faces and the other things only I get to see from the platform. Some of you are a crack up.

First, a message series where people get to ask questions they have wondered about is healthy for a church. As a regular speaker and teacher in the church this series reminded me of the daily realities people are thinking about and wrestling with God over.

Second, when an open question forum is presented people will ask bizarre things.

Third, I have found it nearly impossible to answer some of the more complicated doctrinal issues in the allotted time on a Sunday morning message. Once again a reminder that I need to constantly immerse myself daily to understand the weighty matter of scripture. After today I owe the children's team big-time. I promise, I will redeem the time for you next week:)

Fourth, this series reminds me that there are a lot of opinions about a lot of stuff and frankly most of it is superfluous to what God wants to do in our lives.

And Finally, what did I learn through Random Questions? People need the opportunity to look their pastor in the eye and know where he stands on certain issues, even the controversial ones. Doesn't mean we will always see eye to eye on matters of opinion, but one thing is for certain, knowing where your pastor stands is critical to connecting and discovering more about your personal relationship with Jesus Christ and the local church.

I had this thought a lot while speaking, Amos 3:3, "Can two walk together unless they be agreed?" I think there were three agreements made over the three weeks of the series. First, there is agreement that the Word of God is the standard to live by and if the Bible does not speak specifically to certain questions then we are to apply principles. Second, there are principles in the Bible that speak to the questions not directly addressed through scripture. Third, when administering the opinions of men love is absolutely required. There is no room for divisions among us as believer's and when we differ there is a giant chapter in 1 Cor 13 that is our guide to live by.

Thank you for the questions and the memories. I will think about this series for a long time.