Unity and Harmony

Since announcing that I am blogging every Monday and Thursday, it seems that world makes a valliant attempt to "fall apart" on these days. While I am not making the grade by being unquestionably consistent in my postings, at least I am becoming more frequent in my posts. I hope they offer some word which enlightens or encourages.

Recently there was a meeting of "a New Baptist Covenant (NBC)" in GA which boasted some very "high profile" leaders. Among the more recognizable names were two former US Presidents, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. In President Carter's address he called for "unity around the gospel." This has proved very interesting for me because it seems that any true unity must have ONE GOSPEL at its center. With all due respect, it would seem that the message of the Bible is very much dissimilar from the gospel of President Carter.

I am sorry to say this meeting of the NBC is made up of people who have already left the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). The SBC is a cooperative group of believers who are identified by their conservative belief on the Bible. To state it simply, "the SBC believes the book." If the Bible says, "homosexuality is sin" we believe it. If the Bible says, "A deacon must be the husband of one wife," we believe it. If the Bible says, "Life begins at conception," we believe it.

Some may ask "why can't you make exceptions in the non-crucial issues" and the answer is found in a simple question. "Here it is, "Once we start changing one word of God's book, where do we stop?" And the answer is, "we would never stop." Either we believe it's God's word or we believe it's not God's word. If it IS His word, then it is holds all the secrets, principle, and needs for life. If it is not His word, then it needs to be completely discarded.

For me and my house - we choose His word. My hope and prayer is this; before anyone dismisses the Bible as the "ramblings of many men of days past" they will investigate the truth found in the history of the Bible. Everyone who has made this investigative journey in an honest and open-minded way, has walked away with an awareness that the Bible is God's and was written by the God of the Bible.

If we desire unity, harmony, and peace, we must unite around the TRUTH that has never and will never change. Our task is not to change it to fit our culture but rather to change our culture to fit it.