Christian Living
Larry Lilly's Letter Monday November 26, 2007
It has been my privilege/cross to bear to have been a working part of organized religion, well maybe not organized, but at least a Baptist, for 46 years plus months. During this tenure I have reached the conclusion that the only reason any sensible person remains a part of any semblance of religion is a deep love for the Lord, a fear of total exclusion from the group or in the case of clergy the fear of having to dig ditches.
In my youthful ignorance with little to no background in things religious, I came to faith and believed the Lord of the universe had called me to preach. This is the way we say it in our group so therefore I am utterly convinced this is the correct way or we would express this epiphany in other words. Though I was new to the faith, any faith, I made a serious blunder and have been making this blunder for 46 years plus months. The blunder? I honestly believed one of the more important parts of preaching the gospel was to do just that, preach the biblical definition of the gospel in all of my oratorical splendor.
Not so.
It was made plain that the gospel was divided into many dialects. I imagined the gospel to mean that which I mentioned above only to learn to my chagrin and sincere disappointment that in addition to the unsearchable riches of Christ, a certain national, regional, cultural and group emphasis must be added in order to gain acceptance in the particular group.
While pastoring in a rural section of our fair country the local guru was invited to speak at the church. He arrived with all the pomp and circumstance of a visiting Pontif and upon "Mounting the pulpit" proceeded to give your favorite ignorant preacher an education in the finer points of theological splendor. He told a funny little story which the gathered saints thought was right on and looked directly at me when the story started. They had heard it before and knew it was directed at the Yankee in their midst. A Yankee in the mountains, if you will. It seems one of the well aged female saints stood, with great effort, at testifying time and related that well nigh 83 years ago Jesus had found her, a poor struggling sinner at the age of 3 and one half years and from that day to this she had "Never rid a stridle." The entire congregation looked at me and laughed. I thought the laugh was hearty, but soon discovered it was a vicious laugh. During a boisterous congregation song, the man standing next to me conveyed the meaning of the strange statement, "Never rid a stridle." It meant the dear mountain saint, though a belle of the mountains had never straddled a horse or rode a bicycle. She was proud of this feat as such behavior was clearly forbidden in the scripture. Though she had never seen the verse, just knowing it is there was good enough for her.
Sensing the intense feeling of the throng on this issue I knew Paul's definition of the gospel was anemic and if I wanted to continue as the Exalted Child Pastor, I must add this new to me doctrine to my bag of well known addendums to Christ, crucified, buried and risen from the dead. I also knew that Joyce's beloved Harley was soon to be history. Such is the life of a sincere man committed to proclaiming the whole counsel of God. I also learned that cultural/regional bias trumps biblical truth hands down. Such is the life of a once thundering man of God reduced to a 'culturally' aware clergyperson.
Larry Lilly Copyright © 2007 Use with credit if you dare.
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