Sunday • “Preaching” at the Baptist Church

We arrived at the church at 10:30. The drum set was front and center. I began to worry.  Although everyone was cordial, I was definitely over-dressed in a suit and tie; standard summer apparel for this church seemed to be shorts (skater style optional) and flip-flops. A few of the older, more serious-looking men wore polo shirts and slacks. I was greeted and sat down. The music started and I wanted to run out of the building. But I knew I couldn’t. This was one of the few times I have been truly nervous. Fortunately, their prayers and hearts were sincere, and I felt a modicum of grace.

Although I had planned a talk on the responsibility of parents for the education of their children and intended to introduce the Character/Knowledge/Skills curricular model, subtly (or not-so-subtly) inferring that people who really care about the future of the world and the preservation of Western Civilization should not put their children in government schools, something rather different happened. That morning in the car, I had asked Ian Brown to pray for me, and he really did!

As I sat, listening to a missions video, waiting for my time to go up on the platform, I was doing a last minute search for a few good Bible verses to support my presentation, and I came across Psalm 127 (the one with the  “full quiver” quote). I read it and realized how much it told the story of my life, and I flashed on what really needed to be said to this audience of mostly young Protestants. At first I really balked, objected, rebelled.  I said “NO!” I couldn’t, wouldn’t, shouldn’t mention such a thing.  But the Holy Spirit convicted me, and I got up at 11:25 and began to talk. 

First, I told a bit of my personal history and gradual conversion to Christianity. Then, I explained that I had read some of the writings of historical Christianity… and… that… I... came to find that… contraception had been a grave sin in all churches and denominations until about 80 years ago. I then proceeded, much to my surprise and with great conviction, to explain why it was wrong, how it was so directly connected with abortion, and I challenged every one in that room to examine their beliefs and practices, and whether they were already married or if they were in the future, to be open to life, and to have many children and not worry about the expense, and that they would be profoundly grateful. (By the way, it seemed that most of the young children were in Sunday school, so I think this only hit the teens…) By the time I regained my senses and realized what I had done, most of the time had been used up on this shocking moral lesson, so I had only about 10 minutes left to give the entire education paradigm speech, which went be very quickly, very passionately. I finished by reminding them that the only way we could conquer a corrupt culture was by out-populating and out-educating the bad guys. I could have gone on for an hour, but finished on time at 11:58.  Bill Gothard would have been pleased, I think.

Afterwards, a few people offered me encouraging comments, a few seemed very touched, and one man commented that this “must have been awkward to say” in the most “vasectomized” country in the world. The man next to him mentioned adoption. I didn’t stay long, not only because we had to meet some other folks for lunch and catch a plane at 3:30, but because I didn’t really want to talk to any upset people. Probably if there were any truly upset individuals, they would have just driven off in a huff and I wouldn’t really have had anything to worry about. But I was dripping with sweat. Who knows why I had to do this? Who knows what God might do with my radical statements? In any case, I now feel confident about “preaching” in a Baptist church whenever I might be invited to do so.  The Holy Spirit will take care of the content.  J