Guest speakers

As a youth pastor, with few exceptions I rarely deal with guest speakers/teachers. I had the privilege of hosting Dr. James Grier at our church this week. Here are some thoughts about the weekend:

• You don't have to be young and high-energy to preach effectively.
• A well-researched sermon is appreciated.
• NT cultural nuances can really add meaning to the story.
• Jesus was a great story teller.
• Everyone hears what they want to hear. I heard various responses to his lecture on Ministry in a Postmodern Context and it baffled me at first. Then I realized that people had had an itch scratched but the drum wasn't banged exactly the way they wanted it.
• For some groups the evaluation of anything can be divisive. Therefore, the call to measure things against God's plans, standards, and activities must be sounded. Otherwise, people are left to be their own authority.
• A specific example of the previous point is modernism versus postmodernism. All of us are drawn to, or shaped largely by, one or the other. However, believers are not called to be one or the other because they are a part of God's family and his perspective is different from both of those. Believers should be drawn to or shaped by 'God-ism'.
• My kids are great! They interacted with Dr. Grier in a way that made me proud. They enjoyed hearing about his overseas experiences.
• My wife is an excellent hostess.
• Praise God for men like Jim! He inspires me to be smarter (I'm not sure that's possible with my small amount of gray matter), well-studied, well-prepared, gracious, and kind. He ministers with all that he's got and he doesn't want to quit.
• It was interesting to learn of his friendship with Ivan French. We could see alot of similarites between the two.

All in all it was a good weekend. I'm curious to see what the Lord does with it.