This past week, I listened to a talk given by Iain Murray at Capital Hill Baptist Church on George Whitefield and catholicity, or evangelical unity. Murray gave examples of how Whitefield saw Christians not primarily as members of certain denominations or churches, but first and foremost as members of the body of Christ.
Tonight we experienced a very real demonstration of that. A group from our church met with another nearby church for dinner, fellowship, worship, and teaching. It's wild how you can have an instant connection with people you've never met before simply because you're both believers.
But what made this meeting especially significant was the fact that, on Easter Sunday, this church will meet by itself for the last time, and the following Sunday they will come worship with us. We are going to spend the summer getting to know each other and helping them learn who we are as a church and what we are about. And then next fall they will decide, individually and as families, whether to join our church permanently or not.
What I was aware of as we shook hands and took turns introducing ourselves tonight, was that these people are our brothers and sisters in Christ. Some of them may link arms with us in a more personal way. But no matter what they each decide, it's a pleasure to get to know them. They love Jesus and they are seeking to serve Him with their lives. I was surprised at what an encouragement that was to my faith.
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