Yesterday I visited with a veteran pastor who reflected on Baptist days gone by. We were discussing divisiveness within denominations when he recalled something shocking (to me!). Long ago at a denominational meeting Adrian Rogers and John Claypool spoke on the same evening from the same pulpit. I almost fell out of my seat. Two very different people were heard by the same audience! Imagine that.
Would this happen today within any denomination/movement?
Sometimes I wonder if we're losing our ability to hear because we only listen to people who are exactly like us. Our ability to reason lessens. We watch news which affirms our beliefs and don't listen to the other. In the end we shout at people with whom we don't agree.
We are a country of folks trying to hear one another. If we aren't heard we shout louder; it's like screaming into a cellphone without a signal. "CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?"
Just because we shout doesn't mean we'll be heard. And call me crazy but we don't have to agree with someone to learn from them. I still have a hard time listening to some people, but I want to be better at it.
Just because we shout doesn't mean we'll be heard. And call me crazy but we don't have to agree with someone to learn from them. I still have a hard time listening to some people, but I want to be better at it.
Adrian Rogers and John Claypool spoke on the same evening from the same pulpit. Would this happen today anywhere?
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