Monday, August 31, 2009

Conservative or Liberal

Next Sunday Otter Creek will be entering a new phase in the work in the world with two new ministers: Josh Graves and David Rubio. In getting the congregation ready for that transition today, Lee Camp burst forth with an electrifying sermon on the theme of "Neither a Conserative, nor a Liberal Church.



Lee was passionate, direct and convicting. He invoked men and women from the past who stepped outside comfort zones like Dorothy Day and Dietrich Bonhoeffer and men from our fellowship who did the same--David Lipscomb and F. D. Syrgley. Lee encouraged the church to be neither conservative (leaving things undone that should be done), nor liberal (tolerant of too much). Stopping as he usually does on helping the poor and the weak, he went on to challenge the church to cooperate with others who were doing the work of the Lord in the world. He said that we could do that without losing any of our cherished ideals. Citing David Lipscomb's work with the Catholic nuns in plague in early Nashville, he admonished us to work with Catholics, Presbyterians, and EVEN Jews. (There has been some flack about our sharing service to the homeless with a Jewish congregation).

A download of the sermon can be found on the Otter Creek website, thanks to Phil Wilson. For a longer look at the mind of Lee C. Camp, read MERE DISCIPLESHIP, RADICAL CHRISTIANITY IN A REBELLIOUS WORLD.

I am hoping this sermon is an omen of great things to come in the future of Otter and am excited to be there.

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