"I don’t have to listen to you. Collin is our leader.” That’s what one of the boys running through the church (with several others) said when he was told to walk, not run. In case you don’t know, the “Collin” being spoken of is our 9 year old grandson. He certainly relishes the role of leader, though I think it is more often than not a disputed one among the SOJ kids. But in the eyes of the one who spoke with confidence, Collin was the leader.

 Don’t you love it! Having followers like this is every leader’s dream. You speak and they listen. You call them to action and they take off. Others seek to persuade them to a different point of view or take a different action, but they refuse. You are the leader, and they listen to you.

I suppose there are churches where the minister’s authority is this strong, but it’s for sure Spirit of Joy is not one of them. When Joy or I speak, the congregation here listens—or not. The only authority we have is persuasion. Even then, it is not something we try to do very often. Years ago I thought persuasion was what preaching was all about. After all, souls were hanging in the balance. A decision to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior had to be made. It all depended, or so I thought, on whether or not I could persuade someone to make the right decision...before it was too late.

I can still remember some of the sermons I preached back then. I hope the people who heard them have forgotten them by now. Frankly, I am embarrassed at my naivete about what preaching was in the early years of my ministry. Thank goodness we can grow and change, mature, if you will, in faith as our understanding of the Christian gospel changes.

One of the things I finally learned is that no one can persuade another person to become a Christian. People can be persuaded to make a decision to make a profession of faith, but that is a far cry from actually becoming a Christian. The glow of emotional moments inevitably fades over time, leaving us with having to decide on our own whether or not we want to follow through on the commitment we made.

But I have also learned that this is a good thing. It’s what makes faith fresh and vital. We can in fact grow spiritually. We can learn so much more about the Bible than we now know; see things in ways different from how we initially understood them; re-examine beliefs we have to determine if they reflect what we now understand about Jesus, God, the Bible, the church, and the world around us.