Adams had the presence of mind to welcome them without promising them membership in the church. But this was 1965, and this was Richmond, Virginia, and Dr. He knew that in Christ there is neither black nor white. Adams, who had traveled the globe in his work as president of the Baptist World Alliance, and who had gotten to know Baptists of every kind, would have been happy to welcome them. And so they walked down the aisle and asked to join the church. But something that he said or something that those students felt in this place made them believe they would be welcome. I doubt that he was preaching from this passage in Galatians that says in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female. These students must have gotten a little giddy from the splendor of it all, and when the invitation was given they came down the aisle. Adams was the pastor, and the pews were packed, and the choir loft was overflowing. And it must have been wonderful to walk into this place when Dr. And so, these obedient boys put on their Sunday best and came to church. They knew it was the church where the president of the Foreign Mission Board was a member and the former president of the Baptist World Alliance was the pastor. And why not? They were the sons of Baptist ministers in Nigeria who had heard about First Baptist Church. At the close of the 11:00 service two Nigerian students who were attending Virginia Union University came down the aisle to join First Baptist Church.
And then we sit bolt upright in our pews and begin to come up with all sorts of reasons why that person should not be a member of the church.
Until someone comes down the aisle who is not like us.
And Paul argued, “No, it’s not circumcision that makes us part of God’s family: it is faith in Jesus Christ.” That seems so obvious to us now that we could almost fall asleep during a sermon from Galatians. They thought they should be circumcised first, then they could get their names on the rolls, then they could take communion. Wasn’t that the problem Paul was dealing with in Galatians? It wasn’t that God had any trouble welcoming uncircumcised Gentiles into his family it was that the Jewish Christians had trouble welcoming them into the church. I’ve been thinking about that question ever since, and I’ve concluded that getting right with God is not the hard part the hard part is getting right with each other. I think there’s some good news here.Īfter worship last Sunday someone asked me why I was spending six weeks talking about “Getting Right with God.” “Isn’t it fairly simple?” he asked. I hope you will read it or watch it, and if you feel like sharing please do.
#UNITY CHURCH SOMERVILLE FULL#
I’ve posted the full text of the sermon below with a link to the video at the end.
#UNITY CHURCH SOMERVILLE SERIES#
It was number four in a series called “Getting right with God,” based on Paul’s letter to the Galatians, but as I said in the introduction, it’s not getting right with God that’s the hard part the hard part is getting right with each other. I’ve had a good many requests for my sermon from Sunday, June 19, quoted above. “Who has bewitched you? Who has made you believe that some are welcome and some are not welcome in the church of Jesus Christ?” “O, foolish Richmonders!” Paul might say. A few blocks from here there is a church that is made up of mostly black members, because years ago they found they were not welcome in the “white church.” A few blocks in the other direction is a church made up of mostly gay members, because years ago they found they were not welcome in the “straight church.” A few blocks in the other direction is a church where most of us would not be welcome, because we believe that women are equal to men.
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