My Lunch with Dwain Evans

Bering Drive Church of ChristYou sit and listen across a couple of plates of Chinese food to the story of God. It was truly a sweet-and-sour communion as I sat with this preacher who dared to tell the story of God in the 1960s, a God whose gracious redemption refused even then to remain silent, no matter how many people try to reign it in and put it in a neat-and-tidy-easy-to-control box. Dwain talked about calling the church to renewal in the 1960s since many of our number were leaving at that time because of strictures that were holding us back. And here we are almost fifty years later… saying the exact same thing.

I am so thankful for people like Dwain and Barbara Evans and so many others who told the story of God when it was dangerous to tell the truth. Their work and many others like them paved the way for those of us in congregational ministry who get to say and do things they prayed would happen some day.

I am so thankful.

I mean, can you imagine a church these days where people are not allowed to lead prayers during worship because of the color of their skin?

Can you imagine a church these days that emphasizes what is wrong with all the other denominations?

Can you imagine a church these days that would not allow a woman to lead singing with a voice given to her as a gift from the living God?

Can you imagine a church these days that is concerned with anything other than God’s healing redemption?

We are finally past all that.

Right?