Fools for Christ Used of God.

A quick scan through all, bar one (Andrew Mackinnon), comments flowing from this article written about Jesus Christ and Creation give much reason to question the future of the Episcopalian (Anglican) Diocese of Sydney. While the reader might give some assent to the content of the article, the author gives himself away in subsequent commentary as being so flaky in his doctrine and reading of Scripture that you just couldn't accept anything he said with any conviction. In short, his words are no more than litter blown about in the breeze.

As the Diocese continues to go backwards in doctrinal standard its effort to be an instrument of God in the building of the Kingdom bear little blessing. Just realistic thought of drawing the ungodly in any number to sit attentively under the gospel of Jesus Christ is beyond reach for the Diocese. Drawing the already churched who bring with them distorted doctrine from churches abandoned by God may be a possibility but the ungodly is another matter.

Contrast that with my encounter last night.

A young woman wanted to resolve the question of whether there was a God. She was of an Atheist inclination but wanted to dot the i's and cross the t's. Her first resort was to science. She read books and magazines from secular sources but eventually became frustrated at the lack of case for ruling out God. Eventually she was invited to hear a Biblical Creationist speaker. The content of the message led her to reading Biblical Creationists material. She became a convert to Jesus Christ. That occurred in April, this year.

Just four months later, the church of which she was now part permitted this alive and enthusiastic convert to conduct last night's event involving a Biblical Creationist speaker. She advertised the event beyond the church and attracted some online discussion and, to my observation, Atheists or, at the least, Sceptics and other non churched in attendance - all in a church building. I counted fifty adults present of whom, by the degree of engagement and my later inquiries, a quarter of which I can confidently say were ungodly.

To give occasion to the event the young woman dressed smartly in a colourful court jester outfit - declaring tongue-in-cheek she was a Fool for Christ - and gave her testimony before introducing the speaker. The speaker had been an Atheist for longer than most in the room had been alive giving some credibility to be able to speak of the two states of belief.

The ungodly were really polite and attentive listeners. They afforded the speaker opportunity to give a beautiful and complete gospel message (Creation to Resurrection) which the Biblical Creationist position, and thus God, upholds. Question time was a probing time with several questions from the ungodly. Again they were really polite - a credit to their nature. About an hour later, question time finished as did the event as a whole. Ample supper was taken and opportunity presented for more questions and purchasing DVDs and books while free literature was also available and sought.

One of the ungodly was heard to say of the speaker "He was really persuasive!"

I also later learned that there were others present linked to the young woman who were church attached but not necessarily Biblical Creationists.

This was an event, I am confident, used of God for Kingdom growth and it was a joy to be part of, if only by being in the audience to observe and hear how things unfolded.

The Bible doubters of the Episcopalian (Anglican) Diocese who I refer to at the commencement of this blog run last.

Sam Drucker