Thursday, April 13, 2006

the one about the catholic priest and the baptist minister.....

Sunday before last we had an interesting event occur at our church. The Peoples Church (a.k.a. First Baptist Church of Franklin, a Southern Baptist church), had ***gasp*** Catholic priest, Charles Strobel, assist its pastor, Rick White, in a baptism. And believe it or not, the ceiling didn't fall in on those of us who were there that morning. (Note to my Catholic friends - I'm joking!) In fact, it was one of the more touching things I've ever seen there.

It seems that there was a homeless man who came to know Christ because of Father Strobel's ministry, Room In The Inn, a ministry in which our church participates. Because this man's new relationship was due in large part to Charles Strobel's ministry, he wanted him to participate in the baptism with our pastor. And again, it was a very special moment.

We've gotten used to seeing a couple of baptisms a week lately. But this baptism was different, and not because of the priest. See, Williamson County is a pretty affluent area. (Not that our family is; we're just there to even out the median income for census reports!) It's not every day that you see a homeless man baptized in our church. But isn't that one of the reasons the church is here? We sometimes forget that we're not just supposed to serve those who look and act just like us.....

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