True Speak

Since my migration to southern California in April, I’ve recently started attending Hillside Community Church on Saturday evenings for their 5:30 service. Sure enough last night there was a guest speaker, and luckily for me, I was in attendance. Dr. Tony Campolo, professor emeritus at Eastern University was in southern California to speak at Hillside for the weekend. Dr. Campolo has written more than 35 books including his latest release “Red Letter Christians: A Citizens Guide to Faith and Politics.” I found myself more engaged with this particular sermon on this particular Saturday than any of the other sermons I had been privileged to entertain at Hillside. Please don’t mistake this as detraction toward Dr. Dave Burns. I believe he does a marvelous job of delivering God’s word and connecting with the congregation. I personally noticed the difference in myself while Dr. Campolo was speaking. I was literally up on the edge of my seat for the entire 40+ minutes of his delivery. In essence he was speaking directly to me, in direct relation to my present situation. His ability to completely engage the entire congregation on every single word that came out of his mouth was uncanny. There was laughter amongst his jokes, yet shaking of the head at his subtle realities. His analysis of the world in which we live and the direction in which we are heading was not only astoundingly accurate but also unmistakably true. Two quotes from Dr. Campolo that I felt really encompassed everything you needed to take from his visit “It’s one thing to believe the doctrines. It’s another to surrender to their perspective.” And lastly and most importantly; “Living by faith is trusting your future in the hands of God!”