Sunday, May 31, 2009

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!”

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

What up my man...I was looking up some quotes from Doc Campolo and found one that was pretty trippy..."When you were born, you cried and everybody else was happy. The only question that matters is this - when you die, will you be happy when everybody else is crying?" I wonder what the real reason is behind the crying of one once they are born...and why do we cry when a loved one has taken their last breath...shouldn't we be celebrating that life! Do we cry because we feel guilty for something we hadn't done or said or is it because we still want or need that person in our lives and if so isn't that somewhat selfish of us...When my day comes, I want there to be a big gnarley party with people enjoying themselves in whichever way they choose. It could be loud music and dancing or chillin with some quiet conversation, however it may be I would like everyone to be happy in spirit with lots of love and joy! Hopefully that day won't come for many many years but as I heard one person say today...2012 is only 3 years away and all I could say to that was not so much in words but in a chuckle because...who really knows.

Left Coast P.O.V. said...

I couldn't agree more. I've started to realize how short and insignificant our lives are in the grand scheme of things. Once we leave this earth, I guarantee that if you gave everyone the option to come back, they would decline. The next life will be hands down better than this world. I have no doubt.