My Encounter with Grace at GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH

The past three years of my life have been a spiritual and emotional roller coaster - with an emphasis on the spiritual. During this time, I've done a lot of unpacking. By that, I mean that I have abandoned all types of legalism and suffocating, grace-less theology. I no longer have any tolerance for such things. With that being said, I was pleasantly surprised this past Sunday when I attended Grace Baptist Church in West Virginia with my grandfather. 

My current angst concerning all things Baptist was certainly challenged when Pastor Delbert stepped up to the pulpit. Now, I must preface this by saying that Delbert is a fine man. Both he and his wife have been extremely supportive of my grandfather, as he has been struggling through a grieving period as a result of the loss of my grandmother. The pastor and his wife are incredible people on that end. However, I'm not used to hearing Delbert preach. In my experience - and taking into account that pastors are human, and humans are fallible - what most pastors preach on Sunday seldom aligns with their actions during the rest of the week. One pastor may give grace with one hand during the week, and snatch it away from the pulpit on Sunday with a "hell-fire and brimstone" fear-mongering guilt-trip. I've encountered this more times than I care to remember, and honestly, I was preparing for something similar this past Sunday.

And then Delbert started speaking. And Adam started listening. 

What sprang from Delbert's mouth wasn't at all what I was bracing myself for. No, Delbert preached from Ephesians, and he spoke of the "glorious grace" of God that Paul raved about. He spoke not of sinless perfection, but of the imputed righteousness of Christ that makes us perfect in God's eyes. There is no need to wear masks. There is no need to fall into the trap of legalism and law, because Christ has set us free in every sense of the word. 

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. This sort of grace-centric message is not common in the Baptist church (note: not all Baptist churches, but some Baptist churches are guilty of this). I was humbled, that's for sure. It was encouraging. It gave me a sense of calm. It gave me hope, as if God was reaching down and reassuring me that everything was going to be okay. His grace finds its way into the unlikeliest of places.

It was a wonderful way to spend a Sunday morning, there with my loved ones, listening to our dear friend, Kelly, sing beautifully before the sermon that dashed all of my expectations. 

I confronted the pastor after the sermon and thanked him for speaking love and truth to his congregation.

This crazy liberal Jesus freak is definitely on Team Delbert - Delbert, the Baptist preacher.