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By Michael J. Brooks

The way Baptists do it probably isn鈥檛 best, but nobody yet has made us change.

Some denominations require an apprentice program for fledgling ministers. But when a Baptist young person declares a call to ministry, the pastor says, 鈥淕reat! You can preach next Sunday.鈥�

This is like throwing someone in the lake to teach them how to swim.

I know this because I was once cast into the ecclesiastical lake.

Heaven holds great reward for patient church members who鈥檝e listened to 16-and 17-year-olds preach!

But on the other hand, starting young gives us seniors a measure of wisdom, much of which came about due to our mistakes.

I think I鈥檝e learned a few things over the years. Here are a few nuggets.

One, there鈥檚 nobody sweeter than a senior saint who鈥檚 served the Lord and their church for many decades. Some seniors are critical and grumpy, but wonderful, church-going seniors are a joy to be around. They have good humor and good advice. They overlook the mistakes of their younger pastors, and they promise to pray for us every day.

Two, church critics don鈥檛 see all the good things congregations do since we try, as Jesus commanded, to 鈥渟eek not the praise of men.鈥�

Once in Wednesday night Bible study I told about one of our youth who didn鈥檛 have back-to-school supply money. Without church sanction we simply collected money and took care of this need. This kind of thing is repeated hundreds of times every week by loving and generous Christians who as Robert Schuller used to say, 鈥渇ind a need and fill it, find a hurt and heal it.鈥�

Three, when church members get disgruntled and leave, they most often say, 鈥淚鈥檓 not mad at anyone,鈥� but they are probably mad at someone.

I鈥檝e contended most church disruptions aren鈥檛 about theology. I鈥檝e seen a few theological disputes amongst Baptists about deacons and divorce. Paul explained the deacon must be 鈥渉usband of but one wife鈥� but doesn鈥檛 use the word 鈥渄ivorce,鈥� so this is an interpretive issue sometimes debated in our churches. But other than this, disruptions seem to come from lesser things than the great fundamentals of the faith.

Four, since we鈥檙e granted redemption by our loving Lord, we must live redemptively with others, even in times of disagreement.

Jesus taught about a businessman who 鈥渕ercied鈥� a man (according to the Greek verb) who owed him a great deal of money, but this man refused to 鈥渕ercy鈥� his debtor who owed him little. The comparison is obvious.

It鈥檚 hypocritical for the forgiven to withhold forgiveness from others.

I鈥檓 grateful for patient congregations who have 鈥渕ercied鈥� me, and I look forward to learning more with them and from them.

鈥淩eflections鈥� is a weekly faith column written by Michael J. Brooks, pastor of the Siluria Baptist Church, Alabaster. The church鈥檚 website is siluriabaptist.com.聽