3.6.07

Tuesday 3/6
(10:45pm)

Today was the first day without any major surprises or changes – quite uneventful. Breakfast was the same as always and for the first time in a week, the van arrived early to pick us up! Our new van, new-ish Chevy Astro is great – no shocks, but comfy seats, lots of room, and cold front and rear AC.

Before the lecture time, we reviewed “Revive Us Again” and learned “My Hope is in the Lord.” Since I used all my time yesterday lecturing, I started the first morning session with open-mike questions. Although Dr. Allison was there to help, all the initial questions were ones I was thankfully able to competently answer from Scripture and the BCO. It wasn’t until he left for some business that I had to deal with some sticky style-of-worship issues. After a break around 11:15am, I covered the BCO section on Deacons and reopened the floor to questions. A new guest fired off several questions on modern tongues-speaking. Thankfully, Dr. Allison was back and I handed the mike over to him as the resident expert on all things Charismatic. It really became a very thorough lesson on the sign gifts and seemed to be well-received – even by those ministers who obviously disagree with our position.

We ended at 12:30pm, drove by two possible properties for the bookstore, and headed back for lunch – a strange, but tasty beef fat and gravy concoction over – you guessed it – rice. I snoozed for about 10 minutes before we returned to the church close to 3:00pm.

Although there were a few questions, I was able to spend most of my time lecturing through Chapters 3 and 4, especially emphasizing church discipline. While I was teaching, Dr. Allison and Paulcy interviewed baptism candidates. Several cannot read, so our info on baptism packet is useless to them. However, all seem to evidence a credible testimony of salvation.

We got home before 5pm, and George McConnell and I wandered out to find some pineapple and take pictures. When we returned we waited for a guest to join us for dinner, but finally started eating our chicken and fries around 7pm when he didn’t arrive.

At 9pm, the State radio station, 99.5 FM, was supposed to air a special report: our crusade. However, 9:00pm came and went with only a bizarre chaotic Assemblies of God service from Shelby, NC being aired in that slot – apparently we will get extra coverage the next couple of days.

With no real plans for the evening, we had lots of time to talk, call our families (Linds had a rough day with flat tire, etc.) and make fun of the severly-short haircut George received this morning – he can’t complain though: the barber made a housecall for a grand total of $1.50 US!

Well, I have cooled off in the shower, flipped longingly through my family photo book, and stressed a little about my teaching for tomorrow – good night.