Tour of Macon Churches: Take 5

EDIT: I forgot to say a few things-

a- I really enjoyed my visit here

b- We got the most welcome greetings here than any other place- from people we didn’t know, that is, and it was handy that they had a pen for each of us (my friend Sybil went with me) as well as a packet of information… the pen came in handy when I was inspired to take notes

I’m skipping the location of my fourth tour because where I went this Sunday struck me the most of anything in a while.

First Baptist Church of Christ is one of the oldest in Macon, and titled First Baptist I’m sure because it was the first of it’s denomination in our town. The service was quick: right at an hour even with a baby dedication. There’s a moment where the children are invited up front, have a quick lesson, and then are led elsewhere for other activities. All in all, a rather straight forward service with hymns sung, some prayers, then the baby dedication, the offering, and then the readings. It’s kind of the reverse of what I’m used to- which is the readings happening first, sermon next, prayers, and then communion. And there wasn’t communion this time, and the sermon came basically last.

I’ve been told by friends who go here that one thing they like so much about it is how many Mercer professors and other higher educated types attend, and that it allows for a more “liberal” church setting when it comes to theology. This is what I was keeping my ears and eyes attuned to the most here, to see if I could pick up on that.

It didn’t seem terribly obvious to me, to be honest. But there were two sets of moments that really struck me. One- when the minister (pastor? preacher? I never know which term to use) Scott Dickison picked up baby Cal for his dedication he carried him up and down the aisles, speaking to the child as if he were an adult, explaining to him the role the church was about to take in his spiritual upbringing. Not using big words or pomp and circumstance, but just frankly- straight forward. It was very cool to see and be a part of.

The next moment for me was the sermon. It especially struck me because Mr. Dickison spoke about people as being like paths: gravel like, rocky, and smooth. People can be like those paths when it comes to their faith and so on. But what really got me was when he said that truly most of us are a mix, we are not perfect, we are human. And of course I know this to be true, it’s something I’ve really struggled with in my new quest to “be more honest” here on this blog. I’ve compared it to being more like Amy Schumer, and in some ways I stick by that. It’s more, I want to make it clear that I do try to be “what I preach”- as someone called me out on in social media once when I got curt and rude regarding some racists comments in a thread. I’ll elaborate in another post, as this is really about First Baptist.

So there it was, a Baptist minister speaking in a quick sermon regarding the paths we all take in life- and how they are not always one type of path or another. And he brings up Kelly Glissander, someone who the State of Georgia recently put to death. She aided in the death of her husband, surely punishable by her own death according to the Old Testament. But Mr. Dickison pointed out, as many of us know, that Kelly came to be a bringer of Christ to others.

It was as he was talking that it occured to me: if Kelly hadn’t been sentenced to death, would we have known of what she did? Of course I’m sure that’s not why she ministered to others, but it was something that occured to me while listening to the sermon. I also wonder, how many others were reached by hearing of her deeds?

Now, in the same turn, I think it’s fair to say that we Christians would not have our faith had Christ not died for us- had he not been sentenced to death in the ways that he was. I’m not making a direct comparison, but it was a parallel that I drew in that moment. This sermon was one that reached me.

Oh- now one concrete thing that could be seen as “liberal”. First Baptist has their logo, or their abbreviation, as “FBCX”. It stuck me because there’s SUCH a debate sometimes in Christian circles regarding “taking the Christ out of Christmas” when “Xmas” is used. I always refer to historical documents which state that “X” is a historic abbreviation for “Christ”. And here it is, in a Baptist church, right in front of us.

Love to all y’all,

Molly