For the Love of the Saints

Sunday January 21, 2007 was a very memorable Sunday for me. I was in Washington D.C., and I attended Capitol Hill Baptist Church. Some people may recognize this church because of its pastor, Mark Dever. I walked into this old, old church building and was immediately greeted by a church intern named Kevin. We talked for twenty minutes off and on between introductions as he introduced me to many members of the church. What a blessing it was to be greeted by another brother and to be placed in a situation where you feel loved and at home.
In addition to meeting Kevin, I sat through an hour of discipleship training. A couple of things should be noted here. First of all, discipleship courses were offered in multiple areas and anyone within the church could attend. There was no singles class or college class. There was no marrieds class or youth group class. Each discipleship course was open to any member regardless of age unless of course the class was strictly for men or women. This is a unique concept. The idea was to promote unity without limiting it to age. What a wonderful concept. Secondly, the discipleship class was intense. I've never been to a church that goes through Systematic Theology (Grudem's version) as a discipleship class. We spoke for an hour on the works of the Spirit. There was such a distinctive maturity here that I have only experience on a seminary campus.
Now of all things that blew me away, the gathering of all the saints together was awesome. We sang about six hymns. And when I say hymns, I mean hymns that I've never heard before. And we sang with a piano and a guitar you could barely hear. There was no praise band. It definantly was not "cool" by today's standards. We also pray for no joke, twenty minutes, in the two hour service. The sermon was so edifying as well. Dr. Michael Lawrence preached from Matthew 25 about those who will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Christ tells the parables of the virgins in which we see that the prepared will enter the kingdom. Christ also tells the parable of the talents in which we see the faithful will inherit the kingdom. Finally, Christ tells us the parable of the sheep and goats in which we see that the merciful will inherit the kingdom. What was so edifying to me was that in the last parable, the one with the sheep and the goats, Christ looks at us for what we do to His brothers, i.e. His disciples. Christ loves His Church. He loves His people. He died for us. He bought us with His blood. Therefore, as brethren bought with the blood of Christ, we should love one another as the ransomed simply because of Christ. It's all about loving the brethren and edifying the brethren.
When the preaching finished, there was a time of reflection in which the body prayed about how the Lord spoke to them that day. And they left the service challenging and praising God for what He had shown them that day.
After the service was over, I was invited to lunch with the college department. I met so many people. I even met a fellow from Franklin, KY, which is twenty minutes away from where I grew up. I was invited to hang out with the church interns all afternoon at their house. They gave me food. They gave me a place to stay that was warm. They even introduced me to Pastor Dever, which I must say was awesome yet oh so humbling. And they do this for all people who come to this church. They do so for the love of the saints.
Folks, this church was amazing. They exemplify a Biblical church body. I thank God for them and for their leaders who continue to direct the church in a very biblical way. I'm thankful for their strict membership policy. I'm thankful for their quickness to church discipline for through these I see a very serious and matured body of believers focused on God and on growing to be like Him. Note that the average age in this church is 29. I've never seen anything like this outside of a seminary. What a blessing the Lord has given me in worshipping with Captiol Hill Baptist Church this weekend.