Pastor

David Epps, in a recent Citizen column, struck some

sensitive nerves. He talked about big churches with their

big church pastors and about little churches with their

little church pastors. Some may think Father Epps was a

little tough on the big boys and their big religious

establishments. After all, aren't we all in the same

business -reaching the world for Jesus Christ and

the full and meaningful life that Christ delivers?

But I

really think that Father Epps has hit upon an

opportunity. First background: God is truly using the

unity movement in south metro as his divine, appointed

instrumentality to bring revival to all the churches.

The Lord

only knows just how many "revival meetings"

have been staged in Fayette area churches alone to get on

board the stage to leave town after several anointed

nights and an adequate love offering (There's more truth

in that statement than satire). I just bet that the

Fayette area has been exposed to upwards of 2,000 revival

meetings in the last ten years and yet we're building

bigger jails. Go figure that one.

Yet, the

one thing that our Lord prayed during his passion before

the cross was that his followers would be one even as the

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one. In God's arithmetic

one plus one plus one equals one! God wants his churches

to be one as the God- head is one yet with different

forms.

To date,

all kinds of churches have come together: African-

American Churches, all-White Churches, Pentecostal

Churches, Charismatic Churches, Churches of Christ,

Christian Churches, Methodist Churches, Baptist Churches,

and Liturgical Churches. I'm telling you: something

glorious is happening in the south metro area. And God is

at the center. Because it's bigger than anyone one of us.

Yet! Yet!

Yet! There's one bridge that seems not to be complete.

There's one wall that seems untumbled. One set of

relationships seemingly is difficult to catch fire and

burn with genuine friendship. And that is the

relationship between smaller churches and the bigger

churches. The average church size is 75. Mega-churches

can boast 1000, 2000, and even 3000 people attending any

one Sunday.

It seems to

me that big churches need the little churches and vice

versa. Yet, little church pastors don't need to hear big

church pastors boast of their success and if only the

little churches would copy them, they too would have

success. And big churches don't need little church

pastors who always meet them with a hand out. Our biggest

contribution to one another is fellowship in matters of

prayer, unity, and reaching the lost. I along with 25

other pastors invite the ministers of all churches to

join in the unity movememt. Men, you could bless us more

than you could ever realize.

In that

regard, let me pass along some plaudits to Dr. Gene Tyre,

pastor of the First Baptist Church of Newnan-a

large, influential church on the fringe of the metro

area. He has linked heart and hand with Rev. Bill Miller,

the pastor of a small Assembly of God Church in Newnan.

Together, big and little, the two of them will raise the

spiritual climate over a depressed and

spiritually-starved Coweta County. Praise God!

<!--##############