Last night on Good Friday, my family and I had the privilege of attending Secret Church at the Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama #SC13. We were joined by 5,000 people as well as another 60,000 people who tuned in via the simulcast at various churches and homes across the country and the world.
So what would cause so many people to spend seven hours of their lives like this? maybe you're thinking, "It must have been quite a show right? Perhaps with world class music and dancing? smoke machines and lasers? A dynamic motivational speaker? Amazing door prizes?" -Nope, none of that.
We gathered together for the dual simple purposes of studying God's Word and praying for the unreached Hui people (Chinese muslims). From 6pm till 1am Pastor David Platt taught from the Bible on the issues of heaven, hell, and the end of the world. While David is a good speaker, his strength is found in his passion for God and knowledge of God's Word. He doesn't use many illustrations... he simply teaches from the Bible (speaking very fast to get through a massive volume of material).
This is significant because we live in an age of glitz, glamour, and production. Yet, 60,000 well fed souls can testify today that God's Word is still sufficient and satisfying. The reformers believed that scripture alone, 'sola scriptura' was the final authority on matters of life and faith. May we too continue to embrace this truth.
The girls hanging out in the youth section of Secret Church
Some might be wondering how my family did in all this... Hannah (age 5) was tired and went home around 11pm with Jennifer. The other girls begged me to allow them to stay with me. Abby (age 7) fell asleep at about 12:45am, but Zoe (9) and Rebekah (15) pressed on until the end. Said Rebekah, "I loved that!"
