Come to the Meeting with Ed Harrell!

Sometimes - OK, most of the time - preachers and elders try to persuade members of the church to attend an upcoming meeting by making them feel as guilty as possible if they choose not to attend. Clearly, our aim in doing that is to make them feel really bad if they are doing anything other than attending the meeting (unless they are on their "death bed," of course.) I am going to dispense with that tactic (at least for now) and try to encourage you to make whatever preparation you need to make so that you can be here for Ed Harrell's meeting on May 24-27.

Ed has the credibility to speak on historical issues, to say the least. He has a Ph.D. in history and was a professor at the University of Alabama and Auburn University and has written seven books on historical issues. He has also recently completed a textbook for use in history classes entitled "Unto a Good Land." But that's not why you should come to hear what he has to say.

He is also very easy to listen to, with an outstanding sense of humor. The hour will be over before you know it and you will thoroughly enjoy listening to him speak. But that's not why you should be here on May 24-27 either.

Ed has served for many years as a local gospel preacher and as an elder and has held countless gospel meetings like this one; he is an outstanding Bible student. His lessons are challenging and biblical and relevant to what you are facing day-in and day-out. But even that's not the main reason you should come to this meeting this time.

I believe you will want to be here because Ed is going to address a topic that every leader, every potential leader, every mother and father, and every young person vitally needs to hear. He will be talking about the Bible and why we should believe it, obey it and follow it. You'll want to make sure your children hear this. If you can persuade any of your friends or relatives who are not Christians to come on May 24-27 or even just one of those evenings, do it. They'll hear an important lesson on why obedience to the words of the Bible is important.

Some of what brother Harrell says will be "inside stuff." That is, some of it will be directed toward those who have been members of the church for a while. But that's OK; he will do it with words that anyone can understand, and with a sense of humor. Will some be offended? Possibly, but Ed is sensitive to what "others" believe; and his approach makes it hard to feel offended.

Many years ago, I heard Ed preach and he directed his comments to preachers. He mentioned something preachers ought to be doing that I wasn't doing at the time. I almost got offended, but his approach softened the blow. The bottom line was that I heard and considered what he said and decided it was true. And that's the point, isn't it? To hear and consider?

Don't be put off by the title of his series: "Christian Primitivism." That's just a scholarly way of talking about first century Christianity. The key to his subject is in the subtitle: "Thinking `Inside the Box' About Restoring New Testament Christianity." Ed's view is that there are too many men and women in the church today who are advocating "thinking outside the box" who have never taken the time and effort to learn what is inside the box. You'll need to be here to find out why.

Don't miss it. I think you'll be glad you came.

David Posey