The Aquila Report looks like a safe place to me. Minds and hearts meet here and dream about ‘what if’ and tweak, and maybe someday craft a motion that will pass somewhere.

Some people think they need ‘safe places.’ I don’t understand. Isn’t that what a friendship is? One of my friends talks to me about everything. Every 5 minutes he says, ‘this is confidential, right?’ I laugh inside but humor him and say, ‘sure.’

The Aquila Report looks like a safe place to me. Minds and hearts meet here and dream about ‘what if’ and tweak, and maybe someday craft a motion that will pass somewhere. (Did you hear about the Session’s vote to send the pastor a get-well card? It passed by 3 to 2 with 6 abstentions).

I want to try here a safe place for worship style. Years ago my New Life Presbyterian Church was a haven for refugees from Uganda. They sang very repetitive songs with hand-motions even. We welcomed them with their songs. I guess they will never get into Trinity Hymnal but we knew it was right and presbytery tried hard to understand us.

What about preaching? What makes a good sermon? Yes, it must be clear about the reality of the Gospel. ‘Christ is Risen,’ never ‘isn’t that moving poetry.’ If a sermon does that, it’s passable, with a solid C-.

If the sermon takes seriously Paul’s ‘therefores’ and goes on to show how this Gospel Reality makes a difference in your life, now we’re getting closer. Call it a B.

But a real sermon goes on from there. It says, ‘we know how to believe and live; let’s work together now to figure out what’s getting in our way, and what to do about it together.’ (I give Jay Adams too much credit, or blame, for how I talk. But he does say, it’s not enough to just say, this is what God wants you to do; you have to say, this is HOW God wants you to do it).

There are truly unbelieving, blasphemous sides to our hearts and lives. We need to look squarely at them and see them as they are, and repent and believe, and believe and repent. Only when we see that sin as it is, can we move on, blessed by an ‘A’ sermon.

I imagine that I am Welsh, with enormous gifts for drama. If I tried hard enough, I could be Christmas Evans, and everyone would cry when I preach. Well, I know I’m not, but I appreciate his theology and his heart.

Review. We have at least three sides to our personalities: knowing, willing, feeling. All were created good; all are fallen; all are being renewed by the Holy Spirit. We are not Rationalists, believing our minds are naturally better than anything else about us. We are not Romantics, believing our feelings are naturally better. We do trust the Spirit to change all we are for the glory of God, including our emotions. We bless that amazing book from Jonathan Edwards on ‘Religious Affections.’ We desire with all our hearts biblical comprehensiveness in our sermons, with clear direction for change, plus godly passion.

How can we have passion in our worship? Even if we’re really not Welsh? We pray for it, we work toward it, we appeal to it. We do not ‘manipulate’ in a phony way, but we do desire emotional change along with every other.

But how? I try the old way, putting in conversations where I do all the parts. ‘I understand that, and I’ll aim for it.’ ‘No, God wants you to be that way right Now.’ ‘But I don’t see the slightest beginning in my heart right now.’ ‘So let’s go through the Good News again. Did Jesus win the victory? Did God raise him up?’ ‘But why does this seem so hard?’ ‘Satan is who is talking to you so much. Don’t you hate him?’

That’s not bad. But would it help to get other people up there in front with me, doing all the parts? I know, ‘skits’ are from the Pits. But could we have ‘Communal Godly Conversations?’

I’m honestly not sure. But this is so important that it needs our serious thinking and I think running some trials.

Does this fit the Regulative Principle? I think so, but I know many don’t. Is The Aquila Report “Place” a Safe Place? I think so, but if it isn’t then North Texas Presbytery is where you can complain.
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D. Clair Davis, a PCA Teaching Elder and former professor at Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia, is now teaching at Redeemer Seminary in Dallas, Texas.