The past month or two I've been reading a bio of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and several books about church traditions and small groups. The latter are books I first read in the mid- and late-70s. Both have made it vividly clear that my limited experiences and understanding limited how much I got at the time from reading those books and also Bonhoeffer's Cost of Discipleship.
As an illustration, one of the little nagging issues that I've puzzled over for something like 30 years is how a passage like 1 Corinthians 14:26 could happen, even in a Pentecostal or charismatic church: When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification (NASB). It was only recently that I reached the conclusion that passages like this or Ephesians 5:19 or Colossians 3:16 are only fully practical in small group settings. Wow! Brilliant conclusion, right?! Then this weekend, reading Robert C. Girard's 1979 book, Brethren Hang Together, I find he said pretty much the same thing.
I read it 30+ years ago, I just wasn't ready to understand the significance of what he said. O wonder what other blinders I have on, due to my lack of experience and understanding (or because of my experiences and misunderstandings).
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