For most of the last four or five days I’ve been with the brothers and sisters at Main Street PCA in Columbus, Mississippi. Thanks to the indulgence of Main Street’s Pastor, David Strain, we spent part of Friday touring Memphis. We enjoyed Gus’ world famous (spicy!) Fried Chicken, a tour of the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, and a brief visit to the nearby National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel. It was a little eerie to see in living color the very scenes one has seen on video for decades. The best part of the trip, however, was the time spent with the folks at Main Street PCA. The weather in Columbus was lovely. It warm and dry (the humidity left just before I arrived!). It’s a beautiful, historic city, associated with Eudora Welty and Tennessee  Wiliiams, with an outstanding collection of well-preserved ante-bellum homes.  The congregation was as warm and inviting as the weather. The elders and other members of the congregation made themselves available for fellowship over meals (thanks to all who hosted and worked so hard to support the conference)  and extended conversations about the ministry and calling of the church. Sabbath Day worship was a joy as we marked Reformation Day 2010 by using a historic Reformed liturgy and singing psalms to the glory of God. There isn’t much to be said for the visiting preacher in the AM service but pastor Strain gave a marvelous exposition of Psalm 1 in the afternoon service. You can hear David’s sermons at Sermon Audio. Thanks to David for the trips to and from Memphis (and to Sheena and the boys for letting him go). I’m sure I benefitted from them more than he did.

Finally, I’ve been very encouraged over the last few years by the steady stream of young, confessional, pastors in the NAPARC world. They’re in Woodinville (WA), Carlsbad (CA), Cheyenne (WY), Colorado Springs, Santee (CA), Regina, SK (Can), Loveland (CO), and Columbus (MS), among many other places. Christ is faithful (even when we are not) and he is fulfilling his promise to be with his church always and these young, confessional, and Reformed ministers of Word and Sacrament are a token of that faithfulness. Reformation takes generations but it is happening.