Daniel Edmonds said the journey of faith is often tough and brings fear, but we’re encouraged by our walk with Christ.

“We abide in Him and obey Him, so it begins and continues with prayer,” he said.

Edmonds, director of the Office of Sunday School & Discipleship for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, spoke to gathered church leaders at the Disciple Link meeting at Bethsalem Baptist Church in Billingsley on Oct. 10. Mark Gainey, lead strategist for disciple-making for SBOM, served as host, along with Jeremy Jones, pastor of Bethsalem Baptist.

Edmonds shared the familiar story from Luke 5 about Jesus using Peter’s boat as a pulpit and then asking Peter to let out his nets again despite his having fished all night for naught.

“Peter replied, in effect, ‘Lord, we’ve never done it that way before!’” Edmonds said.

“Haven’t we heard that before in our churches? And confessionally, haven’t we said that ourselves?” he noted. “A lot of battles in the Church revolve around change, so we must strive to be consistent leaders who bring our people through change with wisdom.”

Culture

Edmonds said one change the Church faces is an unbelieving culture, and he warned against being “corporate professionals” who assume others know what we know and perhaps judge them when they don’t.

“Of course we know things the unchurched don’t, but we must be gentle and patient with them and be a welcoming presence,” he said.

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This article was originally published at TheAlabamaBaptist.org.