I grew up in this house in Roanoke, Virginia, with Grace Church as a constant and watchful presence.
I spoke for a few minutes last Sunday at the church where I grew up, Grace Church in Roanoke, Virginia. You can listen to it here.
Time and distance have made me greatly appreciate those old time saints, the faithful everyday Christians who actually make things happen.
It wasn't until I was a lot older that I realized how difficult it is to tithe. But a bunch of folks in my home church have been faithfully giving for decades. We can't take such sacrifice for granted.
Instead of going to church faithfully every week, people can sleep in, go golfing, or any number of other cool things. But the folks in the church I grew up in keep faithfully gathering together as Christ calls us to do.
I guess it's kind of a tortoise and hare thing. We look for great speakers, bold evangelists, expositors of the Greek and Hebrew. But can you tithe? Can you just show up regularly? Most people can't. I'm glad I got a chance to give a tribute to those who did.