Only At Moody.

Founder's Week is here again. I always look forward to this week. No, not just because we don't have classes or homework. But because, being such a spiritual individual, I enjoy the soul enriching preaching. Okay, not having homework is nice, too.

This year, Moody is feeling the budget cuts on things like Founder's Week. Last year, Francis Chan. This year, Dr. Stoll. Both wonderful expositors. One just happens to be free. :)

So far, we've heard James Ford, Wes Stafford and Nancy Lei DeMoss. Mr. Stafford, the president and founder of Compassion International, told an emotional story of his childhood in West Africa. He brought with him, four Moody graduates who had come through the Compassion program, from childhood poverty to graduation with ministry degrees.

He makes me want to go.

Reverend Stafford, a Chicagoland pastor, spoke last night on... well, I don't really know. He's a big, African-American pastor, who uses a lot of alliteration and assonance, but doesn't really go anywhere with his sermons. I would say that he is the best speaker we have heard so far, mostly for his eternally memorable one-liners all throughout his sermon. Problem was, he could have made each sequence of alliterated points into its own sermon or mini-series. Today he spoke on grace. I think. Yes, this morning his point was much clearer.

He used the analogy of a possum. He said a possum never digs its own cove/home. They look for a hole already dug and observe the foot prints on the ground. If there are only prints going into the cove, they know it is occupied. If there are prints going in as well as coming out they know that the cove is useful and now vacant. He said, "Mohamed said, 'I go away'; Buddha said, 'I know a way'; Confucius said, 'I show a way'; Jesus said, 'I am the way'. And that's my God. How do I know? Because at Mohammed's footprints go down to the grave. Buddha's prints go down to the grave. Confucius's prints go down to the grave. But go to the tomb of Jesus Christ. The Way went down to the grave, yes; but His footprints lead out again."

I will be using this some time. Like Neely says, "I milk many cows, but I churn my own butter."

Nancy Lei DeMoss peach a mediocre sermon on doing your daily devotions. I'm not much for topical preaching. I much prefer exegesis, and she didn't do much for that. For a topical sermon, though, she did a great job. She was convicting and gracious in her presentation. But what really go me is how she was introduced. Our president, Dr. Nyquist, introduced her as, "Ms. DeMoss, a beautiful woman under the authority of the church." Really? True. But not at all necessary. And THEN she wasn't allowed to preach from the pulpit! She was preaching from a black music stand at the base of the stage! Oh....please.

So, the next session is a Q&A with her, women only (go figure). And I'm going to ask about these things. :)