Just so that you all know, I had a phone conversation this morning with Alan Strange, Nelson Kloosterman and Mark Vander Hart, all faculty members at MARS. While we did not come to any agreement, we began and closed with prayer, had a cordial and frank exchange of views, and we intend to do it again. The only disruption occurred when my youngest daughter and son-in-law came into my office during the phone conference and handed me an ultra-sound photo that revealed she is carrying twins. That threw me off my game for a minute but the other guys were understanding and didn’t take any unfair advantage.
Paul tells us that we are to be “endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3). This means that hard work is frequently involved, and I believe that we should be eager to undertake that work with anyone who is willing for it. I have no intention of just slapping a happy face sticker on all this — the MARS testimony and my response to it reveal that we have an awful lot of work to do. But still, my thanks to these three gentlemen for a God-honoring conversation.