I love my Father-in-law. I enjoy spending time with him, and I always know where I stand with him. He says exactly what he thinks, and he says it directly. If he doesn't like you, you will know it.

He also is the person, who has given me the greatest compliment I have ever received. To the casual eavesdropper, or the unrelated guest, this compliment may not have meant much. It may have even been perceived as an insult. But, I knew the meaning behind it, and it is the best thing anyone has ever said to me.

When I married his daughter, we lived in California. He lives in Massachusetts. His name is Stanley. He worked a dairy farm near the New Hampshire border, for most of his life. He's never been on a plane, and I'm sure that he never will be. So, he didn't make it out for the wedding.

It was a few years, before we were able to travel to Massachusetts to visit dad. Before he met me, I don't know what he thought about this son-in-law, he had spoken to only briefly on the phone. He knew that I had gone to Bible College, and now that I was graduated, I was pastoring a church in California. He probably thought that I was some "fancy-pants" California kid. He may have thought that I was some strange fire breathing, Bible thumping, big-haired preacher, with white leather shoes. I'm not sure what he thought, but I'm sure that he had some reservations about this California preacher kid, who married his daughter.

At the end of our visit to see dad, we got together for one last dinner, before we headed for the airport. We stood inside the restaurant saying our goodbyes, and Stanley spoke in that thick New England accent, giving his comment on what he thought about this newest addition to his family, "Well, ya just a regulah guy." I knew I had passed the test. I was okay.

People have told me wonderful things about my preaching, or my guitar playing. They have been very thankful for the ways in which I have helped them, and said things which I have appreciated hearing. But, never has any compliment meant so much, as being told by my father-in-law, that I'm just a regular guy.

I don't need to be anything more. I don't want to be anything more. The world is full of people who are scrambling to achieve greatness. Even church is full of individuals who have this same dog eat dog mentality. And that is how many people perceive the Church. So, they tell us, that it is full of hypocrites.

Most people in this world, would prefer a little reality, over a pile of fantasy. They would like to have a little personal relationship, over slick professionalism. The small church can give these things.

In the small church, we are all just a bunch of regular people. We have no superheroes of the faith, because we do not perform any superhero tasks. None of us are on TV. Few of us are even on the radio. We do not have larger than life musical performances, or slick drama productions. We do not sway thousands with our oratorical skills. We are just regular people, beating out our day to day service for the Lord.

I think, that this is the way church is supposed to be. The point of Christianity is that there is truly only one Hero - Christ. The rest of us are just doing our best to follow in His footsteps. Some of us do it a little better than others, but we are still just regular people, doing our best to be a little bit more like Jesus each day.

In some church settings, we would never know that regular people could do the stuff Jesus did. They may tell us that we can do it, but they never give us a chance to try. It is always the professional who speaks from the platform. It is always the skilled who perform. Now they are regular people, just like you and I, but the lights, and manner in which they perform those things which they do best, make them seem larger than life.

Little, or no place is given to "regular people." If we can't orate as eloquently, or perform as skillfully, we are given no time. Yet, God has set us forth for all the world to see. He cherishes every thing we do for Him. He has even chosen to use the "foolish things of this world to confound the wise."

But, much of the church has driven out the "foolish things," which God has chosen, to make way for wiser things. We have driven out those things which seem a bit hokey, in order to appear more professional. In doing so, we have disabled the church. In our attempt to make the church more palatable, we have made her less powerful.

Regular people want to see how Christianity affects regular people like themselves. They want to know that there is hope for their condition. They want to see it in the flesh. It is not enough to tell about it in well crafted stories, or sing about it in well polished songs. Regular people want to know if Christianity can walk, and talk on the street, and in the workplace.

Regular people want to be a part of what God is doing as well. They look for a place to share their victories, and their loses. They are looking to participate in service to the Lord. They know that God includes every Christian in His work, and they are wondering when the church will do the same.

When was the last time you saw a place given to non-professional speakers to share their testimony on a Sunday morning? When have you seen people be able to share their griefs, and their victories, and be prayed for by someone who wasn't paid to do the praying?

The small church is hokey. As such, it can be empowered. It is full of regular people, and every Sunday we have the opportunity to showcase regular people, who have regular problems.

I believe that this is the wave of the future, for the church in the U.S. This is where God is taking us next. He will be moving us away from the professionalism of the world, and into the "foolishness of God." (1 Cor.1:25) He is looking for hokey churches, who do things with regular people. Just like my father-in-law, He will be relieved to be able to say, "Well, ya just a regulah guy."