In what attendees are calling “a spiritual experience with a very unexpected landing,” Pastor Doug Finley delivered what many described as the most powerful sermon on grace they had ever heard—before concluding with an 11-point checklist titled “Steps to Walking in That Grace Daily.”
The sermon, which ran 47 minutes, drew on Paul’s letter to the Romans, three Ellen White quotes, and a personal story about a flat tire that left several congregants visibly emotional.
“He really had us,” said longtime member Carol Brentz, 61. “I felt genuinely free for about four minutes.”
The checklist, projected on the main screen in clean Arial font, included items such as “Begin each morning with no fewer than 30 minutes of devotional reading” and “Accountability: share your grace journey with a trusted elder or ministry leader.”
Point seven was simply the word: “Boundaries.”
Finley, who has preached at Collegedale Central for eleven years, defended the conclusion.
“Grace isn’t a feeling,” he told reporters after the service. “It’s something you have to be very intentional and structured and consistent and disciplined about.”
When asked whether that description more closely resembled grace or works, Finley smiled warmly and handed over a laminated copy of the checklist.
The bulletin insert version is available at the welcome table.
A 12th point is reportedly under theological review.
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