Have you visited an Orthodox Church yet? There are several in the Birmingham area.

We love Father J! Blessings from Missoula, MT!

@fr.ajarmus what are your thoughts on this question?

The same reason why wounds are not healed over night. Or lessons aren’t learned in one class sitting. (1) God created man to share in His life (2) man has turned away from this purpose, becoming wounded, blind, and broken (3) nonetheless, God’s purpose for man remains and He works with man in gradual stages according to man’s capacity to receive grace. A good doctor accustoms a remedy to the patient's condition, slowly increasing the dose of medicine while weening the body from its toxins. A good teacher does not begin his students with Calculus but first teaches arithmetic, algebra, geometry, etc. Why so long? (1) God is good, wise, and faithful (2) man is stubborn (3) He does not force the remedy. Better question, why would God stick with Israel for 1500 years despite their faithfulness, idolatry, and injustice? Why would He stick with us? Because He is good and He loves mankind.

@@PeteWalde But why? Surely God can accomplish anything he wants at anytime. And please don’t gimme the freewill argument. There’s no such thing

​@@user-fc2zb9po8t I just answered why. If you want a god and his work in the world according to your standard of how it should be then sure, there could have been a different way, snapping the fingers and fixing everything. You could ask "but why" questions endlessly and get nowhere, and yet still be stuck in the actual world we are in. God reveals Himself and His work in the world as a rejected and crucified Jew who loves, forgives, teaches, and heals us.

@@PeteWalde So, you don’t like to think for yourself?

​@@user-fc2zb9po8t I thought your initial question was a good and valid one which is why I responded with a proposed solution (thinking for myself) given all the factors implied in that type of question (divine/human agency, economy of salvation, theodicy, etc.). To which you did not engage with any, showing that we may be operating from different presuppositions.

These things take time.

The mass conversion of group like this doesn't happen over night. They're making their way towards Orthodoxy as best they can with what speed they can. May the Lord be glorified in their pursuit.

Incorrect. Look up the mass conversion of the evangelical Orthodox Church into the antiochian Orthodox Church. In one day over 2000 members were added to the church.

@@RickyPlumbs that's an inaccurate reflection of what happened. Go read Fr. Peter Gillquist's book, becoming Orthodox. There was about a decade of work that went into that mass conversion event that culminated in that "single" day. Stop trusting Wikipedia, you're an adult, do some actual research.

@@RickyPlumbs that's simply incorrect. The evangelical Orthodox Church's mass conversion took about a decade from start to finish. This is shown in countless resources that are more accurate than Wikipedia.