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At my church, we have this big worship service every few months called "The Refiner's Fire." Instead of a normal service with worship, sermon and offering, this service is pretty much all singing with a little bit of preaching and a whole lot of inspiration. (Just a sidenote: If you've never had any sort of spiritual experience, this service will ensure you're feelin' something by the time you walk out the door an hour and a half later).
Now, let's rewind for a moment.
Every Sunday that my fiance' Dusty and I go to church, we sit behind a silver-haired, five foot nothin', octogenarian named Jean. Personally, I've never actually met her, but apparently she's quite popular within in the parish, as she's always being mentioned by staff and elders.
Jean is quite a character - and if you're sitting in the center section, there's no way you can miss her. After virtually every statement of faith via the pastor, there's Jean, six rows back in her aisle seat, with a resounding "Amen!" I've never told Dusty this, but in my mind, I've been referring to her as "Amen Jean." Admittedly, her perpetual much-louder-than-a-whisper "amens" were a bit distracting at first, but after a while you learn to get used to it. I mean, after all, the lady's 85...
Well, Sunday night was this season's Refiner's Fire service. After about 25 solid minutes of stimulating worship, the head pastor calls Amen Jean up to the podium to say a few words. Her message was poignant, faith filled and quite honestly more inspiring than 90 percent of our pastoral staff's sermons. Yeah, her ear monitor/mic kept falling out of place and down to her collar.... and sure, she complained about the lights blaring in her face... but her message was real. It wasn't contrived, it wasn't showy - it was true and from the heart.
Since I was a kid, I've always had a soft spot for older people. Maybe because I was so close with my grandparents... or maybe because you just kinda know, that after eight decades of life on this earth, that person is probably more wise than the most educated scholar or the most schooled theologian. They've almost graduated from the School of Life, so you better damn well listen to the wisdom they're offering you. Life experience is far more valuable than (Aislyn's husband's) gold. (Ha ha, that was a good one).
In the words of Amen Jean,
"There's a 4th River in Pittsburgh - the River of God. Amen? AMEN!"
Now, let's rewind for a moment.
Every Sunday that my fiance' Dusty and I go to church, we sit behind a silver-haired, five foot nothin', octogenarian named Jean. Personally, I've never actually met her, but apparently she's quite popular within in the parish, as she's always being mentioned by staff and elders.
Jean is quite a character - and if you're sitting in the center section, there's no way you can miss her. After virtually every statement of faith via the pastor, there's Jean, six rows back in her aisle seat, with a resounding "Amen!" I've never told Dusty this, but in my mind, I've been referring to her as "Amen Jean." Admittedly, her perpetual much-louder-than-a-whisper "amens" were a bit distracting at first, but after a while you learn to get used to it. I mean, after all, the lady's 85...
Well, Sunday night was this season's Refiner's Fire service. After about 25 solid minutes of stimulating worship, the head pastor calls Amen Jean up to the podium to say a few words. Her message was poignant, faith filled and quite honestly more inspiring than 90 percent of our pastoral staff's sermons. Yeah, her ear monitor/mic kept falling out of place and down to her collar.... and sure, she complained about the lights blaring in her face... but her message was real. It wasn't contrived, it wasn't showy - it was true and from the heart.
Since I was a kid, I've always had a soft spot for older people. Maybe because I was so close with my grandparents... or maybe because you just kinda know, that after eight decades of life on this earth, that person is probably more wise than the most educated scholar or the most schooled theologian. They've almost graduated from the School of Life, so you better damn well listen to the wisdom they're offering you. Life experience is far more valuable than (Aislyn's husband's) gold. (Ha ha, that was a good one).
In the words of Amen Jean,
"There's a 4th River in Pittsburgh - the River of God. Amen? AMEN!"
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