Amen

For a few brief moments, it was as if time were standing still. It was lunchtime Thursday, and I was trying to catch up with a few more people before leaving Abilene to journey back to Hohenwald after my trip to ACU’s Summit. I was excited to catch up with an old friend and to hear about the changes that are just around the corner for him and his family. I was excited to share with him stories of friendships developed in my new surroundings. Perhaps most of all, I was excited we were going to be able to share one more fantastic meal at Harold’s Pit Bar-B-Q.

But it wasn’t the smell of the mesquite-smoked beef brisket as we walked through the door that seemed to cause time to stand still. Rather, it was the sound of owner Harold Christian’s voice stopping all conversations in their tracks by inviting everyone in the room to join him in a song and launching into the familiar refrain of the gospel spiritual, “Amen.”

Harold and Drucilla Christian

For a few moments, in the unlikeliest of places, it was as if we were standing on holy ground. The line stopped moving. Customers set their sandwiches down. Conversations ceased.

Sure there were some who didn’t sing along. Sure there were no conversion experiences. But that wasn’t the point. The point was that, for a moment, in that most ordinary place and time, Harold shared his faith, his foundation, with all who would listen in the way most natural for him: by using the beautiful, baritone voice God gave him.

Most of us aren’t going to interrupt a crowded restaurant by launching into songs. Indeed, most of us shouldn’t; God hasn’t placed us in a position like Harold’s or gifted us with that kind of voice. But Harold’s ability to allow his faith to permeate everything he does and to keep him grounded, even if it means sacrificing efficiency during the lunch rush, is an excellent example for us all. It is a picture of what it means to do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Here's a video of the scene that day.

A Common Vocation

One of the challenges we face as people of faith is not disconnecting faith from life. In Christianity Beyond Belief: Following Jesus for the Sake of Others, Todd Hunter observes the tendency we have of associating the notion of vocation solely with whatever it is we do with our lives, especially our career or job. In my experience Christians often seem to have been left with the impression that whatever they do in their various everyday roles has little or nothing to do with their faith. The ability to live out faith is thus restricted to one's private devotional life or one's participation in the activities of the community of faith. While these are certainly appropriate ways of living out one's faith, I think these words from Hunter are a helpful reminder that we can live out faith by doing whatever we do all in the name of the Lord Jesus:

Vocation or calling is about much more than what we do. It is one person--God--calling to another person--me. Cooperating with God, growing in him for the sake of others, is our singular vocation, no matter what we do to get a paycheck. We are principally called to God and his purposes. Fix this in your imagination--following Jesus is our special function--and the rest will fall into place. It becomes our self-conscious identity. We can live this vision out as school teachers, police officers, business partners, actors, managers or construction workers. Life suddenly pops with meaning, power and adventure. This--cooperating with God--is why we were created. (53)

In your roles as teachers or accountants, truck drivers or doctors, stay-at-home parents or retirees, how does your faith give meaning to your ordinary routines and activities?