My 100 Year-Old Friend

My hundred year old friend called me yesterday. I was his Pastor in Birmingham for eight years. But He was much, much more than just a parishioner. He was a friend. You could always count on him every Sunday. Tall, distinguished, dressed impeccably--he gave out our bulletins but did a whole lot more. As people would come to church he would always say "Welcome to Covenant Church. We love you and God loves you."

I don't think I have ever had a phone call from someone a hundred years old. But he made my day just as he has made the day for so many who came into the church door. Sunday at his church in Birmingham will have have a party for a hundred-year-old man. I wish I could be there. Once in a while you meet someone and every time you think of them you smile. Bill Bennett is like that. I believe that when God looks down on his special man--surely he must smile. 

Ten years ago I wrote this blog-piece about him. If you missed it you might see why I smile when I think of him in Birmingham.

Doorkeeper

"I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than live in the tents of wickedness." (Psalm 84.10b)

He stands at the door every Sunday without fail. He welcomes people and gives out bulletins. But that’s not the best part of his work. He always says: “Welcome to our Church! We are so glad you are here. We love you and God loves you. Come on in."

What a lot of people don’t know is that he does this at two different churches. At 8:45 every Sunday morning he is standing outside the door of his own church welcoming all those that come in. And then—at 10:45 he moves to another congregation where he picks up a handful of bulletins and does the same thing.

I don’t know any Greeter that does this at two different churches. Maybe he ought to be in the Guinness Book of Records. He is 90 years old. He is always dressed impeccably with white starched shirt, tie and suit. When it is cold he dons an overcoat and gloves. But Sunday after Sunday you can count on him. Standing there—welcoming everyone who comes—and reminding them that they are loved.

One minister, going through a terrible time, told me one Sunday she decided to attend one of these two churches. She had never been there and did not know what to expect. But—the African-American greeter was there with his bulletins and a smile. She told me later, “He made my day—he reminded me that God loved me and that the people of his church, not even knowing my name, loved me, too. I am having a hard time—but that word at the door of the church brought me back to my senses. I am so glad I came that Sunday.”

Often we think it’s the sermon or the carefully planned worship that helps people—and perhaps they do. But more likely than not it is the tiny things that bring us back to what matters. A smile. A handshake. A hug. A stained glass window. A little child on the bench in front of you. Or someone standing at a door giving you a bulletin and reminding you of the essence of it all.

--Roger Lovette / rogerlovette.blogspot.com