One of my favorite country songs is “I saw God Today” by George Strait. I’ve been a George Strait fan for as long as I can remember and that song I think is one of his best. It helps me to remember to never take life, or the ones you love for granted, and many times our heart will see more than our eyes ever will. I was raised in the south and going to church on Sunday was just part of life. You knew on Sunday at 11:00 AM you and the family would be sitting on a pew getting ready to sing a hymn and listen to a sermon. The church my family went to was very small, as most churches across America are. The mega-church phenomenon of today did not exist. When I think about today’s mega-churches, Joel Osteen and Rick Warren come to mind. On any given Sunday they preach to a crowd that rivals some sporting events, and their popularity with Christian America can also rival most celebrities.

Osteen and Warren both have very charismatic ministries and both have written best sellers that generate a tremendous amount of income. Both seem to be very frugal in their lifestyle. Osteen is reported to take no salary from his church, and Warren reports that he lives off 10% of his royalties and donates the rest. It is very admirable on both of their accounts. But the truth is, both are very wealthy men and preachers of the gospel. The vast majority of the “white haired warriors” that preach in small churches throughout this great country of ours are not wealthy people. They go about the task of doing the Lords work with not a lot of monetary reward or recognition. Each Wednesday night and all day on Sunday they can be found spouting the word with a bible in one hand and a handkerchief in the other. This is where I believe the “real” gospel is being preached. It is also where I had the opportunity to see God for the first time.

I went to a small southern Pentecostal Holiness Church. The preacher had to preach loud in the summer time to be heard over several window air conditioning units that were always running on “high”. The air conditioning was needed because when the service got cranked up, there was a lot of running, healing and speaking in tongues. I learned early that being in the spirit works up a sweat. The church also issued out “paper fans” propelled by the human arm if you were not lucky enough to sit by an air conditioning unit. One of the most prolific characters at the church, and the man who helped me see God for the first time was one of the deacons named “Brother Jack”.

Brother Jack was a painter and a carpenter by trade during the week, and a very dedicated deacon at all times. I never knew him to miss a service other than the times he would take his family on vacation. Brother Jack could not read or write, but had managed to memorize the bible by listening to audio tapes. He was always prepared to “heal” the nearest person in need, and would preach a sermon every now and then. Brother Jack had a very unique “healing stance” that he would always use during the deed, and his sermons at times were a little confusing. Since he could not read and relied on memory to quote scripture, he would sometimes tell the congregation to turn to one passage but begin quoting another. Everyone loved him and didn’t seem to mind.

The church eventually got enough funds to buy a bus. It was just an old yellow county school bus bought at an auction, but it served its purpose. Brother Jack lived near the church and it was only natural that he became the “keeper of the bus”. Back in those days in the south, if a church had padded pews it was known as a “place of worship”, but if it had a bus and padded pews, it was known as a “cathedral”.

I remember one weekend during the summer when all the young people in the church were going to a youth retreat. The retreat was way out in the country, and Brother Jack and Brother Clements were going to be our chaperones. During the trip we found ourselves on a desolate stretch of a two lane highway. The bus began to shake and Brother Jack pulled over. He found that the bus had developed a flat tire. A flat tire is nothing to get excited about unless you have no spare, which was our case. Brother Jack got out and started to pray and ask God to fix the flat tire. I’m not saying that Brother Clements, the other chaperone, didn’t have the same amount of faith, but while Brother Jack prayed he began to walk. After a while I guess Brother Jack needed more “prayer” power, so he got everyone off the bus to help him pray. I can still see us all beside that lonely road praying for God to “heal” the tire. We prayed for about an hour and then Brother Clements returned in a tow truck. Another thirty minutes and we were on our way.

After we arrived at the youth retreat we had a service that night. During the service Brother Jack stood up and said he wanted to testify. Brother Jack told everyone there about our ordeal getting to the retreat, and how the devil had tried to prevent it by flattening one of the bus tires. He went on to tell how God had not let the old devil win, and had fixed the bus tire so we could get there. That was not the way I remembered the tire repair happening, but I was just a young boy back then and Brother Jack was much more experienced in the mysterious ways God. I had no reason to doubt Brother Jack, and I concluded that I had obviously seen God that day for the first time. He had looked nothing like I had thought. Actually, he looked pretty ordinary. He was wearing work clothes with a shirt tag that read, “Willard’s Garage”, and he was driving a tow truck smoking a cigarette.

The above story is not to make fun of Brother Jack or the power of God. It was only meant to illustrate one of the many fond memories I have of growing up in a small southern church. I still believe Brother Jack was one of the godliness men I ever met, and the power of God is extraordinary. Now as I look back on that day many years later I firmly believe I did see God that day. I saw him in the songs we sang as we drove to the retreat. I saw him in the love Brother Jack showed for us and his church. I saw him in my best friend who sat beside me during the trip. I hope in the coming years America continues to hold on to the values and faith the Christian religion has given it. Our belief in God has been instrumental in creating the greatest nation on earth. It has been the thread of America’s fabric, and the azimuth that has kept many of us on a course of hope during trying times. Every time I see one of my kids, my wife, a good friend, or just sit by a slow rolling river and fish, I can truly say, “I saw God today”. Right or wrong, that’s the way A.P. American sees it. Yeah baby!!!!!!