A Tap on the Shoulder: Remember Me? BY PERRY FOWLER
As August rolls in, summer begins moving into fall. Growing up, I had mixed emotions about fall. Honestly, I did not want school to start back, yet fall brought something my family loved: SEC football. Growing up in Arkansas, I was raised to be a “Hog” fan. Years later, when I had my own children, I took a pastorate in Auburn, Alabama. Each week, my son (a small boy at the time) and I would sell Auburn football programs, get into the games free, and change our colors from Razorback red to Auburn orange and blue. One Saturday, I stood in a long line waiting to enter an Auburn-Arkansas football game. I enjoyed talking to several people who wore the Hog on their shirts. Initially, they seemed to feel uncomfortable about a man with the Tiger on his shirt, but when I told them I grew up in Arkansas, the conversation flowed. Before long, someone tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Remember me?” Immediately, I recognized Jimmy Dodd, a high school friend. I had not seen him in 20 years; he still lived in Arkansas and came to see the game. Later, as I thought about seeing him, I could not help but wonder, did God want me to see him for some reason? Before you laugh, think about it. There were 86,000 people at the game, and I just happened to be standing in front of a high school classmate. Furthermore, how many entrances are there at Jordan-Hare Stadium? And, what are the chances of my being close enough for him to recognize me after 20 years? Of course, I was able to talk to Jimmy about what I am
doing, and about Jesus in my life. I was able to talk with him about some of the difficulties he had experienced with the loss of his parents. Isn’t it interesting how God reminds us, through things like this, of how he loves bringing people together? God loves uniting people. He loves community. He loves Kennesaw. It’s no accident that we live next door to one another, do life together and serve together. God loves togetherness. Isn’t that what heaven is going to be like? It will be like a reunion. I wonder how many people will tap us on the shoulder in heaven and say, remember me? Perhaps it will be an old school classmate named Jimmy; a fellow named Frank from Publix, who worked at the checkout; Lori and Mitch at Honeysuckle Bakery, who served us coffee; or Jason and Seth at Twisted Cycle, who promised the best workout ever. Jesus told us to pray, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Isn’t that what God does when we dwell together in unity and love? Yes, he gives us a little piece of heaven down here. Community is a true gift from God.
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It’s no accident that we live next door to one another, do life together and serve together.
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AROUND KENNESAW | August 2021
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Perry Fowler is lead pastor at Kennesaw First Baptist Church. He served as a youth and music minister, and a church planter, before becoming a senior pastor in 1998.
