FRONT-PORCH GOSPEL: This life story begins in 1973 (kind of) part 65

After the song, Preacher Harvey got up in his dark suit and stood ten feet tall in the pulpit. 

“BROTHERS, SISTERS, AND FRIENDS,” he belted out, snatching everybody’s attention right out of the gate and demonstrating his mastery at projection. He didn’t swallow his words or get so quiet at times you could hardly hear him. He followed his introductory “Brothers, sisters, and friends” with, “I want to read to you this mornin’ from the book of Second Corinthians, the 12th chapter; turn with me if you wish and read along.”

Preacher Harvey had a technique where he would say a word such as Corinthians and elevate his voice in the middle and then at the end, turning Corinthians into CorINthiANS, and he would drag the end of the word out like when you went to the doctor and the doctor says to open your mouth and go “ahhhhh.”  The preacher knew a word would stick in your mind longer if you doctored it up a little. Listening that morning, it hit me that he did the same thing that Paul Harvey would do at the end of some of his words. I smiled at the thought: Two “Harveys” preaching good news to the world with the same iconic voice.

“There the Apostle Paul writes,” Preacher Harvey continued, taking his handcrafted, light-brown, leather Bible in his right hand – I knew a man in Christ about 14 years ago (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth); such an one caught up to the third Heaven. And I knew such a man … that was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

The engine warmed up, he took off preaching about Heaven and explaining the difference between Paradise and the “third Heaven,” the third Heaven being “where God’s throne is, there with Jesus sittin’ on His right hand, makin’ intercession for us.” 

Before he was finished that morning, he had traveled from Second CorINthiANs to ReveLAtiON and had described every detail imaginable along Heaven’s golden avenue that ran through the city foursquare –

“Now, brothers, sisters, friends, note that there is only one street of gold in Heaven. Sometimes songwriters write ‘streets,’ but the Holy Spirit jus’ says one, and I believe we should say things the Bible way and call things by Bible names and do things the Bible way, so it is the ‘street of gold.’ Be that as it may, I’m jus’ lookin’ forward to the time we can all walk that street together.”

Corrina looked over at me and smiled.

By the time the preacher had exhausted the better part of an hour with nothing more left over than a few Indian-head pennies Daddy used to carry around with him, he had taken us up into “an exceedin’ high mountain” to the gates of pearl, down to the “pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceedin’ out of the throne of God and of the Lamb” and to the tree of life growing on each side of it.

He wiped his forehead with a neat, crisp, white handkerchief that he never preached without, looked out over that audience that sat spellbound before the great Southern orator, “And I want to tell you the best part of Heaven. I told you earlier I was goin’ to tell you the best part, and I want to end this sermon today with that, and it’s somethin’ I want you to remember, whether you be young or whether you be old.”

Preacher Harvey knew how to press a point, but he never ventured into vain repetitions.

“As good as it will be to enter in through those gates of pearl and as good as it will be to walk that street of the purest and finest gold and as good as it will be to walk along the river of life clear as crystal and to gather around the throne of God with those angels that number ten thousand times ten thousand, and as good as it will be to see all of our friends and loved ones who’ve walked by faith that bloodstained way. As good as all of that, the very best part is what John says in the very last chapter of my Bible …”

He held up his big leather-covered Bible high above his head before he finished, “The best part – ah, listen now, brothers, sisters, and friends! – is that we shall see Jesus face to face.”

“That’s the best part, seein’ the face of the Savior. And if any one of you here today has never confessed the name of Jesus, and never have repented of your sins and been baptized in the blood of the Lamb, regardless of how bad you may think it is, then you need to come this mornin’, come believin’ and repentin’ … Don’t wait, brother, and don’t wait, sister, Heaven’s too beautiful and hell’s too awful to take a chance. Decide today so we all want to walk on that street of gold together – While we stand and sing, come today.”

Almost before Preacher" Harvey had the word “today” out of his mouth, Brother Lew jumped up, the first note out before he was upright, and began leading the congregation in, “Are You Almost Decided.”   

On the way home, I told Corrina about that song, another of the many songs we loved to talk about and listen to that summer.

“I think it’s one of the best invitation songs ever written,” I said, “and if you noticed at the top of the page, it was written by a great songwriter named Albert Brumley in 1967.”

Pausing, I added, “A lot happened that year.”

Corrina’s wry smile told me she understood. She would never forget the tragic events of December 12, 1967.

The congregation sang Mr. Brumbley’s song that morning with vigor: “Do you stand on the brink of decision, are you ready to make up your mind? Will you turn to the the new life you vision, or the things you should leave behind?”

By the time we got to the powerful, crescendo-building chorus and to the great question, “Are you almost decided that the life of a Christian will pay?” anybody sitting on the edge surely had to be pondering stepping out into the aisle and headed straight to the river.

I suppose no sinners hovered on the brink of a decision that morning because none came up for the old pioneer Georgia preacher to baptize them that morning, but it wasn’t because of a lack of rafter-shaking preaching or spine-chilling singing. I could tell that Corrina had never heard such as that Sunday morning; few people have. Lew would hardly get one word out on every song before the congregation jumped in like a chorus of white-winged angels. Speaking of angels, I was glad Corrina experienced it all and even more glad she experienced it sitting a little closer than usual beside Doocy’s young Pup.

I guess I knew from the start that I had a miracle sitting tagging along beside me that summer, a kind, dark-haired miracle. We both felt a great deal of Heaven in our souls throughout the summer. But, still, I made sure I didn’t get so wrapped up in Heaven a million miles somewhere beyond the clouds that I missed the Heaven holding my hand all along the way.

Coach Steven Bowen, a long-time Red Oak teacher and coach, now enjoys his time as a writer and preacher of the gospel. And, after a ten-year hiatus, he’s also returned to work with students at Ferris High School as well.

In addition to his evangelistic travels, he works and writes for the Church of Christ of Red Oak at Uhl Road and Ovilla. Their worship times are 10 a.m. Sundays and 7:30 pm. Wednesdays. Email coachbowen1984@gmail.com or call or text (972) 824-5197.