Can I have an amen?

By Tim Middleton | 8h ago

Amen Corner

One of golf’s four Majors, the Masters, is held annually at the hallowed grounds of Augusta National, Georgia, a beautifully sculpted and maintained course that provides a massive challenge for all competitors. The 11th, 12th and 13th holes in particular can make or break a round and have come to be known rather endearingly (or perhaps cruelly) as ‘Amen Corner’ — any golfer needs a prayer of support as they look to come unscathed through those three holes, while any spectator can revel unrestrained in the beauty of the scenery there. We do well, therefore, as an old Aretha Franklin love song had it, to “Say a little prayer for you”!

Thinking of music and song, back in the 1960s there was a band called Amen Corner who had a few hit singles, one of which was another love song, entitled Bend Me; Shake Me where we find the singer calling on his loved on to “Bend me, shape me, anyway you want me; long as you love me, it’s all right. Bend me, shape me, anyway you want me; You’ve got the power to turn on the light.” The song states strongly how the loved one “can make this beggar a king, a clown or a poet (poet, poet, poet)”. We have the power in us to influence others strongly, not least by giving them confidence and belief in themselves.

In some churches, the sermons may well be punctuated by such cries of “Preach it, brother!” which can only give the preacher encouragement (and maybe the utterer some kudos as well, it is believed). If that phrase is not heard, but instead there are cries of “Help him, Lord”, then the preacher should be worried! However, some preachers are not content with the regular cries mentioned above but they themselves call out, “Can I have an ‘Amen’?” This writer has to confess that he is inclined to respond, “No, you can’t! Get on with it!”

Such a response may well appear to be somewhat ungracious and unsupportive but the fact is any preacher should believe in what he or she is saying without having to have someone pour out words of praise and encouragement. In fact, he or she should believe it and continue, even if there is silence or disagreement. If we have to ask for it, we are likely to get it but it will not necessarily be genuine, honest or heartfelt, in which case it is worthless. All it will encourage is for the preacher to speak on those things in future that will bring further acclaim and applause, which may not be true.

We say all this in the light of the message we delivered in a previous article where the power of a parent ‘being there’ for his children, and the coach developing confidence in his charge, must not be underestimated. There is equally great power in the parent giving words of encouragement to their child. We all need unsolicited, honest, positive affirmation, a “Well done” in the right place. It encourages our child to go on, to keep going, to persevere, to improve. In that regard, we have “the power to turn on the light” for them; we can make this player, this “beggar” (even one begging for compliments) “a king, a clown or a poet” — or even a preacher. Anyone will love to be acknowledged, praised, admired and will seek to perform well again in order to regain such praise.

Having noted that, there is a necessary caveat that we must grasp. We must not set children up to be addicted to ‘Amen’, to compliments — as we noted before, we must not rely entirely on compliments for confidence. Compliments in the form of flattery can in fact damage children, giving them a false view of themselves; this can lead to laziness, conceit, arrogance, complacency, cockiness. If the comments are exaggerated, they become meaningless and devoid of power.

An airline once had one of its taglines as “With God’s help, we’ll get you there”. While our faith in our God may well be genuine and real, we should all expect that we will get there through the expertise and care of the airline, without having to rely on our God. In a similar way we should not want our children (or preachers) to have to rely on the praise and encouragement of other, sweet as it can be. If we love our children, we can say a little prayer for them. It is important that they know and experience for themselves that, as the ‘Bend Me’ song sings, “Long as you love me, it’s alright”.

This writer is not looking for an Amen or to put parents in a corner – we only want men (and women) who will encourage, support, uphold, inspire their children to achieve greater things. Amen.