When my generation was in its infancy, it was often told that "children should be seen and not heard."

This bit of "wisdom" meant don't interrupt … wait your turn … listen to your father … don't make waves … never contradict, and (in summary) keep your mouth shut when adults are talking.

When I was 9 years old, I met a man who did not believe this. He came to visit in our home and to preach in my father's church. From the moment I was introduced to him, I knew he was unlike any other man I'd previously known. He looked me straight in the eye, asked me questions, listened to my answers, and remembered what I said.

As if it were yesterday, I recall him preaching and doing it in a way that was perfectly comprehensible, even to me at that age. His text was 1 Corinthians 3:21: "all things are yours, and you are of Christ." It was the first time I understood a sermon, and—after all these years—I remember that I said to myself, so this is what a sermon is ...