AMen!

I've noticed a developing phenomenon in my role as assisting minister.

Our pastor has started using me as kind of a sidekick in his sermons. I am the Ed McMahon to his Johnny Carson. He will make a salient point, or cite a Scripture text, or share some anecdote I told him in the past week, then look over at me in a meaningful way. I nod my head. He'll ask the congregation to raise their hands in response to a question ("How many of you ever feel...?" and then look at me. I nod and raise my hand.

Last week he was hitting on all sixes, and I found myself continually bobbing my head up and down. It made me almost -- almost -- want to break out into some un-Lutheran deacons'-corner affirmation: "You preach it, brother!" "Tell the truth!" Got a witness!" "Amen!"

Problem is, maybe a half-dozen people in the congregation would get the allusion; the others would simply conclude that I'd fallen off my trolley, or farther off my trolley than they'd originally thought.