100 year-old, 1951 African-American alumnus addresses class at Southwestern Seminary

by Brent Thompson

FORT WORTH , Texas (BP) - Students in Tom Vann's "Leadership in Christian Ministry" class at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary were treated to a sermon delivered by a 100 year-old African-American graduate of the seminary. Eugene Florence was born Feb. 29, 1904. He was awarded a diploma in theology from Southwestern Seminary May 4, 1951.

After Florence ascended the platform steps to take his place behind the pulpit, that unique phenomena happened preachers alternatively refer to as anointing, unction or filling of the Holy Spirit: when Florence began to preach the years seemed to melt away He was not 100 years old, or 70 years old, or even 50 years old. His voice grew stronger, his eyes twinkled, he made effective use of jokes and sermon illustrations, and a smile was never far away as he preached a word of encouragement from Matthew 7: 24-29.