Monthly Archives: July 2007
Li’l Sinners
This Sunday, I’ll finish my two-month reign of terror over the 4′s and 5′s Children’s Church. Teaching the kids has been a lot of fun, though I can’t wait to begin attending church services again.
I’ve learned a few things about kids while teaching both this class and (earlier this year) the 3′s class. I’m sure that many parents know these truths already, and I would probably have given lip service to these lessons beforehand, but it’s fascinating seeing them play out in the lives of the little poopers.
I’ve learned that kids are basically small versions of adults. They’re not a charming species distinct in behavior from the rest of the human race, as some people seem to think. They’re little adults, and they act like little adults, by which I mean that they are little sinners. Thank God that He made them so cute, or otherwise we wouldn’t be able to put up with them! Kids are not born innocent; rather, they are sinful at birth, just like the Bible says (e.g. Psalm 51:5). Don’t get me wrong—I love kids—but they’re still sinners.
First off, they are self-centered. It seems like every week, some kid or another starts crying or pouting because "I want my mommy!!" How selfish is that? Mommy is trying to spend time in the church service worshipping God; meanwhile, her little girl is incensed that Mommy is not catering to her every whim. I usually ask the kid to think, "What would your mommy want?" and that seems to work pretty well. Maybe it also works because the kid sees that I’m not going to give in and get her mommy. I’m still trying to learn how to respond when children start crying—when to comfort them and when to say, "Tough beans, kid."
Children are also self-righteous. Last Sunday, I was teaching about the story of David, Nabal, and Abigail. I asked the kids if they had ever refused to be kind and share with others. That seemed to strike a chord with them. They piped up, "My brother is mean to me!" "My sister doesn’t share with me!" So I asked again, "What about you? Have you ever behaved like that?"
And there was silence.
Of course they had never done that! (And certainly not in my class, for that matter!) They were blameless! God’s law applied to the other people, not to them!
As I said, kids are small versions of adults. Sometimes it’s like looking in a mirror.
Do not cling to me
My favorite resurrection account is from the gospel of John. I like it because it’s the most vivid, emotional, and personal account of Jesus’ appearances that morning. It’s very moving. I also love what Jesus said to Mary Magdalene once she recognized Him:
Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”
–John 20:17
Jesus’ focus was His ascension to heaven—and rather than viewing His ascension as separating Him from His followers, He saw it as one that would bring them closer to Him. He told Mary that she shouldn’t cling to Him in His present form (apparently, she was a hugger). Instead, Jesus’ ascension would unite Him with her and with His “brothers.” His Father would be their Father, and His God would be their God.
Jesus was simply echoing the words that He spoke to them during the Last Supper, when He told them, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live” (John 14:18-19).
Healthy Churches and Happy Pastors
Last night while I was ironing my new sheets (they were wrinkly, okay?!), I took the opportunity to listen to Pastor Whipple’s sermon. (I’ve been teaching Children’s Church over the summer, so I haven’t been to the services much.) This is an outstanding sermon. It really convicted me of my failure to seek the help of leadership when ministering to others and when I am struggling spiritually. So if you missed it, go listen!
New theme
I’m not totally satisfied with the new theme—too dark!—but I’ve always wanted bananas on my blog.
Transformers
Suppose you are in possession of a device that could bring ruin and destruction on the world. Suppose also that you are being pursued by enemies who want to take this device for themselves. In order to find a good place to make a stand and be airlifted out, where would you go?
- A desolate place where the damage of the battle would be minimal.
- The middle of a city where untold millions of dollars of damage would be done to the buildings and hundreds of civilians would die from the battle.
If you chose (2), then you would probably get along pretty well with Michael Bay, director of the Transformers movie. Michael Bay knows how to direct action sequences, but he can’t come up with a good plot to save his life. I’m always the last person to figure out plot holes, but I saw a bunch of them on my first viewing. Let’s just face it: Transformers is a stupid, stupid movie.
But it’s also a lot of fun to watch.
Thus, I give it $$$ out of $$$$ to signify that I’d like it to make a pretty good chunk of change at the box office (which it already has, and then some).
