When we are stained

Recently, I have been building and expanding a “lunchroom” program for the kids at Broad Street.  It began as a “youth” program, involving lunch with each teenager, twice a year.  I would go to the school that the child attends at the appropriate time and sit with them while they ate.  I would talk about academic standings, relationship interests, teachers they like or…don’t necessarily approve of, and briefly touch on “church stuff” and the well-being of the youth group and individuals.  The program was then extended to include what we call at Broad Street, “PoWeRkIdS”, meaning all the children attending school, but not yet to middle school.  I didn’t think I would enjoy that as much, but, as it turns out, the younger kids are much more enthusiastic about me being there for lunch.  They have a lot more to talk about, and you can watch how they interact with you and their friends with no shame, no dread of having a “church” person there.  This prompted my thinking cap, and I began wondering why a 3rd grader is happy to have a non-family church-goer visit, and be eager to introduce you to their friends… compared to a 10th grader who is a little ashamed, or concerned about my presence there.  When I’m introduced as “This is Daniel, we go to church together” by a 3rd grader, it gives a sense of ”humble pride”, but when an 11th grader introduces me as “This is Daniel…he’s my youth minister”, it sounds more like a heads up, letting people know to watch what they say, or how they act for a little bit, until I’m gone at least.  I know, I know. Things shouldn’t be that way.  Quite honestly, I was in high school before, and I can see where they might be coming from, but that is not exactly the question I am pondering.  What I’m concerned with is what happens between the ages of 9 or 10 qnd 14 or 15.  I don’t have exact figures, but the majority of kids that grow up in the church accept Christ through baptism at this age.  I was baptized when I was eleven, as were a good many of my friends at approximately this age.  Why does it seem that becoming a Christian may have a “reverse effect” on teenagers, making them scared, timid, concerned, or ashamed of what people may think when they find out they are involved in church, or even have someone from church visiting them in school.  Is the blame on the parents? Is the blame on me? Is the blame on the schools?  Well, with every question, there must be an answer.  The responsibility, once you are a Christian, is on nobody other than yourself.  If I was to be ashamed of the gospel, who could I blame it on?  I believe that this is a message that should be reenforced to our teenagers, or even adults.  The accountability is ours once we become a Christian, once we are stained with sin, and then cleansed.  The hard part is, not only should we not be ashamed of what we believe in, but we should attempt to limit what we are ashamed of to nothing, even in the presence of God.  We walk a narrow road that has many obstacles, nonetheless, it still must be walked.  We cannot be carried by our ministers, elders, or friends.  It is not their responsibility.  Helping you get back on this road is one thing, but it cannot be traveled for you.  Think about this concept, any helpful info or opinion would be appreciated.

One quick little story… I ate lunch with one 2nd grader a couple weeks ago.  His dad happened to be eating with him the same day because he was “student of the week”.  Anyway, he and about 4 or 5 of his friends sat with us on chicken taco day.  One of the side items was a cup of salsa.  All the kids dared one of the boys to eat the whole cup of salsa.  He took a little sip, gaagged a little bit, and drank his chocolate milk. (salsa and choc. milk… i would’ve quit there).  He then proceeded to lift the cup of salsa about 5 inches above his mouth, but because of the thick chunky texture, the salsa remained in the cup for5 or 6 seconds, while we all stared in silent awe.  Then it dropped, and I believed the first thing it touched was his tonsils and uvula.  I thought regurgitated chicken taco was about to redecorate my jeans… but somehow he held on to it.  After about 30 seconds of gagging, coughing, and watery eyes, he finished off his chocolate milk to wash down the remains of the salsa… Then looked around at everybody giggling and immediately joined in on the laughter.

4 Comments

Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI