“Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD” PSALM 34:11
Being the brand new pastor of the most prestigious church in town, I was trying hard to watch my P’s &Q’s. I had made my mind up BEFORE taking this job that I would adopt a low profile at first and try to change as little as possible. Sure, the weekly “special” music was not to my taste, the organist was a bit of a pain, and there were many little things that needed attending to (like praying that God would convert half the congregation!). But since I was the new kid on the block (and my congregation was largely composed of people over seventy!), I decided that I would spend most of my time preaching, teaching and visiting the “saints,” while seeing how things developed in other areas.
Being the brand new pastor of the most prestigious church in town, I was trying hard to watch my P’s &Q’s. I had made my mind up BEFORE taking this job that I would adopt a low profile at first and try to change as little as possible. Sure, the weekly “special” music was not to my taste, the organist was a bit of a pain, and there were many little things that needed attending to (like praying that God would convert half the congregation!). But since I was the new kid on the block (and my congregation was largely composed of people over seventy!), I decided that I would spend most of my time preaching, teaching and visiting the “saints,” while seeing how things developed in other areas.
Like most churches, toddlers were automatically placed in the nursery. Slightly older children were dismissed immediately before the sermon for “Primary Praise.” For those between 10-12 there was “Junior Church.” The teens (there were only a handful) were allowed to sit in the balcony together.
But each week, I noticed an interesting phenomenon. A few minutes after the sermon began, one by the one the teens would start leaving the balcony. OK, nature WILL call on occasion, but EVERY WEEK? And why should it affect the ENTIRE youth group (all five of them)? And why did NO ONE ever come back until just before the closing hymn?
Being a naturally suspicious sort, I asked Carl, one of the deacons, to check the situation out for me. Sure enough, the next week, as the sermon began, the teens started disappearing. I gave Carl the subtle sign that we had agreed on; “Hey Carl,” I yelled, “Go find out where those teenagers are going.” Five minutes later Carl appeared in the balcony with our missing teens trailing behind. He spent the remainder of the sermon watching them like a guard dog.
