The Things Kids Say…

As I was helping out at one of the Forest Hills Elementary schools, one of the students made a comment that their school was falling apart. I happened to mention to him that some other schools might be a little worse off. The girl next to him said that Grand Rapids Public Schools would fall into that category. Next, she said, “My mom says that all the kids in Grand Rapids schools are mean.” Wow. I’d love to know the context of that parent’s statement. Of course, I told her that just because they might act a little different than her doesn’t make them mean, not the mention the fact that there are plenty of mean kids in Forest Hills schools. It’s crazy what some people teach their children.

Teaching Little Sinners

You know that it’s time for me to update when my only visitors come while searching for subungal hematomas. The only thing I have to write about is my Teacher Assistant Practicum. I’ve discovered a new-found appreciation for Elementary age kids. They’re so impressionable. I feel like things that I say to them could change the rest of their lives. Plus, they’re still naive enough to think that I’m cool (I sure have them fooled). The problem is that there are so many teachers who are already setting some of them up for failure. The Young Fives teacher tells the Kindergarten teacher that there’s a troublemaker coming, so the expectations are already there for him to make trouble. High expectations are so crucial to the success of a student. When there are only low expectations, the student will most likely meet those expectations. The “bad” kids tend to flock to me (maybe because I give them positive attention instead of just yelling at them), so I have a perfect opportunity to have an impact on these kids. I think teachers either forget or don’t know that all kids are “bad” kids. Coming from a biblical perspective, it’s easier to avoid saying terrible things behind a kids’ back. I know that every one of these kids is depraved (if you disagree, spend some time with kids and you’ll see what I mean). Just because a kid’s sinfulness is a little more obvious than others does not mean that the other kids are any better. They all need Jesus.

Be Bold

I’m a little nervous. I have a meeting tonight with some peeps from my church who are helping with a tutoring ministry in the neighborhood. I’ve invested so much thought and prayer into this already. I could talk to anyone forever about how exciting it is that God has given us an awesome opportunity to reflect His glory in our community. I could preach a sermon (but I wouldn’t because the Bible teaches that I shouldn’t) about how ministry is about God’s glory and how we need to be organic/incarnational and how love is about bringing people toward God.

The problem? I’m scared. I’m not sure if I could explain why, either. Maybe it’s because I’m not sure what I’ll say to parents. Maybe it’s because I wonder if kids will actually come. Maybe sharing the gospel is scary to me. Not matter what the reason is, I must push through it. Paul asks the Ephesians to pray that he will speak the word with boldness as he should. If Paul needed prayer for boldness, it seems that boldness doesn’t always come naturally. The real problem, then, isn’t the fact that I’m nervous. The real problem would be if I’m not obedient in sharing Jesus with these kids and their families. None of this depends on me anyway. God has prepared a people. It’s not about my presentation, but about His transformational power.