Thief!

One big change I'm learning to get used to is the fact that there’s not a local singles congregation of my church. It’s been a long time since I’ve attended church with screaming babies. I’m transitioning quickly to the new setup thanks to the fact that I was recently asked to help teach the CTR 6’s—our version of a Sunday School class for six and seven year olds.

It was with quite a bit of trepidation that I went to the first class. First was singing time. That wasn’t bad. They sing the songs I grew up on. Then we separated into age groups for our lessons.

I followed the kids down the hall into our classroom. There, waiting to greet us with open arms, was a surprise: the contents of the church library were strewn all across the floor. This is what you get when they decide to completely renovate a building while still keeping it open for use. With a squeal, the children began hunting through the debris for treasure. Pictures, televisions, projectors, books—all were examined until the prize was found: a disco ball!

As resident giant, the children turned to me for help. Instead of a lesson, would I hang the ball from the ceiling so we could have a party? Needless to say, the lesson didn’t go very well. With so many wonderful treasures to play with, my lesson on obedience wasn’t going to cut it.*

The next week I got sneaky. I went to church early and snuck into the classroom. I grabbed the disco ball and the disconnected telephone a little girl kept trying to call 911 on, and hid them in the trunk of my car. The kids were disappointed to find their favorite parts of the new treasure gone, but the lesson on love went a lot better.

After class, I went back to my car to put the disco ball and telephone back. There was one problem: three of the kids I taught were waiting for their parents right by the door. There was no way I could sneak past them without being seen. I got in my car and drove off.

I’ve had a disco ball in my trunk for the last three weeks. I’ll put it back when it looks like the library is once again ready to be a library, but until then, I guess I’ve stolen God’s disco ball.

*Besides learning that I don’t know how to teach children, I have also learned that a random assortment of televisions and projectors can be rearranged by six year olds to resemble walls for playing House. Also, yardsticks and clocks make good swords and shields.