Kim Burton, one of the leaders in our church, teaches fourth grade at Hanley Academy in Hamtramck. She was selected by the school to help organize career day, and invited me to speak in five classes about what I do as a pastor. I felt so grateful to see Kim serving in her missional environment.
And the kids were a riot:)
Figuring out how to explain my job to a fourth grader is one of the most helpful exercises I've done in awhile. I talked about various aspects of pastoral ministry, but landed on one big idea. I help people have a clear concept of God. As we go through life, our view of God tends to become blurry. I help people clear away the cobwebs to see who God is.
My favorite part of the day was definitely the questions. So random. So unique. The questions were less theological, but interesting nonetheless. Here's one memorable exchange from Kim's class.
Curious Fourth Grader: What do you do with your church at night?
Me: What do you mean?
Curious Fourth Grader: Do you have security guards who watch the building?
Me: No, we just lock the doors. That usually works pretty well.
Another Curious Fourth Grader: What if someone breaks through the window?
Me: Then we have insurance. Any more questions?
I remember about 30 years ago, when the church I went to never locked the doors. We could go in there and worship anytime. Then I went away in the Air-Force and my mom told me they gave certain members keys; so that they could go in and worship "anytime they wanted". My mom showed me the key the other day. That church is locked now. I know that God is building His church right inside our hearts, but I wonder over how much the "building" part of church has changed forever.
Posted by: cd | April 20, 2008 at 04:30 PM