That's right... I'm Back... sorry for the slight delay.
So my roommate works for a church that is "non-denominational, independent, Christian, blah, blah, blah..." They are Lutheran. Or, at least, they have enough Lutheran background to have Catholic tendencies. (P.S. don't ever tell a Lutheran they are Catholic, they really get pissed... and then cross themselves and walk away.) So my roommate working at this church is fun, because it is new and different than what either of us have experienced in church work. He is the music/youth pastor. So, on Saturday he put together his first ever Confirmation Service. He asked me to come and play guitar at this service, and this would be my first experience attending that church. It was... awesome.
It was like one of those 1950's cars that are tricked out with the latest electronics. It was a service based in Catholic/Lutheran Confirmation Literagy and we were singing Third Day/Tomiln worship songs with Media Shout video presentations. And the whole thing is held in the gym at the Middle School.
The service itself lived up to its name. It was a confirmation service. It confirmed that "yes", in fact, these were freshman in high school. There were nine kids moving from confirmation class or "Jr. High Youth Group" to B.A.S.I.C. or "High School Youth Group". Each one gave a short speech about what they believed about Jesus Christ. Each one got better and better. Answers ranged from the Buddy Christ helping them with their homework, to Jesus, the man who they tell they're sorry to stay out of Hell.
The smartest answer was given by a child who was 35 years old, or at least appeared to be. He had a full, Ned Flanders mustache. Granted it just looked like no one ever gave him a razor, but it was clearly more hair than I have ever grown on my face. This made me skeptical, but once he opened his mouth I was certain he was 35. The bass in his voice was startling. Clearly, this man was a plant to boast GPA's in the confirmation Class.
One of my favorite speeches involved a young lady who began her speech with audience participation... even though she did not count on it. She began... "I love Jesus..." and was then interrupted by a "Yeeeaaahhhh!" from a toddler in the back row. I almost wet my pants.
Yet another Student included his mother's divorce and remarriage in his speech. He told us that he had prayed to God that his mother wouldn't marry his new step-father, but since his prayers weren't answered that he was happy God had given him "Steve" but wasn't quite sure what to do with him and his 2 and a half siblings. I believe the shade of his mother's face was... Scarlet Red.
It was one of those nights you spent trying not to laugh the entire time, because these people took this very seriously, but that is what made it more funny. (inappropriate laughter at inappropriate times is always the best kind of laughter).
Check out more Blog Post to come... I'm back.
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