Tonight was initiation night for all of the eighth graders who will be joining our church high school group this next school year. It was a ton of fun, but I’m pooped.
As is tradition, we kidnapped them (only one got tied up) and brought them back to the church. Then, they all got dressed up in embarrassing costumes, which was much more embarrassing for some than others. We managed to eat eight pizzas and to consume far too many caffeinated beverages, and had planned on playing some games. Instead, one of our returning kids suggested that we have a beatbox/rap competition. I had to give them an example, so Jordan provided the beat, and I dropped a little flow that went something like this:
My name is Gabe…and I can’t rap…at Christmas time, I sit on Santa’s lap.
Not the greatest, but it got a few chuckles. The soon-to-be freshman gave it a shot, but I’m not sure they have the knack for rhyming like it do…yeah, right. After that, we caravaned up to the movie theater and split up into two groups: Kung Fu Panda and Wall-E. Earlier in the day, we had decided to see Wall-E, but a handful of kids had already seen it, so we gave them an option. I stuck with the plan, and I’m really glad that I did. This was easily the best movie I’ve seen all year…which isn’t saying much, as I don’t go the theater very often. I’m going to have to watch it again when it comes out on video. I felt like there was a lot of allegorical significance in the movie, whether intended or not. After the movie, the kids went off to play broom hockey (like regular hockey, but with brooms and a soft rubber ball, instead of sticks and pucks…and no skates). I was pooped from staying up too many nights in a row, and have to go to work in the morning, so I decided to call it a night.
I’m really looking forward to this next batch of kids joining our group. There are a few who are really on fire for God, and will be the future leaders of the group, and quite possible the church at large. There are also a few who are sitting on the fence, and I look forward to seeing them fall in love with the Lord. I pray that God protect and provide for each of them, as well as build their character and teach them to be good stewards of the talents they’ve each been given. And once again, and as always, I thank God for Brent and Erin (our high school pastors) for being so faithful at loving and training up the next generation of on fire lovers of God. Even more so, I am grateful to God for allowing me to be a part of His training program…both as a teacher as well as a student.
Filed under: Stuff RE: Me, churchy stuff | Tagged: beat box, church, high school, initiation, rap, Wall-E
