I read an article a day or two ago about the burning of a 15-year old boy. He was set on fire by five of his classmates ranging in age from 13-15. The young victim has 65% of his body burned – all over $40 owed for a video game. When Michael – the victim – didn’t pay up, the boy whom Michael owed the money tried to steal Michael’s dad’s $500 mountain bike. Michael’s father called the police and the theft was prevented.

Thinking Michael had “snitched him out” Bent (the boy who tried to steal the bike) and four of his friends decided they were justified in dousing Michael with rubbing alcohol and setting him on fire.

With 65% of his body burned, it’s questionable as to whether Michael will make it or not. When two of the main suspects were questioned about the attack – they laughed.

The mother of one of the main suspects had this to say, “They’re good kids, they have good grades, no problems in school. Wrong place, wrong people.”

Two things immediately caught my attention when reading this article – 1) the boys who are suspected of committing the heinous crime laughed. And 2) the mom said they are good kids. (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/10/15/earlyshow/main5385653.shtml)

That the boys would laugh at this atrocity makes me question what their base of reality truly is. Are they living in a world of violent video games where the main goal is to kill, maim, injure, hurt… Are they lost in a haze of too many movies or TV shows and they do not understand the severity of what has taken place?

And I was shocked to hear the mom say, they are good kids. The truth of the matter is they are not good kids. Good kids do things like steal a pack of gum from the grocery store and apologize to the store owner the next day. Good kids do not set other kids on fire.

I honestly don’t know how something like this can take place – it’s beyond my scope of reference. What I do know is that children are facing greater dangers today than ever before. They face more challenges with drugs; broken families; absent or abusive parents; negative influences – TV, movies, video games...; a sense of not belonging; and an absence of Christ in their lives. Where does this problem begin? Does it begin with parents, environment, socio-cultural norms and expectations, peer influence? I don’t know. What I do know is that we are receiving a wake-up call.

Jesus said, let the children come to me. We too need to reclaim our children and direct them to Jesus. We need to teach them, to be active in their lives, to do simple things like read to them every day, take them to church, find out who their friends are, set positive and healthy guidelines and rules they must live with. These are things we should be doing with our children from a very young age. We cannot try to do this when they are of a teen age. The formative years of a child are when they are very young. This is when they learn what’s right and what’s wrong.

We must be active in our children’s life. Turn the TV off, stay home at night; be knowledgeable about our children’s friends and activities. Go to church with our children. Take part in Sunday school classes along with them. Spend time in the Bible – and maybe you have to learn together – but be there with them.

May God bless the hurting children in our world and may God move us to be more active in helping to heal them.

Passing of a friend

Only a couple of weeks have passed since my dear friend Bailey was put to sleep. Bailey was my ten year old Chessie-Chocolate Lab mix. Many of you have expressed your condolences in one form or another - cards, calls, talking in the hallways of our church. And I thank you for your kind words.

It's amazing how special we find our pets - our friends - to be as we learn about their personalities, their likes and dislikes, their faults and their good traits over the course of years. I got Bailey as an 8-week old puppy and watched as he grew into a fine hunting dog and one of the best retrievers I have ever seen. Up until his last day Bailey would rather retrieve his ball, his Frisbee, retrieving dummy ... than do anything else.

I remember the last time I went hunting before entering seminary was with Bailey. We went out on a cold, drizzly, morning, long before the sun was scheduled to rise, looking for geese. We found a nice flock on a public pond not too far from where we lived. As the sun began to rise and the hunting day officially opened the flock began to stir and as one lifted off the waters. Bailey and I had been sitting for almost half an hour. I rose up and leveled my shotgun. With one pull of the trigger I downed two geese. Bailey went to retrieve the one and then the other.

Great shot? Better retrieves!

Bailey was my running and walking companion - when I could be stirred to run or walk - for many years. I knew we were nearing the end when our runs would be shortened because Bailey could no longer make it the full 2-3 miles. So, we would head back early to relax and rest in comfort. Him on his bed in my office; me on my futon in my office.

I've been asked the question before - "will our pets be with us in heaven?". The Bible is silent on this issue, so I go with my intuition on this as well as the intuition of some of my mentors in life. John Wesley believed that he would be reunited with his horse that had been his traveling companion for over two decades in countless preaching missions. C.S. Lewis’ writings about the metaphorical land of Narnia seem to reflect this desire.

I believe that we will see our beloved pets again. They, more often than the people around us, show unselfish love and undying faith to the very end. I believe that Bailey may be one of the, if not the, first to greet me when I come home to be with the Lord.

Patrick

Pastor's Top Ten List

I recently had shoulder surgery - last week as a matter of fact. During my invalid time I reflected on all the things I was no longer able to do. I hadn't realized how hampered I would be without the use of my right arm. Simple things like getting dressed, brushing teeth, going to the bathroom, reading a book, lifting a gallon of milk, opening the fridge door - all things I might use my right hand/arm for were now a challenge. As I pondered I began to put a list together of things I could still do even though I had no right hand/arm...

Pastor's Top Ten list of things you can still do directly following shoulder surgery:

10. Laying around on the couch for two days - works just fine!

9. You may not be able to do push-ups or any other type of exercise, but you can still wear your sweats and a holy t-shirt.

8. You can still root for the Packers - one hand or no hands!

7. The remote control works with either right or left hand!

6. You may not be able to brush your teeth with your right hand anymore, but if you wear your safety goggles while brushing with your left - you won't poke your eye out!

5. You cannot hit 200+ yard drives from the T anymore, but you can t-up a little plastic golf ball and watch your daughter hit it around the living room with her plastic driver.

4. While you cannot give your wife a full two-armed hug, you can do a pretty good job with one arm.

3. You cannot pick up a thirty-two pound, two-year old little girl, but you can revel in the tons of hugs and kisses you get from that very same thirty-two pound, two-year old little girl.

2. Although you cannot take out the trash, you can still tell your wife - honey, I think the trash needs to go out...

1. You may not be able to lift the Bible with two hands, but you can still pray and worship the Lord - the knees still work!