May 22, 2005
Here's a note from our Pastor.
A few weeks ago we exchanged prayer partner names. I encourage you to pray daily for
the people you chose. Often your partner may have a need that we do not know about
and your prayers are essential.
It is nice to send a card to your partner when you sense they need a spiritual boost.
Often that card of encouragement comes at exactly the right time.
Don't limit your prayer to your partners. Remember the other needs of the church congregation. Last week I put this slogan on our church sign, " Our Church Is Prayer
Conditioned." Let us make sure that the slogan is always true. Prayer is the means to great spiritual success in the church.
Disrespectful Students !
If any teacher in the Sunday School, Children's Church or Family Training Hour have disrespectful students in your class that make teaching almost impossible, I want you to give me their names for me to pray for them. This disrespectful conduct is the result of a personal, mental or spiritual problem. If I need to investigate the problem further after a season of prayer I will do so.
Two times I was asked to step into a public classroom and restore order. In both occasions the teacher had lost control and the animals ran the zoo.
The first was a class in Delhaas in 1968. The teacher chose to retire, rather then continue to take the abuse. I had 2 weeks to restore order before a new teacher would be hired. They tested me the first day. A toughie told me to mind my own business. He said, " I rule this class." I replied, " not on my watch. Step to the front of the room and lets see who's boss. " He backed down after a few minutes delay. In each class I had to challenge the main ring leader. I got to know the trouble makers and some became my biggest supporters. They all had situations that engendered the abusive conduct. When I talked with them about problems at home or peer troubles they softened.
The second was a class at Ben Franklin Middle School. It was an 8th grade English/Reading class. The teacher was given a 2 week leave to rest her shattered nerves. It took me a day or two to figure out the situation. The oddity was that the 2 worst classes were top level students. I sensed that Eric was the ring leader in the one class. I called him out of the class to give me a report on the class problems. He nearly swallowed his tongue. He was one of the 8 kids who did not get enough attention at home. The special attention that I gave him was enough to turn him around. When he got a scholarship to college he came by and thanked me for waking him up in 8th grade.
The other class ring leader was a girl named Mary. She happened to live in Goldenridge. On a jog around the section I saw her in her front yard with her father. I stopped and chatted for a few minutes. That conversation changed Mary's attitude. She knew I knew her Dad and she was afraid that I would report her activities to him. Again, Mary stopped by our house and thanked me for caring about her in 6th grade. She said, " You scared me nearly to death when you stopped by my house that Saturday morning.
Most class disrupters need attention. They want to stand out in the crowd. They need to be noticed, even if it's for being bad. They cannot be allowed to upset church classes where the Truth is being taught. They cannot be allowed to discourage Christian workers who give of themselves to teach.
I firmly believe in prayer. I think that God is able to help us sort out the problems so that the trouble makers and class disrupters can become obedient students and grow into mature Christian youths.