For more than a year prior to us diving in, Rob and I independently kept getting the nagging sense we were supposed to take on this admittedly insane responsibility. We each quietly batted away the Holy Nudges as one might shoo off a pestery mosquito, never bothering to mention the annoyance to the other.
Then one day we compared notes.
Reluctantly admitting we couldn’t ignore the prompts any longer, we resigned ourselves to being obedient and took the plunge. It really made no sense for us to volunteer, us being kidless and untrained and one of us with only 7 years of Christian Club Membership under her belt at the time. But we figured since the Holy Spirit got us into it, the Holy Spirit would guide us through. So far, so good.
The past five years with this growing group of teenagers (once a group of 6, now about 22) have been an absolute blast. Who knew other people's teenagers were so much fun?!?
We’ve discussed the history of Christianity, Quaker history, spiritual gifts, different religious beliefs (the Flying Spaghetti Monster was a favorite), apologetics, suicide, sexting, whether Adam and Eve had belly buttons (THAT was a memorable and hysterical night). We all come prepared to roll up our sleeves and dig in deep…but we also allow for lots of rabbit trails and off-roading and laughter.
The past few weeks, we have been talking about the Bible. We discussed whether it’s just an interesting piece of literature or if there’s actually something historically verifiable there. We chatted about the challenges of different translations and how some translations are word-for-word while others are more thought-for-thought. We introduced the concepts of “exegesis” and “hermeneutics.”
Yes, we’ve been told repeatedly we aren’t normal Youth Group leaders. We’ve chosen to take this as a compliment.
Last week, we asked everyone to translate the Lord’s Prayer into modern, everyday English. It revealed some concepts beautifully. Like the responsibility involved in trying to capture someone else’s words in your own. And how translating each word can lead to a different message than translating each concept. And how hysterical these kids are.
Here’s the Lord’s Prayer as memorized by many:
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed by thy Name,
thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen
Here’s my rewording:
Holy God in heaven, I pray for your creation and that your will is realized. Please provide for our daily needs and forgive our sins. Please remind us to forgive those who sin against us. Keep us safe from temptation and Satan’s influences. Amen.
Yeah, I didn’t have the last part about power and glory. I was going off of the version in Matthew 6. Plus I didn’t really know that extra part was there. Embarrassing explanation below.
Here’s a teenager’s rewording:
Hey Father in the sun/cloudys
May we all honor you
Let your party come to earth
Just like it is in the sun
Keep us from having the munchies
Forgive us plz
And keep us from having grudges on others
Don’t let us be all sinny
And keep us from the Devil.
Here’s a teen’s rewording imagining how a young child might reword it:
Our father…uh, you’re not my dad though
You live in heaven
Your name’s scary?
Your wishes come true
Here like up there
Gimme bread everyday
And I’m sorry about taking that penny
Tell mommy I’m sorry
And make me not do it again
And I hope the kids aren’t mean
At recess tomorrow.
Amen
In the midst of the evening, I shared with the kids that I actually learned the Lord’s Prayer from a song in the early 1970s. I was in kindergarten and there was a groovy pop song on the radio that I really liked. I asked my mommy and daddy to buy the record for me so I could play it on my Cinderella turntable-in-a-suitcase. It was my first-ever 45.
Embarrassingly it was several decades later…when my atheist self nevertheless attended an Easter service with a Catholic friend…that I realized that the words to that groovy song of my childhood were actually in the Bible. And not just in the Bible, they were a part of the Bible that people memorize and recite and consider pretty important. Never mind that the name of the song was "The Lord's Prayer." Duh! I can be impressively dense sometimes.
Unfortunately, in an effort to be singable and far out in 1974, the singing nun sort of short-changed the last couple of verses in her Grammy-nominated hit. As a result, I am still a little fuzzy on the lyrics…I mean verses…after all the trespassing. This is unfortunate, since praying for help resisting temptation and steering clear of evil stuff seems like a pretty good idea.
I played the ‘70s hit for the kids from my phone. Their eyes got big and their eyebrows bounced around and they tried to contain their laughter as they listened to this epic slice of 1974:
The room’s consensus was that the song would have been best performed by the nun while she was wearing roller skates. Because apparently teenagers in 2019 think the 1970s were all about roller skating. They aren’t entirely wrong.
At the end of the night, one of our resident artists (we have several extremely talented drawers in the group) handed me this. It’s the presumed album cover for Sister Janet Mead’s hit of the ages.
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| Please note her leg tattoo: Holy Gal |
Oh, how I ADORE these teenagers!!!
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