The Kings Club

Well it was great. Brilliantly organised and well run. Children all seemed really happy and I even saw one of our chief rascals, lad with the concentration span of a whatever, help someone up when they fell down. This was the same lad who found the only sticking-out nail in the whole of the church complex on Tuesday and cut himself on it. We reckon he must have been upside down under a pew when it happened.

But where do we stand on the whole teaching children the faith thing? For me my faith is such an amazingly wobbly journey that I feel very uncomfortable when we teach children biblical stories as certainty. I kept quietish about my qualms whilst at CPAS out of respect for Penny Frank and her Children's Evangelism Campaign. She will say children have just as much right as adults to hear the truth of the gospel. I don't think they should be told it is truth until they are old enough to understand what sort of truth it is.

And what about the fact that when they remember this holiday club they will remember the Mediaeval Castle not the King of it. This despite:

Who is the king?
Jesus.
There's nobody there; they must have gone home.
Who is the king?
Jesus (plaster flakes, dust descends from ancient rafters)
No, I still can't hear. Who is the king?
Jesus (apocalyptic foundation shaking and severe damage to hearing).
Oh, Jesus.

One lad told me he had enjoyed our Detective Agency (2 years ago) and our Pirate Adventure (last year). That was what he remembered.

Will a little deception hurt him? As one leader said to me, if all they remember in a few weeks time is that church is a fun place to be that will be fine by him. Amen to that. Let's not worry too much about saving those who are not yet lost.