Microsoft Word - Jakefinalnoappex.doc by Wayne Jacobsen Read Free Book Online

peeking through the partially opened door. Rows of first graders sat facing the teacher in their
    miniature chairs. As the song ended, there was lots of squirming, poking and laughter. One boy dressed in
    a bright blue sweater vest turned around to stick out his tongue at one of the girls. When he did he caught
    sight of us looking at him and immediately turned back around and pretended to pay attention.
    We couldn’t see the teacher from our vantage point, but we could hear her pleading voice shouting from our
    right.
    “Let’s say our memory verse,” she shouted. “Come on! Settle down or there will be no snack later.”
    Apparently the threat was effective because the room went silent.
    “Who knows their memory verse?” Hands shot up throughout the classroom. “Let’s say it together. ‘I was
    glad when they said to me,’” the staccato voices never changed pitch. “‘Let us go to the house of the Lord,
    Psalm 122 verse one.’” Most voices had faded out for the reference except for one girl who wanted every
    one to know she knew it.
    “And what does it mean?” the teacher shouted above the rising noise.
    Two hands shot up, one of them the same girl who had repeated the reference so loudly. “Sherri, tell us!”
    “That’s my girl,” I whispered to John.
    The girl stood up. “It means that we should enjoy coming to church, because this is where God lives.”
    “That’s right,” the teacher said as I felt my face flush with embarrassment.
    I shrugged my shoulders when John turned to smile playfully at me. Then he soundlessly mouthed two
    words: “It’s working.” The smile on his face pulled the plug on my embarrassment. He made it so clear that
    he wasn’t here to shame me.
    When we both turned back to the class, the teacher was passing out golden stars made from foil for children
    to stick up on a chart on the wall. We used them for things like attendance, memory verse, and if the
    children brought their Bibles. The class was in chaos as kids were getting their stars, dodging each other
    while finding their name on the chart and then licking their stickers in place.
    When the class got back to their seats, the teacher went to the chart and pointed down a few of the rows.
    “Look at all the stars Bobby has. Sherri is doing well, too, as are Liz and Kelly. Don’t forget the five top
    Superstars will get a special prize at the end of the quarter. So, let’s work hard. Make sure you come every
    week, bring your Bible and work on your memory verse.”
    “Making a list and checking it twice?” John sang softly. It took me a minute to realize that was a Santa Claus
    song, not one of ours. “Seen enough?” he asked, turning towards me.
    So You Don’t Want to Go To Church Anymore
    Page 29
    “What? Oh, me. I’m just watching you. I already know what goes on in there.”
    “I’m not sure you do.” John turned away from the window and walked a little further down the hall,
    stopping finally alongside the water fountain. His right arm crossed his chest with his left elbow resting on
    it, his left hand massaging his down-turned forehead.
    “Jake, did you see that boy sitting next to your daughter in the shorts and light yellow T-shirt?”
    “No, not specifically.”
    “Well, I’m not surprised. There wasn’t much to look at really. He wasn’t making any noise, just sitting there
    with his head down and his arms folded.”
    “Oh, I know who you’re talking about. That must be Benji.”
    “Benji. Did you notice that he didn’t know one word of the memory verse and he didn’t even go up to get
    the star he earned just for coming today?”
    “No, I didn’t.”
    “How do you think all that made him feel?”
    “I hope it made him want to do better; to bring his Bible, to come more often and to memorize his verses.
    That’s how we motivate the kids. Everyone does it. It is for a good purpose.”
    “But how is he ever going to compete against... Sherri, was it? Are his parents as