I feel like when I blog about leadership or creativity that I’m just ripping someone else off. That’s not to say that we all don’t do that somewhat but I’ve decided to just share some of my stories with you. Some have a lesson, some just will make you laugh or at least shake your head.
I remember when I was at the first church I served on staff at. We loved to have long banquets for everything it seemed.
It’s Valentines day coming up … Let’s have a banquet.
Hey it’s Christmas… Let’s have a banquet.
We want to build a new building…. Let’s have a banquet.
It’s time to share this years banquet vision… Let’s have a banquet.
We loved banquets! Nom Nom Nom
And of course we couldn’t have a banquet without having a kids banquet aka childcare too. Of course these banquets seemed to go on and on. We’d pay people to work them but I always made sure things went smoothly. Often we even “programmed” these banquets because 100 kids need something to do for three hours.
The year was 2000. I’m. It sure which banquet it was but it was held offsite and parents dropped off their kids before getting their banquet on. I decided that I wouldn’t program this one and instead I’d show the latest DVD release, Left Behind. What could go wrong showing elementary kids a movie that was inspired by biblical events? Nothing, I thought.
Well I was wrong. Most of the kids watched intently because it wasn’t the usual Veggie Tales movie. After the rapture scene a few kids started getting scared. Two specifically started getting hysterical.
“I think my mom and dad might have been raptured.”
I thought I’d like to say “As bad as I am, God wouldn’t rapture your terrible parents and leave me here with you.” But instead I comforted them and let them know that the rapture had not happened.
They persisted on and eventually started crying. Several other kids also worked themselves into hysteria until I had to turn it off. The kids who were into it were made, they hysterical kids were worked up and I had no plan to keep these kids enetrtained. I struggled through it and survived the night.
Needless to say, the letters and emails I received from parents were a good indicator that I probably shouldn’t have done that. I retired the future releases from the banquet programming and went back to the drawing board.
How about you, has your content ever made kids cry?
I could totally relate. It was my first year teaching. It was at a private Christian school. I thought at lunchtime I would show my kindergarten students the Jesus video. I saw it 2-3 times, so I thought it was okay. Until I saw the agape mouths while Jesus was getting beat up. I quickly turned it off, but it was too late. I traumatized a sensitive little boy, and his mother has never liked me since.
I played come to Jesus one Sunday for worship and one of my kids went hysterical. Apparently the song was played at her mothers funeral. Oops.
Thanks Jason. Great laugh.
Probably not cry, but one of my biggest mistakes during what my last church called an “impartation night”, I made the mistake of showing “zookeeper” which had a little more than I bargained for in the language. Great post Jason good to know we all do it 🙂