A Watchman

A few years ago Andy Blankeship taught me that God has called us to be "Watchmen" over the people He has entrusted to us. For example, we were at a Summer Camp a few years back and Andy was my speaker. We always take all cell phones up from kids for the entire duration of the trip. As we were having a leaders meeting Andy started turning all of the kids cell phones on. I calmly asked, "Dude, what the heck are you doing??" He told me something profound that day. He said that the things a kid will never tell you are in their text messages. Read them!!

Ever since that moment I have been extremely protective of my students. I do read their texts when I get a hold of their phones. I have always had good enough relationships with our kids that I could confront them, challenge them, or rebuke them, and it has always been profitable and peaceful. For this, I am very thankful and realize how blessed I am. Then came last night...

We were at a basketball game here in Berryville. While we are at games I always make rounds to talk to all my kids and last night was no different, although, I did sit with my family next to some of our kids parents. Remember...I am very protective of my students and with the girls I have developed a terrible "Big Brother" syndrome. I hate dating. Boys are dirty and have one thing on their minds...therefore I am not the guy saying, "They are going to date...Let's teach them how to date godly." What a bunch or horse manure!! There is no reason in the world that kids should be allowed to go out by their selves and we should "trust" that we have taught them to do right. That temptation is just too strong...and yes you may succeed once, twice, or even for a whole month, but with each outing you begin to get more comfortable and relaxed and just like a war the enemy comes running in.

Sorry I went off on a little dirt road there...back to the story:

I saw a guy talking to one of our girl students. He was obviously a new kid who thought he was the coolest guy ever. You could tell that my girl student...we'll call her Betty...didn't want anything to do with this guy. But wherever she went he was there too. The biggest problem Betty has is that she has two real big brothers. I saw trouble coming from the very beginning. So as one big brother went to sit next to them the other sat right below them. Megan and I are watching this whole thing play out. I know I should have probably went and calmly pulled this guy to the side told him what was going to happen to him and then shared the Gospel with him, but I didn't see that happening after he started talking trash to one of the brothers. Obviously this guy wasn't the brightest kid ever. So I go over and sit right in the middle of all of them. Betty must of told him who I was and that I was a "big brother" also because when I went over there he quit talking and realized that I wasn't going to be 12 and beat him up but I would get him kicked out if I had too. I told Betty to come and sit with us and told the other two brothers to go sit somewhere else. We left and took Betty home and the night was over.

Did I handle this completely the right way? I'm not sure. But what I do know is that this guy left Betty alone and I saved him a bad butt-whooping and I didn't give her brothers a chance to start a BIG throw down. I prayed for this guy a lot last night. I saw me when I was in high school in him. Someone who is a slave. A slave to a look, attitude, popularity, a culture...a slave to sin. I saw someone who needs Jesus. I'm just praying that after last night he saw that I was watching out for him as much as I was for my three students.