The closest I've ever come to breaking a bone was when I was in 9th grade, and it happened, of all places, at church! Some friends and I were in the back parking lot of the church building. We were walking along the fence railing atop the retaining wall. On one side of this railing was a short 4 foot drop to the parking lot; on the other side was a 30 foot plunge to the bottom of a ravine. As my friends and I were walking along the top of this railing, I lost my balance, and couldn't regain control. I realized that I was going to fall into the ravine, and so to control the fall, I jumped with all my might towards a pine tree growing from the ravine. That skinny pine tree didn't keep me from falling, but I was able to control and slow my fall. When I hit the ground far below I had not broken anything, but it sure did hurt!
I share this story because as I think about my time in pastoral ministry, I realize more and more that ministry is very often a balancing act between the ideal and the real. For so many aspects of ministry there is a tension between the ideal that we are taught in seminary and at conferences and then the real-world experience of dealing with contemporary congregations and unchurched neighbors. As far as my recent experience in ministry is concerned, the area in which this balancing act has been most felt is in the area of our ministry to children in the church; namely, what should we do with young children during times of public worship? Read more
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