I've spoken to many groups, of varying sizes, about my book Founding Faith, but I've never been as nervous as I was this morning when I faced the toughest crowd -- my son Gordon's seventh grade class.
"Dad, whatever you do, DON'T try to tell jokes. No one will think they're funny," Gordon counseled.
Sage advice. Even my discussion of the 900 cows that collaborated on the Big Cheese that the Baptists sent to Thomas Jefferson fell flat.
"Can I tell the story about how James Madison wrote to George Washington about his hemorrhoids?"
"No!"
Geesh.. What could be more middle-school appropriate?
Despite being unable to use my best material, I got through it. Truth is, I cared more about my performance at this venue than any other promotion I've done.
At the end, Gor gave me a hug and said I did well.
Add to Del.icio.us
Add to Technorati
Add to Digg
Add to Newsvine
Add to Facebook
Add to StumbleUpon
Subscribe
Steve,
I applaud the fact that you would even begin to speak with the 7th graders about faith. I've learned as a speaker that young adults listen a lot more than they let on. In 10 years or so don't be surprised if one of Gordon's friends shares with you how something you said impacted them in a major way.
Keep living, loving, growing, and sharing, we need people like you!
Barbara
It's important to talk to kids about faith. My neice is in the 7th grade and attends a Chistian school where bible is a required could. Kids at this ae can read and memorize, but when you ask them what it means, what the big picture is, they clearly show that they haven't begun to understand.
thank you barbara and hootie1fan for your supportive words
Post a Comment
By submitting these comments, I agree to the beliefnet.com terms of service, rules of conduct and privacy policy (the "agreements"). I understand and agree that any content I post is licensed to beliefnet.com and may be used by beliefnet.com in accordance with the agreements.