A Youth Group Disaster — part 17 in a series glancing back

They hadn’t listened.

Not sure they answered even one question I’d asked.

I dutifully plodded on through the lesson. Felt like I was swimming in the thickest syrup imaginable.

It was a youth group disaster.

I was glad when it was over, they were gone, and I could lock up the church building and leave.

That was Sunday.

The following Saturday evening we were all in the church van, coming back from a truly wild time of fun and fellowship. We were beyond noisy and well into loud.

Above all the rest of us came a distinctive voice from the somewhere in the back, “Hey Joe, remember what we were talking about last time?”

It was as if someone had hit a Mute button.

I flicked my eyes up to the rear view mirror. “Sure do. What in particular?”

And for the rest of the hour-long ride on Saturday we had the lesson we didn’t back on Sunday.

Three things they taught me

God’s still in business, even when we least expect it.

People are listening, even when we think they aren’t.

People might need time to marinate in the material we’re presenting. We’ve read, prayed, thought about and processed it as we prepared; it’s fresh to them, and they might need reflection as a seasoning.