The New Face of Delinquency

Zachary Christie is 6 years old.  He is a delinquent.  The school has taken action and suspended him and he faces the possibility of 45 days in a Reform School to see if his little evil heart can be redeemed and whether he can be placed safely back in the school around other children.  If you are curious what an evil 6 year old boy looks like…I mean really looking in the face of evil…watch this video and you will see what I’m talking about:

Warning:  GRAPHIC VIDEO OF EVIL 6 YEAR OLD SUSPENDED FROM SCHOOL

See…scary huh?

Once again, the Zero Tolerance policy gone crazy in regards to a “weapons” violation at school.  He brought his Cub Scout swiss army spoon/fork/knife combo to school so he can eat his lunch with it.

Should he have done this?  No. But a two minute conversation with the boy would reveal he had the sweetest of intentions and he just didn’t know.  But what does the school administration do?  Kick him out for the week with the possibility of serving 45 days in Reform School.  Come on!!  [by the way...good news...the school board caving to the outcry of injustice reversed the decision and is allowing little Zachary Christie to come back to school...this is good, but did it really necessitate a school board meeting to adjudicate this?]

There is always a spirit behind a rule.  The rule has a purpose and an intent.  You can’t lose sight of it.  If it becomes about the rule in-and-of-itself, the “rules” become legalistic and brings death.  The last thing Zachary Christie needs is to be placed for 45 days with kids who really do belong in Reform School.  Sometimes you recognize that the application of the rule in its strictest sense is a violation of the spirit of the rule.  In that case, ALWAYS go with the spirit of the rule.

Rules for rules sake stink.  Why do you have the rule?

We are making some changes in our Kids Kanyon (children’s ministry) here at the Living Stones Church.  Part of that is the establishment of and enforcement of some rules.  But there is a spirit (a reason) behind the rule.  For example:

1.  After 9:55 & 11:55 a.m. our check-in for kids is closed.  Why?  We have discovered that new kids entering after that time hinders what the volunteers have done by way of teaching.  They worked hard to get the kids to “settle down” and move in a groove with the curriculum, and the addition of new kids at that point ends the focus and they have to start all over again.

2.  We don’t allow donuts (which we serve at the beginning of worship) in the classroom.  The moment one kid walks in with a donut, every kid that doesn’t have a donut starts crying and wanting a donut (this is also true for electronic devices, toys, etc.).

3.  Once you check your child in, we ask that you leave them there until the service has ended.  If you pick them up early because you want to avoid the check-out line, what you do is retrieve your child and produce chaos in the classroom after you leave.  When a kid sees a parent enter the classroom and get their child, it signals in their mind that church is over and that their parent is coming for them.  When they perceive something to be “over” they check-out and no matter what the volunteer has in mind, it is over.  Further, when their parent doesn’t pick them up, they start to get anxious and upset.  The result:  chaos.

But these rules have a spirit.  They aren’t intended to be legalistic.  If you have to go to work and have to leave early, you have to leave early…come and get your child.  If a single mother shows up with three kids and you know she did everything she could to even make it church but showed up at 9:57…you smile, receive her kids, and thank God that she made it to church.  Donuts…there is no liberty…NO DONUTS!