A brief sigh of relief went through the baggy pants community today…

A judge has decided a law banning sagging pants in this town is unconstitutional after a teenager spent a night in jail on accusations he exposed too much of his underwear… Voters in Riviera Beach approved the law in March. A first offense for sagging pants carries a $150 fine or community service, and habitual offenders face the possibility of jail time. Proposals to ban saggy pants are gaining ground in several places around the U.S. [MSNBC]

Me personally, I enjoy a well fitted pair of slacks and my cheeks well covered - but that’s simply preference. It’s just one more notch in the belt of an older generation making sure the younger one disdains them more. I hate seeing things like this happen. Don’t authorities have anything better to do besides police fashion?

Working with unchurched has taught me many things. One of those is that they are greatly misunderstood by adult authorities. They’re treated like idiot, delinquents and constantly talked down to. Most adults in their world shown them no respect, but expect respect in return. It’s a bad cycle that continues to divide the ages.

You’d be surprised how easy it is to earn a kids respect by just treating them like a human being. They may look different or be covered in tats or piercings, but their heart is the same on the inside. We all carry our baggage and wounds - it just worn differently on each of us. One of my greatest joy in youth ministry is seeing generations come together as friends, mentors and co followers in Christ. It’s a beautiful thing.

If Jesus loved the kid in baggy pants, so should you. So instead of scoffing or looking away when you see a kid that looks weird or off putting, talk to them. You never know what can happen.

If you ever have youth in your office and want to entertain them for a good 45 minutes. Here you go:

Fart Sound Board

Yes, it’s juvenile but what can I say.

I had four boys sitting in my office for 45 minutes of solid laughing. Not chuckles, they were red faced.   It was pure joy watching them carry on.

Ahh, I love youth.

Our second week of service went really well. Kids brough kids which is actually a good thing. We had a few people from the homeless community join us to make it a memorable evening. One of them began to interject during discussion time and was conviced that vampire bats were in the Bible (the lady wasn’t exactly right in the head). But this did lead to one of my favorite conversations I had with a student afterwards.

The student approached me with a pensive look on his face. “Stuart” he said, “I don’t know much about the Bible, but I’m pretty sure there are no vampire bats in the Bible. “Louis,” I responded, “you’re exactly right, there are no vampire bats in the Bible.” “Okay, just checking,” he answered.

It as a great night.

Thank you all for your prayers leading up to our first service. It made a difference. They were felt.

We had 18 people attend and I was surprised that we had that many. We hadn’t advertised it because we wanted a trial weekend to cut out teeth on.  And it couldn’t have gone better. We had a few random adults there as well. I love seeing multi-generations praying together. There’s something that feels so right about it.  It was a simple service. Prayer, reflection, scripture, discussion and contemplation. I never grow weary of watching teenagers pursue the Lord through the ancient practices.

I’m excited to see how this thing progresses. Those that attend definitely caught the vision and I’m excited to see how this community will grow together as we purse the Lord.

Thank you again for your prayers!