Little Guys

I’ll be the first to admit that I just love hanging out with my little kids at New City. I know that they can be wild, messy and not the best to listen all of the time. The backdrop, which few understand, is that most of these are drug kids who grew up with parents that are substance abusers and most likely have had issues since the womb. What is great is seeing over time how my little guys like Pee Pee, Peanut and Almond are growing up.

This last week one of my awesome interns, Jenessa, brought some of her GCU basketball friends to help out with tutoring. It was so much fun watching these really tall guys lift up my little guys and helping them dunk or hang on the basket. As we talked one of the basketball players at GCU asked if I wanted to bring some of the guys to their game on Saturday night. I couldn’t refuse. We had taken 40 a few weeks before and had a great time. Unfortunately all of these little guys were gone for a birthday party.

I was only going to bring just a few but it turned out I brought 10 little guys and then a couple of other families that had little kids too. I will always remember watching my Pee dancing and jumping up and down as the game went on for 2 hours. It was amazing to watch all of these little guys sit and watch for this long. Typically they can’t sit still for more than just 10 minutes. I so much was drawn into their enthusiasm and excitement for the game.

I know that as an adult, especially older adult, it is so easy to have the wrong expectations and sense of what kids should be like. My wife is the one quickest to say that God never intended little boys to be imprisoned for hours in kindergarten but should be outside enjoying the out of doors getting to dig in the dirt and build tree houses. You might say that we are old people that love acting like youngsters.

It doesn’t surprise me Jesus went out of his way to put children in the middle of his activities. He understood in his day, not much different than our day, that too often children are viewed as being less than human and always pushed into the background. This became a real issue when Jesus gave the entry path for the kingdom as becoming like a little child. I know that in my circles too often our intellectual ability or theological understanding become the path to spiritual greatness not becoming a little child who is quick to scream, dance and shout at a basketball game.

Jesus defined our relationship with him as literally being re-birthed. He used images that made it difficult for a spiritual leader in his day to understand how this is possible when I’m already old. Jesus was a master of painting a picture of what new life is all about when we lay down our lives in order to receive new life through Christ’s life, death and resurrection. The challenge is that I don’t like going backwards in order to go forward.

I know that as a little kid growing up I was super blessed to have a mom and dad that were always there for me. I was able to do the typical little kid things like play baseball, do scouts, dig tunnels and get to explore. I can remember my dad getting me musical instruments when I was 10 and 11. This began my rock and roll career – HA. Yet, imagine what it would be like to grow up without a dad or a consistent mom in your life. I know that my little kids are street smart and can exist on their own but this isn’t really living.

I will remember the picture of my little guys, Pee, Peanut, Steven, Bookie, Josh, Isaac, Stephon and others jumping up and down at the games as the band did the typical Queen song – We will rock you. The sad thing was that the game ended with our tall friends loosing by one point. We were so bummed out. Yet, I am thrilled that these big guys can remember when they were little guys and choose to be special friends to my little guys.