I have to admit that the first day of school was never an overly anticipated event on my calendar! But today is different… After several years of planning and almost 9 months of construction, we are finally occupying our new school building this morning. I readily concur with the exclamation of the writer of Proverbs:  ”The desire accomplished is sweet to the soul!”

What a sweet morning it has been as parents and grandparents have taken pictures, as children have excitedly located their desks, as teachers have carefully introduced classes, etc. I thoroughly enjoy the day to day ebb and flow of ministry life. Christian education provides a wonderful avenue by which the local church can extend its influence daily into the hearts and lives of its young people. Never have I been more keenly aware of this fact than this morning.

When it comes to food, I’m pretty utilitarian. That is, when I’m hungry I don’t need a fancy plate or exquisite cuisine–a couple of toasted peanut butter sandwiches will do just fine. Amen! But every now and then it certainly is nice to eat a fancy meal and savor each and every bite. Today is a day to savor! Thank you, Teachers, for all of your hard work. Thank you, Secretaries, for the incredible hours you have put in. Thank you, volunteers, for stepping up to the plate. Thank you, Lord, for making it all possible!

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Would someone please wind me back up?

When a church ministry includes a Christian school, the month of May tends to overflow with events. These past two weeks have been a tidal wave of activity, and I have finally washed back upon the shore. Primarily my life has been dedicated to the preparation and performance of the musical Guilty.

Some of you attended one of the two packed-out performances, and from everything I’ve heard from the audience members, the play was a smashing success. Perhaps most satisfying to me personally was the way the music was performed by our incredibly talented kids. You’ll have to order the DVD to see and hear what I mean, but I just wanted to express my gratitude to all of you who had such a vital part in getting the job done.

The school play seemed to end just in time (Friday night) for our seniors to march to the familiar tones of “Pomp and Circumstance” this past Sunday afternoon. Always a bittersweet time, graduation afforded us an opportunity again to remind ourselves of the importance of Christian education. What a tremendous job Phil Buhr did as our commencement speaker this year. (I’ll never look at an apple tree in the same way!) Even now our seniors are enjoying a hard-earned, all expenses paid trip to Disney World.

And to think we spent 4 nights in a grimy Washington, D.C. motel on my senior trip… Guess I was born a quarter century too early! J

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Seven or eight years ago I decided that I would hunt for a good full-length school play for our high school to perform.  I really didn’t anticipate that merely finding one would be a problem–but a problem it was! What I found was that high school plays with any modicum of morality were few and far between; in fact, I couldn’t find any that I liked at all.  So with pen in hand and quite a few midnight hours to burn, I embarked upon writing one myself. To my surprise it was well-received and our kids did a fantastic job performing it.

That was 6 plays ago… Each year I’ve taken the time to write a full-length play/musical. Most have been comedies (with a serious twist in each), and all have been a pleasure to be a part of. On May 14 and 15, the teens will be performing my original play entitled Guilty! The play Guilty! is the story of a futuristic family caught in the throes of a government that has banned the practice of true religion. Through a unique set of circumstances the father of the Henderson family is arrested for participating with this religious group–even though his participation was coincidental and his commitment to Christianity non-existent.

The play climaxes with a courtroom trial in which Daniel Henderson is tried for being a Christian. The circumstantial evidence is strong, but the defense wields a strong counter-argument. Ironically, in being found not guilty of his crime, Daniel sees himself as being guilty of another much greater crime–rejecting Christ. His ensuing courtroom “testimony” changes his life forever.

Why don’t you join us on Thursday or Friday night and get the details. I promise you’ll be intrigued by the plot and inspired by some great music! (And besides, we need the money.)

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