Amused

Today, I want to talk about rumors.

When I was in middle school, they were out there. Like the day the ambulance showed up at a friend's house in my neighborhood and took Peter's older brother to the emergency room with a badly injured hand. When we went to school the next day we heard it was because he mishandled some stuff while he was building a pipe bomb. Turns out the truth was that he was actually moving an old car battery in his garage and got some burns from the acid.

In high school, they were out there, too. Most had to do with sex or drinking or drugs or dating--that kind of stuff. One night there was a party at Kim's and there were too many people on the deck and it pulled away from the house and fell. A few injuries were the reality, the worst a broken leg. For a week or so all we heard about was who was going to sue the parents and all sorts of stories about who/what caused it. This continued until prom night and we had a whole new set of locker room innuendo, half-truths and out and out lies to sort through.

In college, they were there, too. The topics generally changed because sex, drugs and drinking weren't nearly as taboo in that environment, but we still found ways to discuss things. One memorable one had a fraternity brother who'd been elected SGA treasurer pilfering money from the SGA funds. Funny, but it turned out he was letting friends (including us) use the unlimited long-distance feature from his office to call home. I'm sure that wasn't on the up and up, either, but he wasn't taking cash.

And, I've heard it from grown-ups, too. This teacher did this/said that to a student. This airline pilot is taking a new job. I've even overheard parents sharing the gossip about other teens based on what they heard from their own child. This city coucil member is voting this or that way. The local restauranteur is going to serve alchohol now. This kid is signing a football scholarship to that school. You know how it goes.

But what set this little observation off is that our church is making some changes. Some people will truly enjoy them. Others might not be so fond of them. That's true with any change. We'll get a new pastor sometime this year. Some will think he's incredible. Others, by comparison, will find faults. We painted our student ministry room a different color and some teens liked it and others didn't. So, when we're making some changes to our evening schedule I'd expect some people to like them. Others won't. It really is that simple.

However, you wouldn't believe what I've heard that we're implementing...

...from people who would have no idea what we're implementing.

And, I don't know where they would even hear what we're implementing.

Because, I've been in the meetings. I know what we're implementing. I know why we're implementing them. We're having a meeting next Sunday night to explain all this. More importantly, I'm aware of what hasn't been settled yet. There are a few more blanks to fill in.

So, yes, there will be change.
Yes, I think they'll be good ones.
And, peope I love and care about will disagree.
That's okay.

Just know for sure what you're disagreeing about and why you're disagreeing, and everything will be hunky dory.

But remember that rumors are kid stuff. And generally untrustworthy.