"NO SKATEBOARDING ALLOWED"
I work in a small town. Population approximately 6,000. I'm not sure if that's when students are in session or not. With Asbury College and Asbury Seminary (separate institutions) both in Wilmore, surely they give a boost to the small city's population for nine months of the year. So, what are the trials of a small town? What are the great evils that must be squashed? Apparently, it's teenage boys who want to skateboard - anywhere. Oooh. Nobody wants the skate rats grinding and generally loitering on their property. Not the college or the seminary - both landscapes rich with sloped sidewalks and curbs to do tricks on. It's a virtual skatepark; or about the best you can get around here. But, no, skateboarding is strictly prohibited on their campuses. Nobody else wants them around, either. Not businesses, not the seven trillion churches. Now, I DO understand their reasoning for this. They have their reasons - grown-up, boring reasons. But reasons.
Meanwhile, these reasons get the skaters chased all over town. Yelled at like they were caught defacing property or setting something on fire. These reasons, and the people who enforce them, generally make the kids feel like criminals. Criminals who have no place in this town. There's a severe lack of grace going on here. I don't know all of them, by far, but I know a few of them. And they're GOOD kids. Kids who enjoy skateboarding. Which, for a 12-year-old in a small town in the middle of summer, really doesn't sound like a bad idea. They're socializing with each other, enjoying being outside, getting exercise, and let's face it - not smoking things, doing drugs, or having sex. Sounds cool to me.
The other day, my friend's son was hanging out with his skater buddies in the parking lot of the local baptist church. When he saw an adult authority figure come out of the church, he cringed. Just two weeks earlier, he had been harshly yelled at for WALKING with his skateboard NEAR the seminary grounds. Wow. So, his apprehension was understood. The adult approached them and they waited for their tongue lashing. This man, turns out the pastor of the church, said, "Hey guys. Looks like you could use some Ale-8s." He then proceeded to walk all of them across the street to IGA and buy them all an Ale-8. Hoorah, Mr. Baptist Pastor! Thank you for setting an example. Thank you for showing some grace. Thank you for remembering what it's like to be a kid. And thank you for showing these kids that not all Christian authority figures are the same.
I work in a small town. Population approximately 6,000. I'm not sure if that's when students are in session or not. With Asbury College and Asbury Seminary (separate institutions) both in Wilmore, surely they give a boost to the small city's population for nine months of the year. So, what are the trials of a small town? What are the great evils that must be squashed? Apparently, it's teenage boys who want to skateboard - anywhere. Oooh. Nobody wants the skate rats grinding and generally loitering on their property. Not the college or the seminary - both landscapes rich with sloped sidewalks and curbs to do tricks on. It's a virtual skatepark; or about the best you can get around here. But, no, skateboarding is strictly prohibited on their campuses. Nobody else wants them around, either. Not businesses, not the seven trillion churches. Now, I DO understand their reasoning for this. They have their reasons - grown-up, boring reasons. But reasons.
Meanwhile, these reasons get the skaters chased all over town. Yelled at like they were caught defacing property or setting something on fire. These reasons, and the people who enforce them, generally make the kids feel like criminals. Criminals who have no place in this town. There's a severe lack of grace going on here. I don't know all of them, by far, but I know a few of them. And they're GOOD kids. Kids who enjoy skateboarding. Which, for a 12-year-old in a small town in the middle of summer, really doesn't sound like a bad idea. They're socializing with each other, enjoying being outside, getting exercise, and let's face it - not smoking things, doing drugs, or having sex. Sounds cool to me.
The other day, my friend's son was hanging out with his skater buddies in the parking lot of the local baptist church. When he saw an adult authority figure come out of the church, he cringed. Just two weeks earlier, he had been harshly yelled at for WALKING with his skateboard NEAR the seminary grounds. Wow. So, his apprehension was understood. The adult approached them and they waited for their tongue lashing. This man, turns out the pastor of the church, said, "Hey guys. Looks like you could use some Ale-8s." He then proceeded to walk all of them across the street to IGA and buy them all an Ale-8. Hoorah, Mr. Baptist Pastor! Thank you for setting an example. Thank you for showing some grace. Thank you for remembering what it's like to be a kid. And thank you for showing these kids that not all Christian authority figures are the same.
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