Church as a kid – The Watch2
Posted In Church as a kid
Things I remember about church when I was a kid…
When the preacher took his watch off and placed it on the pulpit. He would be introducing himself or the topic and he would go to his wrist and start unclamping the classy gold watch. It was always a comforting feeling. “Whew, we’ve got the lunch insurance today! He’s bound to see that watch at some point and be forced to stop!” Then my mind would wonder to what I was going to order at Casa Mexicana that day.
The worst however is when the preacher would forget to take his watch off. You could just sense the uneasiness in the room as everyone settled in for a “long one.” Many times I contemplated raising my hand and gently reminding him that he forgot the part where he places his watch on the wooden pulpit. “Excuse me Brother Jeff, you forgot to take your watch off. I’m sure you are a creature of habit and I didn’t want you to have that nagging feeling of ‘what did I forget to do’, the entire time you are talking.”
Without the visible reminder, you could never really tell when he was exactly going to be done. You know what I mean, when he closes his Bible and starts speaking a little slower. Especially the last few words: “That’s what you need to… do… today. Turn to Galations for point #3.”
So close…but yet, so far away.
I don’t remember if they had a clock on the back wall or not, but hopefully at some point someone suggested it. If it were up to me, I would have snagged my moms eggbeater timer, that ironically I never once saw her used to time herself beating eggs, only to time how long I had to keep the soap in my mouth or my time in the corner. Anyway, there would be no chance of the preacher going over once that “DING!” went off. Everyone would know that his time was up and he would be forced to say, “let’s pray.”
As a kid, those are the things you remember about church. Next time – What I remember about the invitation.
Did your pastor use his watch as a guide?
I'm so going to take my watch off at the start of this weeks message.
HA HA I totally grew up in this environment, and I was ALWAYS thinking about what to order at lunch!