Tag: Teenagers

It’s nine o’clock on a Sunday

March 30, 2026

Of course, I am speaking of AM. Billy Joel begins his song “Piano Man” with five o’clock on a Saturday, which is PM. He is speaking of the bar that he is playing at. He then describes the crowd that walks in, sits down, and has a few. The TV sitcom “Cheers” theme song was “Where Everybody Knows Your Name.”

I always thought that it was your local church. You can tell which one I go to more often. Nine o’clock on a Sunday refers to going to church. I would like to talk about some of the general types of characters that you might see on a Sunday morning.

We all know that the pastor will be there. When I am listing these descriptions of folks, your pastor or deacon, etc., may show up under these. Some of the members of the congregation at your church may overlap in these areas. They are all meant to be humorous and not insulting to anyone, even me.

Susy Sunshine is there every week with a smile on her face. She’s happy, and the other ladies wonder why. They think she must be drunk or on drugs to be that happy all the time. She’s just putting on a face because her husband just left her with two kids and took off with his secretary.

Nicholas Nobody walks in the door, and the greeter shakes his hand. He walks with his head down as no one speaks his name or says a word to him except for Jocular Jed. More on him later. He’s new and wonders if he should even have come.

The sports fanatic is there every week unless the football, hockey, baseball, lacrosse, or tidily wink match starts before church ends. They are there religiously when it does not interfere with these. Don’t worry, they will make up for the tithes they miss from their winnings in sports betting.

I already mentioned Jed, and I used the term jocular because he is the guy who always tells jokes. Some are funny, others are not. Part of them don’t even make sense. They all take too long to tell. At least Nicholas smiles at most of the things Jed tells him. Jed knows that most of the others think he’s foolish, and he considers himself a fool for Christ.

It’s time to think of the ones that are hiding under the pews. That’s right, the children. They crawl from the front to the back, looking for that squirrel that Ray Stevens sang the song about. They start out with mom and dad and sing all the songs that they know.

The teenagers are sitting somewhere. They may be scattered or in a group. If the church has a youth minister, he and his wife are close to this group. These are the future of the Church. They need love and encouragement.

There is one last group that should never be forgotten in the church. These are the older adults. We have been around for longer than any others. Some of us are grandparents or great-grandparents. We used to be the backbone of the body and are now viewed as the last generation.

©Copyright 2026 by Charles Kensinger

Little White Church

August 24, 2025

Have you heard this country song by Little Big Town from 2010? I would like to take a moment to share it with you. Two different feelings come depending on whether you watch the video or just listen to the audio.

Ladies, do you have a guy who will not make a commitment to marriage? Maybe you should play this song for him. As a man, I can tell you our inclination is to delay marriage if we can have what we want without it. Yes, I am talking about sex. As a father of three girls, I made sure my daughters understood this.

Are you worth a man’s love and respect? Then you need to show him that you are. We all have sexual desires, and our culture says that we can do whatever we want to if we are adults. Just because we want to participate in something does not mean it is best for us. Decisions we make today will have consequences tomorrow.

The next verse takes us to the video for this song. It shows the bride going to the church and at the same time her mother drugs the groom, ties him up, and puts him in the trunk of a car.

Many parents have doubts about the potential mate their child has chosen. It is usually wise not to mention this. Most of us do not want to admit that our parents are correct and we are wrong. Voicing your opinion may simply drive them towards making a bad choice. Back off and let them decide for themselves.

The conclusion of this song was the desire of my wife and I with our girls. The decisions are theirs and it is something every man and woman needs to consider. Your choices are your own and so are the results.

All three of our daughters married before having children. Their husbands are fine men. All three are teachers. The two oldest are in public schools and the youngest home schools their children. We have twelve wonderful grandchildren, and life is great for all of us.

Our churches are not always white, and sometimes they do not even meet in what is thought of as a church building, but the idea is to meet with the church that is the body of Christ, the gathering together of believers. It isn’t just there to marry couples. They have solutions for almost everything.

©Copyright 2025 by Charles Kensinger