A Superhero's Life, an Introduction

Welcome! In an introductory note, let me explain how my blog got its name...

I teach Sunday School. OK, technically I teach Primary, but for those who are unfamiliar with my religious persuasion, Sunday school is close enough.

Of course, that isn’t my only role in life. It’s just one of my more humbling roles.

I teach a group of eleven and twelve year olds. They are the oldest Primary class and are transitioning to the classes for the young men and women. They can’t wait to turn twelve so that they won’t have to spend the second hour in “sharing time” because they are too mature for that now.

Don’t misunderstand me. These are great kids and I love each and every one of them. I can even understand where they’re coming from. My birthday falls at the end of October and I made the deadline for starting school by 15 days. Most of my best friends were almost an entire year older than I was. The day after my 12th birthday, I was no longer plain old twelve—I was “almost thirteen!” For them, Primary is already in the rearview mirror. They already see themselves as teens.

I am much more comfortable teaching adults. With adults, one assumes that they have accepted some degree of responsibility for their lives, personal beliefs, and degree of spirituality. What I find intimidating about teaching younger people is that every aspect of their lives is still under construction. Adults are gullible, they rarely look beyond the façade. These kids, however, have higher expectations. If I have any hope of reaching them, I have to actively practice what I preach. It’s not enough to tell them that Heavenly Father and Jesus know them and love them. I have to know them and love them.

These kids look for congruency between my beliefs, my words, and my actions. My parents never tried that old saw, "Do as I say, and not as I do," but it never would have flown with me-- and today's kids are a lot more savvy than I was at their age. They are smart enough to know that we all have bad days. They are willing to accept something less than perfection, but they have a right to expect an honest effort on my part to follow the Savior's example. I can expect nothing less for them or from them.

To introduce this year's course of study, we had a discussion about what it meant to be a superhero. The common theme was that job of a superhero was to "save the world." We all agreed, however, that sometimes we save the world one person at a time. It's only in extraordinary circumstances that we may assist in saving tens or hundreds or thousands at once. The ultimate superhero is Jesus Christ because he was specifically sent to accomplish for us those things which we would be incapable of doing for ourselves. As our class studies the Scriptures this year, we would discover that it's basically an instruction manual for anyone and everyone who has a desire to become a true superhero. To those who keep journals, I suggested that they title them "My life as a Superhero." Could I do anything less myself?

I do not anticipate that my future musings will be always religious in nature. They will reflect the current events of my life and the world around me.

So... welcome to my world!