Sometimes it's good to let the kids have a turn.

Acts 15:36-41

So this is how the discussion really went: "Brother Paul, let us return and visit the towns where lately we preached." "Indeed, Brother Barnabas, I have been thinking that very thing. Whom shall we choose to go along with us?" "I have already spoken with John Mark and I know he is eager to come with us." "What? (yelled Paul) Are you out of your mind? That kid flaked out on us last time; no way I'm taking him again!" "Really Paul, you're so judgmental. Everyone deserves a second chance. I've talked it over with him and he's apologized and wants another chance to prove himself." "Forget it, Barnabas, you've gone soft in the head. If he goes, I'm staying home!" "Oh, yeah, (yelled Barnabas) I suppose you have someone better in mind?" "I do, actually," said Paul. " Silas has asked if he could come on our next mission trip, and I told him he could." There was silence for a while while Barnabas thought it over. Then he said," You know, that's not the worst idea ever. You know you and I aren't as young as we used to be, and when we're gone, someone has to be ready to take over. I tell you what; why don't I take John Mark with me to Cyprus, since he already knows the area, and you and Silas can go on up to Syria and Cilicia, since you've been wanting to go up there. That way they can both learn from us and we can cover more ground." So that's what they did.

Many years ago at FPC the Ginny Whitney Circle, of which I was president, held a yearly garage sale to earn money for missions. It was a ton of hard work, and as the years passed, the husbands, who had been in charge of hauling away the leftovers to Goodwill, were no longer able to help. Then one year as we were setting up the tables Carlene, who was standing in the kitchen doorway, fell over with a broken hip. The next year, Evelyn, coming in to help set up, tripped on a line in the rug, fell over and broke her hip. At that point I made an executive decision: The senior ladies of the church are no longer in charge of the garage sale! It made a lot of people mad but I stuck to my guns, and actually most of them were secretly relieved. Also, because we weren't doing it any longer, the university students from the INN saw their opportunity to jump in and they took it over and ran it for many successful years. I learned then that it's good for the older folks to step back a pace so the younger ones have a chance to learn. It was true for Paul and Barnabas, and it's still true for us.