Educated in a small town Taught the fear of Jesus in a small town Used to daydream in that small town Another boring romantic that's me John Cougar Mellencamp "Small Town" It was early - 7:30 in the morning early - I was barely awake, and I was sitting in the doctor's office getting my blood pressure checked. I just turned 49 you know, and my wife is worried my heart won't make it until my youngest daughter's graduation. So there I sat as the nurse fixed the arm cuff tightly on my bicep..."Pump, pump, pump."
Faintly in the background a very familiar song was being piped in over the speaker system, "Small Town" by John Cougar Mellencamp. I don't know if it was the blood backing up in my arm affecting my brain function, but a rush of memories started flooding into my mind. I grew up on John Cougar, I especially loved his album with the song Jack & Diane... "Little ditty about Jack and Diane 2 American kids growin' up in the heartland Jacky's gonna be a football star (next line not appropriate for a pastor's blog) Oh yeah, life goes on long after the thrill of living is gone!" It was an ode' about a 16 year old football player growing up in the sticks of central Indiana, total Americana. At the time of the song's debut I was 16 and so this song and Mellencamp's music struck a real chord with me. I guess I was a dreamer and I still am. The line in the song that always haunted me says, Gonna let it rock Let it roll Let the Bible belt come on down And save my soul Hold on to 16 as long as you can Changes come around real soon Make us women and men I never knew what that meant, it sounded spiritual, but with a hint of cynicism added for flavor. The lyrics, while built on nostalgia and feelings of the good ole' days, also mock a small-town boy's naivete'. Just as Jackie was dreaming about being a "football star" he was blindly trusting in some mysterious God up in the sky. You see, these kind of dreams are meant only for the foolish hopes of adolescence, and must be left behind after we become women and men. You know, if your not careful, adolescent disillusionment can be deadly for your child's faith. Small town football players have a four to eight year window of glorious fantasy - - they really think they are going to be somebody. If you have a hint of athletic talent you will get your 15 minutes of fame in a small town. Your name will be broadcast over the loud-speaker under the lights, your girl-friend will be wearing your number in the stands, and if you are lucky you may get some props in the local newspaper (nowadays sport write-ups come digitally on-line). But then the worst thing happens, you graduate, and the phone calls from college recruiters never seem to come. The light eventually goes on as you watch college football on TV: your 165 pound frame as a running-back in high school won't cut it when colleges are outfitting 225 pound backs with 4.5 speed. Then reality strikes, "Hmmm. maybe I wasn't as bright of a star as I thought?" So you let the dream fade, and every once in a while you may try to revive it by playing a backyard pick-up football game or join college intramurals telling tales of the "glory days" to anyone who will listen. (When you get my age you finally realize that is what sons are for!) I think this same loss of a dream can effect your faith if you are not careful. I was listening to a college professor on-line explain how many Christian students go to school believing that the rest of the world will have the same Christian worldview as them, only to find that the majority don't. This can be earth-shattering for a person who has never been challenged in his or her faith. "Hmmm, maybe mom and dad and my pastor aren't as smart as I thought? Maybe there is no God? Maybe, just maybe, I did come from a hairy ape?" Part of the problem is our unwillingness to face reality. Just like the high school student whose parents live the "Friday Night Lights" dream with them, parents also are scared to work through the real doubts of belief. Believe it or not, it is healthy to wonder and ask tough questions. And the difference when it comes to faith over football is that Jesus really exists, he is not a pipe dream. The more you hammer out the tough questions in the home the more prepared and secure your child will be in their beliefs. I did some research on John Cougar Mellencamp's beliefs and I found a very telling interview done a few years back: Reporter: "You and your wife (Elaine) were baptized while recording "No Better Than This." Where are you spiritually?" John Mellencamp: "That's a good question. When hatred enters into religion, which it often does, under the name of God, I think it's an error. I think that's why organized religion is at an all-time low and attending churches that's my assumption. I know when I was a kid, Sunday meant something. I'm not sure what it means anymore. I think it's because money and hatred have eclipsed what the word of the Bible is. America is in a terrible place right now." If you notice, when he was a kid Sunday meant something. But what? Apparently he never knew what it meant in the first place; and that may be his main problem. Does your kid know why you go to church on Sunday? Does he think it is a tradition like dressing up for a football game on Friday night only to realize it was a short-lived dream. Ironically he blames money as a problem, and yet his net worth is $25 million dollars. After three wives and a fling with the celebrity Meg Ryan I don't think small town nostalgia will save him. His religion wasn't Jesus, it was only a part of Americana that fades away when you grow up. But Jesus is still there. Jesus lives. If you don't introduce your son or daughter to God as a person, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, they will see faith only as a cheep religion like John Cougar did. So be a good parent, shatter the dream. It may be the best thing for them in the long run. (That is unless they are 225 pounds and run a 4.5 forty). "Owe!" Why did that nurse have to stick me with that needle for Tetanus?" There went my early morning train of thought.
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