Many people know that I am a Batman fan. OK, for me to say I am a “fan” seems to be a bit of an understatement. I love Batman. He’s the best Hero. Notice I didn’t say “super” before the word hero.
People often ask me why he is my favorite, so I tell them. Batman aka Bruce Wayne (spoiler alert?) is a normal guy. Bruce experienced grief in his life and has decided that instead of wallowing in self-pity and grief, he was going to go out and make the world a better place for the people in his community. Does he have to? No way. He’s a billionaire! He could literally have sat in his penthouse and done nothing his whole life and would have died probably feeling decent about things. But he didn’t. He chose a higher road.
Bruce Wayne/Batman in the Dark Knight Rises discussed how he wanted Batman to be a symbol of good. That it didn’t matter who wore the mask, what mattered was people felt safe because they knew whoever it was, they were being looked after.
When I tell people I am in Jr High ministry I often get one of several responses. “Oh my, that sounds awful!” or, “better you than me!” or “Wow, it takes a special person to do that.” Or even just a “God bless you…” Kind of makes you feel like you are doing something extraordinary!
I love Jr High ministry because of the students. They are at such an impressionable age that if they have the right people in their lives impacting them, they feel like they can accomplish anything! Do you remember when you were growing up with dreams of what you wanted to be? Be it a fireman or an astronaut or heck, even Batman. All we wanted was someone to tell us that we could be whatever we wanted to be and that things would be OK.
Scott Glisson is an intern with Wildside–junior high ministry at Saddleback Church. He hails from the great state of Ohio and LOVES junior high students. Keep an eye out for more guest posts from Scott in the near future!
[...] is the second part of a post from our friend Scott Glisson. If you haven’t read part 1, check it out and then come on [...]