For the past nine months, I've served my church as a religious education instructor. It's a good experience and has helped enliven my faith and its practice. My students are fifth-grade boys, five of them. We meet each Tuesday evening for 90 minutes in the church's school building. At times they're little cretins, God Bless Them. Their energies and desire for entertainment are overwhelming. I've prayed to morph into a video game on occasion. Religious education can be entertaining and interesting. It's more serious and less entertaining in the main. Coming at the end of our school and workdays, I think we're tired and also have much to do once "RE," as it's called, concludes. There is also a great deal of curiosity, interest in what is new or different, and desire to be validated.

I've grown to love these boys, or young Christian gentlemen as I call them. I see them as the men and leaders of tomorrow. I'm a father, and they're not my sons, but through this experience, I've come to think of them as a little bit of mine, so to speak. I........

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