Last night after middle school worship some students were standing in a circle in the gym (my first clue). We had just finished a message on taming our inner "monsters". What happened next was a lesson in irony and illustrates the depths of middle school drama.
I noticed one of the smaller girls had a pretty frustrated look on her face as she stood opposite one of the boys (also small but a bit larger than her). He must have provoked her pretty bad because the next thing I knew she had slapped him in the face. What!? I walked over to them as she burst into tears--said I'm sorry--then ran away. I was wondering how much damage she could have possibly done but that's when I saw the blood on the kids lip and teeth. I guess the boys had been poking fun at her during the service and she finally got fed up. The dude turned out to be ok--but her swing must have landed at just the right angle to bust the inside of his lip.
What a night!
P.S. My super hero powers that I ordered from Youth Specialties and Simply Youth Ministry have been back-ordered. Maybe they'll come in time for the next "circle-time" in the gym. :)Labels: jr. high youth ministry, middle school, youth ministry, youth work