.....And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord FOREVER

If I were to ask the average church goer hours they log in at their church, it would be less than 3 for the week. For the Preacher's Kid multiply that number, by a million, trillion, gazillion. Yes, I'm exaggerating. But imagine being 9 or 10 and being at church for every church service and event. Because believe it or not, any event that involves church people, to a kid at that age is CHURCH. Let's say the church decides to have a social on a holiday. The next day if you ask that kid where he was, he's gonna say church. Ha Ha, don't believe me try it. Ask your Pastor's kid that. But before that let's break down the church week for a PK.

Sunday

    Sunrise Service, Sunday School, Sunday Worship/Children's Church, Evening Service

Monday

    Prayer Service or Bible Study or New Converts Class

Tuesday

    Choir Rehearsal

Wednesday

    Bible Study

Thursday

    Band or Praise Rehearsals

Friday

    Youth Service

Saturday

    Childrens Choir

That was based on the general feedback I got from other PK's that I spoke with or those that messaged me. Some people mentioned visiting the sick and shut in members and soup Kitchen and Community activities that their church was involved with where their attendance was mandatory.
I told my sister once that I don't think that David's declaration at the end of Psalms 23 was meant to be an actual literal translation, but for us it seems that way.

Add to that church anniversaries, conferences and the like. It's a lot for a kid.

Ever wonder why it seems like Preacher's Kids "wild out" when they get in social situations. It's because their brain is so overwhelmed by the mere fact that they're involved in a non church related activity, that they try to compact all the fun into those few moments. :) It's crazy, because you get the label of being wild even before you step out and you inwardly vow not to be defined by THAT label. But then a voice says, "You don't know when they gonna let you out again." HA HA

And the older you get the more responsible to attend you become. It becomes your duty to show the congregation that their kids should be in church too. The family that prays together.... Even if it's never said right out, you learn early that it's expected. People love to compare their lives, which is a sad thing.

But church is where I learned to people watch. They were watching me so why not watch back. I learned to be invisible. I learned to pay attention to what people said verses what they actually meant. Yes, church brought out my investigative side.

Growing up I learned to actually enjoy the weird, wonderful, wacky people that attend church. And I think most PK's would tell you that the cross section of church people went from exactly what I described them as from weird to wonderful to wacky. I guess that's why I chose entertainment. Because in the house of the Lord, I was ALWAYS entertained.

Stay tuned ;-)

"I remember quietly listening during lunch when the other kids talked about going to the mall over the weekend and going to the movies and parties. Eventually I stopped being invited because when asked why I didn't come to stuff, my answer was the same. 'I had church'." Steve, PK 20+ yrs, Anchorage, USA