The Colonel spent the week following a group of fifth and sixth grade boys around.
One does not "lead" a group of fifth and sixth grade boys. Herding cats is a breeze by comparison.
And, fifth and sixth grade boys aren't going to sit still for flannel graph Bible stories nor willingly participate in dancing and singing. They would rather be fishing or wrestling or swimming or wrestling or playing sports.
Or wrestling.
So, that's what the Colonel's kids do. One evening we take 'em fishing and then we tell 'em the story of the Greatest Fisherman (Luke 5, 1 - 8).
Another evening we run 'em through an obstacle course and then we tell 'em the story of the Greatest Warrior (Joshua 5, 13 - 15).
We take 'em swimming and tell 'em about the depths of God's love for them.
This year, on the first evening we brought 'em out to the Colonel's Man Toy Storage and Sawdust Production Facility and let them put the finishing touches on a submarine silhouette. They wrote "Submerged in Christ" on the sub, slapped on a couple of coats of polyurethane, and glued a cross on the conning tower.
"Submerged in Christ" became the overarching theme for the week.
You might not think so, but there's a spiritual lesson in comparing submarines to sailboats.
You see, a sailboat rides on top of the water. The water influences it some, but the wind is the far greater influence.
A submarine, submerged completely, is influenced only by the water that surrounds all of it.
So, the question becomes: are you a sailboat Christian or a submarine Christian?
A sailboat Christian floats on a foundation of faith, but is blown hither and yon by the winds of popular opinion, cultural dogma, or political correctness.
A submarine Christian is completely submerged in the will of God as expressed through the teachings of His Son, Jesus. Submerging in Christ insulates one from the whims of the world.
The Colonel knows it's not a perfect analogy -- nor even a very good one, for that matter.
But, it worked for fifth and sixth grade boys.
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