Youth Say Some Funny Stuff

In my new job, the group of students I'm responsible for is a slightly younger group than I am used to. Technically, I'm responsible for grade 6 through the end of high school, however there are no students in my church between the ages of 15 and 18, which means I'm in charge of a group of 11 to 14 year olds. Needless to say, with a group this age, some funny lines come out from time to time. Here are some of the highlights so far:

-Tonight during our discussion, I asked each of the youth what one thing is they can do over the course of the next week to follow Jesus in their everyday life. Each took turns sharing, then they decided to recommend ways that I should follow Jesus in the next week. Their suggestion? I need to tell at least 5 people that Jesus loves them... and each of these people has to be smoking as I tell this to them.

-I was talking with some youth about the concept of dying to ourselves and being alive in Christ. I asked these students if they thought their lives would be better or worse if they truly lived this way. One student told me it would be better... but only if he could still play video games.

-During their school break, I took my pastor's 2 middle kids--who are slightly younger than the age range I'm responsible for, but they're close to it--ice skating. After skating, we grabbed some lunch. During our time eating together, this conversation occurred:

Me: So do you know what you want to be when you grow up?

Pastor's daughter: Yes, I want to be a mom, so I can sleep in every day.

Pastor's son: I want to be a cop, because they get to fire guns and drive really fast.

Me (sarcastically to the son): And that's what life is all about, shooting guns and driving fast.

Pastor's son: Yeah, well, that... and drinking beer.

Let's just say there is rarely a dull moment in my life these days.