Preacher's Kids Anonymous Part I

(The setting: a non descript room, possibly a church classroom, a hospital conference room or other kind of gathering room in a public building...automatic coffee is brewing on a too small table, coffee-stained coffee cups are hanging on the wall. People are seated on folding chairs in a circle, some look forlorn, others are leaned over, looking at the floor. A big banner hangs on the wall that states "Welcome to Preacher's Kids Anonymous.")

I'm Brian, I'm a recovering preacher's kid.

Group: "Hi Brian...."

This is my first time to share, thank you for your support.

I guess I'll start at the beginning....

Life really wasn't so bad growing up, moving around all the time gave us a better perspective of the world.

We would see people that grew up and could never leave home. We were born leaving home!

And we always went to church. How could a preacher's family not go to church? I don't know if preachers have sick time like I do at the state. What do you say? "I'm sorry, I know it's the only day I really have to work, but I just can't make it in today."

The good thing is that you would think that if you're a preacher it seems like you could call in and you'd never get caught, because all the elders, your bosses would be at church, too...somehow though it would never work out that way....

One time my kindergarten teacher asked the class what our parents did. Only living across the street from work, Dad would walk home for lunch most days and would often take a nap. So my reply was that my dad 'takes naps.'

Concerned about a family involved in self-destruction, the teacher was worried enough about that to talk to my dad about it.

But dancing...that was one I didn't get.

Official church policy stated that 'Thou shalt not dance'. No Homecoming, no Prom-if people are moving and there is music then something could happen...but we weren't supposed to know what might happen.

I didn't ever have to worry about being nervous about asking a girl out to Prom. Nor did I have to worry about moving and listening to music simultaneously.

This would later prove a bit detrimental. Prom is a rite of passage, whether we acknowledge it or not.

The way this policy was actually carried out is that the preacher's kid couldn't dance. Everybody else could and did.

I always liked to bug my dad with questions, "If I can't dance, then why is it okay to be in marching band?" The answer was the standard answer I'd get at '...that college in West Texas that is between San Angelo and Dallas...', that choreography is okay but dancing is not.

So, if you know what you're going to do, and everybody else is doing the same thing, then it's ok. But if you're going to get out there with some girl and you're just making it up as you go, then things could happen and that would be bad.

"What things?"

We'll talk about that later....

"Ok."
(Continued in Part II)