Random Childhood (Church) Memories #7

--Age 12. My Mom decided we'd switch churches because our current church was becoming too large and too mainstream. We visited many, including one in a Red Lobster where they gathered in a big circle and spoke in tongues. I did it, too, but I faked it.

--Age 13. I had just returned from church camp with my cousin and we decided we'd swear off Rock and Pop music so that we'd be less sinful. We ceremoniously burned Prince's Purple Rain cassette tape in the middle of my street. I bought another one about 2 months later and it remains one of my favorite records albums CDs of all time.

--Age 13. I sat in my Junior High School auditorium and listened to a school-sponsored lecture on the evils of rock music. The topic was backmasking and the heinousness of listening to the Beatles, Led Zepplin and Judas Priest. Backwards, of course. Because we all do that.

--Age 12. I remember waking up very early on a Saturday morning and sitting outside by the pool with my Bible, feverishly highlighting passages that I thought might apply to me. It was called "Quiet Time," and my mother couldn't have been more proud of me. I'm pretty sure my Dad thought I was nuts. He was right.

--Age 13. I sang in the church choir with him (although I just found out he was a popular singer). You GO, Chris!

--Age 14. I gave up church after they fired my favorite (and also black) Choir Director, James Wright. When I asked my Mom why they fired him she said "they" just didn't think he was a good fit for the church. I told her if that was the case, I didn't think I was either. I never went back.