Faith in school: A substitute teacher's perspective | MIKE SAWYER
I am responding to the recent “Vote down Alabama’s unwise, unconstitutional chaplain-in-school bill.”
I will give some of my background that might help the reader to have a better feel understanding of my thoughts.
I attended an Alabama elementary school from 1958-1964 with not much church influence except Vacation Bible School, with emphasis on free refreshments and two unforgettable Christian Bible missionaries giving our elementary class a monthly Bible story.
I had a June 1970 church wedding because it was the fashion.
From 1980-83, I owned and operated a bar and package store in southeast, Alabama even after the divine deliverance of alcohol on Dec. 31, 1978. However, the major liberation for me was the love of money and greed. My surrender was in April of 1983. Sold the business for a lot less than value. A wonderful Free Will Baptist pastor and lifetime friend allowed me to operate their non-ac, no power-steering church bus. I was entering Dale, Henry, and Houston counties to bring kids to church Sunday morning night, and Wednesday. More kids delivered than the small church could equip, so in September, the pastor and leader of an Assembly of God church came to my big house and asked if I would switch over. I did. After a couple of years of bringing hundreds of kids to church, the pastor greeted me early one Sunday morning at the bus and said “The deacons had asked him to ask me to keep our bus out of the bottom.” In Alabama, the bottom was where our Black kids lived. My spirit was damaged and I gracefully left. In 1989, entered Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky and graduated with a Masters of Divinity degree in 1992.
My wife (married 39 years) was foster parents to over 60 beautiful Florida foster kids from 2008-2013.
We followed our two sons from Florida to Denver, CO in 2013. During this time, I became a substitute school teacher in a “high needs” school district and was about to complete two years with perfect attendance as a long-term sub. I never wear a cross or collar, but blessed that many students ask, “Mr. Mike, are you a Christian?”
During this current middle school term an 8th-grade boy and a 7th-grade girl have with a request made me two Christian crosses that I display in my room.
Often when I see a student wearing a neck cross or earring cross, I will comment that the cross saved my life. I complimented an 8th-grade student for his large cross, and he responded that he was wearing it because his father was in prison.
It was an honor for our middle school principal to ask me to say the prayer in our Saturday gym funeral service for a longtime school office employee.
I got to share a note to my classes that I had found in the middle school hallway that stated, “ If you get bored punch an orphan. What are they gonna do, tell their parents?"
About six years ago a quiet Spanish-American 7th grader raised his hand in class to say, “Mr. Mike, you are so nice when you die you are going to Heaven.” Immediately our tiny Black student with his headphones connected raised his hand sharing, “Mr. Mike when you get to Heaven, will you tell God I’m sorry.” Immediately I knelt in front of his desk asking him what was wrong. He softly answered, “Mr. Mike, I did some bad things.” He had told me earlier that he was born in jail and his older six brothers were in prison.
Last year the school surprised me with a 6th grade boy and girl given the “Mr. Mike, Good Citizenship” award.
All this personal history to say that it might be best in 2024 for public schools to resist the paid school chaplain. I do encourage church leadership to reach out to their church communities for "all" the unchurched and maybe unloved children and youth. Evangelizing in homes would be much better as the church representative would get to meet the parent(s) or guardian(s).
Mike Sawyer is a former Alabama resident who resides in Denver, Colorado. He is a former mayor of Midland City, Ala., and a former employee of the Alabama Department of Education. He has a Master of Divinity degree, and is a full-time long-term substitute teacher at a middle school.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Faith in school: A substitute teacher's perspective | MIKE SAWYER
