40 Days with Jesus: Day 22

A United Methodist pastor in a small Kansas town decided to carry a cardboard cutout of Jesus with him every day for the 40 days of Lent. This series will document some of their adventures. We have affectionately taken to calling the cutout, "CJ" which stands for "Cardboard Jesus."

By Vicky Miller

Jeff has been taking six junior high kids through confirmation class. Tonight I interviewed four of the kids over the phone. I’ll use first initials to show their responses.

Q. Was Cardboard Jesus in confirmation tonight?

R. I think he was. Wait, I’m not sure. Yeah, I’m pretty sure he was.

C. Yes.

P. Yep.

A. Yes.

Q. What do you think of Cardboard Jesus?

R. At first I thought it was a little awkward. He’s pretty cool now. He’s a cool guy.

C. He’s kind of tall. He’s kind of old.

P. I like it. It’s cool when he’s there.

A. I kind of feel sorry for Jeff because you have to carry that big thing around with you all the time.

Q. What are you learning about in confirmation?

R. We studied after the Israelites came into Canaan. Moses couldn’t go to the land because, like, he did something bad. Something about him tapping a rock or something. So Joshua got to go into the land and there was the Battle of Jericho. So then they had the judges. Then we talked about the first three kings: Saul, David, and Solomon. How David got picked, like, when he was the smallest. He had all these tough brothers.

C. We learned about the United Kingdom for the Israelites, and after a while they wanted a king instead of just, like, God. Saul was the first one, then David, and when David died, Solomon became king.

P. Moses and the Ten Commandments. Tonight was about the three kings––David and Saul and Solomon. First Saul, then David, then Solomon.

A. We learned the story about how when Saul was king, and David became king, and then Solomon. And also learned the story about… (hollers to dad, “What’s that dude’s name who anointed Jesus? Dad replies, “You mean John the Baptist?” A. responds, “No, not Jesus. I mean David.”) We learned about that dude that anointed David.

Q. What’s your favorite thing about church?

R. Singing, praise band, and choir; music stuff––it’s fun; getting mints in the back; youth group and Sunday school.

C. I kind of like when we sing.

P. Being around people. I like singing the songs.

A. I like going and learning about God because I like to learn new things. I like the part where you go to say hello to everybody.