It was the Sunday after Falls Creek, the world’s largest Christian youth camp. We had a great week at camp with 10 students choosing Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. Our theme for Falls Creek was SENT-- as Jesus has called us and sent us out into the world to spread the Gospel. On this Sunday morning, we were in our 2nd worship service which is definitely a rocking service. We had been singing some songs that we had sung during camp. The song, “Sing like the saved” was being sung, and we came to the line, “we’re gonna dance like the saved”. So to liven things up even more, we were doing silly dances like the Sprinkler, the lawnmower, and more. A friend of mine known as Jessy Douglass said, “Jeremy, do the monkey bars!” This just happened to be a dance we did during camp led by our videographer Danny Tibbs. Naturally as any good student pastor will do, I started doing it and was doing it quite well I might add. I did it so well that one of the band calls me up. Thank you Mikey Eaves for this by the way. So I get up on stage, which is about 4 foot tall and I start doing the Monkey Bars on stage in front of at least 600 people. As I am doing this, I think to myself that I need to jump from the stage. The closer I get to the edge of the stage, the clearer it becomes that I must do this! It will be the perfect moment. It wouldn’t hurt anything and it would add to the atmosphere of this fun, energetic time of worship. (What I haven’t mentioned for those of you who don’t attend our church is that the students sit in the front in our center section and stage right front sections. I am on stage right in front of all of them.) The crowd was responding and enjoying. People were having fun, people were laughing, and people were singing. Church should be fun right! So back to our story.
We’re gonna dance like the saved, and I hit the edge of the stage and jump up at least a foot up from the stage level, which now makes me at least 5 foot off the ground. But I don’t just jump. I jump up with both of my arms spread out and my legs too. I am literally making an X with my body as I am flying up and now down to the ground. Suddenly the breeze from a 200 lb body hurling itself down to the ground causes my shirt which is untucked to fly up exposing my curvaceous midsection to be shown to at least 200 of the 600 people. Naturally being the gentlemen that I am, I try to pull my shirt down. Remember I am still flying through the air with the greatest of ease, but as I pull my shirt down I lose my balance and I am now about to land. The problem is that I am about to land on my left foot in the tippy-toe position with shoes that I don’t need to be jumping off a stage of 4 feet. Then it happens. I land and I fall down from my left foot to my left knee.
I can’t remember exactly what happened next. I think I crawled over to my chair but I may have hopped. Regardless everyone around me is laughing as I am, except I know something that they don’t. I know my foot is broke b/c I can feel things moving inside that shouldn’t be moving.
My darling wife is laughing but she is also embarrassed. As I tell her that I broke it, she doesn’t believe me at first but finally she goes to get me some Advil so I can make it through church. I did make it through, but honestly I don’t remember the sermon as I was in pain and trying to determine how bad it was. However the story is far from over.
As the sermon ends, the pastors, which I am one by the way, go up to the front to welcome anyone who is making a public decision or needs prayer, etc. I have to somehow stand. My pastor doesn’t realize exactly what happened as he didn’t see the jump. But I hobbled up as students came up to share with the church decisions that they had made while at camp. Normally at the end, our pastor shares with the church all the decisions but since so many are from camp, he asks me to come and share them. But I try to quietly tell him that I broke my foot, but he doesn’t believe me. Finally he begins to believe but tells me to hop up to share with the church. So now everyone is laughing that I broke my foot.
With more to come in part 2. . . . . .
