Joel McKerrow
November 29th, 2019 04:19 PM
I accidentally ended up in Byron Bay over schoolies. Not the best timing. It was masses of teenagers drinking masses of alcohol down every main street. A 10 minute walk and in that time I saw five different girls hurling up their dinner and their dignity in the gutters and the parks.
Dignity: The state or quality of being worthy of honour and respect.
It is not true then, that they were giving over their dignity. They were just kids, messy and making the choices that teenagers make. But each one still worthy of honour and respect. The guy passed out. The girl flashing herself. The groups of boys all bold and bravado and drunken and hollering. Every single one of them still made in the image of God. Every single one of them has a story and so has dignity. Some may have lost it somewhere in their attempts to rally position on the teenage social ladder, or to escape their life for a moment, or drink away some sorrow, or just wanting to party. But it is still there. Perhaps all they needed was someone to remind them of this, of their dignity.
Enter the Red Frogs.
Perhaps all they needed was someone to remind them of this, of their dignity.
Every one of these five hurling girls that I saw had beside them a Red Frog. Every single one. A Red Frog is a young person who had volunteered their time over Schoolies to stay up till all hours of the morning just to sit beside the vomiting, walk home with the lonely and make sure of their safety in the staggering steps toward their hotel. A wonderful ministry indeed!
I felt proud last night. Proud of my people. The Jesus people. Doing what the Jesus people are meant to do. Not shying away from the messiness of the world, but leaning into it and giving themselves to it. Seeing the dignity in people and sitting with them until they themselves can see it too.
I felt proud to call myself a Christian last night. I often don’t feel this way in how Christians position themselves in the social realities of our world. So to see these young people down there in the dirt and the vomit with their fellow young people, to see them not trying to convert or chastise bad choices, to see them simply being present and loving these drunk schoolies kids. I felt myself fall in love once more with what the church can be in the lives of others, should we let go of our agendas and JUST LOVE.
Good work Red Frogs.
To hear more of what they do go to…https://redfrogs.com.au
Pray
Some prayer points to help
Pray for those red frogs and the schoolies they walk beside
