Adventures in Odyssey

Chris: Hi, this is Chris. I'm glad you could join us for Adventures in Odyssey, a place of discovery, imagination, and excitement. But don't take my word for it. Find out for yourself on today's Adventures in Odyssey.

George: Giving praise is something that doesn't come naturally to us. More often than not, we tend to keep our approval of someone to ourselves. And knowing that, we don't have much practice at it. God gave us a book, and in it, he gave us Psalms so we'd know how to express our praise to him. In Psalm 106, we have a clear idea of how to praise the Lord. Praise him for his mighty acts. Praise him for his strength.

Donna: Marsha, do you have any gum?

Marsha: No, I think Marsha does. Kevin, get Marsha. Marsha, Eric wants you.

Marsha: Yeah?

Kevin: Do you have gum?

Donna: Hush, you kids.

Marsha: Sorry. Does he still want his gum?

Donna: I don't know. Donna, ask him if he still wants his gum. Do you still want your gum?

Eric: Yeah.

Donna: Hand me my purse. It's down by your feet.

Kevin: This one?

Donna: Yeah. Be careful. You're going to spill it.

Mrs. Erskine: If you kids don't quiet down, I'm going to come up there and sit between you.

Donna: Sorry.

Mary: I'm just telling you what she said. I can't believe Mrs. Erskine told you that.

George: Well, is it true? Were you messing around in church?

Donna: Well, it was—

Jimmy: Hey, Mom, the baby spoke! He said the word—get this—carrot.

Mary: Carrot?

Jimmy: He did. I heard him. His first word was carrot. Where's the baby book?

Mary: He was just gibbering. Why would he say carrot?

Jimmy: Maybe he likes them.

Mary: Go change his diaper.

Jimmy: He doesn't want to be changed. He wants a carrot.

Mary: Trust me on this one, Jimmy.

Jimmy: All right, but what do you want me to do if he starts listing off any more vegetables?

Mary: Write them down. We'll go shopping later. Anyway, Donna, as I was saying—

George: Oh, good, you're here. I need to talk to you, Donna. I'm sorry, was I interrupting something?

Mary: No, George. Go ahead.

George: Okay. Mrs. Erskine came up to me after the service today.

Donna: You're kidding. What? She told both of you?

George: You heard about this too?

Mary: Mrs. Erskine has a way of getting her point across.

Donna: You're telling me. Look, Donna, I know how Mrs. Erskine is, but this is the second time in two weeks she said something to me about you.

Donna: I wasn't doing anything. Kevin dropped Marsha's purse, and I laughed a little bit. Well, I wasn't the only one. Why did she single me out?

George: Probably because you're the daughter of the preacher now. People are watching you more closely than they watch other kids.

Donna: So I'm the only one that can get into trouble?

George: No, of course not. As a matter of fact, a couple of them got in trouble last night. Did you hear about it?

Donna: No.

George: Well, they were at the Donovan house again.

Mary: The Donovan house?

George: You know, Mary, the old abandoned house next to Gower's field. It's the new hangout for the kids, I guess. But it's condemned and ready to fall down, and they're not supposed to be there. You haven't been there, have you, Donna?

Donna: No.

George: Good, because it's dangerous and it's trespassing. In the meantime, we need to do something about your behavior in church.

Donna: Dad!

George: I think you ought to sit up front with your mom instead of in the back.

Donna: What?

George: Just for a while. I'm sorry, but I think you ought to. Maybe your friends will sit up front with you.

Donna: I doubt it.

George: Well, then I guess that's one sacrifice you'll have to make.

Donna: I don't think I'm going to like this.

George: And we ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Thanks for coming tonight. See you Wednesday.

Donna: Mom, I'll be in the back.

Mary: Donna?

Donna: Oh, hi, Mrs. Erskine.

Mrs. Erskine: I just wanted to tell you how good it was to see you sitting up front with your family.

Donna: Well, I could definitely see things better.

Mrs. Erskine: I'm sure you could. So I guess I'll see you at the dinner tomorrow.

Donna: Right. Wait, dinner?

Mrs. Erskine: The senior citizens' dinner. Did you forget?

Donna: The senior citizens' dinner? I'm not even a senior in high school.

Mrs. Erskine: But, honey, your whole family's invited. The senior citizen class wants to say how much we really appreciate our new pastor's family. So we're having a dinner. Now, you can't very well miss that, can you?

Donna: I guess not.

Mrs. Erskine: Of course not. So I'll see you there.

Donna: Yeah.

Eric: Hello. Hi, Mrs. Erskine. What was that all about?

Donna: Mrs. Erskine just told me I have to go to a senior citizens' dinner tomorrow.

Eric: Tomorrow? But we were going to go to the movies tomorrow night. Remember?

Donna: That's right. Okay, I need to go talk to my dad about this. Excuse me.

Kevin: She's had to go to all sorts of stuff like that lately. Mrs. Erskine probably has Donna booked up until she's fifty. I hope she doesn't have anything the night of the hayride.

Guest (Male): The hayride? Why?

Kevin: Well, I just think it would be nice for her to go.

Marsha: Are you going to ask her too, Eric?

Eric: Donna? I never thought about it.

Marsha: Sure you did. You're going to ask her out, aren't you?

Eric: Quiet down.

Guest (Male): But she's a preacher's kid. You can't ask her out.

Eric: Why not?

Guest (Male): It'll be like going out with Moses.

Eric: Moses?

Guest (Male): Well, Moses' daughter. You'd have to do everything right. You never know when you're breaking a commandment you don't even know about.

Kevin: Oh, come on. I think Mr. Barkley makes all prospective boyfriends recite the Beatitudes before each date. I'd bone up if I were you.

Eric: Get out of here.

Kevin: I think he makes you wear a tie too, Kevin. You'll be the only couple at the monster truck rally in formal wear. This is something you need to prepare for.

Eric: Give me a break. It's not like that. You don't know the Barkleys.

Kevin: I know the Barkleys have changed. They're the preacher family now.

Eric: You're crazy.

Kevin: I'm serious. You'll have to watch every step you take. You date Donna, you date the preacher.

Donna: This was a great idea, Eric. I've never been to a drive-in movie before.

Eric: Yeah, it's neat. You look really nice tonight.

Donna: Thanks.

Eric: I wanted to give you something.

Donna: What is it?

Eric: I wrote a little something for you. It's a poem.

Donna: A poem? But it's not that great or anything. I'm not really a writer. You really wrote me a poem? How sweet.

Eric: Well, anyway, here it is.

Donna: Thanks.

George: Hold it. Wait a minute. Let me see that. I need to check it for content.

Donna: Dad!

George: All right, I've got this here. That's all right. Okay. No, can't have that. Can't have that. "Cherish" is spelled with an E.

Donna: Please, Dad!

George: The rest is okay. It's a nice poem, Eric.

Eric: Thanks.

George: By the way, that last scene in the movie completely contradicted Deuteronomy 14:6. I think we should leave.

Donna: Dad!

George: Is there enough room up there? I'm going to come up there with you guys. Let me get my leg up.

Donna: I think I want to go home. I can't believe this.

George: You got any more popcorn, Eric? Eric? Eric?

Jimmy: What? What?

George: We're going now. You coming?

Jimmy: Yeah. Yeah, sure.

Mary: Donna, stop pouting.

Donna: I'm not pouting. I'm just bored. I've never been so bored in my entire life.

George: It won't be much longer. Mrs. Erskine told me an hour and a half.

Guest (Male): Okay, everyone, we're going to slow things down a little now. We'll wait about fifteen minutes to let you folks digest, then we'll go to the trivia contest.

Donna: Fifteen minutes to digest? What did they eat, wood chips?

George: Why don't you go talk to someone?

Donna: I tried that. I don't know enough about the weather.

George: Watch your attitude. It's not that bad. Look, Jimmy's enjoying himself.

Jimmy: Donna, you have to come over here. Mr. Williams is doing a puppet show using a zucchini, a rolled-up paper plate, and his dentures. It's hilarious!

Donna: No, thanks.

Guest (Male): Oh, Jimmy! Jimmy, hurry. You're missing it. We're trying to find all fifty states in Mr. Baker's liver spots.

Jimmy: Well, got to go.

Donna: Oh, brother.

Guest (Male): Oh, look! I believe it's Florida!

George: There you go, Stuart. Anyway, Stuart, as I was saying, the key thing to remember is that the one way to keep them happy is to just feed them. Now, they eat a lot more than you think. And they like to think that they're your master. You know, they're the boss. Just let them think that. It doesn't hurt anything. One tough thing is getting used to the way they smell, but that just takes time. Well, anyway, that's my advice on girls.

Donna: I really think I've learned my lesson now, Dad. Well, can I sit with the guys next Sunday?

George: We'll see. Jimmy, why does Stuart have sunglasses on?

Jimmy: Huh? Oh, I was just teaching him about, you know, guy things.

George: I see. Donna, I just don't understand why your friends won't sit up front with you. I mean, do they have something to hide?

Donna: No. Come on, Dad. You know how kids are.

George: Yes, which is why I like you sitting down front. Look, I'll make a deal with you. Get the whole gang to sit down front for a couple of Sundays, just to see if they like it. And if you all show you can behave, then maybe I'll let you sit with them in the back again. All right?

Donna: Well, okay. I'll ask them about it on Friday night.

George: What's Friday?

Donna: Well, we're having a hayride.

George: This Friday night?

Donna: Yeah.

George: Donna, you told me you'd come to my Bible study Friday night.

Donna: What Bible study?

George: The Bible study I've been teaching here every Friday night for six weeks on parenting.

Donna: Why do I have to go?

George: Don't you remember? I asked you and Jimmy. Some of the people in the study wanted to get your views on the subject since you're both kids living at home.

Jimmy: And boy, do I ever have a thing or two to say.

George: Don't you remember?

Donna: Sort of.

George: You didn't write it down?

Donna: No, I forgot. But, Dad, I have to go to this hayride.

George: Have to? Donna, it's not like I ask you to come to all of them. This is the only one. My class is expecting you, especially since you said you'd be there. Are you going to go back on your word?

Donna: Well...

George: You said you'd come, and I need you to be there.

Marsha: You're not going to the hayride?

Donna: I can't. I have to go to my dad's Bible study.

Marsha: You've been missing a lot of stuff lately.

Donna: Yeah. You know what makes it worse?

Marsha: What?

Donna: I think Eric was going to ask me to go with him. What? Why are you looking at me like that?

Marsha: It's nothing.

Donna: What is it?

Marsha: It's not important.

Donna: Well, tell me, Marsha.

Marsha: Well, actually, you'll probably find out anyway.

Donna: Find out what?

Marsha: Eric already asked somebody.

Donna: What? Who?

Marsha: Allison Davis.

Donna: Allison Davis?

Marsha: He thought you wouldn't be able to come.

Donna: I don't believe it.

Marsha: Well, what do you expect? You're never around anymore.

Donna: Well, it's not my fault.

Marsha: I know that. We all know it. But you can't expect us to just sit around and wait for you.

Donna: Why not?

Marsha: Because we're not. We still like you and everything, but you've changed.

Donna: I haven't changed. It's everybody else that's changed. I'm the same person I've always been.

Marsha: No, you're not. You're the preacher's kid now. You can't have fun anymore.

Donna: Yes, I can. What time does it start?

Marsha: What?

Donna: The hayride.

Marsha: 7:30. Why?

Donna: Because I'm going.

Mary: You think this will be enough food, George?

George: Yeah, I think so. What did I do with my notes?

Mary: You laid them over there.

George: Oh, thanks. 7:30. Well, people should be here any minute. Jimmy, would you go get your sister? The Bible study's about to start.

Jimmy: She's not up there.

George: What do you mean?

Jimmy: I just looked in her room. She's not there.

George: Donna! Donna! Where is she?

Donna: I don't get it. I thought the hayride was at Gower's Farm, the other way.

Kevin: It is. But we decided to skip it.

Donna: What? Well, then where are we going?

Kevin: Right there.

Donna: What's that? You don't know what that is, Donna? No. That's the Donovan house. Wait a minute. We're not supposed to go there.

Kevin: Who said?

Donna: My dad said. I can't go. You guys go without me some other night, okay? Let's go to the hayride.

Kevin: Oh, forget the hayride. You really want to watch Eric and Allison on their big date? Besides, we have to go tonight. This is the 30th anniversary of the disappearance.

Donna: What disappearance?

Kevin: 30 years ago today, the Donovan family mysteriously disappeared, never heard from again. And every year since then, on this day, people have noticed strange lights in an upstairs window flickering.

Donna: Hold it. I didn't hear this part.

Kevin: Don't you want to see what's upstairs?

Donna: That's not the point. I'm not allowed.

Kevin: All right, we'll take you back. I told you she'd bell out, Marsha.

Marsha: It's not her fault.

Kevin: Come on, Reverend Donna. Let's go. We're going back.

Donna: Wait. Wait. Okay, I'll go.

Kevin: All right! See, it's not that bad. It's just a house.

Donna: A very dark house.

Kevin: What, you expected the porch light to be on? Light your lantern.

Donna: You brought a lantern?

Kevin: Thought it'd be a nice effect. Better than flashlights, anyway. I left it there, under the window.

Donna: You mean you guys have known all along you were going to do this?

Kevin: Sure. Just turn the lantern on, please. All right, calm down. Who's going in first?

Donna: You seem to be Captain Courageous. You do the honors.

Kevin: All righty. I'll just peek in and check it out. What? What was it? Who did the wallpaper in here?

Marsha: Kevin, don't do that.

Kevin: It's clear. Let's go.

Donna: I almost had a heart attack. Too many spider webs.

Kevin: Hey, look at that.

Donna: What?

Kevin: There's something moving over there.

Donna: Don't start, Kevin.

Kevin: No, I'm serious. Look.

Marsha: He's right. I want out of here.

Kevin: I'm going to check it out.

Donna: Kevin, be careful. What is it?

Kevin: Broke my lantern. Hand me that sheet. Got to put out this fire.

Donna: Here you go. What's the matter?

Kevin: It's spreading too fast. Come here. Help me.

Donna: You guys, the flames are getting higher!

Kevin: I can't snuff it out fast enough.

Donna: The curtains! It caught the curtains! Get out of there!

Kevin: Come on, let's go! Everybody out!

George: Well, let's go ahead and get started. This shouldn't be a very long meeting. We really only have one subject on the agenda. Donna, I was going to have Donna speak here, but since she's not here, let's go ahead and read in Proverbs 22 verse 6. Jimmy, would you read that for me, please?

Jimmy: Sure. "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not turn from it."

George: Now, this verse has triggered a lot of debate over the years. Could you get that, honey? You know, some think it puts too much responsibility on the parents. In other words, if your child does turn from the way he should go, you were somehow responsible. But we're responsible for keeping our kids in line. Donna, would you come here, please? Excuse me a moment. What's going on? Donna, are you okay?

Donna: I'm fine.

Officer: Mr. Barkley, your daughter and some friends were at the old Donovan house tonight.

George: What? Donna?

Officer: They also proceeded to burn it down.

Mary: Burn it down?

Officer: Well, the house went up like kindling. Fortunately, nobody was hurt.

Mary: Donna!

George: I can't believe this.

Officer: Nobody's pressing any charges. The place was condemned, probably would have been torn down anyway.

George: I'm so sorry.

Officer: Yeah, well, I thought you should know.

George: Yes, indeed. I—thank you.

Officer: Sure. And, Donna, I don't mind telling you, I'm disappointed. This isn't like you. I don't want to see you doing anything like this again. You hear?

Donna: Yes, sir.

Officer: All right. You folks have a good evening now.

George: Thank you.

Mary: Thanks, officer. You okay?

Donna: Yeah.

George: We're going to talk about this later.

Donna: I know.

George: Go up to your room.

Donna: Okay.

George: Well, let's get back to the study. Yeah. Well, what was it I was talking about?

Jimmy: Keeping your kids in line.

George: Thanks, Jimmy.

George: I just can't figure out what you were thinking, Donna. I mean, you could have been seriously hurt.

Donna: I know.

George: Am I going to have to worry about you now?

Donna: No.

George: Why didn't you listen to me? I told you that place was dangerous. What's going on with you? Didn't I say to stay away?

Donna: Yes, sir.

George: I just can't believe you'd disobey me like that. And that doesn't even include you sneaking out when you were supposed to be here.

Donna: I know. I'm sorry.

George: And do you realize what this does to our entire family? How am I going to stand up in front of the congregation on Sunday? I'm the pastor, and my daughter's out burning houses down. Would you listen to a preacher who can't keep his own family under control?

Donna: I don't know what else to say. I'm sorry.

Jimmy: Hello? George, it's for you.

George: Hello? Yes. Tonight? Sure. Sure, I can be there. All right. Thanks. I'll see you. That was Richard, head of the pastoral committee. He's called an emergency meeting, and he wants me there.

Mary: An emergency meeting about what?

George: Who knows? I mean, it wouldn't be surprising if they just let me go.

Mary: George, you're overreacting.

George: Well, if I were them, I would have serious doubts about me. I've got to go.

Donna: Wait, Dad, could I say something before you leave?

George: Yes.

Donna: I just want to say I'm really, really sorry. I just didn't mean for any of this to happen. I wasn't thinking. There's just been a lot of pressure, but I know there's no excuse. I'll just try harder, okay? I'll sit up front with Mom. I'll go to all the dinners and stuff. I'll try really hard to be the perfect preacher's kid. I promise.

George: Okay. We'll talk about it later. I'll be back soon.

Richard: Well, let's go ahead and get started. This shouldn't be a very long meeting. We really only have one subject on the agenda. George, we're here to talk about you.

George: Yeah, I kind of figured that.

Richard: We're concerned, George. I, for one, wonder if—

George: Look, excuse me, may I say something?

Richard: Well, sure. Go ahead.

George: I think I know where this is headed, and I'd like to say a few things before you get to it. My kids are teenagers. And because they're teenagers, by definition sometimes they mess up. I can ask my daughter to be faithful to God. I can ask her to contribute to our family, but I can't ask my daughter to not be a teenager. It's impossible for her to be anything else.

As a father, I can't condone what she did tonight. She must be punished for that. But also as a father, I have to know when to cut her some slack because she's a teenager. I know in their hearts my kids want to be role models. In fact, my daughter said tonight that she'd try harder to be perfect. Perfect. As if it were possible for any of us to be perfect.

And I was thinking on the way to this meeting that it would be wrong for me to stand here and pretend like we can. We are the preacher's family, but that doesn't mean we're a perfect family. If you want me as your interim pastor, you'll have to accept me and my family as we are, warts and all. We'll always do our best for you, but I can't promise we'll never make mistakes. Well, that's all I wanted to say.

Richard: Thank you, George. That was a very passionate speech, though I'm not quite sure why you gave it.

George: What do you mean?

Richard: Well, it's not like we're going to ask you to resign, George.

George: You're not?

Richard: Of course not. I'm proud to have you as our pastor. So is everyone else.

George: Then why did you call this meeting?

Richard: Well, Mrs. Erskine called it. She suggested that we ask you if there's anything we can do to help.

George: Mrs. Erskine?

Mrs. Erskine: Yes, that's right, George. And I just want to say that I'm sorry. I did exactly what you're talking about. I expected you and your daughter to be perfect, and that's just not right. So I'd like to apologize.

George: Well, thank you, Mrs. Erskine.

Richard: All right, on to business. Is there anything we can do to help, George?

George: I think you just did it.

Donna: Come in.

George: Hi.

Donna: Hi. How'd the meeting go? Did they fire you?

George: No. Just the opposite. They wanted to know how they could help us. Mrs. Erskine said—

Donna: Mrs. Erskine was there?

George: Yeah, the meeting was her idea. I'll never underestimate her again. Beneath that tough exterior is a very compassionate person.

Donna: Wow.

George: Oh, yeah, I made quite a speech. I mean, you should have heard it. It was about pretending to be perfect. I don't ever want you to feel like you have to do that, Donna. I said some things to you that I never should have said. Do you understand?

Donna: Yeah, thanks. I am sorry, Dad. I mean, you can punish me, but it can't make me feel any worse than I do right now. I feel like I let you down. Come here. Look at me. No matter how much you may disappoint me, I'll never stop loving you. You know that, don't you?

Donna: Yeah, I do. Thanks.

George: Look at us. Pretty lame excuse for a preacher's family, huh?

Donna: No, I don't think so. I think we're just perfect.

Chris: All of us are guilty at times of putting pressure on people to be perfect just because of the position they hold or maybe who their parents are. What we need to remember is that we all are supposed to be Christ-like. Just because someone is a preacher's kid doesn't mean that you don't have to live up to the same standard they do. We all need to listen to what Paul said in Ephesians 5:1. Be imitators of God.

Are you a preacher's kid? If you are, I'd love to hear about your experiences. If you want to write, the address is Adventures in Odyssey, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80995. Or in Canada, write to Box 9800, Vancouver, BC V6B 4G3. And don't forget to ask about how you can get your own copy of today's episode. It's called Preacher's Kid.

That address once again is Adventures in Odyssey, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80995. Adventures in Odyssey is a presentation of Focus on the Family. Preacher's Kid was written and directed by Marshall Younger. Our production engineer was Mark Bruer, and our executive producer was Chuck Bolte. And I'm Chris, hoping you'll join us again next time for more Adventures in Odyssey.