Come and Follow

For a short time, the Sunday School program at my church featured lessons in guitar playing, with the hope that the older (or less vocally endowed) kids could accompany the singing voices of the younger children. Keeping together proved to be a challenge as the more talented kids raced ahead while the others struggled with the chords. The teacher had her hands full getting her charges to follow her. The young musicians only had a limited repertoire and I wondered if I could write a simpler song for them. Coincidentally, the bible reading in "adult church" at the time focussed on Jesus recruiting his disciples, asking them to "follow me". But following is more than a matter of where you're going. It's also about what you are doing. Perhaps the song could also be used as a teaching tool addressing themes that Jesus dealt with and would "strike a chord" with the kids: anger vs. forgiveness; selfishness vs. kindness; excluding vs. including; and giving up vs. persevering. This is what I came up with. It has been sung by our youth, but the guitarists disbanded before they could try it out. So my target group was a little smaller than expected. But come to think of it, there may be something in it for adults too.