Good morning! At the end of this bulletin article, you will find a link and a QR code. If you choose to scan the QR code with your smartphone, or type the link into your Internet browser, you will be directed to a YouTube video of a baby crying. This video is ten hours long.

You might be thinking, “Charlie’s lost his mind!”, but please consider this thought with me before the elders carry me away. The sound of a crying baby can be a wonderful blessing, if it’s YOUR baby. However, this sound can also be very polarizing. People leave restaurants, theaters, and even churches because this sound fills them with negative emotions that they cannot control. Some people switch churches, or quit going to church completely, because they are “triggered” by it. As Christians, are we not supposed to put the needs of others above our own? Do the baby’s caregivers not deserve to sing the songs and hear the sermon as much as we do?

I’m calling this the “Cry Baby” Challenge. I encourage all of you to please play this video in the background while you work. Listen to it while you watch your favorite show or play a game. I even encourage you to listen to it while you read your Bible. Train your mind, through many hours of practice and repetition, to identify this wonderful sound with love and kindness instead of frustration and rage. To say it’s difficult is an understatement, but I promise I will be practicing right along with you. I’m listening to the video right now as I type this out.

The sound of a crying baby is the sound of a growing church. Hebrews 10:25 tells us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. Praise God that everyone, of every age, is welcome in the house of the Lord! And if that bothers you (like it occasionally bothers me), we can work on ourselves together, as a family.

https://bit.ly/cryingbaby10hours