Writing about Widows and Single Moms: Like Serving Lima Beans for Dessert to My Readers

I don’t know if this is true or not, but the story goes that a psychology class decided to do a little “experiment” on their professor.

They all agreed that every time the professor – who liked to stand while he taught his class – moved to their right, they would look him in the eye and pay close attention. And every time the professor moved to their left, they would let their eyes wander and pay less attention.

The result? By the end of the semester they had him lecturing while sitting on the heating unit on the wall to their right!

That, my dear readers, is what it feels like you are doing to me. Every time I write about men’s team ministry to widows and single moms, my numbers drop into the basement. And every time I write about other subjects, my numbers rise dramatically. When I write about widows and single moms, I feel like I’m serving you lima beans for dessert.

In a way, this pattern of disinterest in widows and single moms simply reflects the problem most churches have with ministering to them: we are too engrossed in our own issues to care.

So I want you to know, I’m on to you, people. Yes, I’ll write about other subjects often enough so you don’t send my blog posts to spam. But you’re not going to get me sitting on that heater on the wall to your right. Nope. I’m also going to keep writing about the need to serve our widowed and single parents in our churches until we all actually do something about it.

Now eat your lima beans. They’re good for you.

This post first appeared in NewCommandment.org.