It’s important that I share some background information about G.O as I feel it’s critical to gaining a more complete understanding of my distinctly unique grade school experience.
Gospel Outreach was a small, non-denominational Christian church that had also established a grade school in 1980 or ’81. I didn’t start attending until 1983 when I had come back to the US after having lived in Ireland with my mother from 1979-1983. The church and school were run by hardcore, evangelical, born-again Christians. The church and school were very closely intertwined, everyone drank the Kool-Aid so to speak. Most of the founders and core of the church were born out of the late 60’s Jesus People Movement. A lot of former hippies that now had families and had transitioned to life in the 1980’s.
Religious services on Sunday morning would last between 2-3 hours. Services would run from 10 am until noon but would oftentimes spill over well past noon. This was always inconvenient for myself, my friend Ranjit and for the church members who were Bear’s fans. For those too young to remember or who simply don’t know, the Bears were actually consistently very good from 1984-1989 and kickoff time was almost always at 12:00 pm. My friends and I would be desperate for service to end so that we could watch the Bears. I was a huge Bear’s fan and a rabid sports fan in general. Bears, Bulls, Cubs, Sox, not so much the Blackhawks. I didn’t play hockey or skate, so it was harder to relate. But I would listen to Hawks’ games on the radio if nothing else than for the commentary of Pat Foley and Dale Tallon. They were a fantastic commentating duo. However, I digress. It’s time for church at Gospel Outreach.
We’d begin with worship and this would consist of singing various songs celebrating Christ. Oftentimes church members would begin dancing as they began to lose themselves in the moment and become intoxicated by the music and what they felt was God moving their spirit. The emotional energy would intensify, proclamations of devotion would be declared as the congregation collectively swelled with emotional intensity. Worship would last upwards of an hour, but there was no strict time limit per se. We had a band made up of church members who were skilled musicians and who provided the musical backdrop to the singing and dancing. People would really let themselves go and give themselves up to the music and the mood that was created. For much of the congregation, people who came from various walks of life and were going through personal struggles, this was unquestionably a refuge where they would momentarily feel unburdened and rejuvenated. It was a type of therapy for the soul. Regardless of your religious persuasions, or if you don’t have any at all, it was a remarkable sight in retrospect. Very few of the kids my age were as swept up by the experience as the adults, but most would dutifully sing along. For me, I had begun to fall away from the flock so to speak as I began to become more self-aware of the bizarre theatrics and what I thought were overwrought emotional outpourings. To be clear, I considered myself born-again and still believed many of the core principles of evangelical Christianity. To this day I hold close to some of those teachings and I certainly feel more of a kinship with Protestant Christianity as opposed to Catholicism. But I was questioning more and more the authority of Gospel Outreach and some of their core teachings.
Worship would wind down, and there would be a 5-10 minute break before the Sunday sermon was delivered by the pastor or one of the church elders. Church elders were the senior leadership group of the church. Comparable to the Witan if you want to make the comparison with Anglo-Saxon medieval England. I love medieval history, so you’ll have to excuse the obscure comparison. The break after worship was much like halftime of a sporting event where everyone would use the bathroom, grab a breather and then prepare for the second half. Maybe a more apt analogy would be intermission of a play at the theatre, where the featured performer would then make their appearance. Most of the time the congregation had to endure the sermons of Pastor Tom. He was a tall, large man with a round, unremarkable face, small eyes and sandy blond hair that he wore parted to the side. I think that Tom had at one point attended an Ivy league school. He wielded considerable influence and was at the top of the church hierarchy. Tom was more of a fire and brimstone type preacher as opposed to many of the other members who came from a distinctly west coast, flower power type background. He fit the Mayflower WASP profile very well and was lacking in any real sense of humor. At least any kind of humor that was actually funny. I think he would have done exceptionally well in 17th century New England. He also would have excelled in Cromwellian England as well come to think of it. A real all-around killjoy would be an apt description. Tom would pontificate and bellow for 60 minutes, pounding the pulpit and banging on the Bible as he spoke of the evils of iniquity and “The World”. Take note, anything outside the community of Gospel Outreach was considered, “Worldly” or for all intents and purposes, the Devil’s playground. For all his efforts, Tom was not a captivating orator and he had the charisma of a dining room table. I have little doubt that he thought of himself as profound and impressive, but I’m not sure many others really shared that opinion. None of his longwinded sermons live in the memory as anything other than time taken away from me that I’ll never have back.
I distinctly recall when he was principal of the G.O High School that he once demanded that Ranjit take down a Paula Abdul poster that he had in his locker. Tom considered the poster obscene and borderline pornographic. To be clear, we’re talking about a popstar in a mini skirt. If anything, Paula Abdul was known more as a dancer with a less than stellar singing voice than a true sex symbol. C’mon Tom, we’re not even talking about Samantha Fox or Madonna who would have had far more suggestive posters. He then told Ranjit that having posters of female popstars in his locker could lead to him becoming a sexual predator or a rapist. Now, that’s not being a tad presumptuous and reactionary is it? That’s a completely logical conclusion, right? Well, God help us all. Ranjit was so lucky to have Pastor Tom around to provide such wise counsel and keep him on the straight and narrow. Ranjit was suspended a day from school to reflect upon his iniquity. This is just one example of Tom’s heavy handed, misguided authority. There are many others and his actions led to underlying resentment among many of the kids.
Another senior member of the church, Steve, was also someone who regularly took to the pulpit on Sundays to preach. I really don’t have insight to Steve’s background, but he was a very different individual compared to Tom. They may have both shared a strict devotion to evangelical style preaching, but Steve was far more on edge. Not quite as tall as Tom but a good-sized man as well. Bald with a thin mustache and wide open, bulging eyes that gave the impression that he didn’t get much sleep and was rarely relaxed. From outward appearances, Steve actually came off looking far more severe than Tom. His sermons would start in a calm, deliberate manner before gradually escalating to fire and brimstone before oftentimes reaching a dramatic crescendo where he would either be overcome with emotion or begin speaking in tongues. For those unfamiliar with speaking in tongues, this is when someone who is in a state of spiritual fervor or delirium, begins speaking in a language that they don’t know. He didn’t start speaking in Spanish, German, or Chinese. In fact, it was never a recognizable language, it usually consisted of a few Hebrew words and then words that sounded like gibberish. Maybe a mix of Arabic and Hebrew along with whatever else was being transmitted from the Almighty. Sweating profusely, veins popping out of his head, Steve was a sight to behold. Completely unhinged. Steve was also the principal of Gospel Outreach elementary.
Despite of what could be interpreted as a less than flattering description of Steve, there was unquestionably a humanity and vulnerability that allowed for a sense of empathy. As principal, he definitely fit the bill as an authoritative figure, but also one that could be undermined and enraged by smartass kids. Think Rooney from Ferris Buehler’s Day Off. He definitely gave off that initial vibe. But he wasn’t a jerk like Rooney. Not at all. He was a tightly wound man with a raw intensity about him. I distinctly recall that these qualities made him an outstanding referee with a keen interest in our games at recess. He was almost as invested in the games as I was! Looking back, I have far more genuine respect for Steve than Pastor Tom. He was just and fair as a principal. He conveyed a sense of truthful integrity. He was interesting and learned. Steve was well suited as an educator and an authority figure, in spite of his emotional meltdowns each Sunday. Now that you have some background on the church and school leaders, let’s get ready for 8th grade.
Gospel Outreach School and High School Memories 1988-1992 