In my last post I mentioned how much I detest cell phones ringing in church. But, every now and then, they give occasion for a good laugh.
About a year ago my son and I sabotaged my wife's cell phone, replacing her very grown up ringtone with the "Numa Numa song." This was a mind-jangling disco tune that was popularized in the U.S. when a kid made a video of himself lip-synching the words. It was a huge hit with junior high kids especially. My wife couldn't stand the song, and didn't get the joke, so my son and I decided to up the ante a bit by making her cell phone play the "Numa Numa" song.
After a few good laughs, she asked me to give her back her original ringtone. I said "Sure," but soon forgot my promise.
The next Sunday as I was preaching, guess what I heard from the congregation. That's right! The Numa Numa song . . . coming from my wife's cell phone. She was mortified, partly to be interrupting worship, and partly because everybody heard that ringtone on her phone. She figured people would think she actually liked the song!
That's my second favorite cell phone in church story. Number one comes from a meeting of my Presbytery (pastors and elders from Presbyterian churches in my area). During these meetings we always have worship services, usually led by the host church.
A few years ago, we were meeting in a church in Bellflower, California. When it was time for the sermon, the host pastor went to the pulpit and began to hold forth. He was doing a fine job preaching until, all of a sudden, an obnoxiously loud cell phone went off. The pastor look pretty peeved, and I could understand how he felt. But then he reached into his coat, took out his own cell phone, and turned it off. He had been interrupted by his own phone! Ya gotta love it!
