Dad's Secret Weapon, Part One

When it comes to visiting prospects and handling problem situations, I freely confess to being sneaky and underhanded. There have been any number of times when I have found myself in awkward, unintended predicaments, or caught in an ambush. After being burned enough times to finally get the message, I resolved to pull out the one surefire secret weapon I had in my arsenal, and it has never failed - my kids.
As soon as our first daughter was old enough to be carted out of visitation, I asked her to go with me and made it a big deal. She quickly agreed and became "Daddy's little sidekick" - a title she has retained to this day through a husband and three grandchildren. I'd had enough of inadvertently greeting young ladies at the door who were dressed in (ahem) indiscreet ways. I needed cover (Well, they did too), and my daughter fit the bill. No one could claim that I was up to no good with my ever-observant child tagging along. There were other benefits as well. Irate people who would have carried my head on a platter did not want to explode in front of a little girl. Gossips didn't want to talk. People who would have misbehaved or made all sorts of accusations against me did not want to risk having a perfectly believable witness around.
People who were otherwise inaccessible opened their doors. I discovered a very useful truth for the ministry. Kids make the visits much easier. Thereafter, I made it a point to take all our kids with me on visitation (one at a time, of course), or whenever I needed cover. They never failed to be a help. As a byproduct, they also learned how to talk to people about the Lord. I highly recommend to all preachers that they pull out their own secret weapons. It's a great reason to have kids. If your wife has any questions, just tell her this preacher said you needed someone to go with you on visitation.