4-year-old implores minister to shut it down

Four-year-old Sawyer Bennett performed admirably as ring bearer in a recent wedding, but he was over it as the preacher wound up his remarks.

Sawyer, all suited up in a tuxedo and fidgeting in front of the groomsmen, looked over at LaRue Stephens, the pastor of First Baptist Church in Long Beach.

“True love enriches the other person’s life,” Stephens was saying when Sawyer gave the universal symbol for “enough already.”

From the podium, in front of all those wedding guests, Sawyer made a slashing motion with his hand across his neck. Not once. Not twice. Six times he tried to shut down Stephens.

His grandfather, state Rep. Richard Bennett, got it all on video and posted the clip to Facebook, much to the delight of friends. The video had garnered 145 likes by Monday morning.

The minister did promise to be quick, Bennett said, and really hadn’t been talking very long. Sawyer, his granddad said, just turned 4 last week.

“He's just got a lot of personality, I'm telling you,” Bennett said. “ He's sweet as can be. He loves people.”

When he was 2 years old, Sawyer’s grandparents took him to the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans.

“We were looking around and we couldn't find Sawyer,” Bennett said. “It was probably two minutes, but it seemed like hours.”

A lady walked up and asked if the Bennetts were missing a child. They said they were. The lady said, “He's in the photo booth taking pictures with my kids, is that all right?”

Sawyer is the son of Patrick and Jenna Bennett.

This story was originally published November 14, 2016 at 11:25 AM with the headline "4-year-old implores minister to shut it down."