In the lead up to last weekend I was invited to a couple of different events. It is often the case that one weekend can be really quiet and the very next has 6 different parties competing for each other. My temptation has been to hit the ‘maybe’ button to facebook event invites in order to buy myself some time and think about where I would really like to spend my evening. It seems like a nice thing to do, after all I haven’t said ‘no’ so I am showing that I care about them right? Wrong.
I am sure every youth leader knows the frustration of working towards an amazing youth camp or youth group event, promoting it well and sending out invites just to sit back and wait…and wait…and wait for rego forms to come back. We’d rather hear a ‘no’ early on than worry about whether we are going to meet our quota.
‘Maybe’ can mean a bunch of things. It might mean ‘no’ or ‘I need to check my calendar’ or ‘I’ll wait and see if I get a better offer’. Whatever it means to the individual it is noncommital and frustrates an event organisers planning. I feel challenged this week to let my ‘yes be yes and my no be no’, to choose an event and commit to it wholeheartedly.
If we expect our youth group members to register early for events and to stick to their answers then we better model the same thing. Get rid of ‘maybe’ this week. Choose not to think of what else you might miss out on. Enjoy being where you are.
I feel pretty confident that you have heard the St Francis of Assisi quote:
“Preach the gospel at all times, using words when necessary”
and the phrase “practice what you preach” many, many times.
Today I came across the suggestion that the phrase should instead be: ‘preach what you practice’.
I like it.
Jesus says something along the same lines in Matthew 7. He says: “who preachers are is the main thing, not what the say” (Matthew 7)
The most powerful preachers I have ever heard are those who are living a remarkable Christian life and are clearly preaching with total integirity, preaching things they passionately live out every day of their lives. Ronquillo has suggested that:
“Preaching what you practice is really a testimony to celebrate what God does through your life. Preaching what you practice is preaching/ teaching with experience behind it. Preaching what you practice pushes you forward to experience more of God, in order that there is more to preach/teach”
(Ulysses Ronquillo)
It pushes you to forward to experience more of God, in order that there is more to preach/teach.
A helpful different way of thinking about it I think.
We live in a world of comparisons where we gauge how well we’re doing by observing how well others are doing. It’s dangerous scale we often use in youth ministry too; it’s easy to look at what others are doing and rate ourselves by comparison to their success.
We all know that there’s not a “1 size fits all” when it comes to ministry but deep down we think that we would be more successful if we looked a little more like the youth ministry down the road.
Here are 3 truths to keep in mind next time you’re tempted to buy into that thinking:
** God measures success, not us. He does it by looking at the heart, not the numbers.
** Diversity is beautiful. God loves how weird your young people are.
** We need each other. It’s called the Body of Christ.
There are many thing’s that I learnt after leaving the hectic city of Sydney to the peaceful surroundings of Yeppoon.
Before moving to North QLD I held close to me a busy schedule.
As many of you would know being a Youth Pastor can be very demanding at times. I still always felt as though people always wanted more and more of my time. Some would say I was burning the candle at both ends.
The above photo (taken just around the corner from where I lived in North Queensland) reminds me of 2 lessons that God taught me:
1. In the stillness you will find me:
For so long I was caught up in ‘doing’ and ‘achieving’. I was so caught up rushing from one thing to another that I would become so distracted. It meant there was limited space for God to speak. I clearly remember looking over the ocean and feeling Holy Spirit say “just be still”. Major Wendy Walters (Divisional Leader) worked with me on this. We set some practical things in place that I found helpful and still do today:
no answering emails / Facebook of a morning until I spend time in the word
set aside time during the day to refocus and refuel
2. Discipline isn’t a dirty word:
I actually discovered that trying to be a hero living off 5 hours (or less) sleep a night wasn’t good for me, nor was it healthy!
A discipline I set in place (and still try to live by) is going to bed at a decent hour.
I have found that by doing this I work far more effectively during the day because I have a clearer mind and energy to function. I also need to escape the demands of people and projects to reflect and refocus.
It’s OK to have free space in your calendar.
Jesus did this well, he would often escape the crowds and the ‘busyness’ of it all to refresh, refuel and spend time with the Father.
Bill Shorten, member for the Labor Party, has come under some serious fire this week for this interview. I am convinced he is an intelligent man to get where he is today but unfortunately this interview has him coming across more like a confused lemming than a free-thinking advocate of the nation.
Choosing to support whatever his leader says while having no idea what his leader has said seems crazy, at least if you are being questioned on national TV, and in my mind it raises some serious questions for ministry.
Isn’t his approach noble? Aren’t we called to wholeheartedly support our leaders? Shouldn’t we be prepared to back everything our pastor says?
I believe that I should be prepared to exercise a blind faith in God and that it can be good to put faith in your leaders. It does become a problem though when I lose capacity for independant thought. I have noticed the temptation for me to blindly follow the leader comes as I hear an inspiring preacher. If everybody is moved by what they are saying it must make it worthy for repeating next time I preach right? Yes of course it is so long as ‘following the leader’ is more important than having a valuable, truthful contribution.
I have often heard young people given the message that “even if you were the only person on the earth Christ would have come just for you and died for you”. This sure sounds nice and I have been tempted to spout it myself without questioning whether I really believe that, whether there is Scripture to support it and where that statement sits within my theology.
Let’s support the leaders in our life. It doesn’t mean we have need to be parrots. Smart leadership honours others whilst holding an informed opinion.
Do you want to go to the next level in ministry and leadership?
Influential church leader Perry Noble says you can’t go to the next level if…
You are in love with the way things are.
You are increasingly obsessed with the people who hate and criticise you.
You are not hungry for wisdom. (Proverbs 4:5-7)
You are not willing to make uncomfortable decisions. (Galatians 1:10)
You are a people pleaser. (Proverbs 29:25)
You are not willing to accept responsibility for where you are right now. (The person who always has to blame is always lame!)
You are not willing to speak the truth in love. (Ephesians 4:25)
You are using people rather than valuing them.
You are more in love with comfort than carrying your cross. (Luke 9:23)
You never allow yourself to be exposed to new ideas and methods. (Isaiah 42:9, 43:19, 48:6)
You take shortcuts. (Exodus 13:17-18)
You expect people to read your mind and then hold them accountable for things you never actually said but rather just assumed they knew. (Great leaders will leave you if you do this.)
You do not hold people accountable to what they have said they will do.
You are always looking for a fight instead of a solution. (2 Timothy 2:23)
You are not begging God to reveal more of Himself to you.
Here’s a bit of pop-culture worth digesting for youth ministry’s sake:
The Hunger Games
The teenage movie of the month (year?) is actually pretty decent. It’s a little violent at times and definitely has it’s fair share of downright quirky but would be a perfect springboard for a discussion around morality, inequality and self-sacrifice. Actually it’s worth watching just for the fully sick bow-hunting.
Mud, Sweat and Tears: Bear Grylls
The guy is something of a superstar but not without good reason. British SAS, Mt Everest and Man Vs Wild make for a pretty deadly CV and also make for some pretty awesome stories. Super easy to read, it’s the kind of book that even young guys could get into and get inspired by. Bear speaks pretty candidly about his faith as well, definitely could be a good convo starter.
What Makes You Beautiful
One of the pre-requisites for being a legit youth leader is that you get onto the bandwagon when your youth are getting off it. If you’re worried about your leadership credibility get this sucker at the top of your playlist and your official status as an old person will be firmly established.
What are you praying for? What kind of prayers are you hearing your young people pray? Are they praying at all? A lot can be learned from paying attention to the prayers of young people. Prayers reveal our personal theology. William Dyrness suggests:
Prayer indicates not what people say they believe but what they actually do believe – and believe in such a way as to act on it toward God.
Do the young people in your youth group pray daring, faith-filled prayers? Do they pray courageously or timidly? What kinds of things do they ask God to do? It’s possible that their prayers are telling you about their true beliefs and also much about the God you are presenting them with.
That’s a question we’re asking ourselves all the time, so we started a blog to collect our thoughts and hopefully include you in the conversation too.
We – Claire, Nate, Shandri and Matt – work together at The Salvation Army’s Territorial Headquarters in Sydney, Australia, and are responsible for supporting and resourcing Salvation Army youth ministries throughout NSW, QLD and ACT.
