Youth Leaders are ___________.

Last week I wrote about the importance of long term youth ministry- from the perspective of the youth pastor. Even as I wrote that blog I knew that this one would be coming- some of it is out of a place of sincere gratitude and some is out of a place of seeing what works best.


In any ministry- but especially youth and children's ministry leadership is VITAL to the sustaining, flourishing, and overall strength of the ministry. I don't mean leadership from the youth pastor- I mean leadership from within the church congregation. Having people who will plug into, connect with, and focus on children and youth throughout their lives is so much more important than a pastor. I grew up in a church without a youth pastor and if it wasn't for the congregation inviting me into their lives- taking me on fishing trips, having me over for supper, taking me camping, even asking me to join them in cleaning the chicken coop- then I wouldn't be the disciple that I am today. A pastor preaches and teaches, plans events, organizes drives, dreams of the next crazy event to entertain the youth but the volunteer leaders- they are key. I've listed some reasons below:



Deeper Relationships- 
One person (youth pastor) cannot possibly maintain deep connections with every single youth they encounter. Volunteer youth leaders are NECESSARY to carry out these deeper relationships, mentoring, and care- yes there are time that the youth needs to talk with a pastor (every Christian does). With strong, solid youth workers coming alongside a teenager and helping them to 'do life' it provides two key areas in God's Kingdom:
      A.  Community- We were not created to be separate from each other- God created us to be in community together and often times youth feel alone and segregated. Having leaders who are willing to join them in their life journey builds that community around them.
      B.  Use of Gifts- Not only is it good for the youth to have adults giving deeper relationships but it is important that ALL of God's people use the gifts that He has given them. Allowing leaders to develop relationships and serve God in youth ministry allows them to use their gifts - fulfilling the calling that God has given them.

Community Connections-  
This is different than the community listed above- above it referred more to the Christian community- here we are talking about when youth are in the community and they see their youth leader at the grocery store, at their job, walking their dog, coaching a basketball team, going through the Tim's drive thru (because that is the only drive thru in Florenceville). These community connections help youth to see what being a Christian looks like outside of the church walls- how we interact with other people and show love on a daily basis. Pastors- seek out youth leaders who are active and set a GOOD example in the community. Youth Leaders (and Christian's in general)- You are always being watched by someone- show God's love in every situation.

Breadth of Knowledge-
Pastors- if you are like me you might have education more than you know what to do with. You know what TULIP means or the difference between Martin Luther King Jr and Martin Luther, you probably even have a working understanding of the Pre-Frontal Cortex and know why teens make the ridiculous decisions they do.
Youth leaders- you are important because you keep us youth pastors grounded- we often talk about theological things that interest us but have no meaning to a 13 year old boy who just failed his Math class. Youth leaders are needed to guide and teach about what it is going to be like to go to a 'real' university or what working in the 'real' world with no other Christians in the company looks like.

We all have a testimony, we all have different life experiences, ALL of these are needed to help guide, direct, and encourage youth to serve God no matter where they are or where they are heading in life.... which leads me to the next point...

Intergenerational Importance-
(like what I did there.... two words that start with 'I')
What happens when a teenager suddenly graduates? They are no longer part of the Youth Ministry that has sustained them, encouraged them, pushed them through life. Sometimes their youth ministry has been a substitute for 'real church' - they are worshipping, learning, listening to God so what shouldn't it be that substitute?
Then they graduate and realize that their weekly connection with the church and with God is gone... so some make their way to 'real church' ... they walk in and the only person they recognize is the youth pastor (who might not even be there because they are busy running another service, children's ministry, or other event). This isn't the 'church' they have known for the past 6 years. Having youth leaders from the congregation is VITAL to connecting the Sunday Worship to the Mid-week programs and worship experience.
Youth leaders are not only important for the youth here and now but they are important for the youth five years from now or ten years from now- to see that worship alongside those that are in different life stages is vital to their growth.
(There is WAY WAY WAY more reasons for intergenerational ministry to be happening... but this blog post is ALREADY too long)


Conclusion
So- if you volunteer as a youth leader THANK YOU- you are doing more than preventing injury, playing dodgeball, and enforcing rules- you are building relationships that children and youth won't ever forget. You are making disciples of Jesus Christ, you are fulfilling the great commission.

And if you aren't a volunteer youth leader....
1. What kept you reading this post!?
2. Try to give your youth pastor (or head leader) a heart attack and make that offer! I can guarantee they could use all the help they can get! (and if God has given you those gifts you better use them!)



Final Question: What word(s) would you use to finish this blog title?
Youth Workers are _________.

"You're Doing It Wrong"

You're doing it wrong. 

It is a funny way people have been using to tell others that they are using a basic tool or doing a menial task incorrectly. As I reflect lately on the church, it's place in society, the effectiveness of it's programming, and its purpose I can't help but imagine God looking down from above chuckling and saying "You're doing it wrong"

I have become convinced that the church was never meant for the unbeliever.

At times we tend to glorify 'seeker services' or make it important that visitors feel comfortable and that they will return. Even leaders of our services say that Sunday morning (for most services) are meant to be a time of celebration of what God has done throughout the week and recharging and re energising before another week of serving Him.


Yet- do our services, our mindset about the church as a whole reflect that?

When I visited China the church was different than our North American churches (imagine that eh?). The people who attended these churches had heard about Jesus throughout the week- they had been told by a friend, had been attending small group gatherings for weeks or months. In China the church is persecuted. You only enter the church if you want to worship God- if you fully believe in Jesus and are willing to put your reputation, your freedom, your everything on the line.

The church meeting in China was a time of celebrating what God had done, a time of preparing for the coming week, a time of worship- the focus was not on those who were 'wishy washy.' The believers interacted with them throughout the week and challenged them in their beliefs and thoughts Monday-Saturday. Sunday is for the believers- Sunday is to worship, Sunday is to come together as a family. Churches need to stop caring about brining non-believers into their fellowship on Sunday morning and care more about helping people believe throughout the week.

Reading with Power

This semester I have been challenged. I have realized the POWER of scripture.

It IS the Word of God.
It IS relevant.
It IS living
It IS active
It IS salvation
It IS important
It IS able to do so much more than we can imagine


Reading scripture out loud is something that happens every Sunday at thousands upon thousands of church around the world, and yet the word is not read out loud as it were living and active in out lives. It is read as though it is just an old fairy tale that has been told over and over again. As if people should know it and that it is not actually being listened to. Well, when it is read as such it will be listened to in the same way.

The Word of God is Him speaking directly to His people!
Why is it spoken in a monotone voice, with a voice of timidity, or stumbled through.

I am a firm believer that we need to learn how to read scripture.It has a lot of emotion, a lot of power, a lot of authority and needs to be given the power that is due it. Practise it, see the emotion, the setting, the true actual people who were living that story.

Sheet music tells a musician when the song is to rise and fall, when to be powerful and when to be soft. When to pause, the tempo to enter into, each note has a speed to follow. (I am not a musician by any means and am simply remembering my into to music class in my undergrad so forgive me for the wrong terms). Scripture does not have all of these same notations, but we need to include them when reading it. This is powerful stuff and often we set up our pastor for failure before he even gets up to preach simply by reading the Scripture in a way that does not engage people. They are not listening before the sermon even begins.

Allow the word to be living and active.          
                                                 Not only on Sunday morning but in your own devotional time as well.

"For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword"

                                                                                         -Hebrews 4:12

"So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ" 

                                                                                        -Romans 10:17

...Determination.

So, this whole going to the gym thing hasn't being going as great as I hopped. And On top of that I haven't been putting my gym lifestyle to practice outside of the gym.

I still eat whatever I want. I justify it because I never gain weight (except for that 10 pounds I gained over Christmas which actually brought me to about the weight I like to be). I Am not going to the gym to lose weight, by no means. I go to gain muscle, become a stronger person and develop my endurance (which is like zip).

I have discovered that this journey is a whole lot more than simply physical strength. It is challenging my mental strength as well. Every time I decide to go to the gym I have a battle in my mind which usually goes:

"I am going to the gym tomorrow, set the alarm, find some people, lets do this"
...Then I forget. Now its not like I intentionally forget to invite friends, or set the alarm, okay, maybe I do. But at least I had the initial thought!

On that rare occasion that I do set the alarm or tell people I am going there is that conversation JUST prior to actually leaving, you know the one.

*Beep*Beep*Beep*Beep*
"Ugh, whose alarm is going off in the middle of the night?"
"Why wont it shut up!?"
"Oh, its mine" (Since i am the only one who is ever home it makes sense)
"6:30!? That is too early, what was I thinking!?"
*Crawl back in bed*

...an hour later
"Awh man, I was supposed to go to the gym"


OR! Like today, I planned on going in the afternoon but was in a meeting that got out half hour late. Therefore I only had 45 minutes to spare before work. I am the KING of excuses and I have learned that they won't always work. Today I conquered those excuses and I actually went to the gym.... I stayed for 25 minutes, but I was still there!

So, In summary:
Gym life needs to meet real life in order to reach the best results.
No excuses need to stand between me and the gym (even if for just 20 minutes a day)
AND! I need to go to bed earlier.


Any of this sound oddly familiar to the Christian Walk?

Congregant or Pastor?

Before I begin- I know this post is long BUT I have made it easy for you- if you don't want to read the whole post the important information has been bolded and italicized for you. :)

As most of you know, I am studying to become a pastor.

This has been a thrilling and exciting journey for me, discovering new and exciting mysteries in the bible, travelling all over the world declaring HIS great name, and building relationships with other Christian's all around the world. Usually when I tell people that I am going to become a pastor I get a typical response. The conversation usually goes as follows:

Person: "What are you studying?"
Me: "I'm getting my masters in divinity"
Person: "What's that?"
Me: "I'm not sure entirely but it is the degree I need to become a pastor"
At this point the person either turns and runs, awkwardly tries to change to hide some part of their lives, speech, or appearance (I love this reaction most), or they say something along the lines of:

"I hope you make churches better than they are now"

Boy does this line drive me nuts!

Since when has it been a pastor that makes a church good or bad?
When did the ownership shift from the congregation to the pastor?

I particularly find this happening among my own generation- understandably. There are so few of us making up the congregation that our voice isn't heard, or we become frustrated with the lack of relevant ministries, preaching, teaching, yet there are more than enough opportunities to serve and be used in the church.
This is what drives the younger generation away from the church and I thought this was an issue mainly among those who left the church after high school, or who didn't go to church or youth group as youth at all but I was proven wrong recently.

I have discovered that even people who have been to bible college, severed the Lord, been active in ministry and know what ministry is all about are among those who are falling away from church because it is not relevant to them.

Again, I wonder when this became the pastor's fault.
We are called to be the church, to all generations, to all people, despite their previous experiences, traditions, or backgrounds- this includes those who are already weekly attending church who we don't see eye to eye with.

This is a call to my generation. It is time to quit complaining- stop your belly-aching and man (or woman) up. Don't complain about the church just to complain, it is time to make a difference. Time to make the church what you want it to be and not simply complain about what the church is doing wrong. I know that as human beings we love to complain- older people complain about the disrespectful and free nature of the younger generations, younger people complain about the stubbornness and conservative nature of the seniors.

(Oops, a bit of a rabbit trail) Back to the point-

If we, as young Christians, can't stand the church how do we expect our non-Christian friends to respond? We need to step up and take on our role in the church- voice our opinions, make a difference so that we might be able to make the church what we want it to be- so that the church would be more inviting to those people around us. I can guarantee that the pastor of your church is looking for your help.

Take on a ministry, use your passion, start by reaching those older generations sitting in church beside you and let them know that you are not that disrespectful miscreant there to ruin their life (unless of course you are-then keep that secret). Take ownership of your faith- of your church- of your generation and make a difference.

The church is NOT what the pastor makes it, the church IS what the congregation makes it and YOU are part of the congregation so make it what you want- become a member, attend business meetings, voice your opinions, vote for your generation and make a difference in YOUR CHURCH.