Bible-study leader + Fund-raiser + event organizer + mission trip leader + speaker + instrumentalist + worship leader + accountant + bleacher cheerleader + counselor + tutor + motivator + technology director + game creator = youth pastor.
Bible-study leader + Fund-raiser + event organizer + mission trip leader + speaker + instrumentalist + worship leader + accountant + bleacher cheerleader + counselor + tutor + motivator + technology director + game creator = youth pastor.
There were several people that invested heavily into my life outside of my family that I am forever grateful for. There was my youth pastor who God used to show me my need for a Savior…
…There was the other youth pastor in town who saw something in me and gave me a shot at ministry and invested in me as a leader…
…Then there were my Professors at Liberty who gave me an opportunity to grow through the Center for Youth Ministry…
…The Interim Associate Pastor at my first church who lost years of ministry because of a moral mistake who gave me some incredibly wise advice I still remember…
…The coach that provided many opportunities and advice in my church planting days…
There are so many others that through the years poured into my life to help make me who I am. They partnered with the Holy Spirit in the sanctification of my walk and for that I am thankful.
To lose sight of this is to let your pride take over. You are not the result of an accident or an isolated incident in which God molded you in a vacuum. Most likely you are the result of many hours of investment, prayer, development, successes and failures. There are no self-made Christians.
I am so thankful for all of those who looked beyond this geeky, 4-eyed, shy kid and saw who God saw; and were willing to share.
Maybe some day I’ll post about investing in others…
Last night at Leadership (a monthly meeting of students and adults that serve) I had a good time ribbing a particular student for talking by telling him ‘Leaders Listen.’
It’s a true statement. Of course God is the most important person you should listen to.
You may have more influence as a leader by listening than you do by talking.
Even in a group context this is true. When another leader is on stage and your talking, texting or otherwise disengaged; it can affect their delivery – regardless of the message.
The best leaders are the ones who are asking questions and listening to those close to him… even if that’s where it ends. Just because you’re listening doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice your authority and responsibility; but you never know what you may learn.
I really don’t like sticky tables, or fingerprints on my tv.
I can’t stand tripping on toys in the middle of the night, or finding my socks full of stickers on the bottom.
It sometimes annoys me when I can’t use the bathroom in peace, or never having clean floors.
It’s not my personal favorite to always have a foot on me at dinner time, or answer 1,000 questions.
But I wouldn’t trade these inconveniences for anything. They represent the biggest blessings in my life.
… in fact, now that I think about it – I don’t mind any of these things at all.
There are few people in life I enjoy hearing stories from more than my grandparents. They are New Englanders who moved down south when my dad was just a boy. I’ve heard all of the classics; like walking miles to school, uphill both ways, and in the snow. But more than that, many stories have stuck with me through the years that have highlighted really how blessed I am.
I live in a house that my grandfather wouldn’t have lived in anything close to until he was at least in his late 40′s… and I bought this place in my 20′s. I have a nice vehicle with heated seats, and even heated mirrors. When my grandparents first married, they didn’t even own a vehicle. Yes, times are different – but can you imagine what they have seen and worked for through their lives? They have seen cars, planes, computers, multiple wars, stock market crashes, rises, then more crashes — they have experienced a ton. And through it all, one thing does seem to remain clear… my grandfather doesn’t take what he has for granted. He has worked hard to be where he is today.
It leads me to the unfortunate conclusion that nothing is really special anymore. Sure, some of us can afford fancier vacations and nicer restaurants – but much more is at our fingertips than we acknowledge. Our ‘poor’ is yesterdays ‘rich’. My mom has told stories of growing up on a farm and making dolls out of husks of corn while wearing home-made clothing.
I told my wife for Christmas this year that I didn’t want anything. Gifts are not my “love language”, but more than that if I want something I just save up and get it. There’s very little ‘special’ anymore. When I was a kid (now I sound old) I would visit friends who had those ‘big screen’ rear projection tv’s and think they lived in luxury — now it’s rare to find a home that doesn’t have an LCD at least 42″ in many middle class American homes.
For most of us, there is very little that we deem as a rare treat. We have become accustomed to celebrity twitter access, fast food, plenty of toys, and we will cry until we get it.
The discouraging side of the coin is that this has translated into our spiritual lives. No longer is grace enough. It needs to also include a song or show. When did the Gospel stop having it’s influence on you? When did it become just another thing piled in the corner of our houses?
Maybe this year, you remind yourself of the things in life that are special. Be reminded how blessed we really are, and be thankful. Thankful of the gifts we do have in life, and that the grace of God shown to us is special. The families we have, platforms God has given us and even things we have are not to be elevated to a point of worship, but are meant to be blessings. One day, like my grandparents, I hope to share stories with my grandchildren about days ‘back when’, and the beauty of these stories is that I rode the bus to school, and own multiple vehicles. Live like you’re blessed, because most likely you are.
Rough draft late night rant over.
I found some notes in my phone today from several months ago. I’m not sure if I wrote these things down from someone else or I came up with them myself – so accept this as a note that you may have seen it before. However, I thought they were challenging, so I wanted to share.
Jesus ascended leaving us with what we now call The Great Commission. He gave us a mission. The church now had an identity. A goal. There are several instances of the Great Commission in Scripture, but I will mention just one.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in all of Jerusalem and in all of Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8 (ESV)
Jesus left the church with a mission. A great one. But what happens when we have lost that mission?
1. Our preferences come before God’s.
The biggest issue that most Christians in the US are struggling with at the moment is this one. Call it consumer church, or whatever you’d like – but we’ve decided that our needs and preferences come before God’s. We’ve lost mission. We no longer are concerned about being witnesses, but it is instead about programs or styles. We have elevated our opinion above the Great Commission.
2. We lose our compassion for the lost.
It’s easy for us to isolate ourselves apart from the ‘pagans’ of the world. We find excuses to not interact with the lost. Jesus tells us in Matthew 5 to pray for and love our enemies. How much more should we pray for those who are not opposed to us but need to hear about the love of Jesus. When we lose mission, we stop having compassion for the lost and we start making excuses as to why we should avoid them.
3. We gain a sense of entitlement.
I’ve said before that a Christian doesn’t have the right to be offended. After what Jesus went through, He asked for them to be forgiven from His Father. If he is who we desire to be like, whether someone spits in our face or just does something we don’t like – we have no right to be offended. We are entitled to hell, but it’s only through the grace and mercy of God that we are even able to experience this love and life that we do as believers. When we lose mission, we start taking credit for what God has done instead of living with a daily humility and sacrifice understanding all that we have is a gift from Him.
The mission of God is too important for us to be distracted with anything else.
It’s inevitable that at the end of my life I will have regrets. I know this, because I have them now. Thoughts often pace through my head of past decisions; If I had only been more confident, outgoing, spoke up or shut my mouth. Relationships in my life have been scarred by my past actions or words. Decisions have been made that I wish I could change and do differently. These things are in the past, and I live in the present covered by God’s grace; however there is a much greater risk being played with. I make choices every day that could add to the current list of regrets I already have.
Life is full of difficult decisions and watershed moments that define our path and journey in this life. Hopefully we are listening to the voice of God in these decisions, but I know for myself I often wish my heart tuned into His a little better. But you can’t avoid the watershed moments. Sometimes you don’t even have a choice in the matter.
So the difference between you and I is possibly that I realize I will have some regrets in life, and you are convincing yourself that you will live a life without regrets. If you realize that you will have regrets in life, the beauty of it is that you can control what they are.
So at the end of your life, will you wish you spent more time in the office or with your family? I know I will have some career regrets – I’ve already passed up on several career/ministry defining opportunities; but they were decisions that protected my family goals. Sometimes it’s ok to quit or no. Some things are simply worth it.
I always hesitate to write or give strong credit to the idea of ‘leadership’. We often speak of it in place of discipleship. So my own disclaimer for this post is to remember that Jesus called us to be disciples – leadership is a byproduct of that call.
Whether you realize it or not, you are a leader. In some fashion you lead others and model that leadership to them. Often poor leadership environments reproduce similarly poor leaders, though there are occasional breakthroughs. I have the pleasure of developing leaders, and have for many years now. I’ve been able to be a voice into leaders before they have been given a platform; and one of my biggest concerns is that I don’t pass on my own poor leadership traits.
A few years ago I determined that there were a few things I wanted to ‘pass down’ as a leader that I would consider to be a priority. I thought I’d share them here for my own benefit as much as anyone else’s. (I never blog anymore, so I highly doubt anyone even drops in)
1. Conviction. A strong leader has conviction, in particular about whatever area they’re leading. If you saw the coach of a college football team sitting on the bench having some coffee and discussing their favorite tv show during a game – you may lose a little faith in him. However, there are instances where if a leader wasn’t drinking coffee and discussion culture the opposite would be true. Truth is, a good leader enjoys where they are and is passionate about it. We can display passion in very different ways – so be yourself, but lead with conviction.
2. Character. Unfortunately you can lead without character, but you will be far less effective. I remember clearly the scandals with Pres. Bill Clinton. All of the allegations he denied seem to leak out evidence to the contrary. At that point, many began to lose faith in the President simply because of his character – an area not necessarily in his job description.
If your character is poor, your leadership will be poor. And often what brings a leader down is not bad decisions regarding their job or position – but bad moral or ethical decisions dealing with their character. Those you lead are watching your life closely.
3. Communication. A leader must communicate. You can’t assume people understand your heart and values – or even the values of the church, ministry or organization for that matter. You need to communicate often and clearly. Sometimes this means simply showing someone that they are valuable by communicating with them. By the way, this is a two-way street. It’s not just enough to send out information; good communicators listen.
Some of the strongest leaders that have influenced my life have been people who simply showed their concern toward me as a person.
4. Teachability. This should be no. 1. Don’t mistake it as less important just because it’s at the end of the list, you will not be an effective leader if you aren’t teachable. Plain and simple. The biggest thing that keeps us from being teachable is pride, so along with this component to leadership is humility. The strongest leaders are humble leaders. The strongest leaders listen to others. We are not dictators (well, I assume there are none in the room.) If you want to grow and improve at what you do, you need to listen and learn.
A few years ago the world changed. When I was in High School, nobody had a website. In fact, I was one of the few people I know that had a cell phone that fit in my pocket. That was 13 years ago, and in that time the culture has shifted dramatically. Now, you could still be walking around with a beeper and some change in your pocket for a pay phone, but hopefully you have listened to the culture and to others as to the changes. For some odd reason, church ministry seems way behind on this. It could be a myriad of things that lead us to the conclusion that we don’t need to change or listen, but if we aren’t teachable and we aren’t growing – we’re dying.
I am no leadership guru. But I am a guy whom God has placed in a position of leadership, and I pray I lead well. We make this area far more difficult than it should be. You may not be given the biggest leadership stage, but lead well with what you have been given.
This past weekend I got to see a friend of mine I haven’t seen in several years. It is always encouraging to me to spend time with others who are like minded. God was shaping both of our hearts in college, and it’s exciting to see where He has taken us. But he said something I can’t get out of my head over dinner. He asked me, “So Pat, how long do you think you will be just a youth pastor.” Of course I responded, “Just a youth pastor?”
I spent a good 18 months as the senior pastor of a church I inherited (twice). I knew that at least for that time, God had indeed called me to be in that role because He is the one who put me in that situation. Ultimately when He moved us on, I followed Him into youth ministry again – which is something I love and am passionate about. So in a way, you could say that I upgraded from Lead Pastor to Youth Pastor.
Here’s the struggle I have with it. What separates me from a Lead/Senior Pastor? Education? Nope, I’ve got as much or more than the average guy. Experience? Again, I’d put my experience up against anyone. Ability? Some could argue otherwise, but I’d say it could take a stronger leader to lead a student ministry effectively. Generally what separates me is simply a calling (and possibly the paycheck).
Who doesn’t start in a business and desire to be the CEO – the guy making the big bucks who is calling the shots? While our responsibilities are different, it takes finding staff who are passionate about what they do to grow. It takes guys who want to be ‘just’ youth pastors, because they love it. True, not everyone is cut out for the big chair of lead pastor; but do what God has called you to do. Even if that means you’re smarter, more educated and most likely better looking (jokes, people) than those over you in church ministry.
Do what your passionate about. Do what God has called you to do. 2 Peter shows that there are no tiers in ministry. There’s no pyramid scheme to make your way to the top of. Flow charts only show levels of responsibility or others who God has entrusted over you – not to display ways for you to move up the proverbial ladder.
And who knows what God has in store for me in the future, but for right now I’m happy being just a youth pastor.
They were the good ole days… filled with many blog posts, pontifications, and inspiring situations. I think the only thing that has changed for the recent season I am in is the blog. I still haven’t figured out what I want to do with it. I have never wanted it to be a mirror to other sites, simply posting or re-posting good thoughts (though I love to point people in good directions). I have also never wanted it to be a place where I share my expertise, of which I’m not sure I have any. And this really isn’t a place where I want to share announcements, commercials, updates, etc via the ministry where God has me.
I am in a quandary trying to figure out which steps to take, if any. This past year has been one of the busiest years in ministry I have had. In fact, I have had to cut out some of the things I enjoy most (like traveling and speaking) in order to not be too overwhelmed. So, here is too good intentions. Here is to hopes that this spot may be inspiration for someone and cathartic for the author. When I needed an outlet before, I found one online – maybe that will happen again.