Determined To Make Hell Hate Me
The temptations during the "15 quiet seasons" are numerous. Sometimes we're tempted to jump ship and move to a different ministry. Other times, we just are slowly immobilized by the blahness of the everyday routine. Amidst it all, we can find it easy to become bored, discouraged, or demotivated. Sometimes the Enemy tells us something like, "If you were any good, you'd already be in the championships. You might as well quit and give up your ridiculous dreams!" It's almost like we rent a room in our minds to the Enemy.
But you see, true youth ministry fulfillment comes to those of us who keep slowly building during the quiet, unnoticed years. It's not a matter of just hanging on. Granted, remaining consistent is huge. (Unfortunately, we've all known consistent people who repeated the same patterns for 20 years without very much fruit.) But vibrant youth ministry comes when we continue to keep praying... keep improving... keep growing... and keep doing the right things during those unnoticed youth ministry seasons.
I was privileged to be a youth pastor in a small town in Nebraska where things exploded. People often asked the secret. I smiled and sometimes responded, "For starters, I stayed there for 15 years!" Much the same story could be repeated for our ministries in Illinois and Atlanta. Once again, things exploded and great people from around the nation came to visit. But the "secret" involved my willingness to stay there for 13 years. And now in Atlanta, I'm honored to serve in an amazing church of 15,000 members. My beloved Cadre, the group of men and women youth pastors that I mentor, has grown from the original 27, in 2005, to now over 1,000 men and women that have taken part in the 1-2 year mentoring program, and the Atlanta Leadership College here in Atlanta of around 100 students each and every year.
But once again, there will be no magic moment if our heart is to make Hell hate us. It all begins with slowly building a team... slowly making prayer a part of our ministry culture... slowly teaching people what it means to "chase" students and build relationship bridges. Slowly... slowly... slowly... Get the point?
The temptations during the "15 quiet seasons" are numerous. Sometimes we're tempted to jump ship and move to a different ministry. Other times, we just are slowly immobilized by the blahness of the everyday routine. Amidst it all, we can find it easy to become bored, discouraged, or demotivated. Sometimes the Enemy tells us something like, "If you were any good, you'd already be in the championships. You might as well quit and give up your ridiculous dreams!" It's almost like we rent a room in our minds to the Enemy.
But you see, true youth ministry fulfillment comes to those of us who keep slowly building during the quiet, unnoticed years. It's not a matter of just hanging on. Granted, remaining consistent is huge. (Unfortunately, we've all known consistent people who repeated the same patterns for 20 years without very much fruit.) But vibrant youth ministry comes when we continue to keep praying... keep improving... keep growing... and keep doing the right things during those unnoticed youth ministry seasons.
I was privileged to be a youth pastor in a small town in Nebraska where things exploded. People often asked the secret. I smiled and sometimes responded, "For starters, I stayed there for 15 years!" Much the same story could be repeated for our ministries in Illinois and Atlanta. Once again, things exploded and great people from around the nation came to visit. But the "secret" involved my willingness to stay there for 13 years. And now in Atlanta, I'm honored to serve in an amazing church of 15,000 members. My beloved Cadre, the group of men and women youth pastors that I mentor, has grown from the original 27, in 2005, to now over 1,000 men and women that have taken part in the 1-2 year mentoring program, and the Atlanta Leadership College here in Atlanta of around 100 students each and every year.
But once again, there will be no magic moment if our heart is to make Hell hate us. It all begins with slowly building a team... slowly making prayer a part of our ministry culture... slowly teaching people what it means to "chase" students and build relationship bridges. Slowly... slowly... slowly... Get the point?
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In this Youth Leader's Coach, "Building Something That Will Last," we discuss what it takes to build a ministry that not only leaves an imprint on the hearts and lives of students, but lasts long after you've left.
How do you do it? For the most part, it boils down to intentional decision-making in a number of key areas in your ministry and personal life. While some of the choices can seem difficult in the moment, they are the very things that will catapult you and your ministry into the future. So join me for a cup of coffee and let's chat on what it takes to build something that lasts. My heart's desire is for you to be in the youth ministry trench beside me for years to come.
Still building,
According to surveys done by the Fuller Institute of Church Growth, 70% of pastors have no one they consider to be a close friend and 50% have considered leaving the ministry in the last 3 months. Those are staggering statistics and I suspect that the numbers aren't too different for youth pastors and leaders.
This Youth Leader's Coach, "Coping With Stress and Burnout In Youth Ministry," is probably destined to be one of your favorites. I share candidly with you on stress and burnout. After 35 years in fulltime youth ministry, I've obviously experienced my share of both of these. So I wanted to share with you some of the pragmatic and medical things I have learned through the journey that can help you in these crucial areas.
Most of all, I wanted you to realize that when you feel pretty seriously stressed and even burned out, you are understood and not crazy! It's my honor to send this Youth Leader's Coach your way. Keep it filed somewhere so you can pull it out occasionally. It probably will be worth listening to more than once.
Lovingly Your Sis,
"Worn Out And Empty"...that's a pretty unusual title for one of our youth ministry mentoring times together, isn't it? Yet those four words are realities all of us can relate to all too well at different times in our ministries.
As I share my heart with you on the subject, I hope you will be able to receive this Youth Leader's Coach as a love-gift from Jesus' heart to yours. We all deal with times when the repetition and demands of youth ministry leave us "worn out and empty." We all occasionally struggle to find the emotional energy necessary to keep going...in our ministries, our jobs, our families and sometimes even in our personal walks with Christ.
So prayerfully, our time together will really speak to you. If not, may I make a suggestion? Just consider keeping this somewhere within easy reach. Because all too soon, you'll find the ebb and flow of youth ministry (and life) will leave you saying to yourself, "Where did I put that Youth Leader's Coach?"
Lovingly yours,
"For the journey," the angel of the Lord said to Elijah in 1 Kings 19:7, "is too much for you." I don't know any great heroes of the faith who haven't felt the same way. Does knowing that you are in good company, that you are not alone, bring you comfort in some sort of odd way? It should. God gets your "this is just too much" moments and Jesus felt His own on Calvary!
With our Master's Commission Atlanta students, we do this thing called "Challenge By Choice" (CBC). Its mission statement says, "Challenges will come my way. It is not a matter of IF, but WHEN. And in those moments, I will choose to walk with joy, to encourage those around me, and to persevere beyond what I think is possible by relying on God, His Word and the people He has placed in my life. I am more than a conqueror." The goal of CBC, and this YLC, is to help navigate those challenging times.
Not a matter of IF, but WHEN,
Contrary to what many people think, it is not your talent or your intelligence that is really the major predictor of how much happiness or success you're going to have in your life, your family, your vocation, or your ministry. A far more accurate predictor of those factors is your GRIT. And best news is that grit isn't something you are just "born with"...but it is something you can cultivate!
In this Youth Leader's Coach, I share pragmatics from the book, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth. We'll take a look at what "grit" is. I'll also share four psychological assets that, if you choose to grow them over time, will help you grow your GRIT. As novelist John Irving says, "To do anything really well, you have to OVEREXTEND YOURSELF."
Committed to growing my GRIT,
