Focus
22 Dec
Youth teachers, pastors, leaders, whatever, tend to see things differently than most people in the church.
We see a section of our church that is terribly at risk.
These guys and gals are old enough to think for themselves. They no longer accept whatever we tell them as fact without question. That’s a good thing, just as a note.
They also don’t have all the answers that they think they have. They respect less. They demand excellence in communication. Holding the attention of a group of 14 year olds requires that we communicators do our job in a top-notch fashion. We can’t just presume on their sense of “respect” in the fashion that some adult teachers get by with. We aren’t automatically respected just because we have a title.
It’s an earned thing.
We have to defend those guys and gals. We have to appreciate their struggles. We have to lead and, in some cases, correct without breaking down a crucial level of rapport. We have to be aware of culture. We have to be aware of temptations that the fifty-year olds never will encounter.
All the while remembering to lead by example and never abandon the message of the gospel.
All the while remembering that the church we are preparing them to live in and serve in is not as willing to conform to the precedent that we are setting.
All the while praying that they will become hungry for “it” themselves, because we can’t always help them with the hard times. We can’t do “it” for them.
Youth of Crossroads, I love you guys and gals. I hope I can be half the “leader” that you deserve.
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Annnnd, I’ve got pictures (that I will post later today or tomorrow) of how you help the youth at CR focus.
Oh, dear.
Me thinks thou dost underestimate thyself. Translated: Bill (cycleguy’s) version: you do better than you think.
Very cool post. And appreciated from this side of the computer screen.
Thanks for the kind words, guys. I’m probably (no, definitely) in over my head with all this…