Adam McLane

Youth Worker, You Need a Life

I know far too many youth workers who need to get a life. 

  • No friends their own age.
  • Can’t carry on a decent, adult conversation.
  • Their lives revolve around their church. (their employer)
  • If they are married and/or have kids, they spend most of their free time with their family.

This is a recipe for disaster. Loneliness. Burnout. Sinful habits. In other words, if you don’t get a life outside of your job… you’re not going to be qualified to stay in ministry for long enough to call it a career. 

How Did I Get Here?

If you’re like me… it’s not like you intended to not have a life… it just happened. We started youth ministry when we were young, in our early 20s. It was easy and fun to hang out with teenagers. Mix in getting started in a ministry job, finishing educational requirements, getting married and having a young family… and you wake up about 30 years old realizing you don’t have a life.

No one sets out to not have a life.  You just wake up one day realizing it.

So What Do I Do?

  1. Cut back at work. It’s a job so treat it like one. 40-50 hours is plenty… no one is impressed with your ability to work 70.
  2. Get a hobby. When I travel, lots of people ask me about the Aztecs. Somewhere along the line they’ll say something like, “Man, I wish I had a team I followed like that.” It’s a hobby. Sure, this hobby costs me a little money. But having something I do and genuinely love outside of my ministry is just about the most healthy thing I do.
  3. Join something where you’re a nobody. Back in Romeo I joined a golf league. It was awesome to have a place where I was “just Adam” and not “Pastor Adam.” And the guys in the league thought it was hilarious when the pastor didn’t say “PRAISE THE LORD!” when I shanked a shot into a hazard.
  4. Volunteer somewhere. Coach your kids soccer team, an animal shelter, join a service organization, somewhere… just not at your church.
  5. Love your neighbors, literally. Be the catalyst for neighbors knowing neighbors on your block. Arrange a get together or play group or just find out what the needs of your neighbors are. (Um, start with their names!)

Share Your Tips

What are your hobbies? Share them in the comments so we can learn from one another.

Photo credit: Bruce McKay via Flickr (Creative Commons)

Posted

in

by

Adam McLane

Tags:

Comments

4 responses to “Youth Worker, You Need a Life”

  1. Kurt J Avatar
    Kurt J

    Hobbies: surfing, dirt bikes, golf and late night movies. I’d say half the time these things involve my family and half the time they are with buddies. I purposely have some high energy hobbies and some low energy hobbies.

    Can I add one thing to your list? Alone time.
    The habit of sneaking away for 30 mins, a couple hours or even a full day to be alone has proven to be vital in my “get a life” efforts.

    Reply
  2. Wes Avatar
    Wes

    Hunting- Check
    Michigan Wolverines- check
    Know my neighbors name- check
    Volunteer with Ducks Unlimited-check

    I think I’m surviving according to the Adam McLane Ministry Survival Guide!

    Reply
    1. adam mclane Avatar
      adam mclane

      Thrive on, baby!

      Reply
  3. Gene Avatar
    Gene

    The most important things I’ve done to maintain my mental/emotional health in ministry has been to become a ski instructor at the local ski hill. How good it is to have a group of friends who, as you said, know me as Gene, not Pastor Gene.

    But for those who haven’t found this yet, don’t let it discourage you. Contrary to Adam’s attempt at hyperbole, you can have a career in the ministry even if you never get a life outside of your job — I was 50 before I stumbled into this outlet. But, he IS right that you will enjoy both life and ministry more if you don’t equate them with one another.

    Reply

Leave a Reply