My daughter, Megan, starts middle school on Monday. When I tell people that they tend to make this crinkly face. Like, “Oh… middle school sucks.”
To the contrary I’m pumped for her to start middle school.
New school. New friends. New stuff at church. It’s a nice fresh beginning. It’s one of those rare restart moments that life provides. Yup, there will be bumps. But yup, that’s not filling us with trepidation.
I enjoyed teaching in Encounter, the high school ministry of my church, yesterday morning. I’ve taught a few times and this was really the first time I felt comfortable to teach fully in my style. That’s hard to explain… but I only mean I was comfortable to just be me.
There’s no scripted version of this talk but I thought I’d pass along my notes as well as offer my materials for anyone who’d like them.’
This song jumps out of the radio with it’s depth and quality. So many songs on the radio are just… songs. Maybe they feature a catchy beat or a chorus you can’t get out of your head. But they aren’t really about anything.
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’
“For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”
And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
“I need to get out of here.” ~ Every teenager. Ever.
On August 1st, tens of thousands of whistles will blow on tens of thousands of practice fields on tens of thousands of American high school campuses.
In many states August 1st is the first day of fall practice for football. Beyond football, it marks the officially beginning for tons of other coaches of fall sports. (Yes, many sports actually go year-round. But each sports season has an official practice period.)
Like a lot of people, I’ve been following the news about NSA leaks. And I’ve enjoyed a fair amount of banter on the topic, which leaves me full of contradiction.
I’ve been busy lately. Between traveling a lot and catching up from traveling a lot I’ve missed many important details.
On Tuesday afternoon guys from my high school small group started texting me, “What are we doing tomorrow night?” Then I got text from my co-leaders, “What are we doing tomorrow night?”
I kept thinking to myself, “What are they talking about? We’re going to meet at the church, play some volleyball, eat dinner, and have small groups.”
So I looked at my texts from Brian and it turns out that, and I still don’t know why, last night our small groups did outings instead of the normal routine.
Cool. So I need a plan. And I’ve got no plan.
I totally identified with this talk. Creating + efficiency aren’t always best friends. I’m surprised that in my own process sometimes things come quickly while other times they tend to drag on forever.
I know enough to know when I need to refer.
That’s my standard line when dealing with psychological issues in youth ministry. As simple as that sounds it’s probably a line that has served me well over the years. I am quick to listen, assess, and refer when something is beyond my reach.
My desire to do no harm leads me to a referral.
Over the years I’ve gotten to know several therapists, counselors, and guidance counselors who consider their life’s work a ministry. They pour into teenagers and every day their client schedule is packed with adolescents. (And parents of adolescents.)
These are absolutely youth workers.
“Our church can’t get access to that school. It’s closed to the church.”
I’ve heard this phrase my entire career in youth ministry. In a lot of youth worker networks it’s a phrase you say at a network meeting which gets an instant nod of agreement. But it’s never actually been true on two counts.
Christians who are teachers, who consider their work “on mission” ministering to the holistic needs of adolescents, are absolutely youth workers in every way.