Once again, Perry Noble nails the subject of my day on the head:

Whether your pastor will tell you this or not–criticism comes with the territory.

Being a pastor is stressful–period. I would say if it does not keep you awake at night then you might not be doing something right.

Amen.

Without a clear calling to vocational ministry, survival in it would be impossible.

Sometimes I think Christians try way too hard to argue or convince unbelievers that God is real. Although I try to avoid judging people’s hearts, it seems that most believers are not so much concerned about the spiritual wellbeing of the individual they’re talking to as much as they are about convincing themselves that their faith is valid. Almost every question about God we’ve heard from unbelievers is a good question, one that, if we’re honest, we’ve all asked ourselves sometime. So why do we feel that we need to avoid these critical questions or be content with pat little Christian answers that really do nothing to solve the issue? It would be far wiser to just say, “I don’t know,” and admit that we don’t have all the answers. That doesn’t necessarily invalidate our faith — it just means that God knows infinitely more than our 3.5 pounds of brain matter can figure out.

If this happens no where else, I at least what my youth group to be a place where students feel free to ask the tough questions without feeling judged, pressured, or frowned upon. These critical evaluations of Christianity are positive! We all ask them, we all want answers, and it doesn’t make us less of a Christian. It’s the perfect opportunity to learn, grow, and take ownership of our faith.

(This is a great blog post by an atheist researching the misconceptions Christians have about them. I find it interesting that he seems to infer as much about the mistreatment or disrespect he feels from believers as he does about scientific evidence. When will Christians ever learn to love unconditionally?)

Ministry is somehow like one big oxymoron or some kind of ironic contradiction. It would be great if it wasn’t for the people, but somehow people is what ministry is all about. Sometimes it just makes me wanna quit and give up on a situation by moving elsewhere, thinking that running will somehow make things better. I’m not naive enough, though, to think that the grass is greener on the other side. People are people no matter where I go. The names and the faces may change, but that’s about it. At least my conflict in ministry doesn’t require me to suffer crucifixion, as it has for Someone else. He didn’t run from false accusations and sinful people, so I guess I shouldn’t either, especially since I’m one of them myself.

Anyone who reads this, I’d appreciate some prayer this week. As I posted before, the grind aspect of ministry is becoming very real to me lately. Never before have I been more convinced that the sin of gossip and lies are horrible and that they have the potential to ruin ministry. I wish some people could just realize the affect their actions are having and STOP, but I guess people who conduct themselves in this manner are usually not in a position to notice (or care?). I’m angry, I feel vulnerable and emotionally drained, and I really want to throw tact and diplomacy out the window and say what I’m thinking to certain people, but I know that will do more harm than good. Originally I wanted to use this situation as an opportunity for change and growth in people’s lives, but now the situation has been pushed much further than I thought it would ever go since the offending parties have leaped across a number of different boundaries. Rather than trying to promote maturity and life-change, I now have to resort to defending the reputation of the youth ministry and protecting the students in it. If you think of it, please pray for me this week as the church leadership deals with this situation on my behalf. Pray that we will have widsom and that my creditability remains intact. Ultimately, however, pray that the Lord will somehow be glorified through it all.

P.S. What I’ve learned through this is that it is ALWAYS a good idea to keep your Sr. Pastor up to date on everything that goes on inside the youth ministry. I’m definitely glad now that I do this.

Over at Think Christian Andy posted about how the online gaming community might become a new mission field as Christians start to form their own guilds and clans within these communities. I agree that online communities are becoming very prevalent and almost as important to some people as real-life communities, but I would hate to see Christian sub-groups form and start to divide “us” from “them.”

I am the the leader for a guild in the game Guild Wars called the Valiant Knights. Unfortunately most of the Christian guilds in this game are not very good and are generally laughed at by the rest of the Guild Wars community. It seems to me that the more effective ministry route is to join a guild that contains unsaved members and build relationships with them there. We don’t need to create more separate sub-groups of Christians — we need to infiltrate the unsaved communities.

Being a youth pastor and sharing about my “career” with other guildmates has offered many great witnessing opportunities. I’m often teased as being the “pizza party man,” even though I have yet to have a pizza party with my youth group. I’ve earned their respect over the past 10 months and have had several great opportunities to sit in Teamspeak (voice chat) and talk privately with individuals about what they’re going through in life. It’s becoming very apparent to me that many people play games like this as an escape from real-life struggles, so I agree with Andy that it is an exceptionally needy mission field, especially with the millions who play Guild Wars alone. Instead of forming little groups of Christians, though, I hope to see Christians use these online communities to better learn what it means to be in the world but not of the world (John 17:14-15).

Tomorrow night at 10:00 PM the youth staff and myself leave the church parking lot to make the 10 hour drive to Nashville. With all the craziness ahead of us at NYWC, I pledge the following to keep my focus on track:

I will encourage other youth workers in any way possible.

I will listen more than speak.

I will write down every idea I have for improving the ministry at Redeemer.

I will use this as an opportunity to challenge the Redeemer volunteers in weak areas.

I will use this as an opportunity to encourage and affirm the Redeemer volunteers in areas of strength.

I will be willing to make myself vulnerable and privately share ministry struggles with at least one other youth pastor.

I will not compare my ministry to anyone else’s ministry.

I will spend more time reading my Bible than the schedule.

I will pray each day for every individual student, every volunteer, and for our Sr. Pastor, Roland Boyce.

I will humble myself and assume that everyone there has something to teach me.

I will allow myself to relax and not feel pressured by the schedule.

I will always keep my heart open to the change God wants to make there.

The blogging community has taught me three things:

1. We all have something to say
2. We have a need to be heard
3. We want to know that our thoughts are valued

I am no different. It appears to me that these are pretty basic staples of human needs.

There are obvious implications for ministry here, but I’m not quite sure what they are. How would our churches be different if members experienced freedom to share their heart knowing that others would listen and be genuinely interested in what they have to say? What if ministry revolved more around listening to people instead of preaching to them? What if we did more to intentionally communicate love through listening and valuing people’s thoughts? What would this look like for the local church? Or do we already have a fair balance between listening, affirming, and returning heart-felt communication? I’m not really sure where I’m going with all this — just some thoughts I’ve been mulling over for a week or so. Anyone have ideas? (I promise I will listen and value what you have to say.)

I think back over all the mistakes I’ve made in ministry. Some make me grimace and say, “What in the world was I thinking?!” Others are kinda comical and make me laugh at my stupidity. Of course, the every-day bloopers is part of what makes this job so fun, too. Like the time I talked about Alaskan Moose (or something like that) strengthening their antlers during the spring in preparation for the fight for dominance in the fall. I said something like, “And the one with the smaller rack doesn’t get any!” Of course all the guys busted up laughing. There was no way I could play that one off and keep going like it never happened.
The funniest youth ministry blooper I’ve seen yet is here. (Thanks to Lexi in my youth group for the link!) This youth pastor at Southeast Christian Church in Parker, Colorado, was describing what happened when the biblical character Lot pitched his tents too close to Sodom and Gomorrah, but then the mother of all sermon blunders fell from a clear blue sky. Very funny.

But anyway, back to the issue at hand. I read today over at Perry Noble’s blog about his message to the church staff where he ministers. Handling our mistakes in ministry can be a difficult and confusing time, but I think he summarized it well:

#1 - If You Are Not Making Mistakes Then You Are Not Trying!
I can say that our mistakes here at NewSpring have came from people who love Jesus, love the church, love people–and are really trying to do what they think is right. In doing that we will drop the ball from time to time. However, that is OK–the church has played it safe for way too long.

#2 - Do Not Try To Hide The Mistake!
If you make a mistake then address it. We don’t do this many times in the church world, we “pray about it” and expect God to handle it. (Does it seem that at times we over spiritualize everything?) But the best thing to do when making a mistake is to address it!

#3 - Do Not Fear The Outcome
When you make [a mistake] you can count on the fact that your approval rating will drop in the public polls. Our job, however, is not to worship people–but to worship Jesus–to do what is right before doing what is easy…and trusting in a Sovereign God to take control.

#4 - The Only Bad Mistakes Are The Ones You Do Not Learn From
Uh, enough said, right?

The whole blog entry is worth reading. Check it out HERE.

Tony Myles, a youth pastor in Michigan, e-mailed me last week asking if I’d participate in a survey he wrote for one of his Masters Of Ministry projects at Indiana Wesleyan University. Although it’s pretty long, I thought it worth my time for the sake of thinking through some of the issues and being forced to articulate them for myself. His questions mostly address the issue of relationships between church leaders. They’re pretty thought-provoking and could render any number of appropriate answers. So, I’m curious to hear what you guys have to say. Over the next couple days I’ll post one or two of the questions along with my answers. Feel free to respond with your stories.

First question: Continue Reading

I have my parents to thank for modeling the example I decided to follow yesterday.

Around dinner-time I received a call from a guy in the church saying that he just heard from a guy he knows. This guy is going through a really rough time, including loosing his job, being evicted, and needing a place to spend a couple nights. Although he didn’t really ask if I was available, my first inclination was to make excuses about how I’m busy, have other responsibilities, and that this could be more convenient for some other people in the church than for me. Plus, I don’t know this guy and have no way to tell if he’d steal all my stuff and run off, ya know? We talked for a little bit, but when we got off the phone I felt very convicted about being the priest who passed by on the other side of the road in the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). Then, of course, James 4 came to mind, “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.” Doh! Even so, the Lord has blessed me with so much, who am I to hoard it to myself and not share with others in need? The Lord has blessed me so I can be a blessing to others. So I called the church-guy back and told him all I have is a futon cushion for him to sleep on, but he’s welcome to it.

My guest showed up later that night and I was kinda surprised to find that he’s an older man in his late 50s or so. We hung out and talked for a little bit and then went to bed. He’ll be staying with me for another night or two since I’m taking vacation this weekend and heading to Houston, but I’m glad I can be of service for even a couple days. It feels good to know that I obediently followed the Lord’s call to be willing to sacrifice myself, my time, and my possessions for His use. It all belongs to God anyway, right?

Thanks, Mom and Dad, for modeling this kind of hospitality throughout my childhood and teenage years.