Now, I know what you're thinking, "Mike, you just spent your entire blog post yesterday talking about how you're starting to feel old. Now, today, you're writing about feeling youthful? This seems a bit contradictory." First, let me respond to your supposed thoughts by saying that I am absolutely in a place where I sometimes feel young and sometimes feel old. I am torn. I suppose that it has much to do with the perspective and context surrounding my situation at any given time. But, though this is true, I actually don't want to talk about how young I'm feeling (in fact, there are certain aspects to what I want to share that make me feel old) but about ministering to youth--the term typically used in the church world to refer to adolescents.
I believe I have alluded to my feelings about transitioning from youth ministry to missions work in past blog posts, but I wanted to commit an entire post to it. Plainly put, I miss working with youth! I'm not going to lie...it was really weird and a bit sad to me that I had no youth ministry to be revving up for at the beginning of this most recent school year. This reality was already having me feel a little bummed. Then, Polly and I went to Six Flags with some friends during Labor Day Weekend. The day that we chose to go happened to be the same day that the Southern New England Ministry Network youth department was having it's "Six Flags Day." This meant that I ran into a bunch of my youth pastor friends who were having fun with their youth. I was having fun too, but had no youth. It left me feeling a little bit more bummed.
What's interesting is that transitioning to missions is not actually transitioning me out of youth ministry. One of the things I'll be involved with in Costa Rica is youth ministry. This is something that John & Dina Musacchio are big into (they too were youth pastors before becoming missionaries). It's more the itineration, preparation period that has left me wanting.
I did a youth service on the
Friday night I was at my brother's youth ministry in Charlotte, NC in
August. It was one of those last minute, "Hey Mike, can you speak
tonight?" things. I thoroughly enjoyed it. And I was already scheduled to do a couple youth services at the request of the church's senior pastor. So, I thought about it. What if, just what if Polly and I could expand our prayer and financial partnership not only through regular adult church services and family and friends, but we also could expand our partnership through youth services? Why not?! I mean, not simply asking a church if they can have us and being blessed with a youth services, but intentionally seeking youth services out. So, I started contacting my youth pastor friends and offering our services to come and share about Speed the Light, general missions, or any topic they thought might be beneficial for their students. And I immediately started getting results. We already have a number booked for the near future with more we just have to work out dates for. Talk about a win-win. In fact, out of these contacts birthed out of this desire I had two youth services last week. They were amazing. I loved every minute of being around teenagers. It was awesome!
I seriously can't wait to book more. Yeah, it's more time out of my schedule during the week. But you know what? It is so worth it! God gave me (and Polly) a heart to work with young people (as well as college students, though we have stayed involved in a local college ministry's Bible study during this itineration period so we're not really missing it). That's a fire burning within me that won't be extinguished. I don't want it to be extinguished! I love working with youth and I love the fact that I love it.
Let me quickly address the aspect of this that has me feeling older (as I alluded to in the intro). It's not that I've been out of high school as long as some of the youth I've encountered have been alive (though, come to think of it, that doesn't really help the situation). It's not that I have youth pastor friends who are young enough to have been one of my youth (that doesn't really help either...I need to stop dwelling on possible reasons and just get to the point here). It's that when I was at one of the youth ministry's service, the youth pastor described a contest they were about to do that caused the following immediate reaction out of me aloud to him: "Do you know how long I've been in youth ministry? Long enough to know this is a bad idea. I guarantee that someone will get hurt." Yep, I took on the role of the old, out-of-touch, no-fun adult yelling the situational equivalent to, "You'll poke your eye out." There was a time, I would have come up with such a game and acted upon it. I know that it's probably a good thing that I've matured to this point. But that doesn't mean that it didn't make me feel old. For the record, someone did get hurt. I felt too bad to say, "I told you so." Well, verbally anyway. I'm pretty sure I involuntarily gave a look that communicated as much.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to speaking at the youth services I already have booked. And I can't wait to get in touch with other youth pastor friends (and churches) to book more. I only wish I had thought to do this sooner. You don't know how much you cherish something until you miss it though, right? That's partially true. I knew I loved the youth at Calvary Assembly of God in Dudley, MA. I just didn't know how much they were such a significant part of my life.
What can I say? I heart youth.
In Christ,
Mike
No comments:
Post a Comment