Where Did This Come From?

So I am organizing my office this morning for what has become about a weekly ritual, and as I put things away or throw things away, I can't help but reflect on the randomness that this job has sometimes (really most of the time). Perhaps the best evidence of the randomness of this job is the junk that accumulates here. Here are some of the things in my office:

• I have amassed quite a bug spray collection. Our annual high school camping trip and our fall retreat have given me the resources to repel bugs for the next three years.
  
  
• One time I used a bunch of plastic Army men for an object lesson. After a few "visits" from some students, these guys can be found hidden throughout my office.
  
  
• For whatever reason, I cannot seem to throw away the youth curriculum kit from 1981 that sits under my desk. Maybe because it is a good reminder that while stuff might be cool now, in thirty years people will ask why it even existed in the first place.
  
  
• In case a bonfire just breaks out, I also have all of ingredients to make smores. I will say that the Hershey's bars have been diminishing over the past few weeks.
  
  
• I have a record album entitled Jesus Sound Explosion from the 70's. I do not, however, have a record player so I have no idea what it sounds like, but with a name like that, it was impossible to pass it up at the thrift store.
  
  
• I have a guitar in my office that I bought a while ago. I cannot play guitar or even tell you the names of the strings, but I used it for a prop for a sermon a few months ago and decided that it would be very youth ministerish to have a guitar in my office.
  
  
• I recently found a box of CD's which at first seemed like a great find, but then I realized that these CDs were all from 1998. The upside is that one of the CDs is from a band called Phat Chance who was obviously a Christian version of N'SYNC. It's a classic.
  

What's great about having a random collection of things is that it reminds me that this job is often a really random collection of roles. It is also a job that has given me so many great memories. It makes you really appreciate what God has done and helps me anticipate what He will do in the future.

Why Do They Come

Have you ever wondered why students participate in your student ministry? I wonder that sometimes. I sit there and think, what brings these kids here to all these events. While I would like to think that it is because I am super awesome, I think that there are actually several reasons that students participate in our ministry. Each student comes for different reasons, and I have compiled a list of the types of students who come and the reasons that they do.

1. The Home-Grown Student--This student grew up in the church. His or her family has been a part of the church for a long time, and it was just natural for them to become part of the student ministry. For me these are some of the most committed students because they have a strong attachment to the program and church. Their parents also tend to be some of our best volunteers.

2. The Significant Other--Some students come to your stuff because they are dating someone in the group, and they are tagging along. As much as I would like to think that these kids will stick around after the break up, chances are they are temporary attenders. If they will stick around, it is because they formed relationships with the other girls or guys in the group while attending.

3. The Minister's Kid--This student will be at most things because his or her parent works at the church and makes them come. You will be especially nice to this student because you will regard him or her as a spy for his or her parent. Note: they are not spies for their parents, usually.

4. The Community Kid--This student was looking for a place to fit in, and he or she found it with your group. These students come because they like the relationships that they have with the group. Maybe a friend invited them, or maybe you invited them, either way they found something that they were seeking and now they feel at home.

5. The Ladies Man--This guy comes because there are girls in your group-no more explanation necessary.

6. The Visitor--This student is checking you out because his or her family is checking the church out. The issue here is that the student may not have any connection to the group before attending for the first time. With a group that is a little insular at times, it takes a lot of effort on the leadership's part to make sure that these students stick.

7. The Mystery--Some kids come and you have no idea why. There are some students who you see maybe a few times a year. What brings them back? Who knows, but you are excited to see them there. Then they disappear again, destined to return at yet another random time. There is hope, though. We have some great stories about mystery students who have become plugged in and big contributors to our program.

You may never know why some kids come to your group. Something that I have realized is that I have very little control over who comes and how often. We have had great attendance at some very average events and poor attendance at exciting events. Some of the best advice I have ever read, however, is that you never concentrate on who is not there, but celebrate the ones that are there. It doesn't matter why they have come, just show them all the love of Christ and you will make a huge impact on each life.

Are You Cool Enough

I was not the coolest kid in high school. I am pretty sure that I was not the 300th coolest kid in high school. I was a shy kid who, to a large degree, lacked confidence and cultural awareness. Like most high school kids, I wanted to fit in, and it was actually when I found a healthy student ministry that I finally found my niche.

As the school year starts back, it is time once again to head to the area high schools for lunch. I love these lunches, and they have made a really big impact for our ministry. The students love that I am willing to enter their world and talk to their friends, even the ones who don't talk to me once I am there. The food is terrible by the way, that has not changed in 11 years.

The funniest thing for me about going to the high schools is that on those days I suddenly become very aware of what I plan on wearing. On days heading to the schools I decide that certain clothes I have are not cool enough or not youth minister-ish enough. It would be hilarious if it wasn't a little sad. I was telling this to one of my high school students last week, and his response was, "Imagine if you had to do that every day. It's exhausting." Man I am glad that is over. It takes a lot of energy to be cool.

So here is the question: are you cool enough to be a student minister? After only being an official youth minister for about a month I attended my first get-together of area student ministers. While it could have been a great time for fellowship, I came away from the meeting extremely discouraged. Half of the other youth ministers had either a mohawk or faux hawk. The rest looked like they were taking a break from their rock band to attend the meeting. I just had jeans and a sweater on with brown boots. I definitely did not leave that meeting feeling cool enough to be a student minister.

It did not take long, however, for me to realize that being cool enough had very little to do with what I wore. I realized that being a cool student minster meant being a minister who was invested in the lives of his or her students, who cared about each of the students and demonstrated that care. To the students who I minister to, it doesn't matter that I can't play guitar or that I don't share their fashion sense. What they care about is knowing that I care. If you love your students, then you are definitely cool enough to be a youth minister.

Ordination

Next Sunday, January 17, we will be holding my ordination service. I have known that I wanted to be ordained since I began working towards a career in ministry when I was in college, but I suppose I had not spent a ton of time thinking about what it actually means to be ordained until recently. Here are some of my thoughts regarding ordination:

1. Ordination is a big deal, especially if you believe that it in some way relates to the ordination of priests in the Old Testament. I realize there are significant differences, but in some ways the symbolism is the same. The priests went through an extensive process of cleansing and devotion to prepare for ordination. It seems right to do some form of that as I prepare for next Sunday. When the first priests were preparing for their ordination, it took seven days of sacrifices before they were prepared to receive God's blessing. My hope is that in this week leading up to the ordination service I would be also see this week as a week to prepare and meditate upon what God has called me to do.

2. Ordination should be a major life event. We don't get many major life events. We have our first day of college, our wedding day, the day a child is born, or buying a first house. All of these are big days, life-changing days. I think that ordination should also be one of these. I think that after ordination life should seem different, just as it does when you realize that you are married. Of course you were a minister before and you are after, but ordination should change something about the way you see the world. I don't believe that ordination should be something that is simply done for the tax break or because it just the next step.

3. Ordination is something that you need to work towards. It does not need to be easy to become an ordained minister. I honestly believe that some theological education should be required. I think a knowledge of the Bible and theology is important. I think that to be ordained as a Southern Baptist, an immense amount of knowledge about the denomination, its history and doctrine, should be required. I also believe that experience doing ministry should be required. Before working in the church and ministering with people, my view of working in church life was extremely skewed.

When you consider the task that God has called us to, it is humbling. Out of the billions of people in the world, God has called us to serve as His special servants who are to lead people to Him. It is a high calling, and when we treat it as such, we will feel that more empowered by He who called us.

Know Your Role

During Christmas and New Years our offices are closed for the most part here at the church. This allows time for us as staff members to recharge and get a little rest. It also provides a time for evaluation. As a evaluation addict, I spend a ton of time thinking about how we can do things better, what needs reorganized, and what we might do differently.

Over the break I spent a great deal of time thinking about our programs. We are altering our formats a little by using a new curriculum for small groups and using that curriculum to also shape our Wednesday nights. I also spent a lot of time thinking of fun things for the students to do while on break, though not much materialized.

What all this thinking did was to help me realize that I do a lot of thinking. It got me thinking about what my role really is here at the church. I think that it is so easy to lose yourself in certain roles when it comes to ministry, especially student ministry. As I looked back at the past year, I realized that I have been spending so much time as the organizer and planner, that I may have missed the mark on minister. I realize that part of being a minister is the planning and vision casting, but another part of ministry is the actual ministering. I realized that many of my conversations with students stay on the surface. Spiritual and life things come up, but I must admit that it is not natural for me to ask spiritual questions of my students.

For a while I found it important to establish relationships with the students before venturing into the deep waters of spiritual advice and especially spiritual correction. Now I find that I have those relationships and need to initiate those conversations. Much of this goes back to asking what it means to be a minister. I have a whole lot of roles in our ministry--teacher, planner, janitor, driver, friend, and counselor. However, the most important thing that I can do is to help my students grow in their faith. The other roles need to serve this role, not be in addition to, and especially not take away from it.

I want to think about this next year from this angle, what do I want students to know me as. Do I want students to know me as a fun event planner, a good speaker, a friend, or as someone who helped them grow in their faith? Hopefully this question will help shape the year's priorities and practices.