more thinking, more changing

the other day i was driving from activity to activity (as i normally do in my line of work) and something hit me. it came to me out of the blue. i don't think like a young adult minister.

that part of my job description is supposed to be 50% of my total time during the week, and i'm lucky to spend 20-25% of it there. and here's where i think i've gone wrong this past year. i've been thinking non-stop about the youth ministry here. now before i get all of these "that's not a bad thing" messages back from people let me say a few things.

first, you're right, it's not a bad thing at all. but at the same time, i think i've been fighting this transition in ministry because i've had this mantra in the back of my head that has said "i'll always be a youth minister and nothing is gonna change that." well, i need to change that. not because being a youth minister at heart is a bad thing. but i'd rather be a minister to people period. youth are important people, and i'd love to minister to them all day every day, but here, in this role that i fill in my church, which i believe God has led me to, i am asked to fulfill more than a role that applies to youth.

and i think that's okay, jesus ministered to adults, kids, youth, prostitutes, whoever was around him at the time, and he changed the world. i know he had the whole Son of God thing going for him, but he promised to change the world through me if i'd only let him. just because i have a bias toward youth doesn't mean he doesn't want me to minister to young adults too.

the second thing i wanted to say was this: i don't like the way that the church tries to segregate groups of people off to themselves for "ministry" purposes. what's wrong with seniors and youth hanging out doing the same stuff? well i'll tell what's wrong with it. they don't like each other. well, at least the kids don't seem to want to be around the seniors, and the senior don't seem to want to have the youth around wrecking stuff.

the reality is this - people are looking for something. and they are looking for it in their peer groups. and i've been fighting using those peer groups as areas of ministry because of my idealistic ego (good or bad) and i've turned myself into my own worst enemy because of it.

i've given myself 6 months to develop a plan and see what happens. pray for me as i pursue God in the art of ministry, and connecting those around me to an experience of God and community.

p.s. i am NOT saying 6 months and if it doesn't work i quit. i'm saying 6 months and lets see if the plan is working, if not, we'll try something else. that's what you do in ministry, try stuff.