-by Dick Tubbs. Click here for the whole article.
Lessons from almost half a century of youth ministry
God Called You – Be Content.
If you’re leading young people because it’s an easy first call after seminary, the first step to your own Crystal Cathedral, then quit. Now.
If you need “professional standards” as a badge of respect, quit. Now.
If you long for the day you’ll get adult or collegial respect, quit. Now.
If you spend your time looking ahead, plotting your career, envying the other person’s numbers, you’re cheating the kids God puts right in front of your face. When we seek career, respect, fulfillment from others, we have to realize that those things come with a price. We pay for them by surrendering our freedom to define our ministry in response to the needs of our kids, and the leading of the Holy Spirit. That price is too high.
We are called to service in the least-respected, least-understood, least-appreciated, least-paid spot on God’s staff. Live with it. Rejoice in it!
In most of our congregations, our flocks are “the least of these”, no matter how many people say they’re “the future of our church.” Abba never looms larger than in the shadows of the Pharisees, right where we’re called to be.
Far more than our colleagues, we get to know what it really felt like to be Peter, Paul, John, or James. We get to find the consolations of Francis and Ignatius. Can you picture your pastor sitting on the lawn, preaching a Ragamuffin Gospel to an eager congregation? No way!
Working in the shadows, in the basement, gives us the freedom to be truly creative, truly passionate, truly exuberant. I have learned to cherish that freedom. As I age, I really enjoy those little sighs and headshakes from the older folks. I have been called to the most authentic, Spirit-driven ministry possible. Forty-six years later, I still love this job!
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