Starting the new year off right
So it is 2010. And for me the transition from one year to the next always provides opportunity for reflection. Maybe part of that is because my birthday falls between Christmas and New Years, but not all of it can be attributed to that. This year it has been interesting to listen to people debate as to whether or not this is the last year of the decade or the beginning of a new one. News and sports programs have been running highlights of the past decade; while others are saying you’re too early the decade has another year in it. While all of this has been fun for me to listen to, it really doesn’t matter all that much in the grand scheme of things.So in the time of reflection this year several things keep coming into my mind and I want to share them as we begin 2010.
Family Time is non-negotiable. Maybe it is the stage of life that I am in, the oldest child graduating college and the youngest beginning, but time with your family can not be overlooked or made up for later. I am blessed by the younger youth ministers that I know that “have gotten” this concept. It is refreshing to see pictures on facebook of family vacations, school functions and sporting events. Youth Ministers that are intentionally carving out family time in their schedules are refreshing and are also modeling for their students how families should be a priority in life. May their tribe increase.
In the words of Dave Ramsey, “Debt is dumb”. I wish I had realized that sooner, maybe I still wouldn’t be paying for the microwave we bought 24 years ago. And while I know that youth ministers tend to be the least paid member of the church staff that is no excuse for us not to be good stewards of the money we have been entrusted with. And while we all like to have the latest tech gadgets and such we must figure out how to live within our means. Not only that we must teach it to our students.
My personal relationship with God must be priority one. We spend our lives telling this to students, but I fear that in the living of life this gets lost in the shuffle. Time preparing for teaching and preaching is not a substitute for personal time with God. When our well is dry it is hard to teach from the overflow of what God is doing in our lives.
It is OK to say NO. Probably the hardest lesson for me to learn has been this, and I am still learning it. No is OK. It allows me to stay focused on the task at hand, stay true to the vision God has given me, and to make sure that those things that I say I value get the attention they deserve.
Evaluate your ministry. It gets easier to do youth ministry the longer you are in a place. Having served 12+ years at Edgewood, I understand some of the nuisances of longevity. The students, adult leaders and parents know what to expect. Disciple Now weekend is done this way, every New Years Eve brings a lock-in, camp is always the third week of June, every February is our True Love Waits emphasis. It almost gets to a point where we can do this in our sleep, and my fear is often times we do. Making the determination between has my ministry gotten stale and needs to be refreshed and have I done all I can do here and it is time to move on may just be one of the hardest things to do. Find some people you trust to help with the evaluation process.
As we begin this new decade (or is it the last year of the old decade?), let us take time to reflect on what it is God has called us to do, and then get about doing it.
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posted by: Joe Ball on January 12th, 2010
