End of the year thoughts

As we start 2011, there are many people reflecting on the “best” and the “worst” of this past year. I’ve read their thoughts on movies, music, TV, etc. I will not follow this vein, but I want to return to blogging with some thoughts as we start another year. So, in no particular order, here they are:

1. Leadership is a crazy mixture of the fun, the joyful and the really tough stuff.

For some reason, God has had me in leadership most of my adult life. I titled this blog “I should have been fired” because I am acutely aware of so many mistakes I have made over the years!! But, I am thinking again about how tough it is on youth ministry leaders because leadership simply is hard sometimes. Yes, it is a lot of fun in places—let’s admit it. We get to have loose schedules, work with great kids, eat lots of pizza, etc. But, I have been a follower and I have been a leader---and leadership is always harder. It puts us in the eye of the storm—whether that is a storm of our own making or simply by being part of a church or organization. Or, it might be simply that life is hard for those we minister to—and we get caught up in the pain of it all.

It is hard. So, do what you have to do to stay healthy. Hang in there. Breathe.

2. I am increasingly tired of simple answers and over-promises.

Complexity and tensions are tiring because it seems like we just wade through the muck of no answers. But, the addiction to simple answers increasingly frustrates me. Really? It will all be better with this one program, resource, weekend or pill? We intuitively know this can’t work….but we seem to be addicted to it all. Simple answers just sound so good to a tired, complex, frustrating world.
On the other end are the over-promises of ministry leaders and organizations. We all have been taught that marketing is the key—but, do we really need to go this far? Do we really need to make it sound like our ministry, our church; our organization is the answer to ALL your ministry problems? Cmon…

3. The economy is on everyone’s mind.

Yes, I know we are all spiritual and are here to simply serve God. Yet, I have seen the real implication of the recession as churches have cut staff, reduced programs and cut continuing education budgets. It is hitting churches and related organizations like Youth Leadership. It is real and we often don’t know how to talk about it.

4. The “youth and family ministry” buzzword is only adding stress to people.

While I fully acknowledge the value of ministry to families, I think we haven’t defined this target very well---and front-line people with unbelievably vague job descriptions are saddled with too many responsibilities without clarity. It is killing lots of folks.

And, behind it all, is a general frustration with what to DO with parents. How do we get them involved when they just want to drop their kids off for a little God on Wednesday? How do we really equip them for this complicated task of parenting when we often don’t feel equipped ourselves? How does the whole staff get involved in this goal and not just one person with “family” in their job description?

5. David Crowder or (insert your ministry hero here) may actually be your worst enemy!!

We are addicted to big names in ministry right now. And, it might be stealing our souls as leaders. We are waiting for this person to tell us what to do, how to do it, why we should do it…..and we have lost the joy of not knowing what we are doing!! Too often, I see leaders simply copying their hero—and not adapting it for their own context or personal strengths. We all have watched a worship leader painfully destroy a Crowder song haven’t we? But, handing out worksheets by (insert name) without adapting or evaluating them is just as painful.

Try a new thing, be willing to fail and get know your kids really well. Then, you can steal and adapt instead of just copying.

So, we head into 2011. I pray that you will hear the whisper of God in the midst of all the noise and activity around you. Listen for His passionate love for you, His relentless grace for you and His unique blessings He offers you.

God bless,

Tiger