Sometimes i wonder why i, as so many others do, have a love for youth ministry. if you think about it there is no rhyme or reason for such insanity. but there is just something compelling about it that draws a certain kind of person to do it. i talk often with the big dawgs of philosophy, science and whatnot about why i love JC. and pretty much it comes down to me telling them that there is just something in me, to the depths of my soul, that makes me want to follow him and help others to do so. sappy, i know... but i am not trying to be.
i remember sitting on the bus coming back from a youth event one time and just surveying what was going on around me. it was one of those day long trips that makes you just want to crawl into your pajamas and chill with a big bowl of ice cream and watch re-runs of i love lucy... well, not really but you know what i mean. a day that makes you want to go to your happy place and be by yourself and recoup. and i thought to myself on that ride home that i was doing the coolest stuff in the world. it was one of those ah-ha moments that helped me to realize that i loved what i was doing.
sure, there are times with the politics of church and the dumb stuff of higher-ups or policy get in the way; but all that stuff is worth it if you know what you are in it to do. and that goes for anything, not just ministry. i remember reading a book by Donald Trump where he talks about why he wants others to succeed and what it takes for one to do so in any field. it comes down, he says, to loving what you are doing and knowing that you are in the right place for the right reason. john Maxwell also talks about this in his book the 21 irrefutable laws of leadership when saying that you have to strive to be in the right place at the right time. it is harder to do that than one would think (Maxwell, 236).
the problem is that a lot of the time we are not in that perfect place. we then get frustrated and give up when we could have been so close to being exactly where we wanted to be. now i am not one to pray for patience because then the Lord will test me with it. i pray for understanding of the situations that i am in and do my best to trust his timing. also, you must ask in a way that is in accordance with his will and plan. and by this i mean that we must have god in mind when we are making these decisions and requests.
"When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures."
James 4:3
So i guess what i am trying to say is that you do not have to feel as though you have all the answers all of the time. i believe that if you do stuff the way you think is right, with god and his plan in mind, then you will stay within his will. of course there is a lot more that goes into it - listening to the right stuff, getting advice from the right peeps, etc. - but on the simple level this is good. if you feel like you need to be doing ministry then own that and take your ministry to the next level. there is stuff that you have in your heart that should be and need to be used to glorify god and help spread his kingdom. so, don't always look for the reason, just trust that god is on your side - and get it done.
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