So I have now "officially" been youth pastoring for a total of two months. This past wednesday was the last day of a challenge that was presented to the youth staff team. We were to, in 4 weeks, have 50 youth attend our service. So we came together and started to figure out how we were going to make this happen. Our ideas ranged from me eating bugs (which I was highly opposed to) to getting tased (which, again, I was highly opposed to. Although they were both my ideas). We finally came up with the idea to get some prizes including a free dinner and a movie pass to motivate the youth to get their friends through the door.
The next few weeks we would push and emphasize to the youth to bring their friends. All while not being inconsiderate to the ones who had shown up. The next 4 weeks would be a roller coaster of attendance. One week was good, the next not as many would show up. As pumped up as I made myself up to be and as assured as I wanted the team to believe that I believed we could do it, I wasn't quite sure if we would make it.
Well the last day came and I started to text all my friends who had teenage brothers and sisters to bring them out. I also harassed the youth staff about inviting their friends out to this service; even the ones that had home churches. Well come 6 p.m. the hotel dining area (because we're meeting in a hotel meeting room) is full of new faces and a lot of them. Service starts and the new faces flood the room like an opened dam and it filled quickly. No seats were left open and apparently some people didn't make it in because there were no seats open. (I may be wrong for it, but that kinda made me happy)
So here they were, a total of 54 people in our youth service and I hadn't given thought to how intimidating this was going to be to not only myself, but to the staff as well. New faces and of course I had completely forgotten that these might be "unchurched" kids so there were cuss-words, phrases decontextualized to make them "dirty," and interruptions during the sermon. I even had to stop preaching at one point to let the teens know that although I loved that they made it out, I wasn't going to allow them to distract others and if they weren't going to be respectful while there, they were more than welcome to leave.
I was expecting to see a handful get up and leave and it probably would've relieved me if they would've done so, but they didn't. They all sat there quiet and remained that way for the rest of the sermon. As I was wrapping up, the glorious altar-call moment came. I made a call to those who were impacted by any specifics in the message and also to those who had never heard the gospel and wanted to respond. I invited, rather challenged, anyone who was ready to see God do something incredible in their lives to step out from where they were and join some of our leaders in front in prayer.
What happened next....well, to say I was surprised is an understatement. It wasn't that all the teens left their seats because some did stay back but a large group, the ones who had been interrupting, the ones I didn't think would respond to the gospel, came to the front for prayer. Big deal, right? These young men and women wept with myself and our leaders about the pains and hurts they were experiencing in their lives. As I sat there, listening to their cries, I couldn't help but to wonder how unprepared I was for what God had called me out to do. Even after we had spoken and prayed with the teens I sat in awe about the fact that God had called me to lead youth and how ill-prepared I was to do it. He had picked the wrong guy for the job.
It's funny because here I had just finished a series entitled "Conquering Your Journey" and in the second part of the series entitled "Facing Giants" we talked about how sometimes the things God has called us to overcome can be intimidating. They may seem overwhelming and too big for us to take down. This is exactly how I felt when I saw what God had done that night. The BIG vision I had spoken to the staff about was now coming to life and we had just seen a glimpse of what we're believing God to do through us. How is it that God was going to use little, insignificant me to do this?
In the second part of the series we used the story of David and Goliath to parallel what we were learning. In the last point of the series we talked about how David had remembered what God had done through him with the bear and lion and how that same God would deliver him from the giant (1 Sam 17:34-37). So now God places me in a situation where I have to put into practice what I'm preaching to these teenagers. Hate that it works this way, but it does.
In this moment when the young people were telling me their stories of abandonment and rejection I had to remember two truth's that I believe will get me through, not just ministry, but life. That 1) I can't wait until I'm ready to answer God's calling for my life because if I do wait, it's just a matter of time before I miss the call! The sad, but beautiful, truth is this, I'll never be ready and that's okay. Why? Because of truth number two which is this 2) God's calling for my life is not about what I can do or want to do. It's about what He can do and what He wants to do. That means that although I'm not ready, if I'm willing, He will make up for the areas that I lack. But why?
1 Corinthians 1:28 tells us that "God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God." See if you could, if I could, this would justify boasting before the Lord. The "look what I did's" and the "it was me's" would enter in and as a result God would not be necessary. But this isn't about us "giving" God credit, it's about God deserving every last bit of it. I realize, as I hope you would too, that any accomplishments we "earn" are not by our strengths nor by our capabilities but by the Grace of the Lord we have been allowed to play a part in the grand, redemptive plan our father has.
So to you who may not be sure if you can, let me save you the sleepless nights and hesitation to respond to God's calling by letting you know you can't. On that note let me remind you, if you don't already know, that whatever God has called you to is not about you or your readiness but PRAISE THE LORD because it's about Him and His omnipotent ability. As David did, remember the moments that God delivered you from a bear, a lion (not literally, but the smaller victories you've had by Jesus Christ) and know that just as easily as God delivered you there he will deliver the Giant tasks into your hands. There's nothing greater than our God and that, my friend, is my confidence.
The next few weeks we would push and emphasize to the youth to bring their friends. All while not being inconsiderate to the ones who had shown up. The next 4 weeks would be a roller coaster of attendance. One week was good, the next not as many would show up. As pumped up as I made myself up to be and as assured as I wanted the team to believe that I believed we could do it, I wasn't quite sure if we would make it.
Well the last day came and I started to text all my friends who had teenage brothers and sisters to bring them out. I also harassed the youth staff about inviting their friends out to this service; even the ones that had home churches. Well come 6 p.m. the hotel dining area (because we're meeting in a hotel meeting room) is full of new faces and a lot of them. Service starts and the new faces flood the room like an opened dam and it filled quickly. No seats were left open and apparently some people didn't make it in because there were no seats open. (I may be wrong for it, but that kinda made me happy)
So here they were, a total of 54 people in our youth service and I hadn't given thought to how intimidating this was going to be to not only myself, but to the staff as well. New faces and of course I had completely forgotten that these might be "unchurched" kids so there were cuss-words, phrases decontextualized to make them "dirty," and interruptions during the sermon. I even had to stop preaching at one point to let the teens know that although I loved that they made it out, I wasn't going to allow them to distract others and if they weren't going to be respectful while there, they were more than welcome to leave.
I was expecting to see a handful get up and leave and it probably would've relieved me if they would've done so, but they didn't. They all sat there quiet and remained that way for the rest of the sermon. As I was wrapping up, the glorious altar-call moment came. I made a call to those who were impacted by any specifics in the message and also to those who had never heard the gospel and wanted to respond. I invited, rather challenged, anyone who was ready to see God do something incredible in their lives to step out from where they were and join some of our leaders in front in prayer.
What happened next....well, to say I was surprised is an understatement. It wasn't that all the teens left their seats because some did stay back but a large group, the ones who had been interrupting, the ones I didn't think would respond to the gospel, came to the front for prayer. Big deal, right? These young men and women wept with myself and our leaders about the pains and hurts they were experiencing in their lives. As I sat there, listening to their cries, I couldn't help but to wonder how unprepared I was for what God had called me out to do. Even after we had spoken and prayed with the teens I sat in awe about the fact that God had called me to lead youth and how ill-prepared I was to do it. He had picked the wrong guy for the job.
It's funny because here I had just finished a series entitled "Conquering Your Journey" and in the second part of the series entitled "Facing Giants" we talked about how sometimes the things God has called us to overcome can be intimidating. They may seem overwhelming and too big for us to take down. This is exactly how I felt when I saw what God had done that night. The BIG vision I had spoken to the staff about was now coming to life and we had just seen a glimpse of what we're believing God to do through us. How is it that God was going to use little, insignificant me to do this?
In the second part of the series we used the story of David and Goliath to parallel what we were learning. In the last point of the series we talked about how David had remembered what God had done through him with the bear and lion and how that same God would deliver him from the giant (1 Sam 17:34-37). So now God places me in a situation where I have to put into practice what I'm preaching to these teenagers. Hate that it works this way, but it does.
In this moment when the young people were telling me their stories of abandonment and rejection I had to remember two truth's that I believe will get me through, not just ministry, but life. That 1) I can't wait until I'm ready to answer God's calling for my life because if I do wait, it's just a matter of time before I miss the call! The sad, but beautiful, truth is this, I'll never be ready and that's okay. Why? Because of truth number two which is this 2) God's calling for my life is not about what I can do or want to do. It's about what He can do and what He wants to do. That means that although I'm not ready, if I'm willing, He will make up for the areas that I lack. But why?
1 Corinthians 1:28 tells us that "God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God." See if you could, if I could, this would justify boasting before the Lord. The "look what I did's" and the "it was me's" would enter in and as a result God would not be necessary. But this isn't about us "giving" God credit, it's about God deserving every last bit of it. I realize, as I hope you would too, that any accomplishments we "earn" are not by our strengths nor by our capabilities but by the Grace of the Lord we have been allowed to play a part in the grand, redemptive plan our father has.
So to you who may not be sure if you can, let me save you the sleepless nights and hesitation to respond to God's calling by letting you know you can't. On that note let me remind you, if you don't already know, that whatever God has called you to is not about you or your readiness but PRAISE THE LORD because it's about Him and His omnipotent ability. As David did, remember the moments that God delivered you from a bear, a lion (not literally, but the smaller victories you've had by Jesus Christ) and know that just as easily as God delivered you there he will deliver the Giant tasks into your hands. There's nothing greater than our God and that, my friend, is my confidence.