I have been working in Youth Ministry since I was a teenager. I have been working in Youth Ministry professionally (getting paid for it) for over 6 years now. And while there have been moments of serving in this capacity that I would rather forget, (i/e: having people ask me what I do for a living even after I have told them I am a Youth Director, sleeping in an unheated entryway floor of a church in Flagstaff, AZ when it was 15 degrees out, having someone stop me on the way to Communion to ask me about an upcoming program, the lack of exotic vacations I have taken based on monetary savings, having most weekends booked with some sort of church activity, not spending Christmas with family because somehow being at Christmas Eve service was going to skyrocket youth group attendance, etc.) I must say that Youth Ministry has been a life changer for me. Youth Ministry has allowed me opportunity to be in the presence of some of the greatest human beings I have ever had the chance to know. I have had a chance to walk with young men and women through some of the finest life has to offer, as well as some of the most heartbreaking situations. As much as I would like to think that I have made a difference in these young people's lives, the truth is that my life has been so richly blessed by them. They have been the motivation to keep going at times. They have been the reminder that in Faith we truly can do all things through God who strengthens us. They have helped me heal. I have laughed with them. I have cried with them. I have slept on floors and built houses with them. We have travelled to the Yakima Valley, Big Timber Montana, New Orleans, San Antonio, Tecate Mexico, Tijuana Mexico, Kalispell Montana and countless other places together. We have climbed 50 ft in the air together to conquer a high ropes course. We have helped rebuild a school in Louisiana. We helped build a playground for a shelter for abused women and children. We have packed lunches for the homeless. You get the point. They have been examples of faith come to life for me and I for them. They have made every sacrifice worth it, and I wouldn't choose any other route for my life. They have helped me to find the courage to follow a call that God has placed on my heart since I was a young boy.
This coming weekend, I will get the opportunity to be the keynote speaker at the Southwestern Washington Synod Middle School and High School Youth Gathering. Four talks; three and a half hours of presenting. And I CAN'T FREAKIN WAIT! This has been my dream for so long. This was my dream since I heart Donald Miller speak. This has been my dream since I saw Tony Campolo speak at CLU. But here's the thing. I don't just want to be good at it. I want to be memorable. Don't get me wrong here. I don't care if they remember my name. I don't care if they remember what I look like, or that I was articulate, or funny, or charming. (Even though I am all of those things! HA!) What I do care about is that when those young men and women look back at their life and look for God moments, that some of them might remember something about this upcoming weekend. That maybe some of the words that God has put on my heart will make a difference. Maybe it will help them push through a horrible moment in life. Maybe it will help them to finally accept themselves. Maybe it will help them to enjoy a celebration. Or maybe it will just bore the crap out of them. Either way, I am willing to take that risk. I am willing to put it out there for the sake of being effective.
That is what I love about Youth Ministry. The risk taking. The boldness. The energy. The unwillingness to shy away from being real with one another. Sure the regular world creeps in now and again, just as it does in all of our lives. But there is a resiliency in these youth that I don't see everywhere. They bounce back and they shine on each other. Here's the thing, God didn't just make us to serve a purpose that is apart from one another. God didn't make you to write a book that no one reads. Van Gogh wasn't gifted with an amazing ability to paint just so no one would ever see his work. We are made for each other. We are made so that we may be impactful, living examples of God's love for one another. We are made for so much more than just ourselves. We are made to work together. Even if we don't want to. You see, we fit together*. Like pieces of a clock, we fit...together. When we let our light shine for others, we cannot help but impact one another. We are worthy of each other's best light. We are worthy of comfort and understanding when we cannot produce this light, finding ourselves in a dark moment. We are worthy of someone to walk with us. This is obvious to me when I think of my youth. Even if you told me that one of my youth did a wretched thing, I couldn't bring myself to think that they weren't worthy of my best love and life.
I cannot imagine how God feels this for us.
But I have Faith that He looks at each one of us in the same way.
You are worthy.
In that worth, let your light shine so all can see it. Be you! Know your worth. And remind those around you of their's. Be a living example of God's love for one another. Remind others of the Love Jesus came to give.
