When I get home from this event I have to have a meeting with a few of my 6th grade boys. It seems one of them has developed the unwelcome habit of punching the others in the balls. It’ll be fine; it’s a classic case of rowdy gone too far. He’ll stop punching, they’ll stop stomping, everything will work out.
There are dozens of tensions in youth ministry, but one of the most fascinating to me is the tension in depth between different parts of the work. Today I’m loving a family through an attempted suicide; tomorrow I’m scouring thrift stores for nerf dart guns. This week I’m sharpening my ability to pull apart scripture through exegesis; next week I’m having a sit-down with a ball-puncher.
And you know what? It all matters. Really. I will relish the opportunity next week to come alongside those families as we work together to restore privacy to the hinterlands. This week I’m being renewed in the deep waters of scriptural exploration. The word of God for the people of God.
Thanks be to God. For all of it.
K
youthworker :: musician :: friend :: twitter: @elvisfreakshow
www.kevinalton.com :: www.youthworkercircuit.com
About Kevin Alton
Kevin, well said bro. It is a crazy phenomenon – going from the shallow end of the pool to the deep end – back and forth – over and over again. I think that many times we can get discouraged by this. Andy Stanley has a great teaching on tensions like this, http://www.timschraeder.com/2010/08/05/the-upside-of-tension-andy-stanley/, in a nutshell it says that many of the things we encounter in ministry (and life) are tensions to be managed, not problems to be solved. Thanks for reminding me of that today, it was a good word of encouragement.