Psalm 33:3
1.Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him.
2. Praise the LORD with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.
3. Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.
4. For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.
I think verse 3 gives us a principle that applies to youth ministry, “play skillfully”. What does that mean to us in youth ministry?
I think there is a common pitfall for us to fall into as youth leaders. It is so easy to get in a groove or a rut (however you want to look at it). We get a pattern down or things are working, maybe it isn’t excellent but it at least gets us by.
Students are sharp enough to catch on when we aren’t approaching what we do with skill. We have probably all sat in a Sunday school class or Bible study where the leader or teacher shows up and opens up their quarterly or leader guide and basically reads it word for word. It soon becomes obvious that the leader isn’t prepared. In my mind - If a leader won’t invest their time to prepare then is the message or event important enough to listen to or participate in?
We need to make sure that in what we don in ministry we are striving to do it skillfully.
Some steps to become more skillful:
1. Spend time in preparation don’t just wing it.
2. Look at your calendar – Your calendar says what is most important in what you do in ministry.
3. Observe others – It is very important that we inspect other youth ministries that are successful and doing well, don’t compare but evaluate what is being doing to be successful and see how it will work in the context of your ministry.
4. Learn - Learn from God by spending time with him. Learn from reading some good practical books on youth ministry and leadership. Learn from other youth ministries.
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
2 comments:
Andy, This post is similar to one you had a while back about parenting. It really strikes a chord with me. Can you imagine if God gave us His leftovers? He listens to all of us with the same grace and compassion, no matter the issue. If God had priority lists I can pretty much assume I'd be at the bottom! There are a lot of things in this world that demand way more of God's attention than my little issues yet He is always there...100%, no leftovers. He is prepared to guide me and lead me in his will.
I meditated last night on this post. Today I am going to do my best to give 100% to my husband, my kiddos, my volunteer work and anything else that comes up.
This may have been meant for youth pastors but it sure hit home for a stay at home mommy of 3, going on 5!
Giddyup!
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