I read this post the other day of an instructor at a school. Since it hit home with my very same thoughts, I thought I would write a similar post talking about my job as a youth pastor and my desire for the students I interact with. You can view his post by clicking here.
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To the students who have had, or will have me as a youth director;
I am going to follow suit and ask your permission to speak openly and honestly to you. It will sound a lot like the post linked above, with some differences. I want you to know I have you in mind while writing this.
I, also, lose sleep over you. Do you know how hard it is to see you walking down a path that will lead you into a life filled with regrets and “I wish I would have…”? Do you know how difficult it is to know what is good for you but have to pretend like I do not actively stress about you so that you will one day show up when things go wrong? Do you know what it is like to see who you are, and what you are capable of be thrown away by your desire to live in the moment? I lose sleep. I have not slept in years all the way through the night without this overwhelming desire to call you up or take you out for breakfast (because I am already up) and scream at you with frustration.
Here is what I know about you. You have a tendency to think in terms of right now. You want to live life; I get it. I get it better than anyone. You want to explode on the scene and be successful, wealthy and have tons of fun. I want this for you too. I also happen to know that you want to know, and be known. The hard part is that when you are given the golden opportunity, you will run from it faster than you can text message “I don’t know if I can” to me on an event, small group or youth group night.
Here is the truth about God. He loves you. The dude sent his son to die on the cross so that he could fix a relationship that you do not seem to want. See, that is what he is after. He is after a relationship. Please do not be swayed by my thoughts here. He does not want your money, he does not want you to give away all of your stuff and go to some 3rd world country (maybe not all of you), and he does not want or need you to necessarily go into full-time youth ministry. He is about you. God is crazy about you. He is so crazy about you that he would spare no expense to get you back into his arms. Think about that for a minute. He would spare no expense. There is nothing he would not do to let you know he loves you.
Yet here you are, sitting there like it does not matter. You have been given the world. You never worked for anything. You have never earned anything. You have your cell phone you did not pay for and you car that was given to you, and your twitter, facebook, and instagram accounts all synced up to this constant state of living that can best be described as a zombie-like existence and you make decision, after decision, after decision that is self-destructive and a waste of your time and energy. You do not invest in people, you do not invest in your future, and you do not invest in yourself. Yet, in the midst of all of this, God still wants a relationship with you. You go out and engage in habitually unwise decisions and God still wants a relationship with you.
It’s amazing you do not see that. Not only does God want a relationship with you, but guys like me want one too. We want to help you when you skin your knee or the world seems to be attacking from all sides. We want desperately to see you find your way into a life that you live to the fullest. We can help you get there. This is why we are so annoying. This is why we text, call, facebook, tweet, instagram, and yes, even email you all of the time with events, small groups, Bible verses, blog posts, large groups, and all of the ones I am leaving out. This is why we are frustrating and do not let you just say what you think without helping to shape your thoughts with our own. This is why you get sick of us having an opinion for your life. It is all because we do. The reason we are annoying, and frustrating, and opinionated is simple; we really do care about you. You are worth it to us. You are worth a couple of hours of sleep every night. You are worth getting up to go pick up on a Friday when you have had too much to drink and do not feel like you can call your mom or dad. You are worth it.
Now I cannot speak for all of the mentors in your world, but I would be willing to bet this is how they feel. You can cry, beg us not to, whine, get mad at, be really upset with, talk about behind our backs, and cuss, cry, and even disrespect us if you want. But here is the weather forecast for you and all of your little friends in case you did not know it… We are not going anywhere.
We are committed to your generation. We think you have potential. So why not help us out? Meet us half-way? We know you think you have it all together, but we also know you do not have it all together. Do you know how we know that? Cause we did not either. Life is going to teach you things that you are just too young to have experienced yet. This is not your fault. So why not meet us half way? We want you to succeed.
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Food for thought: Why not stop being depressed, pick up the phone, and text one of us with that question you have been dying to ask? Ready? Go!
leadershape 