Have you ever really messed up? I mean, completely blown it. I have and I thought there is no way to recover from this one. I have finally figured out that it is okay to mess up and fail! Congratulations, you didn’t do it!
The great thing about failing is that it is not the end result. It is part of the process. Another element in life. For instance, Abraham Lincoln’s resume:
? 1831 – Lost his job ? 1832 – Defeated in run for Illinois State Legislature ? 1833 – Failed in business ? 1834 – Elected to Illinois State Legislature (success) ? 1835 – Sweetheart died ? 1836 – Had nervous breakdown ? 1838 – Defeated in run for Illinois House Speaker ? 1843 – Defeated in run for nomination for U.S. Congress ? 1846 – Elected to Congress (success) ? 1848 – Lost re-nomination ? 1849 – Rejected for land officer position ? 1854 – Defeated in run for U.S. Senate ? 1856 – Defeated in run for nomination for Vice President ? 1858 – Again defeated in run for U.S. Senate ? 1860 – Elected President (success)
Not great. Obviously not all those events were his fault but they could have caused him to quit trying.
So, if you feel like nothing is going right….then you are on the right track. It doesn’t matter if the failure is in marriage, work, ministry, or faith. You aren’t finished yet, so if you want to go from suck to success, you only need one step. Get back up and keep trying.
Jeremy Bloom is trying to figure out life, God, and family. Follow him on Twitter – @finding_jeremy or on his blog about youth ministry.
Posted by Kurt Johnston
This is the 5th in a little series about some of the things that have helped me last for almost 25 years. There is no silver bullet here, just a little insight about things that have seemed to make a difference in my journey as a youth worker.
BLEED IT, BUT DON’T BLEED TO DEATH!
Every now and then, a young youth worker will say something like this, “Youth ministry is my life!”. To which I always reply internally, and upon occasion even blurt out, “Really? That’s too bad.”
I think youth ministry, or any ministry endeavor for that matter, deserves some extra effort. Youth ministry isn’t for folks who are clock-watchers, who only want to do the minimum job requirements. I actually think it deserves to be led by men and women who aren’t afraid to “bleed” it a little bit. But we should NEVER bleed to death!
- When you consistently sacrifice your family for the sake of your youth ministry…you are bleeding to death. - When your friendships suffer because you spend too much time at youth ministry events…you are bleeding to death. - When you have no outside hobbies because you spend your free time with teenagers or planning events for teenagers…you are bleeding to death. - When you fail to take your day off, or you skimp on vacation time due to the demands of youth ministry…you are bleeding to death. - When you spend time in the word out of the need to [...]
You are right, there are far more dangerous jobs than youth ministry. I am extremely thankful that my husband does not stare down the barrel of a gun. I cannot imagine the kind of strength a wife would need for that. No matter what the job each one of us, including myself, has and will face great tragedies. Just in each day there are so many ups and downs. Our lives are sprinkled with many different feelings and emotions from happiness to thankfulness, to frustration to sorrow. My hope is that not one of us would deny ourselves the right to feel validated in each and every feeling that we have that gets mixed up inside of us. I hope that in some small way this blog may be a place for someone in ministry to feel heard, connected, and uplifted through a comment, a funny story, or a serious post. And what I love so much about this community of women is the honesty shared about their lives, and the tone that we all take loving God and our husbands seriously but don’t take ourselves too seriously.
I write this in no way with a defensive voice, but with so much concern that many pastor’s wives are told that their feelings are silly or not important. Whether from someone at church or their own inner dialogue. Our “perspective” should be to accept and embrace our feelings whatever they may be and then with God [...]
Our good friend (and founder) Thom Schultz has an interesting take on one of the ongoing debates in youth missions – Are they really worth it?
Short-Term Missions A Waste?
What do you think? Did Thom get it right?
This will be my third year at SYMC, and to say that I am excited is an understatement. I have had a countdown going on my computer for weeks, and just recently made one of those elementary school paper chain countdown things in my office. (Seriously, it droops over the picture wall!)
DISCOUNTED REGISTRATIONS are still AVAILABLE
SYMC 2010 in Chicago was my first year. I went with a couple of other youth workers in my local network who had been before and said how great it was. I was kind of reluctant to go. I had been in a valley in my ministry and felt like I was on my way out. I thought that I would go and maybe get a few good nuggets of info here or there, hear a couple of good bands, and head back to a situation that I wanted so desperately to flee. What I got from SYMC was so much more. Yes, I did get some information that I was able to use in my ministry, and yes, I heard some good music, but I got so so much more than that. I got back my passion for ministry, this wasn?t something planned but God knew what I needed and showed me just that at SYMC. I also strengthened old relationships and built new friendships and relationships. Those people I met have become some of my closest friends to this day and have [...]
working with college-age people is one of the most rewarding things ever…but we have a lot to learn, concentrate on, be aware of, understand, embrace…you name it. here’s a video that is well worth watching…
There’s an ongoing debate in the Christian community right now: whether or not we should have life insurance.
On one side you want to trust God with everything, while on the other we think, “What if God would provide for us through life insurance?” On one hand we can say biblically that the Church (meaning people, not institution) should care for my family if I die, while on the other we could say that I shouldn’t place that burden on others.
The question for me is something a bit different though. It’s not really about life insurance. Aren’t questions like this really a matter of whether or not we want to REALLY live biblically? We all say we do, but do we really desire that…or is it something else and we just say that because we feel better? When it comes to issues like life insurance, which perspective is actually biblical, and which one is American that we rationalize using the Bible? It seems to me that Scripture is much more counter-cultural than we would like to admit, or even realize. It’s “grey” areas like life insurance where we enter the gauntlet of intellectual debate and, I’m afraid, end up much more in human-American wisdom than we do in Godly-spiritual understanding of these issues.
Oh, to be filled by the Spirit and freed from cultural influence and ideals! Maybe it was because Christ constantly walked in the Spirit and in Godly wisdom that caused church people in his day to not fully understand him.
I do know one thing to be certain: it is often people in the church that try to rationalize away my convictions. They’ll call it extreme, or unnecessary. It does however seem that what we would call radical today, Jesus just held as necessary to be a follower of him. What we deem as radical, or even unnecessary, people used to just call Christian.
Well, how far do you take it then?
It’s asking that question that’s the problem. Is it just me, or am I the only one that’s asked that just so I could rationalize away having to actually live the way Scripture calls us to…
well, i’ve been working in this coffee shop all day. some ladies just came in and straight up set up shop!!! it’s not just those of us in ministry that don’t need office space these days! wow.
In the book of Colossians 2:5 Paul expresses his delight in a characteristic the people possessed – orderliness. It’s a term that’s not typically used to characterize college-age people!
The verse reads:
“For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.” (NIV)
The word Paul uses for orderliness is the Greek word taxis. This term has a strict military tone to it. It speaks of structure, purposeful living, organization, and orderliness. Sound like college-age people?
Paul is “delighted” to see this virtue of orderliness in their life. Paul structures this sentence so that the term is uniquely linked to their stability in their faith. The orderliness of their life has played a significant role in their firmness of faith.
Have you talked to a college-age person lately that’s struggling with their faith? How might their lack of discipline/orderliness affect that? We might also take a deeper look into the role discipline plays in our faith – 1 Timothy 4:7-10. The inability of college-age people to link discipline to their faithfulness is a major concern we must all pay attention to.
How are you helping college-age people link discipline to faithfulness? they can’t lack discipline, and have godliness…
We need to love college-age people. This may seem obvious, but sometimes it’s not as much – as automatic – as we might think. 1Corinthians 13:4 gives us a list of characteristics of love, and the first one listed is patience. I have seen far too many people in ministry living with frustration toward those in their ministry, rather than walking alongside them in patience (therefore not in love). Love is also kind, not rude. It doesn’t insist on its own way and doesn’t approach people arrogantly, thinking “you just don’t get it.” Love speaks truth, doesn’t laugh at wrongdoings, nor does it get irritable or resentful when people don’t follow its instruction. It’s patient, always there and never failing.
Do you really love those you’re ministering to?
In my opinion, this is the most important part of discipleship in a college-age persons life. Do you get frustrated at them when their flaky, or do you view this as an opportunity for discipleship? When you see inconsistency in their life do you arrogantly deem it immaturity, or do you view it as God showing you where you can help? When they’re constantly going against your counsel do you give up on them, or do you love them – always being there and never failing on your commitment as a shepherd?
Do you really love your students?
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