When You Do Have a Youth Pastor
Don Baker, now pastor of First Evangelical Free Church in Rockford, Illinois, still remembers his first full-time youth minister. Jim joined the staff fresh out of seminary, filled with energy and enthusiasm. He greeted Don the first day with "Hi, Boss—what do you want me to do?" Baker knew exactly what he wanted, but he did not want to take the time to tell him. After all, he thought, Jim was a seminary graduate; he should already know what needs to be done. So Don told the new youth pastor to go to his office, get on his knees, and ask God. That is not bad advice; however, it is often a cop-out to avoid personal responsibility. As Baker recalls, "God kept telling Jim to do the dumbest things." And when Baker corrected Jim for not doing what he expected him to do, Baker became painfully aware that he had never really given Jim any direction.1 At a youth pastor's conference in southern California a couple of years ago, I talked with dozens of discouraged youth pastors. The word I kept getting from them was "I just wish my pastor would spend time with me. I feel so alone." A few months later I was at a luncheon with a group of pastors who were discussing the problems with staff members. Several of them said, "I just wish he would grab the ball and run. He seems to be floundering, and I don't know how to help him." Recently a young woman in youth ministry at another church in town sat in my office crying. Full of enthusiasm and talent, liked by the young people, Julie had started her work with high hopes and wanted to "turn the group upside down." But she was defeated and ready to quit after only a few months. Churches hurt too. One church, for example, has had four youth pastors in the last four years. The church is dynamic, but ...
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