Keeping Up with the Jones's Kids
April 1, 2002
I just finished reading two magazine articles: "Piercings—The Ouch Factor" and "371 Ways to Look Hot This Spring." I'm still trying to figure out how to look hot with my receding hairline. Years ago I resigned my senior pastorate to become a youth pastor. Worries about boards and budgets were replaced with Sunday school, junior high lock-ins (don't try this one), cliques, peer pressure, break-ups, make-ups, supportive parents, irate parents, and explaining why the church van looked like we'd just come back from Afghanistan. Fifteen years later, I've returned to the senior pastorate. But those years in youth ministry changed me. I am now convinced that a church that cares for teens wins the hearts of the community. I don't know if I'll ever be a "normal" pastor again. Staying hip, er, cool
Ministry tools should come with an expiration date: Caution, this can lose potency if used after a certain date. Kids change. Keeping up-to-date is essential because yesterday's success may be tomorrow's disaster. The goofy competitions I once used now no longer work. Our teens would rather listen to a band or relax ("kick it") than compete. Age has little to do with keeping current. I know 80-year-olds who kids think are cool, and 18-year-olds who are too old to work with the youth group. Reading teen magazines (YM, Cosmo Girl, Seventeen) helps clue me in. I may draw stares at the library, but I stay up on the fears and interests of teens. I also teach junior and senior high Sunday school once a year (besides the good contact, it impresses parents and promotes humility). And I attend a youth ministry convention every few years. The electric atmosphere alone helps me stay sharp. How they're changing me
After teaching a Sunday school class, a junior ...
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