some clarification, I guess...

Yesterday I put up a post entitled "OCD". If you notice now, that post has been deleted. I had a couple of people question my intent and implications with that post. Now, my first instinct was to leave it up, and clarify or defend the things I said. As I looked through the post, that was not a hard feat, except when it came to my last sentence.

The main point of the post was about my Obsessive Compulsive Disorder when it comes to (mainly) my office. At the end, I was making a small reference to a passage in Luke 19 about being faithful/trustworthy with a small matter and receiving a "greater" gift. This was probably overlooked do to the fact that I said it in a playful way. I started the sentence by saying "One day, when I am a "real minister"..."

This idea (of being a "real minister") goes back to some discussions I was in during college. It became our playful way of combating the whole idea that Youth Ministry is just a "sub-ministry" within the church. They implied that all good ministers should eventually become preachers. I always felt that this attitude not only short changed the youth group (and minister), but also did not give an appropriate attitude to the Lord's work in general. Now, I do think that this attitude has subsidized for the most part, but I still hear hints of it today.

Currently, as a Youth Minister, I love my job. I have always understood the importance of ministering to all ages, but it seems that every day it is reinforced that people neeed to help teens to love thier Lord Jesus and be His disciple. So is Youth Ministry important... no doubt. Is it a lesser ministry position that a preacher... no way. Should all Youth Ministers become Preachers... no (unless the Lord has that plan for them.)

This coming January I will get the chance to be surrounded by ~1,000 youth workers at NCYM, again. Many of these ministers have been in youth work for over a decade, with no plan on stopping soon. (which is a huge encouragement knowing that the average stay at a congregation for Youth Ministers is 18 months) I find this event as a wonderful opportunity to get to know many different youth ministers across the country. Spend one night at this conference and you can agree that youth ministers are a rare bread. Although some display the likeness to the "typical youth minister stereo-type", most will shock you with their "otherness".

Through my observations, I am compeled to believe there are very few true "typical youth minister stereo-types" (or TYMS). Now, there are a lot of people (including myself) that possess traits of this alleged person. In this light, when poking fun of the "TYMS" should not be equated to making fun of a particular person, just the idea of the stereo-type. There is no "typical" youth minister. Now there are certain personality traits that may aid a person in youth ministry, but even that is not across the board.

Now, back the reason for this post. I do not want anyone to think that I do not like my ministry, or consider myself "above" others doing the same work. When I make fun of the "TYMS" I guess I poke fun at myself as well. I hope this may clarify future posts in where I may poke fun at a unique group of people (which I am part of) that call themselves youth ministers.

Now, I did not delete my previous post because I could not explain my comments. I deleted it because I realized that throughout the post I was rather self-serving, without realizing it. This is something I apparently struggle with, thus I am still learning as I walk.