The Honest Youth Pastor

"I Need a Break from Ministry"

2008-02-13T12:02:00.000-08:00

ok... I get it. Everyone needs a "break". But too many times "I need a break" doesn't mean I'm getting brunt out. It means I haven't prioritized my life correctly and so I'm going to ease up on the stress by cutting my commitment to serving God in the local church instead of fiding balance in other areas of my life.

Example:
Person: Hey
Me: Hey! How's it going?
Person: Good
Me: You doing ok?
Person: Sorta, I ended up staying at a friend's hous last night and I slept 'til 2pm.
Me: wow...
Person: So yeah...I don't hink I'll be coming to church to serve tonight. Is that ok? I'm going to go to another church with a friend.
Me: ok...

What I wanted to say was, "so you're calling me at the last minute to tell me you're backing out on a commitment you made to my face to help actually be the hands and feet of God's ministry to do what? Play church with a friend? Go ahead...and by the way, why don't you grow up and act like you're an adult for crying out loud...sleeping in til 2pm!!! What the heck!"

Maybe I should have acted more like this guy.

But then I wouldn't be acting out of love.

I digress

Here's some stupid excuses:
Article 1

Why Homeschool Parents Hurt Student Ministries

2008-02-11T07:38:00.000-08:00

Reader beware: I speak from experience

This is a fact. Home-school PARENTS hurt student ministries. I did not say homeschool students. It's the parents. But you don't have to be a homeschool parent to be like one. The problem with homeschool parents is that for the most part, they have chosen the decision they have made out of an extreme desire to be the dictator of their children's influence over their lives.

That is why when pastors get together and talk about homeschool parents within their congregation, you hear words like, over-controlling, gossipers, division causers, manipulators, power hungry, or elitists. You will never hear a pastor say this, but this is the truth of that matter.

I was talking with one youth pastor who told me of a parent (a home-school parent) who asked him one day if he was a product of home school. When he said no, and that he went to public school, she said "Oh...you're a product of the system."

Can homeschooling be done right?
Sure. But I haven't met one home school parent that I wouldn't consider a close relative to a dictator.

For more who feel the same, visit these links:

Conversations Youth Pastors Hate

2007-07-26T12:12:00.001-07:00

I picked this blog post up from Tim Schmoyer's blog on "Conversations Youth Pastors Hate." Here's a sample:

#1. Adult: “Oh, you work with teenagers. That’s nice. So, how long are you gonna do that before you start a career?” (Translation: Youth ministry is a job for people in their 20s who aren’t sure what they wanna do with their life.)

#2. Parent: “Susan can’t come to Bible study because you scheduled them for Wednesday nights when she has soccer.” (Translation: My daughter’s athletic development is a higher priority than her spiritual development, so why can’t youth group fit in when there’s nothing better going on?)

Check the rest of the article as well as other "additions" to this list by blog commentors here.

Top 5 Parental Dysfunctions that Youth Pastors Battle

2007-07-21T12:13:00.000-07:00

"I want my kid to be a kid as long as he can."
"I want my kid to grow up as fast as he can."
"I must be able to have my opinion not only heard, but followed in how you, the youth pastor, does ministry"
"You are my child's pastor, but not mine...so I don't have to submit to you"
"You may know stuff about the bible and really connect with my child, but in the end, I like you but I really don't have a great respect for you because you're so young"

Why is it that Parents can tell their child they must call us Pastor "So and So" but then not treat us like one?