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It's Harder Than It Looks

Its harder than it looks. That's what one of the teens said after a student led night. I wanted to respond with, 'Yeah, that's why it's called a job.' But that might have been misconstrued as harsh. Besides, if we're being honest and nice about things, we could say this about most things. 

If we are to actually look back and consider what high school was like, it was harder than it looks. The other people, to whom we continually compare ourselves to, also have a job which is likely harder than it looks. And it would be nice if someone looked at our responsibilities and realized that we're not sipping lemonade with our feet in the sand. Unless, of course, your job is to taste test lemonade while sitting on the beach. Then your job is not harder than it looks.

And we all hate you.

Having said all this, just because a job is difficult does not mean we shouldn't work at it. And in the context of youth ministry, we should also be sharing it with our students. If for no other reason than Jesus didn't just call on professionals, we should share the job. Here's why...

We're not liars.
If we tell students and parents and volunteers that ministry is not just about what we, as pastors, do, then we might want to apply that truth. That means including others in the tasks of ministry. That means involving their voices and their ideas. 

We're not superheros. 
Yes, we have a gift. But we don't have the only gift. Our students are not Lois Lane waiting for us to fly in and rescue them. They are partners, younger brothers and sisters, looking for us to guide them into using their gifts and abilities in the ministry. 

We're not going to live forever.
Okay, in the spiritual sense, yes we will. But here on Earth, we will need to be replaced. We constantly need to be multiplied. We need others who will continue the work. Where better for them to gain that experience than under the supervision of those who have gone before? 

Yes, it will be harder than it looks. Both for them who are stepping up for the first time and for us, who are showing them the inner workings of what we do. No one ever said we shouldn't do something base don the degree of difficulty. 

Besides, if we can show one more person just a small glimpse of what pastors do all week, then we have done something very beneficial. 
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