Here I go again!
As most of you already know (if you've been paying attention!) I was in youth ministry for about 8 years during my 20s and into my early 30s. I remember the night (actually it was in the wee hours of the morning) that I decided it was time to make a change. We were doing yet another all-nighter and I was sitting in a movie theatre watching "Hoosiers" at about 3 a.m. Suddenly, I had an out of body experience. Hovering 30' in the air I looked down upon myself slouching in that seat and asked this question - "is this really what you want to do with the rest of your life?"
And my answer on that occasion was "no". That set things into motion and within a year or so I was planting a church about 30 miles away. (This is kind of like when the 17 year old gets sick and tired of living under his parents rules and goes out and joins the Marines...)
Well, here I am pushing 40 and I am back into youth ministry. The difference? This time I am a volunteer leader and our oldest daughter, Megan, is a part of our Middle School youth group. Talk about a new perspective on things! Now I am looking around for some 22 year old kid to get involved and help us in this ministry - someone a lot like I was when I first started out.
So, it comes full circle. We have launched a youth ministry at Lighthouse Church and I am excited to think about what God is going to do in the lives of these students. I am excited to see how God wants to work in the lives of those of us who are leading this effort. And, I am really excited to see how God wants to bless others though the students themselves.
But please, no more "Hoosiers" at 3 a.m. - I'm just too old.
Labels: Lighthouse
posted by Unknown @ 5:19 PM
6 comments
6 Comments:
Tom,
You would hardly believe it if I explained the whole thing, but we are on a similar path. I was asked by my church to consider taking a large leadership role in our youth group after we lost our youth pastor. We just don't have the finances to hire a new one and I put in 5 years as a "Youth and Music Pastor" a while back. I got out after one bad experience. Like your story, I am not a late nite or all nite person and one night I fell asleep during a lock in and awoke to the sight of a 38 year old mother of three with her legs wrapped around a teenage boy in a manuever she dubbed "Indian leg wrestling". I was sure the deacons were going to send me to hell for falling asleep and allowing such behavior and along with some other factors, quickly got out of the Youth/Music business and got into a church where I could do just music. I feel like Al Pacino in Godfather III, "I try to get out but they keep pulling me back in!"
Steve, I'm sorry for laughing - but that story about the lady doing the leg hold on that poor kid, that's choice. There is just something surreal about the whole lock-in experience, sort of like this bubble in the space-time continuum where things happen that have no explanation in the world of Newtonian physics. Thanks for sharing your story.
Hey Tom,
Your story of the "out of body" experience reminded me of "mine". I was looking at my 6 year old daughter (Amberly :) and suddenly I was struck with a sad picture well, myself. There's got to be more than drinking tea with church ladies and watching the "men" play softball. What is it REALLY that I want to be teaching my daughter? What circle of life experiences do I want to expose her to. Do I really want to teach her what I was taught, what my mother was taught, what my grandmother was taught... about what makes a "Godly" woman? NO was my answer. There had to be more.... such began my journey to where I am journeying still.
What is "Hoosier's" anyway?
Laura
hey dad whats the big idea? why arent there any closeups of me? humph!
To Laura - "Hoosiers" is an old movie starring Gene Hackman about a basketball team in Indiana. It's a guy thing - right up there with "Rudy" and "Rocky". Very interesting insight about your "out of body" with Amberly. What do you think triggered it?
To Megan - I promise a good picture of you in my next post!
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