Mile Mark of Success #3: Be A Voice, Not An Echo
You know you're a success when you fight to remain a voice, not an echo.
There are many echoes in youth ministry...people who merely mimic the culture's values rather than fight to be a distinct voice for biblical values. I'm not talking about legalism or nitpicking about music styles or body piercing here. I'm talking about being a prophetic voice in the lives of our young people...a voice that has something to say about character, conscience, and conviction. It requires no energy or backbone to simply echo what kids want to hear.
John the Baptist is a good example, he ignored the pressure to conform and lived out his calling instead. That's why he's immortalized in the New Testament as a "voice of one crying in the wilderness." Some youth leaders settle for having a ministry of success, but truly successful youth leaders choose to have a ministry of significance.
This slow slide into echoland is like a youth leader traveling aboard a huge ocean liner. As she stands on the deck and looks out on the ocean, the ship appears to stand still. But if she dropped a large buoy from the ship's deck, she'd quickly realize just how fast the ship was moving as the buoy disappeared on the horizon. In the same way, it's easy for us to assume our values have remained unchanged when they're really slipping away, unnoticed.
In our culture, the only absolute is that there are no absolutes. Our challenge is to remain a fixed point in a sea of mediocrity; a fixed point that's committed to remaining a true voice to young people. After all, our Boss was once described as "the same yesterday, today, and forever."
I was the last one out of the building the night of the Legacy service, the clock read 4:30 a.m. as the last student said his final farewell. Exhausted, I trudged my way up the steps to the door one last time. I paused at the top and cast a fond glance back at the room that represented the epicenter of 13 years of youth ministry. Was I afraid to walk out? Not in the least.
You see, I began preparing for my exit the very day I made my entrance. Through the years, I tried to make sure that my desire to be needed was never greater than my desire to be exceeded. The youth ministry in Rockford flourished in my absence because it remained in the best possible hands.
The youth leader I left behind was Jeremy, one of my fresh stories from the early '90s. After he committed his life to Christ, I was honored to coach him through a host of normal post-salvation issues. Months later, we wrestled through possible career choices. I helped train him for full-time ministry, then took part in his wedding. Years later I stood with him at the hospital as he held his firstborn son in his arms. And as I walked through the exit door one last time, Jeremy matured into a man who was no echo. Now, that's a success marker.
You know you're a success when you fight to remain a voice, not an echo.
There are many echoes in youth ministry...people who merely mimic the culture's values rather than fight to be a distinct voice for biblical values. I'm not talking about legalism or nitpicking about music styles or body piercing here. I'm talking about being a prophetic voice in the lives of our young people...a voice that has something to say about character, conscience, and conviction. It requires no energy or backbone to simply echo what kids want to hear.
John the Baptist is a good example, he ignored the pressure to conform and lived out his calling instead. That's why he's immortalized in the New Testament as a "voice of one crying in the wilderness." Some youth leaders settle for having a ministry of success, but truly successful youth leaders choose to have a ministry of significance.
This slow slide into echoland is like a youth leader traveling aboard a huge ocean liner. As she stands on the deck and looks out on the ocean, the ship appears to stand still. But if she dropped a large buoy from the ship's deck, she'd quickly realize just how fast the ship was moving as the buoy disappeared on the horizon. In the same way, it's easy for us to assume our values have remained unchanged when they're really slipping away, unnoticed.
In our culture, the only absolute is that there are no absolutes. Our challenge is to remain a fixed point in a sea of mediocrity; a fixed point that's committed to remaining a true voice to young people. After all, our Boss was once described as "the same yesterday, today, and forever."
I was the last one out of the building the night of the Legacy service, the clock read 4:30 a.m. as the last student said his final farewell. Exhausted, I trudged my way up the steps to the door one last time. I paused at the top and cast a fond glance back at the room that represented the epicenter of 13 years of youth ministry. Was I afraid to walk out? Not in the least.
You see, I began preparing for my exit the very day I made my entrance. Through the years, I tried to make sure that my desire to be needed was never greater than my desire to be exceeded. The youth ministry in Rockford flourished in my absence because it remained in the best possible hands.
The youth leader I left behind was Jeremy, one of my fresh stories from the early '90s. After he committed his life to Christ, I was honored to coach him through a host of normal post-salvation issues. Months later, we wrestled through possible career choices. I helped train him for full-time ministry, then took part in his wedding. Years later I stood with him at the hospital as he held his firstborn son in his arms. And as I walked through the exit door one last time, Jeremy matured into a man who was no echo. Now, that's a success marker.
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I love the Emerson quote, "The years will teach you what the days will never know." In this Youth Leader's Coach, I am going to take you on a journey with me through my years in ministry in an effort to stretch you and help you avoid potential pitfalls.
The journey God has you on is so worthwhile my friend. For every challenging moment I've encountered, I can't tell you how grateful I am that I didn't take the exits and detours that would have been so easy.
I want to be known, not as a person who is a great starter, but a great finisher. I want that for you as well.
In the trenches with you,
In October 2001, my hero and husband, Sam, gave our resignations to Rockford First Assembly in Rockford, Illinois after 13 years of ministry. I'd seen my youth group grow from a handful of students, to over 1,000 strong. This message was recorded live on October 28, 2001, as I spoke to my leaders the same afternoon we publicly announced our resignation to the church.
In this Youth Leader's Coach, "One day you too will have an October 28th," you'll hear me share with my leaders ten things to look for to leave a season of life well. I also remind them, "It is not so much how you enter a season of your life but how you depart it that determines how you enter the next season in your life."
Lovingly,
It is hard to believe that over thirty years of youth ministry have already passed. What a journey it has been! I often say, "The years will teach you what the days never know."
This series, "The Decades Speak," is a compilation of thirty of the most significant and impacting principles I have learned along the way. It's a wealth of insights and lessons learned through the hard knocks of youth ministry over the years. Let this resource be encouragement and strength for both your own heart and for your ministry.
Lovingly on Your Side,
This is Part 5 of 8, covering Lessons #19-21
Lesson #19 - Fun is not an activity, it's an attitude...curing the teenage boredom syndrome.
Lesson #20 - Exiting a ministry...coming to grips and dealing with your motives.
Lesson #21 - Learn to die well...finding a place where you can bury yourself in people.
Have you ever dared to think of who will remember you when you are gone? And even deeper, what you will be remembered by? Will you be remembered by your rock solid character? Or perhaps, will you will be remembered by what my hero and husband is being remembered by, his PRAYER LIFE. Or maybe that won't be your legacy. What if you are remembered for being selfish, unkind, maybe a gossip, a disinterested parent, or lazy youth leader?
In this Source, "Where Are They Now?" we talk about the LEGACY we will choose to live out while on this earth. I talk about how we can do this STRATEGICALLY and INTENTIONALLY in the society we live in today. And how we can strive to do this consistently so that we can make a REAL, LASTING impact on the lives of this generation.
"When I die, don't think I'm gone. I'll still be alive in that person...and that person...and that person...and that person."-D.L. Moody and Jeanne
Building A Legacy,
