MYM Blog

How I Am Hypocritical

Written by Christopher Wesley | Jan 24, 2011 12:30:00 PM

I have all these great ideas rolling around in my head, I just don’t have the mouth to communicate them all clearly.  There’s a point where I find myself frustrated because I’m not seeing the results that I want to see.  And every time that occurs I think to myself, “What am I not clarifying?”
When it comes to ministers I know I need help when it comes to communicating certain actions or behaviors outside of the evening they directly serve the students.  And this expectations isn’t just about what happens in ministry, but what happens around it as well.  I not only want my ministers to do a good job in ministry, but I want them to succeed as followers of Christ.  So I work hard on crafting emails.  I think about how I’m going to ask them, but I never really think about…
My Actions
It’s a bad; yet, a common habit where our ministries (even churches) become about “do what I say, not what I do (or don’t do).”  In fact I’m guilty of it and that’s why I’m going to share with you all several areas of where I tell my ministers to do something; yet, struggle myself to do it.

  1. Inviting Others To Church: This one I struggle with big time.  I try, but I struggle because I’m intimidated, I don’t like rejection, I take it personal, excuse, excuse, excuse…It really comes down to the fact that I’m not boasting to myself about God enough.  When we can be comfortable with sharing God, it gets easier to invite them into that relationship.
  2. Invite Others Into Ministry: Just read what I wrote in the last point.  But, it’s also attributed to unclear vision.  I’m not sure what I need or who I need and where I need them.  And because I can’t make up my mind I just don’t ask anyone.  I don’t know when I started thinking, “People will just show up.” and how that spread to my team other than they learned that from me.
  3. Contact Students During The Week: I tell my ministers, “If you want your students to come back, text them, call them, contact them on Facebook, whatever.”  I confess I didn’t do these things for a while, now that I touch base with my guys on a weekly basis, I believe it’s taken my group to a new level.  Another area I struggle is going to their after school activities.  This is due to a priorities issue, but something I’m passionate about fixing.
  4. Build Relationships With The Parents:  This is an area I take for granted because parents will know me because I’m the youth minister, and because I know their kid I assume that I know them.  Some parents don’t know their kid has a small group leader or some one willing to invest in what they do. But that’s not there fault because if I’m not telling and showing ministers how to contact family, I can’t expect them to do the same.  After all where would thaty learn that from.

As I mention I struggle with these areas even though I may get results from time to time.  I tend to make excuses because these actions are out of my comfort zone.  I have to be realistic and know that this is the same case for some of my ministers.  While me doing these things won’t necessarily solve the problems, it’ll allow me to help them through their obstacles.

As youth ministers there are many actions we ask our ministers to take without doing them ourselves.  What are some of the actions we need our ministers to perform; yet, struggle to do ourselves?  
And
How do you overcome those obstacles?