I watched the first two hours of the All Star game… little did I know it would end a half hour later. But after last years 15 inning game I didn’t want to risk staying up until 2am or whenever it ended, but it seemed as if I missed some decent moments (i.e. Carl Crawford’s home run robbing catch). The one thing I enjoy about the MLB All Star game is that all the players compete but they do it in a fun way. There are a lot of smiles, a lot of camaraderie, it’s just a good night for the pureness of the sport.
It’s easy to lose the pureness of church ministry too. In ministries that serve children and youth we can easily get caught up in the hype of a game or gimmick. You can make things about getting the kids to like you instead of teaching them the Gospel. You can get stuck on how many kids show up each week instead of how many kids you are moving along.
The nice thing about the All Star game is the guys show up to play, if they win it’s exciting but there are no worries about where they are in the standings, it’s just to play some summer ball. If we unite each week with students and just focus on being authentic and sharing Christ with them, I think we can avoid a lot of the burnout that we face as ministers who serve youth.