Why Students Love Failure

Yesterday was a big breakthrough for our family ministry.  Lisa (The Children’s Director) and I made a video that we posted on our parent’s site to talk about an upcoming series.  Took a few minutes to do on imovie and then we uploaded the video through youtube, put it on the church Facebook page and then we put the word out.  Now the video itself isn’t mind blowing but a huge step in how we are partnering with parents.  After we recorded the video we both felt good about what we had just done, but then I began to wonder, “Why haven’t I done this before?”
I wasn’t sure it would be professional enough?  I needed someone to do it with me?  I was intimidated by the technology?  I guess but then again those excuses seem a little too small to make sense.  Again the video isn’t some complicated overture, it’s just pressing the record button on a software made for 5 year olds.  So what’s the deal, why do we tend to freeze on simple; yet, significant tasks?
FAILURE
Why doesn’t anyone want to fail?  Because no one wants a failure.  I guess that’s why God didn’t pick:
Moses, Peter, Noah, Paul, David, Solomon, and the list goes on.  I don’t want to get preachy, I just want to talk straight.  What holds me back the most as a minister, a husband, father, brother, son, neighbor and so on is this fear of failure, but guess what it’s going to happen because we are human.  But here’s the benefit to failing…we learn:

• From our mistakes.
• To be authentic
• To be humble
• To be persistent
• To be perseverant

And you know who watches?  Our students.  And they don’t want someone who is all put together, they may say that’s who they want, but they want someone who is authentic, real with themselves and real with their relationship with their struggles when it comes to a relationship with God.  There is so much cosmetic, synthetic, false promises out there and our students want something real.  That’s why small groups work, that’s why one on one face time is key, that’s why some of our best moments in ministry is when we connect with a student.  I have nothing against fun, creative activities or dynamic engaging power points, but in the end it’s all about who you are showing.  So do what you need to do, but don’t be afraid of who you are, because when we are who God created us to be, that’s when He uses us to share His love.