"I want to be clear this wasn't meant as a disrespect for Boise State,” Spear told the news station. “I just told the Horizon people that I would fly on that plane only after they paint an Idaho plane, too."Now, I'm sure that Spear's actions were meant with at least a bit of his tongue in his cheek as well as a good-spirited gesture in a rivalry between the two schools. But his move shows where his convictions lie: he would rather be inconvenienced (by at least a few hours) rather than support something he didn't believe in.
A good leader needs to know what he or she is about, and stick to it. For youth workers, this is easy enough to do when things are going our way, or when no wrenches are thrown in our plan.
However, our resolve is tested on what we value as leaders when we least expect it. Here are a couple of values we ought to hold as youth leaders, and how they might be tested when things don't go as we hoped they would:
Every student matters. Of course, we all agree with this statement! We would never tell a student that he or she doesn't matter. But what happens when you spend two months planning an event you hope will introduce tons of teens to your group, and only one or two students show up? Do you cancel? Do you let your disappointment ruin the event? Do you berate the students that did come for not bringing friends? In my first year of youth ministry, there were at least four or five weeks of high school youth group where we had exactly one student show up. One. What did we do? We (three leaders and the student) headed over to Starbucks for a little Bible study and discussion! A couple of years later, I asked a student who had been the only one to show up more than once what it was like. Her response? "It was a little awkward, but I was always glad I came." As our group grew, that student was an awesome leader in our group.
Youth Ministry is a Christ-centered venture, not a club. Whatever background we come from, I think most youth pastors want their group of students to be characterized by a single-hearted devotion to Jesus. That will look different depending on the church context, but we're not in youth ministry just to see how many games of four-square we can win each week. We want our church or ministry to be a place where students are fed spiritually. But what happens when spiritual food isn't all that popular with students? What happens when you plan an experiential worship service that's meant to open students' eyes to God's concern for the poor and downtrodden, and you hear, "This is so lame" from somewhere in the back of the room? What happens when you notice a few students stop coming? Now, hear me well: I believe that youth ministries need to be characterized by the Good Shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine in order to rescue the one. However, sometimes solid Christ-centered youth ministry won't attract the masses. A good subtitle for Jesus' third year of ministry on Earth could be Jesus and His Ever-Shrinking Band of Followers (See John 6:25-70). Will we stick to our convictions or just try to get as many students to come as possible, even when that means leading a miles-wide and inch-deep ministry?
By the way, Spear's resolve paid off: Horizon Air will soon introduce a plane that is painted in University of Idaho colors.
What are some other things in ministry that test our resolve and our core values?
