These statements were not meant to be a statement about me personally. Our church does a great job of guarding pastors' sabbath time. Just last week, my boss had a conversation with me to make sure I was going to take some "comp time" to make up for the extra time I'd spent over the last few weeks on our high school retreat and helping out with the youth group at our new campus in addition to my duties at the campus I serve at. I feel like I do a pretty good job taking care of myself and my family (although my wife would probably be the best one to ask about that). So, I don't think it's inaccurate to say that I'm not close to burnout.
No, the statements were about youth pastors and youth ministry. Both of these people--people whom I trust and love to be around, by the way--believe that by its nature, youth ministry isn't something a pastor can do for a long period of time. In addition, one of the people who made the comment sort of meant it as a complement; I had just finished preaching at our church's morning services, and she mentioned that because (in her opinion) I preach well, I won't be in youth ministry for a long period of time.
My response to both of these people were the same: that I LOVE where God has me (ministering to youth as a vocation), and I really do hope that I get to do this the rest of my life. I don't know where God will have me in five, ten, or fifty years, but if I'm still working with teenagers, that would be a good thing in my book.
I'm thankful for those conversations. To be honest, I was kind of ticked off about them at first, because I don't like it when I feel like people are telling me about what's going to happen in my life. Especially when they say I won't be doing youth ministry. But I know that these were friends just trying to offer some insight and encouragement in my life, even if I disagree with them. I'm also thankful, because it's caused me to wonder about where God is leading me in my life, which is a good thing to do. In my opinion, it's not a good thing to take a job as a youth pastor just to use it as a stepping stone to another position. It would also be presumptuous--and would try to keep God out of the discernment process--to say that I know in twenty years I'll still be a youth pastor, thank you very much. I've been thinking and praying about just where God is leading me, and how a youth pastor is to navigate those waters. How does someone know if they've been called to youth ministry? Is it wrong to be a youth pastor for five or seven years, then move to a different area of ministry? Is it possible to be a youth pastor until I retire? I'll touch on each of these questions--as well as others--in the coming weeks during this series.
Other posts in this series:
Youth Ministry, Longevity, and Calling - Part 2: Am I Called?
Youth Ministry, Longevity, and Calling - Part 3: How to Burn Out in Ministry
Youth Ministry, Longevity, and Calling - Part 4: Is It Okay to Start in Youth Ministry and Move Elsewhere?
