1) What you believe about God greatly affects how you "do" ministry. For instance, some of what I would consider my least effective times as a leader have been when I've whined to God (totally different than lamenting and crying out to God, by the way...there is a time for those things) about my situation. Yeah, sometimes youth pastors are in a tough spot. I once served at a church that was going to close, and for much of that time, I had no idea what I was going to do next, not just to serve but to feed my family. If I believe that God is faithful and good even when I am drowning in difficult circumstances, how I act will look much differently than if I believe that God's given me a raw deal.
2) Real theology isn't boring. I love my wife. She's incredible. And I'm always learning new things about her. That's what studying theology should be like. Loving God so much we just have to find out more about him. It's not an academic exercise; it's a labor of love. I continue to be surprised by Jesus, not because he's changing, but because I learn more about him all the time. And when I'm engaged in that kind of study, I'm actually giddy when I get to share what I learn with the students I serve.
3) Youth workers need more theological education. I'm not saying seminary is necessary. I'm saying that there is a theological depth that is lacking in the field of youth ministry. We should be always learning so that we can be better teachers and preachers and equippers.
4) The teenagers we serve want real answers to real questions. This doesn't mean we have to have all the answers. It's that we sometimes don't even know how to get them started in their investigation of this Jesus guy. And they can take the deep stuff. Last week, we watched a sermon by Perry Noble on "Why bad things happen to good people" that was an hour long. It was intense, and they ate it up. In addition, we've been going through Mark each week on Sundays just a few verses at a time. We're through 3 chapters after 4 months...and they're into it. Real life is deep. Let's be prepared to dig deep with students.
So...what does this mean practically? I'm glad you asked. Starting next week, I'm going to dive into a theological topic once a week, and apply it to youth ministry. I'm excited for the challenge and really looking forward to the conversation. And if you have any suggestions of theological topics you'd like to see covered, just let me know.
Update: Check out all the posts from the Theology and Youth Ministry Series here.
