Cons
The specialization of youth ministry has separated teenagers from the larger church. Research done by the Fuller Youth Institute (to be detailed in Kara Powell and Chap Clark's upcoming book, Sticky Faith) suggests that the "sticky-ness" of a high school graduate's faith has more to do with their connection to the broader church than it does with their connection to their church's youth group. Yet we continue to separate (I'm pointing at myself here, as well) teenagers from the church at large by encouraged tons of separate programs for teenagers. And if we're honest, we (youth pastors) often do it for such selfish reasons as wanting to have control, wanting to validate our existence as youth pastors, and wanting to further our job security.
Youth pastors don't know how to be pastors. In the phrase "youth pastor," it ought to be pastor that is emphasized, but too often it's youth that gets the emphasis. I'm not just talking about the immaturity of some youth workers, although that's an issue. What I'm getting at is that because most churches look for youth pastor candidates who are simply good with teenagers while forgetting to look for other qualifications (Tim Schmoyer has started a great conversation about that here as well as other places on his blog). The result: "pastors" who are great with teenagers but are not very good pastors.
Youth pastors can be very prideful. I think a big part of the underbelly of youth ministry is the fact that many of us get our identity from youth ministry. Camaraderie among youth pastors is a good thing, because we are unique people in very unique life situations. However, this can quickly develop to a sense of pride about how much we love teenagers despite how misunderstood we are by our board, senior pastor, and parents who get upset because we played a game at youth group that might have included a small yet safe (we think) electric shock. I used to be kind of a punk about this and believe that anyone who moved on from youth ministry to something else (especially a better-paid position) was a sell-out, vowing to never sink to such lows myself. (I share a bit of my thoughts on this here.) When we desire to be in youth ministry more than we desire to listen to God's call, we have a problem.
QUESTION: What would you add to this list of "cons"?
