It has been a very difficult week. This past Tuesday, I had a meeting with my senior pastor. He wanted to talk with me about the meetings our staff and board have been having for the past couple of months about "why our church exists." He began to talk with me about how the meetings have been exciting for him, and how he felt compelled to lead our church in thinking and praying through what we are really supposed to be doing as a church because he had been convicted that his own spiritual apathy had been reflected in the spiritual apathy of our church. I don't remember what he said after that, because I had to look up what "apathy" meant on my iPhone. When I looked up again, he was asking me what I thought of the mission, vision, and set of values that we had "put down on paper" as a result of the meetings. While trying to remember what we had put down on paper (I had spent most of the meetings on my iPhone doing really important ministry on my Facebook app), I told him I thought they were really good.
Then, he threw in a zinger.
He asked me how I thought the mission, vision, and core values related to our youth ministry, and how I would structure the ministry and plan events so that it reflected the mission, vision, and core values. Wow! I had no idea that what we were talking about in those meetings would affect the youth ministry. I figured things would be business as usual in our corner of the building: we can't plan events more than a month ahead of time; how are we supposed to know what the cool thing to do will be? And core values? B-O-R-I-N-G! Clearly my pastor doesn't understand the go-with-the-flow mentality of youth ministry. Now I have two weeks to write a ministry plan AND a budget that "contextualizes" our church's mission, vision, and values in our ministry to students. I don't even know what that means! What should I do?
Sincerely,
Perturbed in Percy
Perturbed:
You are certainly not alone in having a senior pastor who insists on meddling in your ministry by using words such as "mission," "vision," "plan," and "liability forms." The good news: you just might have a senior pastor who has simply read an article in a magazine about leadership or attended a seminar at a conference that inspired him to take the actions you describe. With any luck, it is just a short fad, and he will be back to preserving the status quo in no time at all, leaving you to your corner of your church's kingdom.
A few tips to help you along:
- Go ahead and write out a plan. Not a real plan, of course. Simply write down what you think your pastor would like to hear, and use lots of action words; preferably, use words that are included in your church's new mission and vision statements.
- Budgets are not all that bad. Sometimes, it can help you get more money! Make sure you let your board know how much money the youth ministry budget has had in the past (all the better if your church's treasurer is not diligent in keeping records, so you can go by "memory"), and note that there is so much you could be doing if you only had more money.
- Remember, the plan is only paper. Keep it vague, and chances are after you've given the report, no one will ever ask you about it again.
Of course, if your senior pastor is really serious about making changes in the church, you might be in for some trouble. And let me tell you, it's all downhill from there. Rather than get excited about the crazy events you dream up or how many people attend your free pizza nights, your pastor and board will want to know how the ministry is doing in terms of the church's mission. They'll start asking you about how lives are being "transformed" and whether you think the ministry is focused on fulfilling the Great Commission. Whatever that is. Let's hope that won't happen to you.
Sincerely,
Youth Pastor
Dear Youth Pastor is a public service to the good people who read this blog, and letters are published every Thursday. To ask Youth Pastor a question, just email him at DearYouthPastor@hotmail.com.
