Three Thoughts from a Rookie Youth Pastor

First off, for the one of you that read my notes from the conference, I’ve got more that I’ll post this week. It takes longer than I thought to 1) read my own handwriting and 2) translate my notes into something somewhat understandable.

In the meantime here are three more thoughts from a rookie youth pastor.

1. Criticism is a crazy thing. Criticism is that gift you’re always willing to give, but would rather not receive. “Can I regift this?” But what’s even more challenging about it is that criticism (both positive & negative) tends to be one of the key way God sanctifies. We even mentioned in small groups this past Sunday that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the one who is humble enough to take criticism (I think that’s out of the Message). This is one truth that I can articulate, but I’m not sure how good I am at living it. How about you?
2. Being a good Christian is more important than being a good minister. It is so easy to get this backwards. Everything in me wants to define my life by how much I know or how well I can teach or how well I can relate to a teen. My tendency is to measure how much I deserve God’s goodness, in this case, through how well (or poorly) I serve. But the good news is that I will never deserve it, regardless of how I excel, and yet God loves me still.
3. My wife is great. She’s better than me in Scrabble, Monopoly, and life (not the game, the existential reality). But she’s still nice to me.