I have decided I need to rant about youth ministry. After over 12 years working in the field I have made some observations that I want to share. I spend a lot of time talking with other youth workers, hearing their stories. The thoughts that I share in this rant come from my work in youth ministry and the stories of my fellow youth workers.
I never thought I would say this, but those of us in full-time youth ministry can be lazy. Sure, we are the busiest of all ministers, pastors, and staff members putting in the “normal” office hours and then the evenings, retreats, mission trips and other weekends. There is no question that we put our time in, and most of us work hard while working. The problem is that we often find ourselves just getting by in youth ministry. The tasks of the ministry alone are overwhelming, then trying to do a semi-decent job adds to the time it takes to ‘do’ the work of ministry. Where laziness creeps in is using our instinct and personality rather than focusing on a mission and well thought out philosophy. Our biggest failure in the laziness department is that we fail to think theologically about what we are doing. Being busy does not mean that we are not cutting corners or being lazy. Youth ministry is hard work; it is the hardest work, but the call is high and we must have a reason and a theology for all that we do. This takes great thought and care and of course this great thought and care takes more time…