My Part of the Conversation

I’m not sure why it bothered me.

A youth ministry newsletter that I subscribe to announced that the WE network would be showing a series of documentaries entitled “High School Confidential” in which they followed 12 teenage girls from their 9-12 grade years in Overland Park, Kansas from 2002-2006.  There are 8 episodes, each focusing on 1-3 of the girls per episode.

It’s not overly sensational, and for that reason will probably not register on most pop culture radars.  But, of the  3 episodes I’ve seen, there are some great interviews of teenage girls telling about what they are experiencing and how they process what’s going on.  You see a lot of hurt, abandonment, family pressure, and the incredible importance of friends.

Anyway, I started this post to comment on something that happened in one of the episodes:

In the episode about Jessi, we see a girl go through a painful and lonely journey through high school.  She almost fails out of school her freshman year, and transfers to an alternative school that will help her through her learning disabilities.  There, she find a group of friends that function as a family unit.  They even have “the house” where they all hang out and there is never any adult supervision, making drinking binges and sex common activities.  She even gets pregnant and decides to keep the baby, but has a miscarriage after a couple months.  Her life is chronicled through a series of  dating relationships.

One of her passions is acting, so as she makes future plans, she auditions for an acting school in LA.  She gets in and is even given a scholarship.  Her senior year revolves around making plans for that transition from Kansas to California and her new life there (without her friends and current boyfriend).   The episode ends with scenes of her heading into the terminal and waiting for her plane while her current boyfriend sadly looks on in heartbreak.

We see the plane take off, then an epilogue appears on the screen.  Jessi goes to LA and returns to Kansas 10 days later after having a panic attack.  She now works in a Wal-Mart.

My jaw dropped as, after I had gone with this girl through her highs and lows, hoping she will land in a place that helps her find confidence and personal fulfillment, realize she ends up right where she started.

The scene that bothered me was toward the end, where she was talking with a teacher at some type of graduation banquet/ceremony event.  The teacher is asking her questions about her plans, and she is telling all about her accomplishments and what she is going to do with the rest of her life- a plan that ultimately doesn’t weather 10 days.

Once again, I’m not sure why it bothered me.  Maybe it was because I could guess the outcome before it came, all the while hoping it would be different.  We ask all these questions of our young people about their futures, and each one comes up with a strong, positive, and promising answer, while deep down the answer is still “I don’t know”.

Have any thoughts on this?  Other than the fact that I have watched the WE network… ever?

I receive regular emails with links to youth ministry/ youth culture articles and websites.  Recently, Newsweek did an article on the the “look at me generation”.  It makes some interesting notes about this generation’s view of “reality” television and documenting their lives before a camera or on the internet.  Anyway, I found this article interesting:

http://www.newsweek.com/id/123484

What do you think?

One of the biggest challenges I’ve found to being in full time ministry is the fact that ministry is now a “profession” for me.  When I received what I believed to be a calling into ministry, it has always been something I saw as a heavy and burdensome challenge, never as a chance to “get paid for being a Christian”.  I never saw it as an economic or “professional” choice, even though I’ve always been well compensated and cared for.  In fact, I have never believed myself to be an employee of any individual church, but a servant of God in His kingdom.  He sends me to specific places for service and situations in which I am to submit to the local church servant leadership He has set in place.  Yet, I often feel like people are distrusting of me because I am a full time minister, that somehow the message is corrupted because I get paid to tell it.

I can’t blame people for that.  It doesn’t take long to think of situations in which people abused the gospel for their own personal gain.  I even find myself jealous at times of people who volunteer at church part-time and their teaching is quicker to be received and somehow perceived to be more reliable.

But, I know how much work there is to do and how important it is.  I also know that ministries (such as to youth) require constant training and study, as it is cross-cultural communication.  There is also a huge need for someone who organizes and equips the volunteer forces to minister to others.

That all being said, when I find myself doubting my calling or doubting my place in youth ministry or doubting I should be working for the church, I ask myself one question: “Would I do this if I didn’t get paid?”

Even in dark, depressing, frustrating, and lonely times, the answer has always been “Yes”.  I’d teach classes and help with retreats and befriend teenagers and organize events.  When I reconcile that with myself, I find that I can get over the self-consciousness or perception that someone doesn’t trust me.

If the answer to that personal evaluation ever becomes a definitive “no”, it’s time to move on to something else.

But right now, I think it’s pretty cool to be where I’m at, doing what I’m doing.

A recent Time magazine article told about a Christian humor website called “Lark News“.  It’s a lot like “The Onion” except with an evangelical spin.  The fake articles often cross into irreverent zones, but also force me to evaulate some things that might make me uncomfortable.  Check out this article:

Inner-city ministry trip confirms youths’ worst impressions

or this one:

Lotion soap switch angers congregation

(Try switching “soap” for hot buttons you might have at your church.  Frightening.)

Anyway, if you hate irony or sarcastic writing, this site isn’t for you.

This day every year, I curse the fact I left Arizona.

Yes, this is Daylight Savings Time. Time to “spring forward” your clocks and enjoy getting one LESS hour of sleep.

Arizona does not participate in such a cruel past-time.

So, here’s to you Grand Canyon State. And here’s to second guessing my math when calculating the time difference when I call your wonderful residents.

Special thanks to wikimedia commons for the photo.  In this map, blue is bad.  Note how Arizona is the only state in the US that is not blue.