Equipping the Youth Team
No pastor would intentionally neglect his newly recruited staff. Yet once the recruiting is done, many turn the new staff loose, breathe a sigh of relief, and assume their job is finished, forgetting the important task of equipping the staff to serve. If the youth team resigns, the pastor is back to chapter one.
One minister was excited about his team. A high school coach and his wife, two college students, and the young carpenter who headed the team were enthusiastic and seemed qualified. But soon the phone rang. Jerry, the coach, was saying he had made a big mistake and needed to resign. He had just evaluated his priorities, and something had to go. Pastor Don knew something was wrong, because two months ago when Jerry was recruited, nothing could have stopped him. What had changed?
Jim, the young carpenter, called the next evening and said he felt the youth group would probably do better under Jerry's leadership than his. He felt unqualified. How could this be? Jim had been faithful for two years and was tremendously effective.
As Don began to ask questions, he finally discovered Jerry had many new ideas but did not know how to implement them. He tended to order kids around like his basketball team at high school. "If you don't make the grade, we can cut you from the squad" was Jerry's style. Jim was experienced with teenagers, but he did not know how to handle Jerry and his aggressive leadership. Being sensitive and not wanting to cause trouble, he felt maybe it was time for a change.
Jim and Jerry illustrate several false assumptions about youth workers. They remind us of Lyle Schaller's story about the conflict between the scientists and engineers designing Apollo spacecraft. The scientists wanted a vehicle free of defects ...
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