Teamwork, as in many sports, is a vital part of life in the body of Christ. God's work involves many different individuals with a variety of gifts, talents and abilities. There are no superstars in this task, only team members performing their own unique roles. We can only become useful members of God's team if we are prepared to set aside any desire to receive glory for what we do. We should never seek or encourage the praise that comes from people. The praise of humankind is always short lived and of no real or lasting value. Instead, we should always seek approval from God.
God has given the Church an enormous responsibility, to make disciples in every nation (Matthew 28:18-20). This involves preaching, teaching, healing, nurturing, giving, administering, building and many other tasks. If we had to fulfill this command as individuals, we may as well give up without even trying, it would be impossible. But God calls us as members of His body. Some of us can do one task; some can do another. Together, we can serve God more fully than any one of us could ever do alone. It is a human tendency to overestimate what we can do individually and to underestimate what we can do as a team! As the body of Christ, we can accomplish more together than we could ever dream possible, working alone. Working together, the church can express the fullness of Christ. And together, our children and our youth can do great things!
We frequently underestimate people and don't challenge them with our dreams for God's work in the world. I want our youth to begin to understand that they can be world changers. I want to challenge our youth to always keep an eye out for friends they can reach out for our youth program. When God plants an idea in your mind to accomplish something for him, share it with others and trust the Holy Spirit to impress them with similar thoughts. Don't regard yourself as the only one through whom God is working. Often God uses one person to express the vision and others to turn it into reality. When you encourage and inspire others, you put teamwork into action to accomplish God's goals. I want our youth to challenge and inspire one another!
Definitely something to be learned in ministry is that if we are faithful, and good stewards of what God has given us (gifts/talents), then whatever happens, God will take the burden on his shoulders, and in that process, our faith will grow still. God will give our youth the confidence and the words to use to share the love of God with their friends.
Youth pastors do take great pride in seeing the faith and knowledge that our teens are taught being put into practice. God desires for us to put our faith into action. We are doing an injustice if we just hold onto the knowledge we learn, and do nothing. I'm excited about the potential of this place here at First United Methodist Church of Orange, and to see where God takes our children's and youth programs. Our youth are embarking on an Sierra Service Project journey to work on a Native American Reservation next summer in Arizona. I hope that the lives of our teenagers are transformed.
Until next time,
Grace and Peace,
Peter
P.S. So glad that my favorite show finally won an Emmy for Best Drama Series on TV. Way to Go Breaking Bad! If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend you catch the old seasons on Netflix now! You won't be disappointed!
