From Me To Thee

I find myself unintentionally teaching students how to look like me, over Him.

 I have a huge ego, as most youth pastors do, (and you KNOW its true!) I love to be affirmed and encouraged. I love to see results. I love to win arguments and validate the points I make in life. In fact, I am quite self-centered at times. I feel like my ideas are directly from God and no one should challenge them. I mean, why wouldn’t God chose me for ministry?

Fine, I admit I need a spirit of humbleness quite often in ministry. I find myself unintentionally teaching students how to look like me, over Him. My mind tends to get wrapped up in all that I am doing right as a 33 year-old Christian man, (with tons of experience,) when I prepare a small group study or a Sunday school lesson. Jesus says, “I am the way, and the truth and the life – no one comes to the Father except through me” – JN 14:6 NIV. How do I lose sight of the fact that I am supposed to be calling forth disciples to look like Christ?

The next time you find yourself in a teaching setting, remember that we, even you, are a failure in the eyes of God – it is because He chooses to forgive us that we may push forward in life, ministry, etc. Over time, we realize that while we are precious in His sight, we need forgiveness often. I once wrestled with Paul’s command in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to “… pray without ceasing …” I asked, “How can we always be praying? Is that even possible?” Perhaps the point behind Paul’s message was to live a life of prayer constantly in communion with God. In spite of how hard we work at delivering inspiring messages to students, we need to be about the business of humility. Be encouraged that no one ever requires you to have all of the answers. You may even be called to simply ask questions over always having answers! How liberating is that!

Jon Matthews is a 15-year youth pastor veteran. He currently serves in Redlands, CA at the Redlands First United Methodist Church. He runs marathons, coaches volleyball, and loves on his wife, Alicia.