October 23, 2008

love/hate relationship

i am talking about our wednesday night service.

last night i came home tired & cranky. not sure why. yes i do. one girl totally ignored me after i told her to do something three times. that really ticked me off. half of the students were not into worship. they were not talking, but they were not worshipping either. just a bunch of students standing in a room with loud music is what it looked like to me. chad did a good job with his sermon, he always does. i just hope they really were listening & will live out being real & stop being phony.

but the questions that i went to bed with in my head & still there this morning are: was i just having a bad night? was everybody else? what can i do so i don't have any more "hate" on wednesday nights? how can i help these students go deeper? a lot of questions & not many answers YET... i need to go pray!

3 comments:

Summer said...

hm, i have thoughts to this - but i'll process and then respond later.

Anonymous said...

That's normal...Pray about it and don't worry about it...Every Saint has good times and bad times----that's life! Remember Jesus had Judas and Peter.. You might want to have a private session with the student that ignored you..LYT! And, talk and pray with your Youth Pastor about it.

Summer said...

Ok, its been week since your frustrated night, and I'm sure you are way over now - but there will be more.
First of all, remember, they are teenagers still. Your expectations that you have might be a tad bit higher (you think!? ha) than they have for themselves. Think back when you were 14, 15, 16 - your desire to be a follower of Christ looked (and felt) much different than at age 30 - because you have now experienced more of life. Give them some credit - they are at church aren't they?
2. Being real & being phony - life is life. And its super messy. How can you help these students go deeper? Get messy with them. That doesn't mean you have to make 'bad' decisions - but don't be afraid to have conversations, question God, and wrestle through issues with them, instead of just handing over the answer. I believe that Christians can look different than another Christian. Remember, its whats inside that counts.
3. Worship - what is worship? It's not just listening and singing songs and crying during a service. You know what true worship is - daily living of our lives as Christ would live & love. I think this goes back to expectation. Make your service different - why do you HAVE to have worship every time? What if you had stations for teenagers to do to? One for journaling/ one for a quick small group/ one for prayer/ and one for singing - think about how much more a teenager would get out of a service than standing around?

I'm not bashing church services - I'm just questioning the 'routine' of how we are all so used to doing it a certain way that we think its 'how it has to be done.'

Remember, the church is not a building- and its not about being the cool youth church. Be a friend, a sister, a mentor, a teacher every day.

This is easier for me to write b/c I'm not hearing problems that you get sick & tired of hearing - you & Chad are a great couple with a lot of heart & creativity. Don't be afraid to get messy.