Being

This past weekend we had a volunteer retreat. Seven volunteers were able to come. It was a great time. We had good discussions about how to more effectively reach students. We watched a video by Jim Burns and Doug Fields about how to counsel teens. But, most importantly, we played and spent time being together. In today's culture of constant doing, simply "being" sometimes gets looked down on, or at least is seen as something to do when we have nothing better to do with our time. However, I have found that simply being, or playing, together builds relationship, trust, and community like "doing" never can. So, while a lot of playing went on this weekend, and not a whole lot of "work" or training, it was an extremely productive weekend, and I'm thankful we were able to make it happen.
I just finished the fourth book on pastoring by Eugene Peterson, "The Contemplative Pastor." The last chapter was on sabbaticals. It was a good chapter, and made me long for the same (though a year may be a bit much for somebody not taking the time to write a book). But, from a larger perspective, the book was a great look at what pastoring is, and has caused me to ask some questions about whether all the pastoring stuff I read in magazines, books, and the like, especially those that seem to model pastoring after leading a corporation, are Biblical. Here's a for instance that I was mulling over last night with my little sister. In today's youth culture, the focus seems to be on building the youth group numbers. Now, let us assume that, generally speaking, the reasons for this are noble rather than prideful - more students attending mean more are hearing the Gospel or being discipled or their peers are evangelizing and bringing them to church. These are all good things, and we shouldn't swing the pendulum away from them. But what if, instead of focusing on these things, or using them as a gauge of whether we are successfully doing our job (youth pastoring), we instead focused on "being" with students, allowing them to see us live our lives of faith in order to disciple them? What if we allowed our youth group to shrink a bit in order to more effectively go deep with students rather than have numerous shallow relationships. What if our numbers were lower, but we had the time to actually walk through life with students and thier families (that's a very important and) instead of having fantastic programs and sharing the Gospel with more kids than we could follow-up on long term? What if we gauged success not by our numbers, or even the behavior of our students, but by whether our students, five years after graduation, remembered us because we spent quality and quantity time with them, and came to us when they were ready to walk out their faith, or because they've hit bottom and know that we love them where they are, not where we'd like them to be? This kind of success is extremely difficult to measure, thus making it difficult to determine if a youth pastor (or senior pastor) is doing their job well. Still, I wonder if all good leadership has to do with things that are measurable? Could it be that pastoring people is not as measurable as we'd like it to be? Could it be that even the parts that aren't measurable shouldn't be because we are not called to change people, fix them, or make them walk with Jesus, but simply to equip them, point them towards Christ, and walk with them through the dark and light times so they have some bearing when they get spiritually lost (even if only for a moment)? These are questions I'm thinking about as I direct a para-church ministry where measurable success is primary and of utmost importance. These are questions I deal with, even remembering stories of truly poor pastors who should have stepped down years before they even took the job. I wonder, I pray, and I try and listen. Speak, please, Lord, and help me to hear your still small voice.