Edinboro...48 hours later

I think it takes me that long to process things. It takes me that long to recover. Today is the first day that I feel semi-alive again. Therefore I feel like I can actually think.
Once again someone proved a very important philosophy of mine. That would be the Kindervaters. They are missionaries to Japan. Now they said they were not sure that they could communicate with teenagers. Well they were wrong! They used simple, tested, and proven methods and were very successful. These radical methods can be summed up in two phrases. #1: Love God. #2: Love People. You combine both of them you will be successful. I listened all week to them. Wow! Amazing. Probably the biggest satisfaction for me was seeing 3 people answer the call of God on their lives to be a missionary. Wow! (and yes, even though I have my man card, I cried, just a little though)
We had a bunch of really good kids this past week. Exceptional kids. As I think about the kids, there really isn't anything I think that these kids can't do. I watched how these kids would respond to certain situations. Amazing. These kids displayed more maturity than I have seen in a long time.
With that being said, I wonder if we are missing out on something. Here me out, I might get myself into some trouble. I am all for youth group -- I get that, I understand that, and I agree with that. I am all for games -- I like games, I like to play games, I like fun. But are we trying to basically confine the youth to a group in the church so they can basically stay out of the way? If there is one thing that I have learned over the years, it is to give people a challenge and raise the bar and watch them respond. The same is true with youth. I think we need to make them more actively involved in the overall ministry of the church. With that being said, I think we also need to make sure we understand what ministry is. Get to the heart of what we are trying to accomplish.
If you are a fan of Rick Warren you understand that there are five purposes of the church: Reaching, Discipleship, Fellowship, Serving, Worship. Now how we accomplish those five will vary from church to church, from generation to generation. If we could get to the point where we were willing to mentor and release youth (or any age for that matter) and let them do ministry in their own style, we would see great things for God.
So I encourage you to get involved in a person's life. Mentor them, pray for them, and let them accomplish the purposes in their own way. Then stop and give God all the credit.