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July 2008

Never Despise the Small Things
From: Matt Anderson, Ohio District Youth Director
Often in ministry, we learn more by what not to do than by what to do.  I had one of those learning moments early in my ministry.  It was over 16 years ago, and I was an eager 23 year-old recent Bible college graduate aiming to please.  I was ministering at a small church on the Mississippi River and learning the ropes of ministry.  A few months earlier, my pastor had left to take another church, and I was asked to be the interim pastor.  So as a rookie in ministry, I found myself preaching 3 times a week, doing weddings and funerals, leading the church annual business meeting, and performing all the duties of a pastor.  I think I was too naive at the time to be overwhelmed.
A few months into my interim stint, I received a call from the Methodist pastor in town one evening.  He had a proposition for me.  Apparently, he had secured the services of a traveling ministry team.  They were going to be in our area for two days doing school assemblies, but they needed a place to hold their evening comeback rallies.  Since we had the biggest auditorium in town (capacity: a whopping 300), I was asked to play host.  After consulting a board member, I agreed.  The event was only a few days away, so we scrambled to put the final details together.  One of my duties was to pick up the ministry leader from his hotel and bring him to the church about 30 minutes before the event began.  On day #1, the team performed at the local high school just across the river from our city.  The students were invited to come to Faith A/G that evening where they would be doing a longer performance.  I was excited about the possibility of having new students in our building.  In spite of little promotional effort, the students were trickling into the sanctuary.  It looked like we would have a nice group of about 80 kids.  In a town of 3500, this was something to get excited about.
I hopped into the church van and made my way to the hotel to pick up the leader.  Upon returning to the church, he was noticeably disappointed at the lack of cars in the parking lot.  Remaining silent, he followed me into the church building.  As he eased the solid, wood doors open that separated the sanctuary from the foyer, I could almost see him counting the number of bodies in the room.  After a cursory examination of the room, he closed the door and turned to me.  "Tell you what, Matt.  I've got an idea.  Let's really build this thing up for tomorrow night.  What I'm going to do is have my assistant take me back to the hotel and have one of my other guys lead tonight's rally.  But let's really push the kids to bring their friends for Friday night, and I'll take charge of tomorrow night's rally."  That statement would have had a lot more credibility if he had said it before he counted the number of butts in the seats.  He immediately left the premises, and I stood there with my jaw on the mauve carpeting.
Never despise the small thing.  "The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position.  But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower.  For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed.  In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.  Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God promised to those who love him. (James 1:9-12)"  The Lord doesn't view things the way you and I do.  We get wrapped up in celebrity, PR, and photo-ops.  But our Lord is a "last shall be first" Person.  All we can do is be faithful (reliably excellent) with who and what we have before us at the time.  It's when we become too big for a room that we've become too big for the Lord.  This summer, you're bound to have some low attendance nights.  Can we agree together that we won't fall into depression by 7:02 pm that night?  Can we separate ourselves from it and not personalize our entire ministry on the presence of a handful of squirrelly junior highers?  When we fail to do that, we're falling into the same trap as the idiot I had to chauffeur that night.
There are some heroes of youth ministry out there.  They slug it out every week with little to no financial backing.  They refuse to allow church size or limited facilities to become an excuse for mediocrity.  They give it their all whether the room is full or whether a distinct echo can be heard due to the empty seats.  They prepare their teaching as if they're speaking at Youth Camp.  I salute all of you today.  Take pride in your high position.  Some of you will remain and influence generations of students; others will move on.  Regardless, we must see youth ministry as a privilege, regardless of how big or famous we get.  May our audiences never be too small or our egos too big.  Know that your real Audience is preparing a crown of life for you someday, and it's His opinion that really counts.

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