Growing up in a ministry family, I have moved around a lot. More specifically, I have lived among the beautiful coastal areas of Oregon, the dry, hot flatland of Texas, the breathtaking lakes and autumns of Michigan. Anyone who has relocated multiple times sees that there is beauty everywhere. There is also difficulty everywhere.
You may know this town: no one new ever moves in. No one ever moves out. Everything that is is as it has been for years, and it will always be that way. Inconsistency is a joke. There are cliques that have always been cliques and always will be. Families that work in a certain industry will continue to work in that same industry. For generations. Forever.
Nothing ever changes.
So naturally, to someone who moves into a town like this (once everyone gets past the shock that some family from OUT OF STATE moved in), the stories about how everyone in these same families went to these same schools since the creation of the earth get really old.
Part of a youth minister's job is to bring healthy change to the young people of the church. When there's no change going in, there's no change going out. Chew on that for a minute.
The town I have described is a good place filled with good people, in fact, home to some of the strongest Christians I have ever known. But we are not called to be good. We are called to have a burning passion for Jesus. We are called to bring change.
Change is what plants churches. Change is what teaches us to honor our parents, and to be thankful for our blessings. Without change, there would be nothing.
Take it from someone who knows, and don't be afraid to accept the necessary change that life brings.
And if you ever visit, don't be afraid to step out and take a chance in The Town Where Nothing Ever Changes.
No comments:
Post a Comment