Apparently those working in the world of advertising are always looking for a new slant. Some years ago BP paid an agency a lot of money to discover that ‘BP’ looked better in italics than in ordinary type.
Youth ministry has always been open to new slants for young people. In these days of spin, people are constantly trying to say things in a new a way which gives a product a new life. We have seen things drift into the church from this kind of area. Leadership style is in danger of wandering from the servant model of the Bible to the management model of the 21st century. There are things that can be learnt but that is not the way we should do things. A group with God at the centre operates in a very different style from those seeking a good return to their shareholders.
Let me entertain you?
In similar vein, it is very easy for us to drift into the culture in which our young people live where we are forced to ask — what can I do to keep these young people entertained? After all we say, Robbie Williams wants to ‘entertain us’. We must not be boring, but our primary purpose is not entertainment nor is it ‘trying to please men’. Anyone in youth leadership should have a clear vision of what the task is — namely to let young people hear God’s voice. If that’s the case, one of our primary tasks is try to understand God’s Word.
