I wonder how you remember the young people who have passed through your group.
Do you ever look back and reflect on and, to some degree, evaluate them? In reminiscent mood you may recall incidents that happened at group meetings and weekends away. They can easily be about the more exuberant members of the group — those who made the most noise and made you aware they were around.
When you walk into a room of young people it is easy to engage with people who are out-going and talkative. It is easy to admire those who are coming up with ideas and interpretations in small groups. It’s even easy to be attracted to the joker in the pack because he or she is just plain funny. Because so much cultural thinking has rubbed off on us, we tend to gravitate towards the sociable because we think youth ministry is primarily about holding the group together. We tend to think that if the group has clear leaders, then the followers will keep coming. Our main criteria for group health is sociability. Many of us think if we have a ‘lively’ meeting we are doing well.
