Over the years of this column, I have tried to write about simple practical ideas which will help church-based youth ministry run a little better.
I’m sure there has been a bit of repetition but I’ve never written anything about virtue. It came to me from Romans 16. Writing about Phoebe, Paul says: ‘I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints...’ (Romans 16.2).
The whole chapter is loaded with personal greetings to those who have worked hard and helped Paul in his ministry. Even the city’s director of public works is acknowledged (16.24). It is amazing that, at the end of such a weighty doctrinal treatise, Paul should highlight his friends and partners in the gospel.
Appreciating your team?
I wonder what you think of your team? Could you re-write Romans 16 with their names written there? Paul leaves little doubt that he treats these ‘fellow workers’ (16.3) with deep respect and gratitude. Hard work is commended and he clearly loves those he works with. Now we know there were conflicts among the early Christians (Paul, Barnabas and John Mark — Acts 13.13) and Paul was not afraid to speak plainly, as he did on Cyprus to the Jewish sorcerer (Acts 13.6). But when he spoke of his gospel partners, he spoke with great warmth and love.
Loyalty and love
A ‘holy kiss’ (16.16) may not be appropriate for all of us but what is its modern equivalent? Taking an even broader view than just Acts, Paul is very loyal to those who have served him well (2 Timothy 4.9ff) and we must be too. Those men and women in our teams who have laboured for years, often sacrificially, deserve our loyalty and love and, if we want to change what they do, we should do it in a consultative not a dictatorial way.
Approach them with a view to finding the Lord’s will for their lives, not to impose your latest untried strategy on a team that has heard nothing before it hits them. They have been part of the ministry team as much as you have and their views deserve respect. 1 Peter 5.3 encourages leaders not to ‘... lord it over those entrusted to you’, and, if you are new to a team, such behaviour can wreak havoc. Good leaders do not impose their will — they work with their fellow workers to find God’s plan, not theirs.
Handling changes
But sometimes changes need to be made with good reason. More and more, it seems Christians are prone to do that in an expedient rather than a truthful way. If change has to be made, honour the work that has gone before and be public about the true reason for the alteration. Much damage is caused if changes are made which affect people’s roles and lives and they seriously doubt the truth of the reason given. So the case for change is made on the basis of what will cause you the least hassle, even if, at best, it is only half the truth.
Valuing all
Take a look at those you serve with. Of course, sometimes, we exasperate each other. I have laboured with many faithful men and women within the local church and in national ministry and I thank God for all of them, even those who gave me a hard time. But I hope I never knowingly did anything that showed I didn’t value them and their ministry. Good youth ministers are too precious for that.
Let us seek to cultivate such godly relationships in our teams that we honour God through the way we both serve together and how we handle change.
Dave Fenton is the Training Director of Root 66, which runs training courses for youth ministries across the UK.
