I spoke at a ski retreat this past weekend for a group of local churches.  As I often do when speaking to the same group more than once, I opened my first session with a little bit about my own personal journey.  Now, over the years, I've gotten pretty good at doing this.  I recognize that as my story gets longer, there comes a need to streamline the message of God's work in my life, trimming a bit of time from each of my often lengthy tales and fixiating on only a few life highlights.  During my streamlined storytelling this past weekend, I chose for one to highlight my move from Massachusetts to Texas, referencing the year during which it happened, which sent me in a spiral from which I almost ne'er returned. 

My family moved between my middle and high school years.  That was back in 1998.  I remember the trip as if it was yesterday, and I remember a lot about my life from those days.  Still, that didn't fix the shock that came across my face when I realized, upon mentioning the year 1998, that I trekked the miles between Massachusetts and Texas before many of the students to which I was speaking were born.  I froze.  I looked nervously around the room and came up with a joke about how I must be getting old, and I finished by exhaling the words, "how am I still relevant?"

The good news from the weekend is that I finished strong.  I preached as boldly as I could muster, and challenged this group of 12-17 year olds to walking in in the footsteps of Christ.  The bad news form the weekend is that I was haunted, as I venture back into youth ministry, by the question of how I am going to be relevant to teenagers in the years that are still to come?  It took a heart-to-heart with one of my RA's to finally allow me to breathe freely again.

I realize now that the role of a youth pastor is not to be the cool guy that relates to every student.  I never held the illusion that I had to be that guy.  If I was hired on the basis that I was cool, then Avalon Missionary Church is in for a rude awakening.  I believe the role of the youth pastor is to be, among other things, available, accessible, and appropriately cool.  My relevance has nothing to do with how well I share the same lingo or sense of humor, and everything to do with whether or not I am present when 1) I say I will be present, and 2) When I am needed to be present.  It is through a long-term relationship that my relevance in the lives of students and young people will grow when a snapshot of age suggests it will diminish.  It is with this notion of relevance through relationship, that I re-enter excitedly into the world of youth ministry.  Here we go!

Peace,
Bob