When Doubt Creeps In

I don’t know what happened to me in the past few weeks, but its been really discouraging. Students and parents upset about the strangest and most inconsequential things, leaders struggling with life and their relationship with God. It just seems like when it rains it pours and in the midst of the rain, the enemy can stick his foot into the door and make it really hard to close. There is that moment where I am sure many of us have been, where doubt creeps in. Doubt that you are capable of leading, doubt that your decisions are the right choices and doubt that you are where God is calling you to be.

This time of uncertainty is filled with an overwhelming sense of spinning your wheels. Questioning things you have said, done or decisions you have made as well, it can become debilitating, to the point where you can’t seem to get anything done. That is where I was at for a few weeks, being held back by doubt, and feelings of inferiority and a general lack of vision.

Here are a few things God is teaching me and I think you need to know in times like this.

The right decision is not always the popular one: Leading by consensus is ineffective (and can make you popular for a season), but leading by vision will make you unpopular sometimes. Trust the direction God is showing you, He has bigger and better plans for the ministry than people know. Stand by the call you made, explain where necessary but you needn’t apologize for making the right call on something.

You represent a large group: Parents may be upset that you are not catering to their child, but the reality is that you are making decisions for the group as a whole, and when parents are upset with you, its often because things didn’t go their way or their child’s way. Giving in to that sets a dangerous precedent, but preferential treatment will breed unhealthy expectations.

Love them all, Trust a few: Be really mindful of whom you confide in, make sure that the people you bounce ideas, situations and issues with are people who have the best interests of you and the ministry in mind and are people of integrity. These people are harder to find, and in the Church context people will befriend you to know what’s going on behind the scenes.

You are Called!: This is number one, remembering that you are called to be where you are. You are the God appointed person for that ministry and those students and leaders are entrusted to you. The enemy will try and convince you that you are wrong, but it is the place you need to be. I have been praying that God would give me the strength kick the foot of doubt out of my door and regain the passion and vision that comes from leading and He is doing that. You are called to Lead, students, volunteers and parents, Lead with the confidence that it is God who placed you there, and equipped you for the battles.

I pray that none of you ever end up in a place where you question your leadership, but if you do, I pray that God gives you the strength to endure.

Geoff Stewart is the Youth Pastor at Peace Portal Alliance Church in Surrey B.C. where he oversees Journey Student Ministries. He is married to Lavonne and they have two cats, Norman and Puff Daddy. Geoff co-authors the Blog morethandodgeball.com Follow him on Twitter @geoffcstewart.

Spiritual Practice of the Week:  Lectio Divina

The Practice of Lectio Divina combines speaking and silence. It is a practice of prayerful, meditative reading of scripture that has been used by the church for hundreds of years. Monastic communities began the practice as a way to bring connection with God.
The practice of Lectio Divina involves, you listen listening deeply to the words of scripture, and to paying attention to the spontaneous thoughts that come as the still small voice, and then sharing how the scripture has affected your impressions. Your sharing may bring up insights for someone else when Lectio Divina is done as a communal practice.
Below are two ways to engage Lectio Divina, or holy reading, into a time of practicing God.

Lectio Divina Group Practice  Choose a scripture that you wish to study. Have youth sit comfortably in a circle. Light a candle to focus the practice. Explain that you will be reading the scripture through three times. Ask youth to simply listen to the first reading. Pause for a few moments.
Read the scripture again, asking youth to listen for any word or words that attract them, or raise questions for them. Following the second reading, have those who so wish share the word that they connected with.
Read the scripture for a third time, asking youth to consider how this scripture relates to their life, their joys or troubles, work, school, friends and family. Following the third reading, allow youth to share how the scripture connected to their own life, if they wish to do so. Allow them to share but not comment or have conversation around what is shared. End with a time of silence and rest in the presence of God.

Lectio Divina Personal Practice  Choose a scripture that you wish to examine more deeply through the process of listening for God’s voice. Find a place of quiet for yourself where you won’t be distracted or interrupted. Light a candle to help you centre and remember the light of Christ is with you.
Read the passage through once, slowly and clearly, letting some words resonate and some slide away. Read the passage again, and make notes on the words that stand out and seem to be speaking to you. Say the words you have written down to yourself, pondering them and letting them sink into your being. Read the passage for the third time, noticing what the words or phrases are challenging, stirring, or comforting.
Move on to communicating with God about the things this reading has brought forth in you. You might do this silently, aloud, out loud, in your thoughts, in writing, or through moving your body. When you have finished this active prayer, simply rest in the presence of the reading and in God. You may focus on the candle. Listen to what Spirit may be saying to you during this practice.

Suggested scripture readings:
Mark 1:16-20   Jesus calls the fishermen
Luke 8:4-8,11-15   The Good Seed
Psalm 23   The Lord is my Shepherd
Mark 4:35- 41  Jesus calms the sea
Genesis 2:4-17  The account of creation
Luke 2:41-52   Jesus the boy in the temple

© This prayer practice and all of those on the Sunday Morning Blog Post can be found in:  "Go Deep: Spiritual Practices for Youth Ministry" Wood Lake Publishing.
Doris is the Youth Director for the United Church of Canada in BC and the Director of World Pilgrim: Global Education and Awareness Travel.

Going Slow with Dr. Low

Yesterday I was happy to read the following status update on my friend's Facebook page:

I'm not busy. Stop asking me if I'm busy. Stop telling me 'you must be busy'. I refuse to enter into the over-informed, mile-a-minute, breathless pace of this activity-obsessed world. I have time to pray. I have time to dream. I have time to rest. Join the movement. Slow down.

I was even more pleased because this friend is a pastor and quite often pastors and Christians are the worst for falling into the world's trap of being too busy and wanting to look productive and important.

There's nothing wrong with having a full, active and meaningful life - one may even call that abundance - but busyness for busyness-sake is nothing to strive for.  Or being busy because you're filling the expectations of others in the world or the church is nothing to brag about either.  The only thing that matters is that you are fulfilling what God asks of you each day and He will give you the time and energy to do so when it is His agenda.  But others' agendas can easily lead to burn-out, frustration, disorganization and a sense of running the rat race.

One of the biggest advantages of slowing down, even for a few minutes or hours, is it gives you the time and space to ask, "What does God want me to do and what do I enjoy doing?"  These questions can often lead to delightful answers as opposed to the usual questions we usually ask ourselves like, "What has to be done today and what do others need me to accomplish today?"  Sometimes the answers may even be the same but the energy or motive behind them can be life-changing.

Don't buy into the lie of busyness.  Jesus wasn't busy but His days were full of meaning and purpose.

Code of Conduct

Alain Virgin from Brideltowne Park Church, Scarborough came up with this code of conduct and communicated to his students in a fun and creative way. Alain is doing a great job in his urban youth ministry context. Check out their group on Facebook.

Do you have a code of conduct for your youth ministry? What is Alain missing that you would add?

Jeff Smyth is husband to Heather and father of one active boy Nathan. He has been involved youth ministry leadership for 15 years in both the local church and non-profit areas of Canada. He has been serving for the past 3 years as the coordinator of community initiatives with DOXAToronto.com the Scarborough arm of Youth Unlimited (Toronto YFC). Learn more about him by visiting ThinkYouthMinistry.com or follow him @jeffsmyth

I Am Second

 Ellen says... 

"I Am Second" is the honest, raw, and often painful journey of broken people who have decided that life is not about them. This highly compelling collection of testimonies of those who have hit bottom and found God there would be excellent study material for older youth & young adults.

About the book...

A major league baseball player. A pastor. A reality TV star. A single mom. A multi-platinum rocker. What do these people have in common? They’ve all hit bottom. And none of them stayed there.
These are the stories of real people who reached the end of their strength, the end of their control, and found the most surprising truths. It taught them not to rely on self or substance but to lean on the only completely reliable source of love, hope, and freedom: the God who created them. 

Shocking in their honesty, inspiring in their courage, these testimonies are critical reminders that no one is too far from God to find him.

An excerpt...

…becoming Second isn’t the journey of perfected saints or of superhero believers. It is the honest, raw and often painful journey of broken people who have decided that life is not about them. It is not about what they want or about what they can do. Some have tried money, others pleasure, success, beauty, family, or religion. They all tried something to calm the ache in their soul, to find purpose, love, or happiness. But whatever they tried and whatever they were looking for, they only found it when they surrendered and said, “I am Second.”

Second is a simple concept. It summarizes all that Jesus taught, all that he lived, and all that he expects from those that claim his name. God is first and others are before ourselves. That is the motto and manifesto that “Seconds” live by.

It brings no guarantee to health or wealth and it makes to promise to take away troubles and trials. Some may describe the rewards of such a life as less tangible. But a smile on your face when the lights go out and a peace in your heart when the storm rages is much more real than any dollar bill or any quick pleasure.

In the following pages, you will see the full gambit of life. Falling in love and facing divorce, healing and sickness, rich and poor. But in every one of these stories, the lesson is the same. Second is the only way to find love, peace, joy, contentment, or whatever else you are looking for. It is the only way to find a life worth living. These are the stories of those that have found this to be true.

More of the book can be read online here for free  

Excerpt from I AM SECOND by Doug Bender and Dave Sterrett. Copyright ©2012 e3 Partners Ministry. Published in Nashville, Tennessee by Thomas Nelson. Used with Permission.  All Rights Reserved

*curriculum coming Fall 2012


More free resources at the website: www.iamsecond.com

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Born and raised on Vancouver Island, Ellen Graf-Martin now lives in the heart of Ontario’s Mennonite country with her husband Dan, where she continues to work in publishing and ministry. Learn more about her work at www.grafmartin.com

When I grow up I want to be...LIKE DAD! .

When you ask a young child what he wants to be when be when he grows up, the usual response is something rather glamourous: a musician, an athlete, a cop, a firefighter, or movie star. Then, as the child becomes a teen, it's sometimes more about success and money-earning potential as opposed to fame: doctor, dentist, lawyer, accountant, engineer, or teacher.

So I was thrilled, flattered, humbled, and very surprised a few years ago when Sean showed me a piece of school-work where he said that he wanted to be a Youth Worker! His reasoning?

"Because I get to work with grade 7s and I get to set up for Youth Day and I get to play basketball and I get to do lots of fun activities and I get to work past my bedtime."

I was proud that Sean took an active interest in what Daddy did for a living, though I was slightly concerned that he'd noticed my irregular sleep pattern.

It reminds me of a story I tell in speaking on the topic of child-like faith and imitation being the sincerest form of flattery.  I am flattered that he knows what I do and what I am passionate about.

We were getting dressed for an outing recently and Sean came running up to me wearing a golf shirt and shorts. Looking handsome, he said to me, "Look Dad...I'm in youth ministry!" So I quickly replied, "Oh...so you don't make any money either???"


Clayton Imoo is husband to Gail and father to sons Sean Isaiah and Jacob Isaac and daughter Kayla Marie.  He has served as the Director of the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver for the past ten years.  Learn more about him at http://www.claytonimoo.com or follow him @claytonimoo

Professional Development Avoidance?

A few months back I was sitting down with the director of Youth Ministry at the college I am going to be teaching at and he was telling me that Duffy Robbins himself was going to be coming to do a one week intensive course which amounts to much of the content that him and Doug Fields teach in their speaking to teenagers series.

I couldn’t believe it, Duffy is coming to the college, for a week in a class of only forty students, to which I replied what most people would ask, “can I sit in on the class?” I mean after all, this is a tremendous opportunity to hear from a great mind in YM and I ask a lot of questions so this is going to be great. He said of course I could attend, and I asked could I invite some of my youth pastor friends from the area to which he replied with something I did not expect.

He replied by basically saying that he had offered in the past and none would come because many Youth Pastors are only interested in professional development if it means traveling to a conference on the Church’s budget. I’ll be honest, I don’t completely disagree, I recently went to a training event that advertised $5 for youth leader training, and it that cost included all course materials, a thumb drive, a keychain and a speaker flown into town. I packed up our team and got there to find a total attendance 30 people in the auditorium of a church that held 1200. The event was well advertised and lots of calls were made, but no one showed up.

The brightest people I know in the youth ministry world are the ones that read the most, and take every opportunity to learn more and if we are serious about growing as leaders its starts with saying I don’t know it all. There is so much quality training out there, take advantage of it.

Geoff Stewart is the Youth Pastor at Peace Portal Alliance Church in Surrey B.C. where he oversees Journey Student Ministries. He is married to Lavonne and they have two cats, Norman and Puff Daddy. Geoff co-authors the Blog morethandodgeball.com Follow him on Twitter @geoffcstewart.

Spiritual Practice of the Week
The world is a cathedral, a temple, with God in every crack and crevice, the miracles of water, air, fire, green growing things surround us.   When did you last really notice them?  If we take a moment to pay attention, we can fall into a still, humble, and prayerful space of awe and of gratitude. The world glows with the consciousness of God, and our noticing is all it takes to make it's Holiness real in our lives.  The world is alive with the glory and beauty of God.   This practice is for Earth Day invites us to pay attention, notice and savour the great gifts of God.    

Creation Prayer 
This practice invites people to take a close look at something from the natural world and then write a prayer about the experience. You can do this practice inside with a number of items from nature (pine cones, rocks, feathers, old bird’s nest, drift wood, etc.) set on a centre table, or you may ask people to go outside and explore. 
Have an envelope containing a piece of paper, pencil, the directions, and the Psalm (see below) available for each participant. Before beginning the task, share in the opening prayer below. Hand out the envelopes and allow at least 15 minutes for the practice. It is helpful to call people back with the ringing of a bell or prayer bowl. When they return from their reflection, invite people to put their written prayer work into a bowl and then invite each person to select one and share it aloud, without further comment from anyone. End with a repetition of the opening prayer. 
Opening Prayer:
Creator God, artist God, building, moving, and living God. Your colours collide in the beauty that is all around us in air, earth, water, light, and one another. Be with us as we pay close attention to your creation and what it means for us. Amen.
Pass out envelopes. Ask people find a place of stillness within them and then to read and follow the directions in the envelope.
Directions for inside practice:  Choose one item from the table that speaks to you. Take it with you and find a quiet place to sit. Read the following Psalm scripture while holding the piece of creation in your hand. Notice it in detail. What is miraculous about it? What about it speaks to you?  
Or
Directions for outside practice:  As you are in the natural world outside, walk around for a little while until your eyes and heart rest on one piece of creation, tiny or big. Find a quiet place to sit and be in its presence. Read the following Psalm scripture as you keep noticing and paying attention to your particular piece of nature. Notice it in detail. What is miraculous about this piece of creation? What draws you?
Then, when you are ready, use the paper and pencil provided and write or draw a prayer of thanks for the created world, perhaps focusing on the piece of nature that you choose to pay attention to. When you are called by the bell, take the prayer back and put it in the bowl on the centre table. Your poem or picture will be chosen by someone else in the group and they will share the words or image with the whole group, without naming who created the work.


Psalm 148 
Praise the Blessed One!
Give praise from the heavens,
and from all ends of
the earth!
Give praise all you angels,
angels of earth and of heaven!
Give praise sun and moon,
give praise, all you shining stars!
Give praise, all universes,
the whole cosmos of Creation!
Praise the Blessed One!
For through Love all was created
And firmly fixed for ever and ever;
Yes, the pattern of creation
Was established.
Give praise to the Beloved,
all the earth,
all that swim in the deep,
And all the winged ones in the air!
Give praise all mountains and hills,
all trees and all minerals!
Give praise all four-legged
and all that creep on the ground!
Let all people praise the Beloved,
who is exalted in heaven and
on earth;
whose glory is above heaven
and earth.
For all are called to be friends,
companions to the true Friend,
giving their lives joyfully as
co-creators and people
of peace!
Praises be to the Blessed One,
the very breath of our breath,
the very Heart of our heart!  
© Psalms for Praying An Invitation to Wholeness
 Nan C. Merrill   ISBN: 0826417558

© This prayer practice and all of those on the Sunday Morning Blog Post can be found in:  "Go Deep: Spiritual Practices for Youth Ministry" Wood Lake Publishing
Doris is the Youth Director for the United Church of Canada in BC and the Director of World Pilgrim Awareness Travel.

Day of Silence

The Day of Silence is something that is misunderstood in youth ministries today. There are many questions that surround it and with each question more are brought up by others trying to understand what it is.


Here are two posts I would recommend you read to gain a better understanding of what your students will experience during the Day of Silence at their school today.

Day of Silence by Think Youth Ministry

What’s a Christian to do on the Day of Silence by Dare2Share

Brett Ullman

Let's keep Brett Ullman  in our prayers during this difficult time for him. This video is an amazing example of transparency and reaching out for help from the greater community. You can donate to Brett's work here to help him during this time financially.

Should We Subsidize Students?

A common challenge we face as youth workers is the decision of whether or not to subsidize an event or trip. The reasons for doing this could include, keeping the cost per student down, allowing more students to come or perhaps paying for a single student that cannot afford to come at all. There are a couple of things we should consider before do so.

What Message are we sending? — Covering the cost of a student or lowering the cost for all students can send two different messages that we should be aware of.

1 — The Church cares about me: Obviously this is the message that we want to get across, that the Church cares so much about you, that its people are willing to give their tithes and resources to funding a student who can not afford it. We want each student to know that the people of our Church love like Christ loves and care for people like He would.

2 — The Church is about me: This is not the message that we want to convey but unfortunately there are many cases where that is what is heard. I know that there are students and families out there that would prefer not to pay because they know that we will cover the costs of their child if they choose not to. What’s worse is that this can become engrained in them at a young age, that the Church is a place you take, regardless of need.

If you are going to cover a student’s cost, make sure ask the questions to find out the true need, explain where the money would be coming from and if necessary, respectfully decline if you feel that they are taking advantage of the situation. Once there is a precedent set, there can be an inherent expectation that the price will be the same year after year.

Does it build the Kingdom?: A fellow Pastor in my area inherited a ministry, which holds an annual ski trip that regularly loses upwards of 40% of their annual budget. He has been wrestling with the reality that this might not be the best use his budget. Nearly everything we do can be argued to be Ministry, but it is important to evaluate if an event is supporting the purpose of your ministry, especially if you are spending large portions of your budget on it.

Can they pay something?: We always see if the student can pay something, not because we are cheap, but because we see value in students being good stewards of their money early in life. If they don’t come on the retreat, odds are they will be doing something with their friends that weekend, we decide with them what that would have cost and ask them to pay that much. Its not punitive, but a good teaching opportunity.

Are there other funding options?: The obvious solution here is to fundraise, which is always the best choice. But besides the obvious, being resourceful within your own church is a good place to start. Depending on the event, most churches will allow Benevolent Fund donations to be used for events to sponsor students. Another great option is to partner with your adult ministries team to find families willing to provide scholarships for students.

Choosing to Subsidize an event or not is a big decision – we want people to come to it, we want students to bring their friend and we want it to be affordable for families but it shouldn’t come at the expense of the Ministry as a whole. But before you subsidize, it is vital that you know what message you are sending to students and parents by doing so.

Geoff Stewart is the Youth Pastor at Peace Portal Alliance Church in Surrey B.C. where he oversees Journey Student Ministries. He is married to Lavonne and they have two cats, Norman and Puff Daddy. Geoff co-authors the Blog morethandodgeball.com Follow him on Twitter @geoffcstewart.

Spiritual Practice of the Week

Spiritual Practice of the Week

Compassion is a response to need. It soothes a broken heart, calms trouble and offers a cup of tea. Addressing the needs of ourselves and others with concern and love is part of being a committed human being and living life fully in God. When we take action for the well-being of ourselves and others, we are taking the biblical message of “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” to heart.
There is also tremendous power in reaching out to another by holding them in prayer. Responding to someone’s needs with prayer takes compassionate action to a deeper place. Praying for another to be held in the love and grace of God, to know peace of mind, body, and spirit, brings you both into the place of meeting God.

This practice can be set up as a station during a spiritual practices experience or as a permanent part of your youth room sacred space.
You may already have a tea light stand. If not, create your own tea light holder by setting out a tray and filling it with sand. Place your stand or tray on a table beside a basket of tea lights, a Christ candle, and a taper candle to light the tea lights from. Have the following instructions available:

Light a candle for someone who needs a prayer
The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:4,5
As you light one of the t-light candles, focus on someone you know who is struggling in a dark place who needs your prayers.
Say their name aloud to yourself and light a candle for them.
Offer words to God for them.
Pray that the light will overcome the darkness in their life.
Your prayers on their behalf will make a difference.

© This prayer practice and all of those on the Sunday Morning Blog Post can be found in:  "Go Deep: Spiritual Practices for Youth Ministry" Wood Lake Publishing
Doris is the Youth Director for the United Church of Canada in BC.

Making a difference through donating with Chimp is another great way to hold someone in prayer.  Check out the give $50 and get another $50 to give away deal on right now. :)

Going Slow with Dr. Low

Many people are familiar with Lent being 40 days and Advent being 4 weeks but did you know Easter is actually 50days?  That's right, it's not just a day or even just a long weekend, Easter is a whole season.

The typical worldly pattern is to rush through things; rush through childhood so we can be adults, rush through school so we can have our freedom, rush through winter so we can get to summer and so on.  Special Holy Days often get rushed too.  We're lucky if people focus on Christmas and Easter for a full day never mind a long weekend or Advent or Lent.  But the joy of stretching out Christmas and Easter to long weekends or even 4 - 5 weeks is the extra thought and attention put towards these special seasons.

So why not hold onto Easter a little longer?  The season of Easter lasts until May 26 - lots of time to celebrate the mystery of the cross and to focus on the Glorious One, Jesus.  So go ahead, savor Easter, soak it up, it's the foundation of our Christian Faith.

Dr. Rob Low is a Spiritual Life Coach with From Beginning To End Ministries.

Do you know an outstanding person? Nominate them for a Me to We Awards http://ow.ly/agwaH @realmetowe @craigkielburger stumin canada

Youth Ministry FAIL

Youth Ministries have failed our youth and families for too long. We have focused on only two areas of youth development:

- physical

- spiritual

We know how to watch out for the physical changes that youth go through and we even help parents and youth through this process as best we can with the relevant information. We also help students and their families with the spiritual development from acceptance to asking tough questions as a normal development of youth from jr. high through high school and college. Where we have failed in youth ministry is that we have stopped right there.

Youth are very complicated beings yet when it comes to any other development and their stages we ignore them.

What about emotional, social and brain development? Do you take any of these aspects into account when you lay down the various forms of your programming or teachings or Bible studies?

Tomorrow from 9am - 1pm (est) a few of us will be attending One.Day Underestimated for youth workers. This event is being held in Toronto and will focus on the four key "Ages and Stages" of youth development. Jr. High and High School facilitation track where youth workers can share their ideas, thoughts, failures and success's based on the 4 stages of youth development.

$10 youth ministry training that you can miss if you can join us live.

Follow the conversation online

Twitter: #ODU
Live Blogging: thinkyouthministry.com

Jeff Smyth is husband to Heather and father of one active boy Nathan. He has been involved youth ministry for 15 years in both the local church and non-profit areas of Canada. He has been serving for the past 3 years as the coordinator of community initiatives with DOXAToronto.com the Scarborough area of Youth Unlimited (Toronto YFC). Learn more about him by visiting his blog ThinkYouthMinistry.com or follow him @jeffsmyth

A view from the Senior Pastor's desk

I had the privilege of moving from the Youth Pastor's role to Senior Pastor's role in my church a few years ago. I learned a few valuable lessons especially in how much I had ignored my role in the whole church's staff dynamic and focused so much simply on the youth ministry side of things.

As a youth worker, if you could provide these few things to your senior pastor not only will your relationship become stronger, but also the church in return will become an effective bride of Christ.

Lesson #1: Relationship

In youth ministry, we are blessed with so many relationships. Relationships with our volunteers, relationships with our students and relationships in the networks and conference circles we walk in. A huge part of youth ministry is a pursuit of relationships. One of the biggest realizations I had as I became the senior pastor was that almost every relationship a senior pastor has is not a relationship of choice.

Every other ministry in the church allows the individual to recruit their own team where as the senior pastor you have so many relationships in which you do not get to choose the people you work with. I found myself lonely at times where I didn’t have people who I could walk with.

The other aspect of relationship is that instantly the staff’s perception of me changed. They were acting very similar to how I had by simply working in their areas doing what they got paid to do.

It is important as a member on a ministry staff for you to develop a trusting and honest relationship with your senior pastor. Allow him to find safety in his relationship with you and to be real with you.

Lesson #2: Support

In the culture in which we live, there are many things we say we support. We support sports teams when they are doing really well, but lose interest when they are rebuilding. We support causes until the cause becomes too expensive or time consuming for us.

It is one thing to say to your senior pastor that you support him and another thing to actually show support in action. As I sat in the senior pastor’s desk wrestling through what bills should get paid when we didn’t have enough money or how we would do the initiative God was leading us to do, I needed to have resources beyond what I had on my own.

One of the greatest gifts you can bless your senior pastor with is the gift of the resources you have at your disposal in your ministry. Regularly ask your senior pastor what frustrations he has in regards to ministry and see if your ministry has the resources to take it off his plate. Bless him by sharing your resources so in return down the road, he can bless you by sharing his resources.

Lesson #3: Honor

Honor is defined simply as having high respect for someone and this needs to be how you view your senior pastor. A senior pastor will never be perfect, but he has been called by God to lead the church and will be judged by God for what he did with that responsibility.

Over my years as a youth pastor, I believed I honored my senior pastor, but there were times and conversations I entered into where I wasn’t honoring the man God had chosen for His church. People would ask me my opinions about things as a youth pastor and I would devalue the leadership of the senior pastor by not throwing my support behind him.

Honor your senior pastor by always sharing with him personally about the struggles you might have in his leadership. Just like you long to have your senior pastor support you, support him first so he knows you are in his backcourt. The reality is that a senior pastor often feels like someone is coming over his shoulder ready to attack him.

Matt Wilks was raised as a proud Canadian who currently lives in Calgary. Matt has served as a youth pastor and lead pastor in the city of Calgary and currently is serving as the Canadian Training Consultant for Barefoot Ministries.

Matt loves to help out churches in regards to youth ministry and staff dynamics. You can read Matt's first book entitled, Cultivate: A Youth Workers Guide to Establishing Healthy Relationships. Matt has a strong passion to see youth pastors, youth volunteers and students serve God wholeheartedly with the abilities that they have.

Matt has been married to Michelle for 17 years and has two daughters – Maris who is 13 years old and Macauleigh who is 11 years old.