where do i start? this is one of those books every youth pastor should read. it includes Yaconelli's tender thoughts, streams of consciousness, rants, etc. they are challenging, refreshing, honest, and most importantly, filled with his hope that young people will come to know Jesus Christ.
youth ministry is about pointing youth to Jesus. youth ministry is not about bigger and better. it is about drawing student into a deeper relationship with God or introducing them to Christ for the first time. it's about seeing the Holy Spirit grab hold of students' lives and changing them little by little.
his final essay, "Caring for Your Own Soul While Ministering to Others," really hit me. in several of his essays he talks about the need for time with God, intimacy with Christ. his son, Mark, also an author and youth ministry minded guy, talks about his dad "loving Jesus; weeping because of his love of Christ." i want that. i want to be unashamedly in love with Jesus; so much so that people notice and see him in and through me.
back to the essay. this quote stuck out. i'll leave this post here...
"If your youth ministry begins with your relationship with Jesus instead of theirs [students], then working on your own soul isn't periphery or extracurricular - it's central to your ministry. Your soul is your ministry.
"Real ministry is not what you do, but who you are."
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