Life + Faith

Hey, I’m Jon.
And this is where I write about life and faith, no niche included. Just an honest attempt to be faithful and fruitful for Jesus. If that’s something you want more of, subscribe.

  • Assurance In Uncertain Times

    In times of uncertainty stress levels rise, anxiety increases, and the ability to make wise decisions can decrease. We live in a time of uncertainty, both locally and globally. There are many depressing stories on the news and in our social media feeds that continue to promote fear, instability, and uncertainty. With these things at the forefront of our minds we can feel the tension rise within us.

    At our church we’ve recently begun a series, “Assurance In Uncertain Times”, working through the Letter of 1 John. This is a letter written in the first-century to a group of people living in uncertain times. Given the current climate we find ourselves in it becomes a relevant and fresh voice for us.

    Assurance In Uncertain TimesOutside the believing community we find a distinct lack of confidence in the church, rightly or wrongly. There are continual critical voices, and in many ways this is to be expected. It’s happened for many years and will continue to happen for many years to come. But right now the coming couple of months will be a telling time for the Christian witness here in Australia.

    Inside the church an erosion of our faith and core convictions can also occur. A variety of idea and theologies, all deemed to be accepted in this post-everything age, means we live along a continuum of confusion. On one end we find the denial of Jesus’ divinity and humanity, the rejection of the atonement, and the casting aside of the resurrection. On the other end we find some form of moral over-reach where behaviour trumps belief. Law is placed over grace, and fear over love, which provides an open door for a distorted Christianity.

    And so living a life of faith can get confusing. Assurance can be eroded and confidence can be diminished.

    You may not be someone of faith, or you may have had a faith for a while now, nevertheless as we journey through life a sense of assurance is something we find ourselves searching for. This search for assurance, for confidence in our self, in what we believe to be true, is part of life’s quest. There are many areas and activities where this can be discovered, but for the Christian this is most clearly found in the love of Jesus. 1 John 3:16 reads, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.”

    Being assured of a God that loves us is a tremendous thing. With this knowledge we find a solution to our lack of assurance. We find confidence in knowing God loves us because his Son Jesus gave his life so we could find true life in God. As a result we seek to live lives that are humble and service-orientated toward others—families, neighbours, and community. Through the inward knowledge of the love of God comes the outward expression of love to others.

    In uncertain times, where we aren’t assured of what is true, fear becomes one of the main drivers of our decision-making. The fear of the future, the fear of our children’s education, the fear of unemployment, the fear of family breakdown, the fear of relationship struggle all unhinges our assurance. Thankfully, through scripture, and particularly through the Letter of 1 John, this lack of assurance is overcome by the love God has for us, and in turn, our love for others.

  • On Youth Pastor Position Descriptions

    About a week ago I wrote a short Facebook post out of frustration:

    “Another day, another horrible position description for a youth and young adults pastor.

    Sorry churches, Superman/woman can’t even run a youth ministry, facilitate the young adult ministry and lead an evening congregation on 12 hours a week. #wecandobetter #rantover.”

    I don’t like to complain too often in public, as it seems most social posts these days are that way inclined. However, this comment did receive a little traction, including some private messages from people hoping I wasn’t referring to their church’s search for a Youth Pastor!

    But I did write out of frustration.

    The particular position description I came across was horrible for its expectations on the Youth Pastor, its lack of time allocated to do a good job, and its focus in outlining specific tasks. And, it is not uncommon to see horrible job descriptions for Youth Pastors like this. Expectations and responsibilities stated on paper, in black and white, often far exceed the capabilities of the possible employee, particularly if the position is part-time.

    But rather than just write a frustrated Facebook post, here are some further reflections and suggestions on youth ministry job descriptions.

    notasuperhero

    (1) It is positive churches want a youth ministry practitioner.

    Having a church willing to give time and money and resource to help their young people and families is extremely positive. Whether it is 1-day per week or full-time, we must acknowledge that the willingness of a congregation to do this is a positive one.

    (2) Budgets, more often than not, drive the time allocation. 

    It’s worth naming that the church’s budget is a huge determining factor in the time allocation of Youth Pastors. It is obvious that the church has to have a certain level of income in order to pay their staff. However, this can also skew the thinking of leadership teams when they are driven to fill a role rather than use it as a vehicle to help the church’s vision in ministering to young people and families.

    Just because the money is there does not mean you should automatically search for a Youth Pastor. And just because the money isn’t there doesn’t mean you can’t have a vision for youth ministry in your church.

    (3) The time allocation for the role will determine the quality and experience of applicants. 

    A person with over 10 years experience, a theological degree, and a young, growing family isn’t going to be looking for a Youth Pastor job that’s 2 days per week. A newbie to youth ministry in their first year of Bible College, with an internship under their belt, is unlikely to be the person for a full-time role.

    The allocation of days per week will have a factor on who applies for the role. The number of days the church puts into a role will determine the quality and experience of applicants. This should determine the expectations, development, and breadth of responsibility put upon the YP.

    (4) Understand how long tasks, events, and projects actually take. 

    From reading a number of position descriptions over time there seems to be little understanding of how long things actually take. It may surprise some that it actually takes time to prepare a bible study, to run a youth group program, and to develop leaders. In any week a variety of things can pop up that mean the ability to complete some tasks will take longer or be pushed out.

    That’s what happens when working in the people business.

    It would be worth churches talking to other Youth Pastors to gain a realistic understanding of how much time certain tasks and events take so they are done well.

    (4a) Include every commitment necessary into the time allocation.

    If there is a mid-week bible study, a Friday night youth group, and a Sunday morning and evening service then by my reckoning there is around 10 hours of actual program time. This neglects to include the time for preparation of said programs and the time for setup, pack-up and debrief. If they’re included then it balloons to around 16-20 hours depending on the length of the programs.

    That’s already 2-days per week for a Youth Pastor to do some very standard, line-and-length youth ministry.

    This doesn’t include the 1:1 meet-ups, pastoral team meetings, administration, follow-up of young people and families, the development of leaders, church or committee meetings, professional development, and any space for visioning, thinking and brainstorming of what is to come.

    It’s important to include everything. Churches should be just and fair workplaces, if not better.

    (5) Understand that people are at the core of the Youth Pastor role.

    While the tasks, events, and projects are important the Youth Pastor views the role in terms of people. As I’ve said, the church is in the people business.

    When the position description simply states all the programs the applicant is responsible for then it doesn’t inspire much. But, if the PD states the vision for the ministry, the goal of helping people understand and grow in faith, help families and children grow closer to Jesus, and provide care of the youth and families in the church, then there is something more appealing.

    All the programs and activities that happen in a church are simply vehicles for ministry. The ongoing check-ins, catch-ups, dinners, and the like are what help, grow and care people.

    Sometimes a vehicle can get too old or the needs for a particular vehicle change. Going from a couple to having a family often means the change of car. The needs change. The same can happen in churches and their youth ministries. Understand it revolves around people.

    (6) Provide time for growth and development. 

    It is not easy to find a position description for a Youth Pastor that specifically states they will grow and develop the person. I haven’t found churches overly great in professional development. Sure, we all grow in the job, that’s definitely the case. However, if funds and time are allocated for conferences, further training, and study then this will help the person, and will more than likely keep them in the role longer.

    (7) Be specific about what your church is hoping to achieve, be broad in how that will happen.

    It’s all well and good to want a Youth Pastor, but why do you want one?

    Is it because the families in your church are wanting their kids to be looked after at certain times of the week, given a bit of Jesus, and a sprinkle of fun? Or, is it because there is the recognition that young families, young people and young adults are a priority for the church going forward?

    Is it because you need to fill particular tasks and so hiring a YP will mean Friday nights and bible studies will happen? Or, is it because there is a vision to develop lifelong faith in children, young people and young adults?

    Be big on vision. Give a sense of what you’d like to achieve. But don’t dictate the path. Allow the congregation and potential YP to capture the vision and then let them fulfil it using the appropriate vehicles. A dictatorial position description shows a lack of trust. A vision-orientated one doesn’t.

    (8) Have confidence in knowing the Youth Pastor will be putting more pressure on themselves than anyone in the church. 

    It’s true. The YP will be tougher on themselves than anyone else. They will be more willing and more driven to see people come to faith and grow in that faith. Trust that. Believe in them.

    I think that will do for now.

    More could be said around support from superiors and the church’s leadership, which I have mentioned previously.

    Hope this helps.

  • Hudson Taylor On Love

    “One thing, and one thing only, will carry men through all, and make and keep them successful; the love of Christ constraining and sustaining them is the only power. Not our love to Christ, nor, perhaps, even Christ’s love to us personally; rather His love to poor ruined sinners in us. Many waters will not quench that love, nor floods drown it. Pray that this love may be in us…”

    This is Hudson Taylor, as quoted in ‘By Love Compelled‘ by Marshall Broomhall, p12-13.

  • The Privilege Of Youth Ministry

    When finishing up in any youth ministry role, paid or volunteer, I’ve always been struck by the privilege it’s been to have such a position.

    There’s something ironic about finishing up in a role and then being overwhelmed with the sense of satisfaction and privilege for being in it in the first place. While doing the tasks and duties associated with the position we are often unaware of the the privileges. We feel the grind and experience the drag, but hindsight, as they say, is a wonderful thing.

    I distinctly remember the feeling of concluding our time in Lebanon. The relationships built, the friendships formed. I remember saying goodbye and realising that it is unlikely I will ever see these people again. It was simply a privilege to meet them and be involved in their lives.

    I remember how it felt leaving Canterbury Baptist. We’d been there nearly 10 years and I had made a contribution as a volunteer leader right through to being on staff. There was, and still is, joy, satisfaction, and a large spoonful of pride in what had been accomplished. And of course, there were challenges along the way. Some unbelievably hard. But the privilege of being in such a position is what I remember most.

    When in the middle of it all it is easy to get bogged down in the day-to-day, week-to-week tasks that need to be done. The challenges are at the forefront of the mind, not the privileges. But with intentionality I believe fostering a sense of privilege during your time in youth ministry is vital for self-care, sustainability, and perspective.

    The realisation of such a privileged position doesn’t have to happen once it’s all gone.

    I have small children. And for nearly five years now I am often told by older and wiser parents, “It goes so fast, make sure you treasure every moment”. In the midst of parenting small children hearing the ‘treasure every moment’ thing can get on your nerves. But what these kindhearted people are saying is true. It goes fast, and there are numerous moments to treasure.

    The same could be said for youth ministry.

    Youth ministry is a privilege.


    When you’re in it no one is telling you how much of a privilege it is. Conversations with other youth ministry practitioners usually centre around the challenges and the problems. But let me tell you that youth ministry is a privilege, you should treasure every moment (OK, almost every moment).

    This is the final part in the ‘Youth Ministry Series’. It’s been a journey, and we’ve touched on a number of subjects. Each post has explored an aspect of youth ministry that I wish I had known more of before entering this gig. I’ve mused on these topics, and gained clarity for myself, as I’ve thought through what would have been helpful to me over 15 years ago.

    To finish this series, and capture the essence of what youth ministry is about, I think it is important to be reminded of the privilege it is to be in such a role.

    With that said, here are five privileges I believe are important to recognise in youth ministry.

    (1) The Privilege of Influence

    A leader is someone who influences others. This can be done with a title, but in most cases this influence occurs through the giving and receiving of trust. In any form of youth ministry role, paid or volunteer, trust is given to you and it is a privilege to receive it.

    Even more unbelievable is the fact that you have the opportunity to influence people for good. You become a voice in a young person’s life. A voice they respect and seek when making decisions or dealing with challenges in their life. You become someone they look up to, someone they seek to imitate.

    Furthermore, the influence that those in youth ministry carry helps frame how students think about their faith–how they think about God. Youth ministry research suggests that a young person needs connection with five older adults to help make faith ‘stick’. These days it can be hard for a student to find that many older adults interested in intentionally investing in them. This is where youth ministry leaders are so vital, and where inter-generational ministry is a must. The more people in youth ministry the greater the likelihood of teenagers continuing in faith.

    Here lies great responsibility and great privilege.   

    (2) The Privilege of Partnership

    Youth ministry isn’t done in a bubble, solely interacting with students.

    Well, it shouldn’t be.

    One amazing aspect to youth ministry is the ability to not only be part of a teenagers life but also the life of their family. Connecting with parents, siblings, and the extended family is a privilege.

    The opportunity to celebrate with families as they pass certain milestones is a unique aspect to a youth ministry role. Whether it is entering high school, getting L-plates and P-plates, turning 18 or 21, graduation ceremonies or celebrating sporting, art, or music successes, the involvement in family life is a special benefit.  

    And then once you hang around long enough you begin to take a more pastoral role with the parents as their kids move out, get engaged and married, and have children themselves.

    What a privilege.

    (3) The Privilege of Care

    This is a massive one for me.

    This week alone I could tell you story after story of the significant challenges young people have to face. Everything from the death of a grandparent, to a mental health diagnosis, to the separation of a family member, to the trauma of bullying, to the parent diagnosed with cancer, to the family member involved in a car crash, to the unhealthy home life, to the poor results at school.

    Young people are dealing with a lot. Sometimes too much. But it is such a privilege to be one of the first people they message when things aren’t going well. To be someone whom they seek out and lean on when challenging times are upon them. To be a person who they trust enough to share their struggles in faith, home, and life.

    The privilege of being there, of being present, is something that cannot be taken for granted.

    (4) The Privilege of Teaching

    Each week there are times for the opportunity to open the bible and pray with students.

    For someone, young or old, willing to sit down for an hour or two and read the bible and pray with you is a phenomenal privilege. They could be doing something else with their time. Instead, they purposefully choose to meet and spend time learning and growing in their faith. The want to make connections between the bible and their lives and pray with others. 

    This should blow our minds.

    The opportunity to do this keeps you sharp in teaching faith. It makes you think through how to make the scriptures relevant and applicable to teenagers. It brings with it the responsibility to teach the truths of God and allow space for them to explore it themselves.

    Having this chance to shape how people think about God and his Word in a deep and lifelong way is a privilege that makes me wonder how we actually get to do this.

    (5) The Privilege of Ministry

    The fact that churches employ people to help grow and lead their young people staggers me.

    It has become normative in churches for the second staff appointment to be that of a Youth Pastor. For a church to do that is quite a statement. It speaks of their intention to invest and disciple young people. It speaks of the priority they have in students. It speaks of the high regard they have for the ministry to teenagers.

    Most youth ministry leaders I know would be doing what they do even if they didn’t get paid for it. It’s the passion and heart they have for seeing those in high school come to faith and grow in faith that drives them. This, like anything, can be used and abused. Unfortunately, there are plenty of stories of this happening in churches around Victoria and Australia as we speak. But on the whole, it is a privilege to even have the opportunity to work in this sphere.

    Having the opportunity to be employed in Christian youth work, to connect and disciple young people, is such a privilege. To see them grow and mature as people and people of faith is something money can’t buy.

    I’m sure there are many other privileges to add to this as well. Some internal, some external. Perhaps you have more you could add to the list yourself. But if you’re involved in youth ministry in any form, whether it’s officially as a ‘Youth Leader’ or whether you happen to play in the church band with a 17-year-old and speak to them every so often, be reminded that it is a privilege to do so.

    In all the ministry, in all the challenges, in all the things we do within the sphere of youth work we need to remember that it is a privilege to do what we do.

    A while ago I wrote a post about what I wished I knew when entering youth ministry. This is part eleven of a series dedicated to elaborating each of those points. You can read part one, part two, part three, part four, part five, part six, part seven, part eight, part nine, and part ten here.

    11 Things: A Youth Ministry Series
    Beginning As A Youth Pastor
    Part 1: Life With Jesus
    Part 2: The Senior Pastor-Youth Pastor Relationship
    Part 3: Church Health > Youth Ministry
    Part 4: Friends For The Journey And Friends For The Road
    Part 5: The Grass Isn’t Greener
    Part 6: Nothing Else Matters
    Part 7: Temptation And Holiness
    Part 8: Church Culture And Politics
    Part 9: Fixing People vs God’s Grace
    Part 10: Working Better
    Part 11: The Privilege Of Youth Ministry (this post)

  • Working Better

    ‘Adulting’ according to Urban Dictionary, is:

    “…to do grown up things and hold responsibilities, such as, a 9-5 job, a mortgage or rent, a car payment, or anything else that makes one think of grown-ups.”

    When entering youth ministry it is not uncommon to be in our early to mid-20s. In all reality, there is little of life lived and much more of life to come. Some things we aren’t taught in school and one of those things is adulting.

    Part of adulting is having a system to deal with all the adulting things we need to do in life and work. Having a system to deal with these things can be learnt and is important in any job, relationship, or area of responsibility you might find yourself in.

    With this in mind, I wish I had a better idea of organising my workflow and system when entering youth ministry. I have always considered myself someone who is pretty decent at organising and planning. For example, I have colour-coded calendars that tell me what’s coming up in church and family life. I have a spreadsheet that details every book I’ve read since 2005. I keep my books in categories. I keep notes of conversations I’ve had with people. I used to rename individual photos according to date and place. So, yeah, I think I’m OK at this organising thing…sometimes a bit too much.

    But starting out life in my twenties I had no idea. It took me a number of years, through working as a Personal Trainer and Gym Manager, and into missions and ministry, before I felt I had a good system.

    This system refers to how one handles their to-do-list and what you do with all the life administration you end up doing. This can include how to deal with email, reminding yourself of the improvements you need to make when running that camp again next year, setting a date to write a report, trying to remember the contact details of a new person at youth group. And so on.

    There is a lot to deal with in youth ministry, and in life, so a system to deal with this is always helpful.

    If I had my time over again I would begin thinking through this stuff earlier than I did. In many ways this is a learned process but there are plenty of resources to help young Youth Pastors think through the skills they need to improve as part of the job. In youth ministry there can be plenty of things going on in church life and it is hard to keep all the balls in the air at once. If starting out again, I’d think about how to structure my week, how to get my emails down to zero, how to plan the next 12 months and the next 3 years, how to understand the rhythm of the church’s year, how to deal with budgets, and how to plan one-off events.

    All this non-people work makes our world turn on its axis.

    What’s it called?

    That’s right, administration.

    The death of many a good Youth Pastor.

    In every job there are things that people don’t really wish to do. Some can be delegated but others need to done. This is one of them.

    So really, I’d simply encourage you to read two books.

    First, Do More Better by Tim Challies, outlines briefly how to approach a working system that is adaptable to your needs and scaleable to your work and life context.

    Second, What’s Best Next by Matt Perman is also an excellent resource on how to think about personal productivity and then how to apply it.

    Administration, it’s not the sexiest topic. But it’s important if you’re wanting to learn more about how to actually do the job of youth ministry in amongst all the caring and events.

    It’s something I wish I knew when I started out.

    A while ago I wrote a post about what I wished I knew when entering youth ministry. This is part ten of a series dedicated to elaborating each of those eleven points. You can read part one, part two, part three, part four, part five, part six, part seven, part eight and part nine here.

    11 Things: A Youth Ministry Series
    Beginning As A Youth Pastor
    Part 1: Life With Jesus
    Part 2: The Senior Pastor-Youth Pastor Relationship
    Part 3: Church Health > Youth Ministry
    Part 4: Friends For The Journey And Friends For The Road
    Part 5: The Grass Isn’t Greener
    Part 6: Nothing Else Matters
    Part 7: Temptation And Holiness
    Part 8: Church Culture And Politics
    Part 9: Fixing People vs God’s Grace
    Part 10: Working Better (this post)
    Part 11: The Privilege Of Youth Ministry