We’ve all been there at one time or another. The scenario might go something like this:
Waking up late, we remember we’re supposed to meet a friend for coffee. So we pick something up off the floor, cover our “bed head” with a baseball cap and charge out the door. Hurrying into the coffee shop, our eyes lock with the parent of one of our teens. Dressed in his business suit and ready for the day, he couldn’t stand in greater contrast to our mentality of: “Well, I’ve got to wear something more than boxers if I’m leaving my apartment; and this is my cleanest pair of sweats.”
Embarrassed, we greet him hastily and politely excuse ourselves to go sit with our friend. The rest of the day is spent kicking ourselves, knowing the parent had to be thinking, “I entrust my kid to you every week?”
While he may have just caught us on a bad day, it’s still true that every interaction we have with adults either increase or decrease their confidence in us and in our ministry.
A Broader Calling
Quite honestly, most of us don’t enter youth ministry because we want to work with adults, but with kids. That’s who we’re called to serve; therefore, that’s who we focus on. If we’ve been doing this for any amount of time, however, we quickly come to realize the most successful youth ministry has the support and involvement of adults.
In Young Life, we don’t take ourselves too seriously; but we take our calling very seriously. If we want adults to take our ministry seriously as well, we must embody a spirit of excellence because Jesus is excellent. While a mindset of professionalism may not come naturally to us, we must strive to be men and women who model integrity, dependability and character. Mike O’Leary, Young Life Vice President of Special Projects, calls professionalism, “our ministry to adults.”
Professionalism, then, is not a means to an end. It is another opportunity for us to show Christ—by serving adults. Part of the tension may arise out of our view of our role. Do we see ourselves primarily as youth workers, or do we see ourselves as servants to everyone God places in our path? Ultimately, how we carry ourselves says a lot about our view of what we do; and it reflects our view of the God who has entrusted us with such a high privilege as sharing Christ with kids. There are five main categories we can focus on when it comes to raising the bar on professionalism.
Appearance
Dress: Funny, but true—one of the most interesting decisions leaders face daily is what to wear. The day may offer opportunities to meet with pastors, businessmen, middle-school kids, parents, school officials, high-school kids and college leaders. We walk into homes, schools, churches, businesses, restaurants and gyms. How can we “become all things to all men” even in regard to dress?
This presents a unique challenge: We want leaders to be flexible but not such “cultural chameleons” that they cannot be themselves. How do we dress when meeting with a businessperson, without stifling the Young Life personality in a suit?
The answer lies in consistency. First, we must be ourselves in every situation. Adults appreciate our work (and comfort) in the world of kids. They admire our sense of humor, adventure and relational enthusiasm. This must remain evident when meeting with them. Second, we consistently must dress with respect for whomever we’re meeting. Is a tie the norm? Then wear a tie. Are we with kids after school? Then a tie may erect walls (authority figure, formality, etc.) we never intended. In that case, we shouldn’t dress like a 14-year-old, but as an adult comfortable in a casual world.
Car: Believe it or not, sometimes opinions are formed (fair or not) based not upon your appearance but your car’s! How many fast-food wrappers and coffee cups are rolling around on the floor? Do people have an opinion of you before you ever get out of the car because of the bumper stickers you sport? (This is not an indictment on bumper stickers but a question of what you’re telling the world about yourself. Bumper stickers often communicate what’s important/funny to us, but they may be offensive or inappropriate to others.)
Communication
Conversation: Do you speak to adults in a warm, professional manner; or do you find yourself slipping into “dude” and “yeah” and “like”? What does your cell phone voice mail message sound like—is it amped up with background music as you shout, “I’m out—you know what to do!” or businesslike? What may be funny to kids who call and text us may not strike a school administrator as all that humorous. Speaking of phones…
Returning Phone Calls/E-mails: In the business world, it is generally expected that phone calls and e-mails are replied to promptly (usually no later than 24 hours). Do you adhere to this unwritten rule? There are few things that can destroy credibility faster than being negligent in communicating. Even if what you have to share is bad news, it is better to be forthright in your communication than to hold off making that call to spare someone’s feelings.
Thanking Others: We buy ourselves good will when we promptly thank others for their contributions (time, giftedness, financial, etc.) to the ministry. Investing a few minutes each week to send thank-you cards to those you genuinely appreciate is not only an important part of acknowledging them and their gift, it’s just the right thing to do.
Efficiency: Doing Things Right
Timeliness: It’s been said that when you’re late you’re stealing other people’s time. Because we work with kids and time very often is a “relative” concept with them, we can ease into a laid-back attitude about starting meetings on time, getting to places on time, etc. While kids might not view this as inconsiderate, adults will! Having said that, however, we still strive to treat kids with the same respect we afford adults; we never should take advantage of kids and their time simply because we’re the ones running the meeting. Similarly, as Young Life staff, we work with leaders and committee members who volunteer their time, energy and money. Those we lead deserve to see us as models of promptness and courtesy.
Inevitably there will be a time when something comes up that’s out of our control and we will run late. This is the exception, though, never the rule. In fact, the converse is also true; if you’re someone who is not only routinely on time but early, you communicate attributes such as responsibility, organization and leadership. As Eugene Peterson eloquently explains in Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places, “The understanding and honoring of time is fundamental to the realization of who we are and how we live. Violations of sacred time become desecrations of our most intimate relations with God and one another. Hours and days, weeks and months and years, are the very stuff of holiness.”
Reliability: The word reliable is far from glamorous. It conjures up images of station wagons, appliances and tires. However, few qualities carry more weight when demonstrated or are more devastating when not. Reliability is simply defined as: You do what you say you’ll do. You follow through when you say: “I’ll be at your game,” or “I’ll stop by and pick up the check,” or “I’ll call that donor.”
Saying something and following through builds trust, which is essential in our relationships with adult supporters, leaders and kids.
Effectiveness: Doing Right Things
Delegation: There is great wisdom in delegating the tasks that you cannot do (or maybe you can do, but they tear you away from direct ministry) to adults who can handle them. For example, maybe these tasks are administrative in nature, and you’d rather chew broken glass than sit at a desk; there’s probably someone you know who would love to help you with these tasks. In this way, you’re giving them a gift—the opportunity to minister out of their strengths. If you haven’t yet met the person who could take on this project, it’s never too early to pray that God would raise up that person!
(One word of caution about delegation—giving tasks away may not be as efficient at first as doing them yourself because of the time spent in training on the front end, but in the long term it will prove to be much more effective!)
Improvement
Teachability: We all would be wise to repeat this thought to ourselves: “I have not arrived…and in this life I never will!” Is that statement depressing or liberating to you? How you answer the question will determine how well you cultivate a spirit of teachability. Teachability is simply the act of maintaining a learning posture. In essence, it is the discipline of continuing to learn “after you know it all.” Those who resist a learning posture cut themselves off from growth. As Einstein said, “Once you stop learning, you start dying.”
Learning can come in a number of forms: self-study, being mentored by someone more mature in faith, even formal education. Besides practical training from other seasoned Young Life staffers, we also encourage workers to grow through continuing theological education. Partnering with seminaries, such as Fuller, Young Life staff members can grow in their abilities to minister to kids and in their personal walk with Christ, as well.
For Those Within and Without
The Bible never uses the word professionalism, but it’s full of standards for those in leadership, not only for the purpose of achieving the task at hand but, more importantly, for bringing glory to God and being a positive witness for Christ. Elders, overseers and deacons serve the body and have a “good reputation with outsiders.” In Young Life, we move freely between believers and nonbelievers; one of the central passages of our relational ministry has always been
Weekly Professionalism Checklist:
This week:
Did I return phone calls within 24 hours?
Did I return e-mails within 24 hours?
Did I thank people promptly?
Was I on time (or even early!) to all my meetings?
Was I dressed appropriately at each of my meetings?
Was my conversation appropriate at each of my meetings?
Did I give away tasks that others can do?
Was I teachable in every situation?
Did I read books or magazines that helped me grow spiritually? Vocationally?
Did I meet with a mentor this week?
