That was the reality that kept coming to mind as I made the 1,200-mile drive from Florida back to Texas, completing the last summer camp of the season. Tired, beaten up from late-night hangouts, back-to-back preaching, rapping, Cuban-shuffle dancing (I could never get those shuffle dances right.); gamed out; and my stomach attempting to have a real crisis-intervention with me because of the crazy stuff I’d eaten the previous week. This trip home was different from previous trips; my wife, my 20-year-old daughter and my 17-year-old son were with me. Instead of everyone in the van having to endure my endless mixture of audiobooks, podcasts and hip hop beats that keep me awake on the road, we all were wearing our own earbuds, listening to our own crafted mixes. About four hours into the trip, it was late and everyone was sleeping. I began to think. Had I really been doing summer camps for 18 years? Had I really been doing ministry for 30 years? Where did the years go? How did I do it for so long? More important, why did I still love doing this?
Driving home, my mind began to review the past week of ministry. I had to laugh at myself as I brutally picked my stuff apart. I recognized that some of the sermons I’d delivered were oldies but goodies. Some of the jokes were remixed, and my gear (my clothes) could’ve used some help! I don’t care. I’d gladly beat those old jokes like horses till they can’t ride anymore because to me, they’re just funny! I’ll remix my bag of messages, as well as dig deep and get new sermons because I’d rather preach about what’s transforming me than waste time guessing what’s trendy. In terms of gear (clothes), I personally never will wear skinny jeans, but I will rock my retro representing the 90s to the fullest!
Would I ever do it again? Absolutely.
I love my calling. That’s a healthy thing to discover, because it grants you permission to explore new ways to improve, to reinvent yourself. I made a commitment when I started as a youth communicator never to be the old guy with the ancient stories, jokes you can find on the Internet, cut-and-paste sermons and outdated clothing. Yet there I was, the old, funny-looking preacher doing his favorite routines! I’m a creature crafted for the call: relentless, fearless, crazy.
Yeah, I’m old; but that’s a good thing.
Jesus once told His disciples, “My meat is to do the will of the Father and to finish (master) His work” (John 4:34). I agree with Jesus in that what I do feeds me, fuels me; and I have created an incisive appetite for more. You can teach an old dog a new trick if the dog is hungry enough to learn. A dog has to eat! Eating in this sense has nothing to do with a paycheck or career; it’s all about finding fulfillment within the hunger of pursuit of your calling. Howard Thurman, a great leader from the civil rights movement once said, “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive. Because what the world needs most is more people who have come alive.” Yes, I’m an old dog, but this thing called youth ministry still gives me life! I still come alive when I engage with a group of teens, and that’s what they need most—someone who has come to life!
Growing old in youth ministry has caused me to look back over my years with wonder, realizing how much I’ve had to change in order to keep doing what I love the most, which ministering to students. I realize three areas come to mind where I’ve messed up, mixed up, and finally fixed up what I was doing in order to keep my youth ministry alive.
Connection with Direction
I accepted my first youth pastor position at 17 in an inner-city church, and I served as youth pastor/church janitor. As a young youth worker, I was much more excited about the fact that I could connect with students and let them know I was there with them on their journeys. Back then, I was young and felt as if I had something to say, therefore I pocketed a secret sense of confidence that went like this: “I know their world…I’m still one of them, and I speak on their behalf.” I recall my first message on Youth Day, which was more of an accidental fire than a fanning flame. After about an hour, I realized I liked doing this—I just wished I really had something to say. Back then, I used my age to connect with students. That was my credibility. It was all I really had going for me at first.
So, the way I see it, we can’t settle for connecting with students just for the sake of connection. Connection must be linked to direction. Look at where students are going, see where God is working in their lives, and help students engage God in their midst. No matter what direction they’re going, always work to connect with students ultimately for the purpose to directing them to God.
Destination…Destination…Destination…
I was great at connecting with new students when I was young. I was a rapper; I spoke the language of the day; and as an artist, I found a secret gateway into students’ lives. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized the invitation into teens’ lives has rules to which I need to adhere. I’m only visiting their world, and I need to keep most of my judgments to myself. As an older youth worker, I realize that in time those young students are going to travel a road that I’ve already been down. The cares of this life will demand their attention, but what an opportunity to speak not only into the now of students’ lives, but also to be able to wield a word of destiny that pierces teens’ futures is truly an act of God, a process in which we get to share.
While most cultural expressions pressure students to stay young and never grow up, we know the truth: We age each day, and time takes its toll. We can preview the inevitable destination (and assuming they keep on living) that they will encounter the good news that we’ve been there! Because of the advantage of already having faced what they ultimately will experience, we become valued tour guides, helping them through practical and spiritual life changes that we know oh so well! What an opportunity to do what Paul did with the Thessalonians and share not only the gospel, but the value of our own lives to their advantage (1 Thess. 2:8)!
We youth workers will do well to remind students there’s an end game going on in their lives. There’s a destination. The more we remind them of that and the more we help them live their daily lives with the end in sight, the more students who will be ready to take on the world for Jesus when they graduate.
Little-Much Touch
After we arrived home from Florida, I had to make a quick trip down to Austin to meet at our denomination’s district gathering. I drove as quickly as I could so I could celebrate the testimony of a teen whom I’d mentored. We made it there just in time as he stepped to the platform to speak. As we sat listening to this young man tell his story of conversion after being raised Muslim, giving his life to Christ at 15, and now studying at a Christian university, we were so proud of him. I wondered how this kid just got it when other students seem never to be moved by my attempts to reach out to them. On the drive home the next day, I realized I’d been living the little-much touch principle.
After decades of running ragged from trying to capture the heart of every teen in my group, I finally realized that much of my work was from a place of arrogance rather than a place of grace. I had volunteers, but I was convinced they needed me to show them all how it’s done! I actually was frustrating the grace of God by getting in the way of allowing those around me to make needed connections with teens instead of me being every kid’s personal Jesus Christ.
This young man was one of the first students whom I purposed to focus this type of personal touch with; a decade later, we (along with our entire denomination’s Texas district) were celebrating his success.
I think Jesus used the same principle in His discipleship efforts. The masses got His stories, His demonstrations of healing, deliverance and His public commentary on the state of the religious bigots of His day. However, His disciples (only a few in comparison to the masses) got His explanations, His prayer habits, His candid attitudes and His passion.
As I started following this principle, I discovered I didn’t have to be all things for all people. I was happy to find a guilt-free, surface-level friendship with many of my students, which at that particular time in their lives was all they needed. Along with many other meaningful connections (my staff and volunteers), I became another person to talk to when they were ready to get serious with God. However, for those who wanted to go deep, I was able to do so on my terms and truly take them deep into sharing life together, which yielded stronger disciples. None of us were designed to reach every teenager we meet, so saving our energy for those who are ready to receive keeps us fresh for greater growth opportunities.
So, old dogs can learn new tricks…if they’re hungry enough. Remember how Scooby Doo would do anything for a Scooby snack? It was the anticipation of satisfaction that drove the animated hound to push past his fear and prejudice to accomplish what he never thought he could do. Proverbs 16:26 says, “The appetite of laborers works for them; their hunger drives them on.” So it’s on to new tricks and ripened fields of harvest. Pay attention to the internal growl of your soul, longing for the day you hear your Master say, “Well done…I see you’ve learned something new.”
Fred Lynch is a dynamic communicator whose heart’s desire is to take the expressions of this generation and use them to glorify God through relevant, relatable and radical truth. At the age of 18, Fred help founded P.I.D. (Preachers in Disguise), one of the first gospel rap acts, and went on to record six albums. Fred is the author of The Script, an artistic translation of the Gospel of John in rap. Fred lives in Dallas, Texas, with his wife of 24 years and their two children.
