Long before he was celebrated for his literary work (his bestselling contemporary language Bible translation, The Message, along with many books), Eugene Peterson pastored a church for 29 years. Peterson knows ministry and understands youth culture. Jen Bradbury asked him to share his insights about young people, youth ministry and the power of story in creating a potent vocabulary of faith. For more interviews, along with excerpts from Peterson’s latest book, The Pastor, search “Eugene Peterson” on YouthWorker.com.

Eugene: Language is in bad repair these days. We have a secularized language that isn’t adequate for noticing what’s going on in terms of salvation and grace. When I first started bird watching 40 years ago, all we knew were robins and crows. We didn’t even see other things because we didn’t have a vocabulary for them. If you don’t have a name for it, you probably don’t notice it. A vocabulary of faith sharpens our participation in and allows us to notice what God is doing in the world and gives us a way to communicate that to people.

YWJ: How can congregations help teens develop a vocabulary of faith?

Eugene: By hanging around with them. My son is a pastor. He’s doing something with confirmation that is quite extraordinary. He has 15 young people in this class. He’s invited 15 adult members of the congregation to meet with them. These adults don’t have any responsibility except to be there and learn the names of these kids, to listen to them and participate in the conversation in a very reticent way. This is the best confirmation class he’s ever had because it’s about community. The youth are not a special project or problem. They’re part of the congregation. Youth aren’t used to being treated that way.

YWJ: In Chapter 3, “My Mother’s Songs and Stories” of your book The Pastor, it’s obvious that your mother’s gift as a storyteller and her ability to enable you to see yourself in the sacred stories of our faith powerfully shaped your identity as a follower of Christ. What can youth workers do to kindle the imaginations of their students in the same way your mother nurtured your imagination?

Eugene: Tell stories. Be familiar with some of the good storytellers. Some of the classic storytellers of our time are C.S. Lewis and Tolkien. Teenagers are not too old to be acquainted with those stories. Get kids to tell their own stories. Young people are eager to be part of a story if we give them a chance instead of asking questions about doctrine. We need to continue inhabiting the world of story with our teens.

YWJ: In The Pastor: A Memoir, you confess, “If succeeding as a pastor meant failing as a parent, I was already a failed pastor. I would resign that very night.” How is failing as a parent also failing as a pastor?

Eugene Peterson: I was ignoring the people closest to me because I had a job to do. I had a church to develop and make successful. My work shut down a huge area of personal relationships. That’s one of the besetting sins of church workers. Youth workers are prone to this because they aren’t as mature; they’re newer at this. Parents expect them to do for their kids what they’re not doing for them themselves.

YWJ: What advice do you have for youth workers struggling to juggle the demands of being a pastor with the demands of family?

Eugene: That’s a hard one. A youth worker is generally a junior member of the church staff. It’s very important to identify what you need and tell the people you work with what you need to do as a family member, as a parent. Don’t be afraid to say, “I can’t do that” to your church. Don’t wait to be gone for the 27th night in a row to discover your boundaries.

YWJ: After realizing your failure as a parent, you confess to your elders your desire to be an “unbusy pastor.” What do you think keeps people from being unbusy pastors?

Eugene: Fear of failure. Sheer laziness. Being busy is a way of not doing things that are important to do. It’s easier to be busy than to take the time to be with someone who’s not very attractive or to listen to seemingly boring small-talk.

YWJ: In your quest to become an unbusy pastor, you set about cultivating quietness and attentiveness before God, something that often takes the form of a Sabbath. How might a youth worker who’s not currently taking a Sabbath go about establishing one?

Eugene: A Sabbath is at the very center of the biblical life. It’s astonishing to me that the people who break the Sabbath the most frequently are pastors. It’s because they’re too busy and important. You have to have the support of your senior pastor or others on the church staff to take a Sabbath. You can’t do it by yourself. I had the help of my session and deacons. I’d spend two retreats a year with them. One of the things that we did was talk about me keeping a Sabbath. I told them how I couldn’t be their pastor—or a Christian in this kind of world—without keeping a Sabbath. I didn’t tell them they should take a Sabbath, but I told them I needed to and that I needed their help to do so. They helped me keep my Sabbath.

YWJ: What else would you like to tell youth workers?

Eugene: You’ve got a great job. You’ve got a great opportunity. Not many people get a chance to do this. Relish the fact that this is a gift. Enjoy yourself. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Have fun. Enjoy these kids. It’s a time of energy, exuberance and excitement. Enter into that with your kids, but be very careful of manipulation. These are young people. They are susceptible to any strong voice in their life. Don’t use your advantage or position as youth pastor to manipulate or to get people to follow in your footsteps. Remember that being a pastor is a very modest way of life. You’re visible, but you’re not all that important.