Tough Love

I used to be a Kindergarten teacher. Really. I managed to take 25 four and five year olds, many of whom had never had any structured school experience, and turn them into students. They learnt taking turns, speaking respectfully, listening and general associated behaviours that are acceptable in the classroom environment.

Now I am a youth pastor, and I have older children, who have been in structured environments for years and know what is expected of them. So being very new to this game this is what I insisted on from the start, polite, respectful behaviour, in all circumstances.

Top 10 Things a Youth Pastor Should Never Do.

1.       Get mad with the microphone in your hand – Yes seems obvious. But when Someone comes to tell you they didn’t prepare the games they were rostered on for seconds before you lead into it your head gets all hot, and you somehow lose awareness of the black technical implement you are holding used to project your voice.  And then EVERYONE hears you loose your cool. Just for a moment anyhow.

2.       Forget to get a receipt – if you have a super efficient church accountant like mine, it doesn’t matter how much you spent on that amazing “Bad T shirt night” theme, if you don’t have the itty bitty bits of paper with numbers on it to prove it, you aint getting a cent.

Post School Exo Day Reflections

Last Wednesday week I overcame my inhibitions and we threw a local school exo day. When I first became a youth pastor and someone said school exo day I truthfully thought that was way to hard and to much trouble and simply just couldn't be pulled together in such a small country town from a similarly small church.
To be honest i wasn't even sure what it was, or what it was for. But yet.... we did it! And it rocked!! How I hear you ask?
I had so many questions, so here are a few that were running around my head,