Youth Ministry Wisdom from Duck Dynasty #2

Phil Robertson took his granddaughters fishing on this week’s episode of Duck Dynasty.  Their response to fishing reminded me so much of what teenagers do with Jesus.

When grandpa first suggested fishing, the kids were distracted and uninterested.  In fact, they were emphatic that they did NOT want to go fishing.  After continued dialogue with granddad, though, the girls were convinced and decided to give it a go.  As Phil bit the head off a snake (OK – that’s not a part of everyone’s church experience), the girls were grossed out…

…and then, as one of the young ladies reeled in the first kid-catch, they squealed in delight and fear.

We need to remember that sometimes, teenagers are fishing for the first time,  The whole Christ-follower thing…it produces excitement, but it’s also a little scary.

1.  Be patient – sometimes people need to eased into new experiences.

2.  Don’t stop extending friendship – when the time is right, they might just venture out into the wilderness with you.

3.  Remember that something that seems normal to you might be very, VERY weird to someone who’s never been fishing before!!  (Like biting a snake in half.)

4.  Enjoy the thrill (but respect the trepidation) of the first catch!

Who have you invited out to the fishing hole lately?!

Youth Ministry Wisdom from Duck Dynasty #1

I’ll confess.  Right now, this post is 1 of 1.  But here’s the truth – and if you watch Duck Dynasty, you know – that show is chock full of youth ministry wisdom, so I know there will be more!!

Last night was the season 4 premier of Duck Dynasty.  The show centered around the celebration of Phil and Kay Robertson’s 50th wedding anniversary (I think…I’m not sure anyone but Kay ever mentioned the actual year — and she said 48.)

The Robertson children decided to give their parents a ‘real’ wedding, as their parents were married by a Justice of the Peace originally.  As a complete surprise, this event would require lots of folks volunteering and playing their parts to pull off the momentous occasion.  And as the daughters-in-law began to pull people into the process, one of the unsuspecting men came out with this pearl of youth ministry wisdom:  “Never volunteer when you don’t know what you’re getting into.”

People who serve in youth ministry need to know what you’re asking of them.  Many times, we’re in a hurry to fill the spot, grab any warm body, connect with someone we KNOW will make a great connection with students.  And we put the cart before the horse, unsuspectingly.  We enlist a potential leader without clearly communicating what they’ll be doing.  Sure – they may know they’re volunteering to teach a class – but do they know what material they’ll be using, how many leadership meeting they’ll be expected to attend, what they need to be doing to prep for their teaching time, how they’ll be expected to connect with kids outside the class….do they know what they’re volunteering for?

Communicate well by having a job description for every adult you’ll enlist.  Spell out everything.  Then follow up as that potential leader begins serving.  Continue to clearly communicate vision and expectation.  You’ll create leaders for the long-haul.

“Never volunteer when you don’t know what you’re getting into.”  If you’re church members are watching Duck Dynasty, they might just have a higher expectation now….and a beard.