Thursday, October 28, 2004

All you can do...

In real life I invest a ton of time, energy, money, passion and life-force into the teens that I serve at a church just outside of Louisville, Kentucky in the good ol U.S. of A. In an online forum with other Youth Ministers I encountered a post from an overworked Youth Minister who had just been asked to put one more thing on her alreay overloaded plate. To take on one more 'Lock-In' to fill up the calendar.

All of us will face people at times who want and may even demand more than we can give. They will assume it's thier right to ask for that one last drop of blood you've been hangin onto for a rainy day. They'll have the audacity to ask you to meet them for an emergency appointment about some frivilosity in their life...they'll be 'unreasonable. What I've learned over time in dealing with people is that we can all be over demanding and very 'mecentric'. So, love em and do the best you can.

Here's my reply to this young minister. Maybe it will be helpful to you as well.

The harsh truth is that you aren't doing enough and you'll never be able to do enough.
But, enough is enough and all you can do is all you can do.

In dealing with people their appetites and needs will always outdistance your ability to satisfy. That's the toughest thing about this job for me. That the reward for a job well done is 'more to do' because of more people coming. And, that every single new person that comes through our door carries a boatload of ideas about how it ought to be done and what they need.
I've learned the 'hard way' that sometimes you just have to be okay being human.
And, I notice in Jesus' life that He did not meet every need of everyone along His path. Surely there were people in the crowd on that Friday who had travelled for days with sick children in their arms hoping for just a word from HIM. And, after all that trouble He had the audacity to hang up there and say 'It is Finished'
I've got to imagine that if I were one of those people I'd want to scream out from the depths of my breaking heart, Hey Dude, It Aint Done -- look at this. Do you see my child? How can you say it's finished?
I don't know for sure but I do know that Jesus finished the work that God gave Him and that's what we must be about -- doing the work that God gives us.
Doing life in Youth Ministry like a 24/7/365 Customer Service Rep for God, Inc is a tough life indeed.
Doing life like Jesus calls us to by walking with Him and taking His 'yoke' is a whole lot better.
Walk with Him, do all you can and call it a day.
Peace,Jeff

p.s. If you are a 'rising leader' who's excited about advancing the Kingdom of God, then you'll want to grab some great FREE resources over at www.risingleaderalliance.com

2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Your site Jeff Fuson, I found to be very interesting. When I was searching for Young Women's Leadership yours was the most eyecatching. While working on my site Young Women's Leadership I have been seeking ways to make it better and found yours to be helpful. Thanks!

10:39 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Your site Jeff Fuson, I found to be very interesting. When I was searching for Youth Leadership yours was the most eyecatching. While working on my site Youth Leadership I have been seeking ways to make it better and found yours to be helpful. Thanks!

10:40 PM  

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