Are You Faking It?

A student ministry leader can fake a lot of things.

-He can fake his way through a youth meeting he was not prepared for.

-She can fake her way through a Bible study that she has no passion
about.

-A youth leader can pretend to be enthusiastic about the church, but
secretly be burned out and looking for another job.

Yes, it is true. A youth leader can fake a lot of things, however
take note of this…..

You can’t fake love!

I am reminded this week that one of the paramount aspects of
working in youth ministry is to love the kids God sends my way.

That means I need to love the lovely and the unlovable. I need to
love the happy and the sad. I need to love those who are willing to
do everything and those who won’t move from their seat. I need to
love the obedient and the rebellious.

This love does not mean that I lower group standards; it just means
that my starting place is a genuine love for all the students who God
brings into my group.

The reality is that love is tough for us to show sometimes. For all
the teens that are easy to love, there are others who make love
very difficult.

The outwardly rebellious gothic kid may be hard for some to love.
The rich and snobby 17 year-old may be hard for some to love. The
8th grader who always wears the same shirt and seems
to never shower may be hard for some to love.

But, no matter who they are, what they look like, or their attitude
towards us, we have a responsibility to demonstrate the love of
Christ towards them.

Believe me; I am still working on this. It is my ongoing prayer
that God will teach me to love without condition.

My encouragement is found in Romans 5:8

“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still
sinners, Christ died for us.”

I am amazed and humbled by that scripture. God showed His love toward
me while I was still in my sin. He did not wait for me to clean up my act,
shower, dress right, or go to church. Christ loved me before I knew
I was loved.

As I learn more about His love and grow in my walk with Him, the
natural overflow of that is the love I show toward others. Here is
where it gets sticky. My observation is that there are a lot of
folks in ministry (and youth ministry) who do not SINCERELY love
their people.

Church leaders are praying, praising, preaching, and all that, but
not loving the people God puts in their way.

Here it is…Love cannot be faked.

If you are in youth ministry, I hope you love your kids. If you
don’t love them then you should get out.

Do not underestimate a teenager’s ability to see what is real. In
fact, most teens are at a point in their lives where they are
desperately searching for what is really true.

If you or I are struggling with our love towards them, kids will see
it. A lot of things can be faked in youth ministry, but love for the
kids is not one of them.

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