I want to be SERIOUS.

Tuesday November 13, 2012

I want to be SERIOUS.

Hey this might not make me a popular student ministry guy, but im sick of silly. Sometimes i think that the goal of many youth ministries is to be funny or entertaining or silly.

First, let me say this: essentially there is nothing wrong with having fun. The reality that student ministry can and should be fun is not lost on me. The issue that i really want to speak to are those ministries or ministers that sacrifice serious thoughtfulness on the altar of silly student ministry.

I believe there is a better way!

Here’s a great JC Ryle quote that has gotten my soul in the proper posture:

“There was a great statesman in Queen Elizabeth’s time, who retired from public life in his latter days, and gave himself up to serious thought. His former merry companions came to visit him, and told him that he was becoming somber. “No,” he replied, “I am serious; for everyone around me is serious. God is serious in observing us — Christ is serious in interceding for us — The Spirit is serious in striving with us — the truths of God are serious — our spiritual enemies are serious in their endeavors to ruin us — poor lost sinners are serious in hell — and why then should you and i not be serious too?”

You and i have permission to be fiercely serious. In fact i would go as far as to say that the Bible demands an authentic seriousness from everyone who is reborn, especially from the shepherds of God’s people.

Father, make us serious like you are serious, Amen.

http://twitter.com/JohnstonThayer Johnston Thayer

Agree, in my own personal experience, being silly is almost insulting because I didn’t want to be treated like a child at my youth ministry. Attracting students with childish games only encourages students to remain childish. Glad to have a ministry that sees more in students.
http://www.thebetaversion.org Greg Simmons

Excellent quote, can you tell me who it was that said that? I agree that too many student ministries have succumbed to the lie that bigger, louder, crazier, funnier, sillier = better student ministry. It doesn’t. If you listen closely…I mean really closely, these young people have lots of questions, they are looking for real answers (b/c they have figured out the fake crap in the media) and many are really hurting. Some seriousness is what they need. Somebody that seriously cares.
http://www.imminentcrash.com/ Mike Andrews

Thanks for this post. The stakes are way too high to be overly distracted by the ridiculous. Have fun, but not at the expense of eternity.
http://twitter.com/oliviameg olivia chamblee

Agree. It is important for students to realize the gravity of what they are learning. If you surround serious teaching with games and silliness, then they are going to assume that the teaching was also silliness. I think people are more likely to rise to the expectations you give them. If you tell students, “We just expect you to want to be silly,” you’re telling them that you don’t expect them to understand deeper issues.

And there isn’t some dichotomy between being a Christian and fun. Thankfully I had leaders like Caroline Marshall (Lewis) and Laura Bouknight who showed me that being a Christian does not mean you are an anti-fun person!
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Neel

Hmmm. Sort of agree. Agree to the point where we don’t do student ministry to entertain but to point students to Jesus. Disagree when we try to make kids grow up too fast. Kids are still kids and we shouldn’t squelch that. Silly games, funny stories, etc. are all okay so long as ultimately the serve the overarching goal of giving the kids Jesus.

I guess the question is the point of “silliness”. I work in student ministry and it is possible to combine fun, silliness, etc. with seriousness. We have to meet the kids where there are. That’s what Jesus did. He met us where we are. Why make the kids rise to our level of seriousness or intellectual thinking when that’s not where they are. We should be incarnational with the kids and meet them on their level.

So basically… I agree and disagree.
Thomas

I’m going disagree–and disappointed at the amount of ego in this post. Some pastor’s personality and teaching methods are not gung-ho john piper theology and large diction. They are able to communicate Jesus (which is all that matters) in a more fun or “silly” way than you would. That doesn’t mean they’re right, and your style doesn’t mean you’re right. In fact, I’ve seen the more serious you are, the more “preachy” it becomes and walls get put up. Kudos to both sides who are able to communicate effectively.
BCoop

“Sometimes i think that the goal of many youth ministries is to be funny or entertaining or silly.” —– im addressing specifically this crowd.

And i apologize if you perceive ego. That’s not my heart. I would say real ego is seen in a generation of ministry efforts that lead students to laugh at people at the expense of revering a Savior. That is the deceptive ego i see in many.

And as i tried to communicate in the original blog — my goal is not to demonize fun. As i have said student ministry ‘should be fun’ — my goal is to awaken a generation of youth workers to sense the seriousness of their opportunity and to make sure they maximize what they have.

Thank you for your thoughts Thomas — i believe we agree that this is a both/and issue. I’m just sensing a lot more of one at the expense of the other… trying to encourage the pendulum back to a good middle ground.
Fred

Totally agree. It’s hard to fight against the temptation of, “If they laugh at my jokes and think I am silly and funny they will like me. If they like me, they will like Jesus. So, if they think I’m funny they will like Jesus.”
Thanks for the reminder, that Jesus did meet us where we are at but called us to Himself, and His mission. He was relatable, but on a mission and with a goal. I tend to forget this in the student ministry I oversee…
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