When I was 16 years old, I sat at a ‘youth rally’ (remember those?) at my home church. A group of students from a church in South Carolina had come to our church to do a week of ‘ministry’ (it was ‘evangelism’ for them-our church didn’t go on mission trips...we were the mission trip).
As I watched on stage as a guy with perfectly combed, wind-blown red hair and mustache (picture a ginger Magnum P.I.) ‘preach’, it seemed like this is what God wanted me to do-to preach to teenagers who would listen (and many would do not). So that is what I do. I preach at events for some great student ministry organizations and spend much of my year traveling to various churches and speaking to students who attend churches. There was a point in my life where it seemed that I was called to student ministry-though in no way did I think it would be in this capacity. I did not know what to do with it. Should I:
- Grow a goatee?
- Buy a two-colored reversable braided belt (the 90’s)?
- Order pizza and call it a day?
As God honed my ministry and allowed me to minister to students and churches, I have experienced student ministers of every shape and size. These include (but are not limited to):
- The Gallon Challengers
- Gamers
- Seminary Graduates
- Part-Timers
- Volunteers
- Grandmothers
- Triathletes
- Moms
- Walkers (not those walkers)
- Truckers with mullets
With few exceptions, they love Jesus. They are called to students. They have a heart (though not always the tools).
What is the startling reality? For the majority of them, it is blatantly obvious they have a poor relationship with their pastor-if they have one at all. Our conversations are littered with phrases like:
- He never says anything nice.
- If he walks in my office, it is to complain.
- I am pretty sure he wants me fired.
- Do you know any churches that are hiring?
- My pastor never talks to me.
- All that he wanted to know about our weekend was, “Did you clean out the bus?”
Though I am not a student pastor, I do serve in a teaching role at my church (which sends me out to travel and speak). I do this for a multitude of reasons. Outside of “God calls us to be part of a local church”, I see the importance of my role on a staff as a way that God has given me to minister to student pastors in every aspect of their ministry:
Spiritually.
Emotionally.
As pastors.
As people.
My pastor supports my ministry both itinerantly and in regard to the context of our church. Though we are very different, he seeks to invest in me both personally and in my ministry. He shows this in many different ways, including:
- He prays for me and encourages our church-wide prayer partners to do the same.
- He follows up about my ministry at the church
- He knows my kids’ names
- He is probably not reading this article
- I would say these things even if he was.
He seems to be in the minority.
Pastors, the majority of us are in churches that are too small to not invest in our guys on staff. Regardless of your frustrations with them, it is pivotal to the health of their ministries and our churches for you to realize that being a ‘shepherd’ includes those that sit in meetings with you and receive a paycheck with the church’s name on it.
- It trickles down beyond what you demand of ‘employees’ to those who you also call ‘co-workers’ and who, are honestly ‘members’ of your church-albeit paid ones.
- It means walking outside of your time with commentaries and commenting on someone’s life.
- It will take walking away from your addiction to Andy Stanley/Tim Keller/NT Wright/John Piper/Rick Warren/fill in the blank with some random liberal's material and finding out about a guy who is expected to communicate that he has it all together when, in actuality, his life is a complete, broken mess in need of Jesus’s grace to be shown by someone who is called to be his shepherd before he is called to be his superior.
This does not mean that they are untouchable, perfect, or should be allowed to fill the baptistry with purple Kool-Aid. As student pastors grow within your ministry, there are to be marks of maturity and expectation that they are making a Christ-centered effort to meet. There are legitimate reasons for dismissal. By providing clear-cut expectations and guidance, we allow them to operate in a world of grace-even if that grace is displayed through discipline. Why? Grace transforms us-even in the most difficult, unwanted circumstances.
As a pastor, you do not have to accept:
- The student pastor driving the getaway truck from a yard-rolling
- Laziness
- Loose animals in the office
- Church sponsored trips to the new tattoo shop
There are numerous reasons for us to move a new direction in regard to who serves on our staff. Sweeping things under the rug and not dealing with small issues as they arise is not the proper (or scriptural) way to do this. In order for your a student pastor to grasp what a ‘shepherd’ does, they need to follow one. This does not mean that we do not have a calling to excellence-it just means that excellence manifests itself in a nurturing environment rather than a high-pressure one.
Pastor, how are you investing in your student minister? Other staff?
Student Pastor, what are some beneficial things that your pastor has done to support your ministry? And for a good idea as to how you are to interact with your pastor, check out this.
We are in this together.
