Years ago a passage from Jesus’ earthly ministry made a big impression on me, which in turn dramatically shaped my approach to raising up teenagers with hearts for service:
Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. (Matthew 9:35-36)
As I prayed about how to best raise up godly, unselfish servants, I looked at this description and realized I wanted my students to experience that same compassion that Jesus felt when he saw the crowds. Service would just naturally follow if their hearts grew in this way.
In other words, I didn’t want them to serve because they felt guilty about “having so much” or just flat out felt sorry for people. That’s condescending, and certainly doesn’t foster godliness. Instead, I wanted their service to emerge out of humbled hearts that were seeking to serve others out of Christ’s love — a love which is willing to enter the suffering and pain of those around them, and not just try to fix it. It seeks to listen and learn and walk alongside.
All of us have probably taken youth on life-changing missions trips, where they are blown away by moving, difficult and heart-warming experiences. Even as I type that sentence, a slide show immediately runs through my head as I recall trips to Mexico, Costa Rica and Guatemala. (Smile) Ah — many great memories!
Yet on every single one of those trips, students VOWED to me that they would live differently when they got home. Heck, so did I! After seeing so much poverty and deprivation, after watching people praising God despite having so little, after living in simple conditions, we would always swear to that we would get rid of all of our expensive clothing / technology / material wealth…
You know how the story goes after that. We lived out our promises earnestly for awhile. But then the affluence of America, the distractions and pressures of all of our various activities, and distance/time from the experience itself all cause our vows to become distant memories.
After this happened a couple of times I prayed: “Lord, there has to be a better way to do this.”
I’m not sure I found a “better” way, but I did discover an approach that nurtures compassion in a more ongoing way and I’d love for you to stop back here tomorrow so you can share your thoughts on what I came up with.
[Photo by: _saturnine]
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Kelly Soifer is a veteran youth pastor with more than 25 years experience in Young Life and in the church. She is a consultant with Youth Ministry Architects, a committed bicycle commuter and proud Italian scooter owner who lives in Santa Barbara, CA.
Get a copy of When Kids Hurt: Help for Adults Navigating the Adolescent Maze, Kelly has an essay in there! You can check it out by clicking the link and searching inside the book for her name!
Kelly’s Consulting: Youth Ministry Architects
Kelly’s Blog: Listening To My Life
Kelly’s Twitter: Twitter.com/kellysoif
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