23 Reasons Why I Don't Belong

Last week, four of the guys from my Small Group were honored with the "Shine the Light" award at the BATTLECRY Conference in Dallas. I'm not a huge fan of conferences, but since my guys were being recognized and getting a chance to speak in front of 10,000 people and since I was invited along with their families as a VIP (read free steak dinner at Adolphus Hotel), I decided to check it out.

At the conference (held in Reunion Arena), there was a portion of the evening where the head guy requested that all the youth pastors in the house come down to the stage to be prayed over. I was resistant to the call since I hadn't actually brought a group to the event but the younger siblings of my Small Group guys prodded me to go...so I went.

Near the stage, amidst the sea of youth pastors, I had a very odd and chilling feeling. I felt like I didn't belong. It wasn't just because I wasn't there with my group enduring the same horrific experience of caring for and feeding large numbers of teenagers while on the road...It was something more than that. For some reason, I have always felt fundamentally different from almost every other youth worker I've ever met. This kind of bothers me so I've been thinking about it a lot. I decided to come up with a list to help me process things.

23 Potential Reasons Why I Feel Like I Don't Belong in the Fraternity of Youth Pastors:

1. I've never worn any form of facial hair
2. I haven't been to seminary
3. I can't relate to the experience of swallowing a goldfish
4. I've never made a huge group of people all wear the same hot pink t-shirt in public at one time
   
5. I don't enjoy talking about the "shifts in youth culture"
6. I get along with, feel supported by, and am inspired by our church's leadership
7. I have fun with our entire church staff
8. I don't like playing Halo
9. I'm not overweight
10. I don't do Sunday School
11. I don't do a large group gathering on Sunday night, Wednesday night, or any night of the week
12. I don't do a camp during the summer
13. There is 0.000% of me that thinks it would be a good idea to take a group of kids to one of those massive Christian music festivals
    
14. I don't think using the words "extreme" or "generation" makes things more appealing to students
15. I'm grateful for how much money I make
16. I've been at my church for more than 2 years
17. I feel like we have more than enough volunteers
18. I wouldn't leave my church for any other church in the country
19. I work with Junior High kids and wouldn't consider it a "promotion" to work with High Schoolers
20. While I'm entertained and intrigued, I've never been able to sit and watch an entire episode of the Simply Youth Ministry podcast
21. I don't subscribe to Group Magazine
    
22. My strongest gift is probably administration
23. I like planning ahead (weeks, months, and even years)

That's all I could think of off the top of my head. Looking back at that list, I sound like a jerk. That's not my intention. I really do feel like it would be a good thing for me to break into this fraternity and be a part of the youth worker community. I hope I can get past the insecurities caused by these differences and find a way to jump in and connect. Maybe (hopefully) I'll find that I'm not that different at all.


Speak Out Reader:
Can you relate?