eZine 07.27.2010

“Do you provide cell phones for the youth pastors?”

The interview had gone quite well until the applicant asked that question-it changed the whole tone of the interview, which went downhill from there. Too bad because for the first two hours we were all impressed. Then we asked him, “Do you have any questions for us?” and he pulled out a binder and began rattling them off from his list. I felt like we’d moved from interview to negotiation. I began to wonder when his agent was going to walk in the room and ask for a signing bonus.

When Jonathan asked me to write up the kind of questions that I believe a prospective youth pastor should ask in the interview process, I reflected on my 13 years in youth ministry, my decade as a senior pastor, my six years as a member of our church’s personnel committee, and my 20 years as a human resource consultant in private and public sectors. (Wow! I must really be old-that’s a year shy of half a century!) In addition to that, I’ve sat in on at least 50 interviews and witnessed the best and worst of them.

If you’re interviewing for a youth pastor position, I have four suggestions that will help you demonstrate your strengths, your experiences, and your affirmation that God’s directed you to be open for this position. And at the same time not feeling as though you’re being taken advantage of “in the name of ministry” (e.g., working 80 hours a week for part-time pay).

Suggestion One: Don’t Ask Questions-Seek Information
At the end of this article are more than 40 questions you want answered before accepting a youth ministry position.

The trick is getting this information without asking a list of questions.

How do you do that? One word…

Tom Mckee is president and owner of VolunteerPower.com, a leadership development firm specializing in volunteerism. He has over 40 years of experience in volunteer leadership and trained over 100,000 leaders on how to manage the chaos of change in an organization. His books include The New Breed-Understanding & Equipping the 21st Century and They Don’t Play Music Anymore – How to Plan Your Future When The World Keeps Changing

Main Point of Discussion: Tune out static that forms barriers to hearing God… and find God in gentle places.

Scripture:
And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (1 Kings 19:17)

IMPORTANT NOTE TO LEADER ABOUT DISCERNMENT: We at The Source for Youth Ministry believe that certain elements in our youth culture can serve as good discussion jump starters with students. At the same time, we would never hope to introduce a student to a negative influence that they haven’t already encountered. This balance is a delicate one.

In our experience most students, churched and unchurched, keep pretty current with music and music videos. Thanks to YouTube, MTV.com, and iTunes, the most popular music videos and songs are free to access only a click away.

Some have said Haley Williams’ faith is important to her. But only God knows the truth about such assertions. So in case kids from your group have strong opinions about Williams in this regard, make sure to direct them back to the song’s popularity and the song’s lyrics-and discourage discussion about her faith (or any artist’s faith or lack thereof). We see but micro-fractions of others’ spiritual states at any one time and making judgments based on what we see in those short moments is ill-advised as we’re not seeing the massive remainder. The best solution: Live out your Christianity as if others are always watching (Titus 2:7-8); realize you never have enough data with which to pass judgment on others (Matthew 7:1-3).

The Song: “Airplanes”

B.o.B.’s “Airplanes” (from his album Presents:The Adventures of Bobby Ray) is #3 on Billboard’s Hot 100 this week and has charted for the last three months-so most kids are familiar with this hip-hop/pop song. It’s a short and simple tune, with a monotone, repeating chorus (sung by Williams) that quickly gets into your head.

The most interesting aspect of “Airplanes” is its very thoughtful, almost contemplative lyrics. B.o.B. asks big questions about life, where he came from, and where he’s going. He seems to want to get off the quickly accelerating merry-go-round that is his musical career and just take stock and make sure he’s not kidding himself about the lure of success (and the demands that come with it). There’s only a single, blatant curse word toward the end of the song, which is muted on the official music video; beyond that his “h*ll of it” reference is probably tame enough for most young ears-but as always, use songs with discretion.

This discussion will use “Airplanes” as a springboard to talk about life direction, simplicity, tuning out static that forms barriers to hearing God, remembering Christ as our first love, and finding God in gentle places (i.e., a whisper instead of a storm).

Introducing the song-SAY THIS:
“Here’s a song that’s #3 right now on the Billboard charts. You’ve probably heard “Airplanes” a ton of times over the last few months. Let’s examine its messages and look at how it parallels and hints at a lot of what Scripture has to say about examining our lives, where God can be found, and staying close to God after you find him.”

Play “Airplanes”

Large Group questions…