What If

What if... What if grass were red? What if you had to drink through your nose? What if you had to sneeze out your ears? What if every person in the U.S. of A. took their right and responsibility to vote seriously? What if people really mattered? What if every person on the planet could come to grips with the life and love of Jesus? What if...

What if my former (maybe someday, future, who the heck knows) profession could transform my current pursuits of a profession? Can the things that I believed in so radically about youth ministry bring life and love to the educational system and school counseling? What if...

What if the principals of contact ministry were really taken seriously by educators? What if every teacher was compelled to really meet kids on their turf and love them for who they are and all the potential they hold in their head and heart? What if we could retake the ground that was given away by jacked-up teachers and youth pastors that have given "one on one" time with kids a twisted connotation? What if...

What if leadership were really taken seriously by teachers and administration? So much so that life change was not just dream for a few kids, but a real possibility for every student. What if we really poured our life in a few who then turned around and poured their life into a few more, so on and so forth? What if...

What if we really thought about coming alongside families that are hurting and looking for hope and healing in their homes? What if we resourced them not so much on how to manage time and homework for kids and more supported them with relationship and training that prompted them pursue grace for and love of their kids? What if...

And what if, at the center of it all, was a new generation of youth ministry minded (maybe even trained?) teachers and counselors that fixed their eyes on Jesus, their hearts on love for Him, their feet pursuing Kingdom values? What if...

For so long youth ministry has been the red-headed step child of the church - beat down, laughed at, and taken for granted. Times are changing in the church and that is good. For so long there have been amazing servants, leaders, teachers, and counselors willing to come alongside the misfit generation of adolescence and do whatever it takes to make a difference. They live radically with little pay and little respect, but day and day out are out there helping the next class, next kid figure out this thing called life and where it might be taking them.

So...what if? I guess I'll be finding out pretty soon the answer to that question. Should be fun! Care to join me?