Fall Practicum Week 7
Week 7 (10/21/08)Record of Ministry Activities
Plan and Coordinate Youth Events on Tuesday (1 ½ Hours)
Typical Youth Group (2 ½ Hours)
Total Ministry Hours: 4 Hours
Personal Reflection on Ministry
Youth group last night was once again sort of disappointing. Our main worship leader decided not to show up and as a result, the entire night seemed like a waste of our time. Whenever there seems to be a “glitch” in the system, the entire night falls to pieces for no reason. It is such a shame. Our worship leader doesn't show up, and all of a sudden, we can't do the normal teaching service either? That just doesn't make sense. I think ministries, especially youth groups, need to learn to be flexible during situations that aren't ideal. This situation was not ideal, but we certainly did not make the most of it. We let the negative take the night and turn it into a negative. We are in the middle of a series on other religions. And we took the “religion” of scientology tonight. It was certainly an interesting conversation that we had, but it was not very progressive. The conversation, what little there actually was, seemed forced and not legitimate. It was pretty much the new youth pastor reading facts about scientology and hoping that some of our students would at least ask a question. The problem was that when a student asked a question, the youth pastor didn't know and he just told them to look it up online. This doesn't seem fair to me. As pastors, we need to be knowledgeable about the topic we are discussing that night. If we aren't knowledgeable, then how do we expect the students to care or trust that we know what we are talking about. It only takes one “missed” question in order for a student to lose interest in the topic that we are discussing. I want to be able to answer as many questions as possible. And if I can't answer a question, I want to at least be able to say, “I'll look it up and let you know”. I never want to say, “I don't know and I'm not willing to look it up for you”.
Spiritual Reflection
On a spiritual level, I had to question the significance of last night. It was kind of disappointing on a spiritual level. When you lack a crucial worship element like music, there just seems to be a huge gap missing. There was a huge gap missing last night, and I'm almost certain that it had to do with the fact that we didn't have a musical worship element. And because the typical schedule was thrown off, we didn't seem organized and it was difficult for students to actually buckle down and get into a rhythm of worship. I personally felt this lack as well. It was unfortunate to be so stressed and worried about the lack of music that I could never focus solely on God and just be present. It made me wonder about the future and the stress that I would encounter and how I would deal with that. I mean, I can almost guarantee that I will be involved in some level of stress while in ministry. So the question becomes, “how do I deal with that stress and still be effective spiritual both in teaching and personally”? It was heartbreaking to have to be stressed over a service and not dedicate my energy to worshiping God. I really need to find that balance between taking leadership and ownership and actually participating in worship. I don't expect this to be solved overnight.
posted by Tyler Murphy @ 1:51 PM
1 Comments:
Tyler obviously you seem really upset with the outcome of your experience. I am sorry to hear things went so poorly. What do you think it would look like or how well do you think it would work to always have a plan "b" system. Where if there is a glitch you know that ok we go straight into this we skip this and we show this video that way no one has to know that there was a glitch and you still continue on as planned? I know it would be more work but if you got the hang of it i feel it would save those "wasted" nights. As for your material i think it is great, it is so easy for students to get caught up in something that sounds good. We live in a i will take what is easy society and sometimes other religions offer the best plan. Keep in there i will pray that there will be no more glitches and if there are God will work through your willingness to still minister.
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