Always teaching

This past weekend I had the great opportunity of speaking to some youth from Vienna Presbeyterian Church at a youth retreat.  Barry Hill is the Youth Director there and a good friend of mine.  Barry is also the author of the “Ordained Barista” blog (you should check it out).

Over the many years I have known Barry, I have never seen him in action with students and leaders.  Barry has been involved with youth for a long time (just over 20 years to be exact) and even thought he is over 40 (I love you man), seeing this guy in action inspired me.  Here are some things that I saw Barry do this weekend that I wanted to share and remind you all as well as you work with youth:

1. He was always teaching.  By that I DON’T mean teaching the students a lesson (I was doing that this weekend :)).  What I mean is that he was always teaching his leaders and students about leadership.  He had a some very young leaders and during his leadership meetings at camp he was instructing leaders how to respond during key segments of their meetings and other activities.  He didn’t assume they would understand, he took the time to explain to them what was happening and how they should respond.  It was great to see that in action and a great reminder that we should always be helping our leaders become better leaders.
2. He was a great model/example all weekend.  One of the key attributes of a youth director is to demonstrate passion and excitement in all things.  This is particularly true in a camp environment.  At 40 years old (again, kidding…I just like poking fun at my friend), he could have easily taken a back seat to fun and just been the stoaic youth leader – wise and proper after all his years of experience.  But he wasn’t like that.  He was constantly engaging in students, he was very intentionally the butt of many jokes (the students felt like the winners which is always uplifting for them) and he was definitely the most enthusiastic leader there.

Through it all, Barry modeled leadership in everything he did and his students and volunteer leaders benefited from it.  With all this being said, what are you modeling to your students and leaders?  Right now, TAKE A MINUTE and think through the example you are giving to those around you.  Are you teaching and inspiring your leaders and students when they are with you?  If you aren’t teaching and inspiring others around you, what changes do you need to make that happen?  After all, the more you teach and invest in them, the easier your job becomes because they will know exactly how to lead.  But, in the same way, the less you teach, model and inspire others, the less they are going to be able to help you, the students and your ministry.

Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Experiences?  Post a comment so that we can all benefit.