Clarification

I'm posting this particular blog to clarify something that I said in the "About Me" section of my MySpace profile. Those who know me can look there for what I'm referring to. I found out about two different instances lately where things I have said have bothered people. One was here on my blog and the other was on MySpace. In talking about myself I mentioned that I was a former youth pastor. I referred to being a youth pastor as a great job if you liked "being in a no-win situation and continually getting crapped on." I'm not exactly sure who it offended or why it offended them but I thought I would offer some clarification. I was truly speaking from my heart. Anyone who has been in ministry before knows that it is a burdening job, continually wrought with disappointments and discouragements. As my pastor would say it is all-consuming. It invades every facet of your life until it becomes your identity. That is why to this day I still have dreams about taking students to camp or on mission trips at least four or five nights a week. As I sleep my subconscious mind spits out all that filled it for nearly three straight years.

The definition that I gave was exactly how I feel and I don't make any apologies for it. I think if the Church were more what it ought to be it would allow ministers to be more what they ought to be and then ministry would not deserve such a grim description. But even thought it describes what I feel, it doesn't give the full description of what I feel. There are many great memories I have of my time in youth ministry. Most of those great memories are in the form of students that I love and got to share life with. Some of the most incredible people I have ever known were students in that ministry. They weren't perfect and they made tons of mistakes, just like those who came before them, but the best they knew how they sought to be more like Christ. I also got to work with some of the greatest parents and volunteers on the planet. There are so many people (I hope you know who you are) who helped carry me and empower me and were used by God to make me a better person. And the truth is, in my heart of hearts, I know that I wouldn't for one second ask God to have spared me from the crap if it meant that I wouldn't have gotten to know each one of those people and shared life with them.

So, for the 3 people that happen to read my blog and my MySpace you now have some clarification. Feel free to pass it on to others. Hopefully you feel more like you've got the whole story.