It is interesting to look at Biblical text from a variety of views. I am reading Matthew 10 and it could be viewed as a job description of sorts. It describes the job ahead ... the compensation ... the challenges ... the authority under which the work is done ... warnings about how the job will be evaluated by both the friendly and unfriendly ... it describes impossible tasks and both rewards and punishment of doing the job right. Paul might (in 1 Corinthians 2) describe this job description as part of God's foolishness that is contra to everything worldly and in tune with everything Godly. If you read the job description you might think "Why would anyone agree to do that?"
So it is with those who would be Christ followers. I have a friend in Montgomery who is involved with youth ministry. She doesn't get paid well ... she doesn't get much support ... she isn't appreciated like she probably deserves ... but she continues. Why? Because she loves the kids and she has a servant heart. I have talked lots with those in youth ministry and have found that my friend is the rule ... not the exception. This scenario is happening all around the country and is epidemic. As I read Matthew 10 it ends with a phrase that convicts me ... "And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded." Matthew 10:42. When I think about "the least of these" our youth come to mind. They are seeking God ... they are asking questions ... they are hungry and thirsty to hear the Good News of God's Word ... they often have no guidance from home ... they see the world around them and (like most older folks I know) know something is wrong. They seek ways to follow God and live in the plan God has for them but they have learned to distrust many of their adult role models. Again, why?
I think the answer (or at least one of them) lies in Matthew 10. They hear of a simple Gospel that leads to difficulty, hardship and even suffering ... all for a cause worth the effort. Then they look around and see comfort ... fear of hardship ... a church that hires people to deal with the messiness of life ... and they hear everything we are saying (be careful little mouth what you say). The fact of the matter is, they see our fear of jumping into their messiness in stark contrast to a Jesus who ran to the messiness of life (and to the messy people).
Your church will not be one of those who runs away from the messiness of our youth or of our adults. We will be looking at creative solutions to ministering to our youth and college kids because we don't consider the do-nothing alternative a viable one. We will do what Jesus asked when He understood that doing ministry was sometimes lonely ... "He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.” (Matthew 9:37-38). It is probably no accident that these are the two verses preceding Jesus sending out disciples in Matthew 10. And it is a call to each of us who say we are followers and disciples ... to follow and disciple! What say you?
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