'If you buy this you will look just like me.'
'If you eat this it will make you act like me.'
'If you do this you will be cool like everyone else.'
'If you wear this you will look like everyone else.'
Working with students is a lot of fun. Unlike adults, students wear their emotions on their sleeves and are pretty transparent about a lot of things. I say, unlike adults, because adults have learned to hide certain things about themselves and, more often than not, only present the good things. Students, they haven't quite learned the craft and as such, are who they are. There is a lot to learn from these students.
The one thing which saddens me quite a lot with students is the constant new trends. It's been said by Youth Ministry experts, Youth Culture changes every 3 months. I actually think it changes even fast than this, maybe even every 2 months. New trends can be good, but when students change with the trend because they think the world needs this or that, or for them to be something more than they are, this saddens me.
I have been Created by a God who has designed me to be me, not someone else, but me. My journey has led me down the path of doing what I believed others wanted me to be and it ended horribly (see earlier post). I realized, instead of trying to figure out what others wanted me to be, I needed to start by asking the question 'what have I been created for?' God has created me for a distinct purpose, distinctly unique. There is no one else like me in the world, not a single person. There has never been a me and there never will be a me. I am it and to quote one of my favourite authors and speakers, 'the world needs me to be me.'
Just like the world needs me to be me, the world needs you to be you. The world does NOT need me to try and be like another person, or for you to be like another person. We have all been designed by such a creative God to be uniquely us. This means we all have something to bring to the table the world has never seen. Did you hear that? Did I hear that? We all have something to bring to the table the world has never seen. Ok, woah.
Pausing to take this in.
What do I bring to the table? What do you bring to the table? So many of us believe we need to have a lot of meat at the table. We all bring various different kinds, flavours, and presentations, but there are duplicates. People end up bringing the same thing. When we focus so much of our energy trying to find what we are made for by looking out and asking media, clothing, and food what we were made for they will tell us pretty quickly, instantly. What I am finding out and noticing is my Creator God is not revealing to me all at once what I am made for, but is constantly revealing things about my being every day, if I would only find the space and time to step away from the noise and be quiet.
One of the things I have discovered about myself is God has uniquely designed me, and desire me, too help people see and do things they think are impossible; to help open their eyes to the possibility and truth of more. This took me a long time to discover because I was trying to find it in all the wrong places. It's really quite simple isn't it? Shouldn't we all be listening to and asking our Creator for the exact thing we bring to the table? I mean, God did create us. God knows our inner most being, all the complexities (Psalm 139:13-16). God knows the very deep desires we have. God knows the exact thing the world needs from me and from you.
As stated above, it saddens me to see students blown here and there by people, places, and things telling them to be this, do that, and need anything. It saddens me because I see so many incredible things in students and children. I see things in them they don't even know about. As I tell them things I see they look at me strangely because I don't sound like what they hear all the time. As a Pastor I am trying to guide and give space to God showing the students what they were 'made for' (to quote Alex Street). My desire is to see each student I work with step into the very reason why Creator God has made them.
Here's the deal. When we all step into the very thing God has created us for we WILL be most alive.
Now I already hear the naysayers and people who say they may not have time for this, ok. How about this: can we all agree to do one thing? Let's all take the advice of Bob Goff and love people, ok? If you don't want to do anything more than you are doing and don't really care about what you were created for, can you love people? There is too much hate in our world. We need more love. I don't know the exact details about why Bob Goff (bobgoff.com) was created, but here is what I do know: He has inspired SO MANY people to love in ways we never thought possible and pretty much everyone who encounters Bob is inspired to love in ways never thought possible. This is his gift to the world and it is what we all need to do if we don't know what to do.
What are you created for? What do you possess, which the world needs?
The world doesn't need another version of another person. The world needs me and you to be uniquely us. The world needs uniquely us to do and be the person God created us to be. Isn't this such a great journey? Honestly. At least for me it is exciting to see things come out in myself and others, which are so unique to the setting we find ourselves in.
If we don't step into what we were created for, hear this, we are robbing the world of what it needs. You and I were made for something. You and I were designed by a Creator who invites us to give what we possess to the world which needs this very thing.
Take the journey.
Discover who you are.
Explore all the unique things.
Give the world what you have to offer because The World Needs You.
'If you eat this it will make you act like me.'
'If you do this you will be cool like everyone else.'
'If you wear this you will look like everyone else.'
Working with students is a lot of fun. Unlike adults, students wear their emotions on their sleeves and are pretty transparent about a lot of things. I say, unlike adults, because adults have learned to hide certain things about themselves and, more often than not, only present the good things. Students, they haven't quite learned the craft and as such, are who they are. There is a lot to learn from these students.
The one thing which saddens me quite a lot with students is the constant new trends. It's been said by Youth Ministry experts, Youth Culture changes every 3 months. I actually think it changes even fast than this, maybe even every 2 months. New trends can be good, but when students change with the trend because they think the world needs this or that, or for them to be something more than they are, this saddens me.
I have been Created by a God who has designed me to be me, not someone else, but me. My journey has led me down the path of doing what I believed others wanted me to be and it ended horribly (see earlier post). I realized, instead of trying to figure out what others wanted me to be, I needed to start by asking the question 'what have I been created for?' God has created me for a distinct purpose, distinctly unique. There is no one else like me in the world, not a single person. There has never been a me and there never will be a me. I am it and to quote one of my favourite authors and speakers, 'the world needs me to be me.'
Just like the world needs me to be me, the world needs you to be you. The world does NOT need me to try and be like another person, or for you to be like another person. We have all been designed by such a creative God to be uniquely us. This means we all have something to bring to the table the world has never seen. Did you hear that? Did I hear that? We all have something to bring to the table the world has never seen. Ok, woah.
Pausing to take this in.
What do I bring to the table? What do you bring to the table? So many of us believe we need to have a lot of meat at the table. We all bring various different kinds, flavours, and presentations, but there are duplicates. People end up bringing the same thing. When we focus so much of our energy trying to find what we are made for by looking out and asking media, clothing, and food what we were made for they will tell us pretty quickly, instantly. What I am finding out and noticing is my Creator God is not revealing to me all at once what I am made for, but is constantly revealing things about my being every day, if I would only find the space and time to step away from the noise and be quiet.
One of the things I have discovered about myself is God has uniquely designed me, and desire me, too help people see and do things they think are impossible; to help open their eyes to the possibility and truth of more. This took me a long time to discover because I was trying to find it in all the wrong places. It's really quite simple isn't it? Shouldn't we all be listening to and asking our Creator for the exact thing we bring to the table? I mean, God did create us. God knows our inner most being, all the complexities (Psalm 139:13-16). God knows the very deep desires we have. God knows the exact thing the world needs from me and from you.
As stated above, it saddens me to see students blown here and there by people, places, and things telling them to be this, do that, and need anything. It saddens me because I see so many incredible things in students and children. I see things in them they don't even know about. As I tell them things I see they look at me strangely because I don't sound like what they hear all the time. As a Pastor I am trying to guide and give space to God showing the students what they were 'made for' (to quote Alex Street). My desire is to see each student I work with step into the very reason why Creator God has made them.
Here's the deal. When we all step into the very thing God has created us for we WILL be most alive.
Now I already hear the naysayers and people who say they may not have time for this, ok. How about this: can we all agree to do one thing? Let's all take the advice of Bob Goff and love people, ok? If you don't want to do anything more than you are doing and don't really care about what you were created for, can you love people? There is too much hate in our world. We need more love. I don't know the exact details about why Bob Goff (bobgoff.com) was created, but here is what I do know: He has inspired SO MANY people to love in ways we never thought possible and pretty much everyone who encounters Bob is inspired to love in ways never thought possible. This is his gift to the world and it is what we all need to do if we don't know what to do.
What are you created for? What do you possess, which the world needs?
The world doesn't need another version of another person. The world needs me and you to be uniquely us. The world needs uniquely us to do and be the person God created us to be. Isn't this such a great journey? Honestly. At least for me it is exciting to see things come out in myself and others, which are so unique to the setting we find ourselves in.
If we don't step into what we were created for, hear this, we are robbing the world of what it needs. You and I were made for something. You and I were designed by a Creator who invites us to give what we possess to the world which needs this very thing.
Take the journey.
Discover who you are.
Explore all the unique things.
Give the world what you have to offer because The World Needs You.
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