A while back I realized that a majority of the people I hung out with were 16. It wasn't all bad though as they were the guys in my small group and I loved being with them. But, there was a negative side to it as I didn't really have a good core group of guys who helped me grow.
There was a time that I met with Jeff, Tim and Scott almost every Tuesday night. I lived in Los Angeles and would meet Jeff in Glendora and we would meet to hang with Tim and Scott in Redlands. For me it meant a small group night where I was committing to drive about 80 miles each way to be with these guys. Jeff and I met and for about an hour would talk about what was happening in our ministries and our marriages (or his engagement) and then we'd meet up with the guys and rock climb for a while and then go eat. Although the night involved more driving then talking it was important to me because they were guys that knew me well and were my friends.
Youth ministry is sometimes a scary place where we hang out with students all the time and only have relationships with other leaders and people who do the same things as us. I can't even count the number of times I've hung out with my "church youth ministry friends" where we've spent to much time talking about church, youth and ministry and not about real life.
Texas is tough for me because the majority of my friends in the Park Cities are people who work at the church and are involved in youth ministry (Youth, college or young adult). Its something I'm aware of but at the same time scary to realize that as a 38 year old man who just moved to Texas it's hard to find friends outside of what I do.
Working on it.
Part 1: Parents are your best friends or worst enemies.
Part 2: You won't like every kid and every kid won't like you.
Part 3: Perceived vs. Real Needs.
Part 4: Learn to say you are sorry.
Part 5: Better Safe than Sued
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