Recently, Andrew Hedges wrote for YouthWorker.com that we are Still Missing the Point, doing year ending evaluation by attempting to engage in the kids perspective… even though we are not kids. And then comes this killer quote…
As has been the case for too long, many youth workers still are trying to make things work on their own. In their conversations, you hear things such as, "I tried this event," or "I had this great idea," or "I’m reaching out." If the focus is on what "I" (the youth worker) am doing with youth ministry, I’m still missing the point.
We are called to serve; therefore, we need to spend more of our time listening than we do talking.
Reminding us that we serve (not only) youth, (but) parents and parish (as well), Hedges invokes Proverbs (18:13) “He who answers before he hears– his is the folly and the shame.” and challenges us to “listen to more than that little voice in our own heads. If we don’t, we will continue to be people who are missing the point.” The whole article is a good read. <image source>
D. Scott Miller
D. Scott Miller is the dean of Catholic Youth Ministry bloggers which is a polite way of either saying that he is just plain old or has been blogging for a long time (since 2004.)
Scott recently married the lovely Anne and together they have five adult young people and also grandparent three delightful kids (so, maybe he is just plain old!) Scott presently serves at Saint John the Evangelist in Columbia, MD as the director of youth and young adult ministry.
He has previously served on the parish, regional, diocesan, and national levels as well as having taught within a catholic high school. He is one of the founders of RebuildMyChurch and has returned to posting regularly (keeping regular is important to old guys) at ProjectYM.
D. Scott Miller
D. Scott Miller is the dean of Catholic Youth Ministry bloggers which is a polite way of either saying that he is just plain old or has been blogging for a long time (since 2004.)
Scott recently married the lovely Anne and together they have five adult young people and also grandparent three delightful kids (so, maybe he is just plain old!) Scott presently serves at Saint John the Evangelist in Columbia, MD as the director of youth and young adult ministry.
He has previously served on the parish, regional, diocesan, and national levels as well as having taught within a catholic high school. He is one of the founders of RebuildMyChurch and has returned to posting regularly (keeping regular is important to old guys) at ProjectYM.
Recently, Andrew Hedges wrote for YouthWorker.com that we are Still Missing the Point, doing year ending evaluation by attempting to engage in the kids perspective… even though we are not kids. And then comes this killer quote…
Love that quote. Listening is the most important skill in ministry, yet when we’re practicing it we feel as though we’re not “doing” enough. Perhaps that’s one reason its so powerful–it allows God to “do” through us.