The ‘major push to the end’

Not the most catching headline I have used, but one that I seem to be drawn to as I write this today.

I will try and explain. I began thinking back to my 16 years of teaching, and I remembered how it was about this time each year. As a teacher, I would always look at where I wanted to be at the end of the year, and I would quickly realize that I still had a long way to go to reach my goals. So as hard as I would fight it and accept the fact that I may not reach my goals, I unbearably would begin my annual "Major Push To The End," meaning, teach a session each day, give an assignment, and automatically assume that the students were learning.

Since I spoke it, they had learned. Was this the case? Of course not. We were simply covering the material, and not taking the valuable time to learn. Once in a great while, I would realize this. So what would I do? Teach it louder!

Well, this time of year has came again; our young people are coming to the end of another academic year. We are nearing graduations and this long awaited summer break. But from the youth ministry side of things, I ask myself -- and I ask you -- how can we not fall into this trap of making a major push to the end? How can we instead realize more deeply that there is no end, that youth ministry -- our ministry to the young people, our ministry in the Church -- never ends? We must continue to find ways of bringing the joy of our Risen Lord into the lives of our young people.

As we move to the end of another school term, I am delighted to be receiving the many graduation announcements from young people throughout the diocese. I am always saddened because so many of these fall on the same day, and I realize that I cannot attend all of them, as much as I would like. But I am also excited because I look at it as a giant pat on the back, knowing that in some way I have touched the life of this young person enough for them to have the desire to extend this invitation to me. I again am very grateful for what each of these young people has given me.

From this, I also realize that one common link binds it all together. These young people are extending this same graduation invitation to many other youth throughout all of Southwest Kansas, youth whom they have met through various youth ministry gatherings. In this we can see that, "when you make friends with God as the root, the friendships last longer."

As I continue working with our young people, I see this as being very true. The friendships made through youth ministry events will last a lifetime. Other friendships, at times, have trouble surviving.

As we near the end of this school term and move toward another summer break, let’s not find ourselves pushing to the end, but instead praying for direction from the Holy Spirit, so that our ministry will be ongoing, and that we may continue helping our young people make friends -- with God as the root.

Thank you and may the joy of this Easter season continue to be with each of you.