tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1735040292604331611.post6882448544114451846..comments2023-10-17T10:25:57.853-04:00Comments on learning my lines. . .: Picked Last. . . .Walt Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16502588185280592205noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1735040292604331611.post-9575548542988358632013-12-03T12:16:22.396-05:002013-12-03T12:16:22.396-05:00Walt, thanks for this. It cannot be said enough. ...Walt, thanks for this. It cannot be said enough. I was one of those athletic kids who got picked first, so I didn't feel the pain on the field - rather, it came from an unexpected source. Roughly 25 years later I still remember the words that a boy in youth group said to several of us (girls) when they had been verbally attacking during in a discussion and we had been trying to keep things civil and simply trying to get a word in edge-wise. He said, "If you can't run with the big dogs, stay off the track!" At that moment, the youth pastor missed a chance to teach them that the Kingdom of God operates under different rules than their games - AND those of the world. Instead, that attitude went onto shape future encounters in youth group. I was mature enough in my faith not to let this shake me, but as a result, youth group was never a place of refuge for me as it operated largely an extension of the "world." Unfortunately I have noticed over the years that youth pastors seem to gravitate towards the loud and popular students, meaning that the quiet, shy, and contemplative ones - not to mention the downright unpopular ones - get overlooked unless they can play along with this extrovert ideal. I think, perhaps, that this is partly because of personality types of people who choose to go into youth ministry. I also wish that more women became youth pastors and that churches hired them in this role - it could have made it a very different experience for many of us. Do you know how much harder it is for female students to find spiritual mentors and leaders to emulate, because we don't meet them in leadership in youth group?Eve N.noreply@blogger.com