Ears to hear...

Typically my blog leans more toward the philosophical than the practical...but perhaps today I can blend the two a little more intentionally.
I'm a youth pastor and very shortly will have been in youth ministry for 20 years...
I've seen and experienced a little over those years, however, I don't pretend for a minute that I have this all figured out.
I love students and will always love students, but not everyone shares my affection for the pubescent masses.
Probably because, now, more than ever, teenagers are direct. Students speak their minds even if it's not polite or socially acceptable...which I happen to find refreshing, but to some, this is offensive.
To the aged ones out there, (anyone over 25) who feel disconnected and like you've lost touch or control or both... Don't worry, we all have those days, but this freedom of speech is striking you as disrespectful or irreverent and so it rubs you the wrong way.
This is more often symptomatic of a generational disconnect than it is a cultural norm, although we have experienced a consistent decline in the respect for our elders department over the last 50 years...but, I digress.
What we, like all other generations of adults before us must realize is this: Students are saying more than we are hearing. I don't think this is a startling new revelation, but, If you really want to connect with the teens in your life, hear them. Don't just listen to them and respond out of your annoyance at their lingo or feigned disinterest.
Actually take a moment and listen...focus and hear them.

In many instances, they are dying for you to hear them. yeah, you might not understand everything that's going on or coming out, but for God's sake...try. You'll never know how significant the effort is to them and the impact that it makes until you do. Though we may never permanently span the generation gaps, we certainly can make the effort to build a few little walking bridges here and there and be amazed at what comes of it.

Though Youth Ministry might not be for everyone, we all have a responsibility to bring those generations along that follow us...at the very least we should try and do it intentionally...Lord knows we're reaping the rewards of the accidental influence past generations of adults have had on the "angry youth" around them.

Stop, look, listen and be amazed.

Oh, give me ears that i might see more clearly, than i do through eyes that oft deceive me...hearing, not only listening...discerning, learning, loving, being.