Okay, fine I admit it; I'm a song skipper.  I'm that guy!  The one who gets halfway or three-quarters of the way through a song on my cd player, and then, skip.  No warning, no questions, just an immediate impulse of irritation that I'm trying to correct through help from the, "don't do things that annoy others," part of my life.  I tend to never skip a song that I really like, or one that has a great ending.  However, even if it's a song on a c.d. that I've never even heard and it doesn't catch me by the end of the chorus, a "skip spirit" comes on me and my impulse takes over.  I even have songs on my ipod, which I personally loaded on as songs of choice, but on certain songs the end becomes repetitive and without fail, by the touch of my thumb, I bail out and head for a greener pasture of fresh songs.  Ideally, I want a song that I can feel from the beginning!  You know, the kind of song where I find myself singing along through the chorus and bridge, and it leaves me hoping that they'll sing the verse again before they end.  When I consider it to be a great song, and worthy of listening, I have no problem listening until the end.

I'll never forget when I first became a Youth Pastor.  At that time, I wasn't savvy enough to say "student pastor," so all you up-to-date guys forgive me. The truth is, I knew I was called, I knew where I was called, okay the truth is, I was clueless!  In my mind, coming into full-time ministry at the ripe ole' age of nineteen, I believed that being a youth pastor was an introductory position.  Maybe you're more familiar with the term, "stepping stone" ministry.  Either way, I'll be transparent with you.  I figured that with a few months, and a little bit of my anointed Bible College enhanced preaching, and the youth of Tallmadge would be in the state of revival!  I'll never forget walking into my first youth class on a Wednesday night.  Six teens sat looking at me, and the butterflies in my stomach grew to the size of, …well you get the picture, I was nervous.  I don't remember what I taught that night, but they don't either.  Man have I learned a lot since then!  I am currently into my eighth year of being a student pastor, and yes I am up-to-date now, I think.  Truthfully, whether you're called a youth pastor, student pastor, or youth director, the name doesn't really matter; it's what you do with the calling and responsibility.  To ensure the effectiveness of youth leadership there are several qualities that must apply.  However, I have found that few rank higher in the directing of students lives than consistency and longevity.  In my years of youth leadership at Tallmadge, along with my ability to serve as a part of the Ohio District Youth Committee, I have learned a valuable lesson that every youth worker needs to hear, THERE IS NO SUBSTITUE FOR YOUR TIME!  There is a sea of emotionally wounded youth to minister to in each community. It appears in many situations that local churches are struggling to keep a consistent youth worker.  Statistically, it takes five years to turn a youth group into a group loyal to your leadership.  Don't worry, when I first heard that statistic it sounded like forever to me also, however time flies when you get busy reaching and beginning to disciple kids.  I truly believe in this hour that God is looking for committed, consistent, people who will not quickly walk away from the responsibility of Student Leadership.  You can do it; God will help you to be successful.  Always remember, whether you lead two or two hundred students, whatever the number, they need your example of consistency and longevity. I know that the "song of the youth leadership" can become trying and redundant at times, but don't hit the skip button and move on, I promise there's a great ending!