In a lot of churches much time is spent on figuring out what to do by way of activities and programs and very little time on getting the right people to lead. As long as there is a warm body in a classroom that's good enough. The reality however, is that there are plenty of great programs that practically teach themselves. What there is a shortage of is dedicated, spiritual individuals who have a heart for teaching and leading youth and children.
Therein lies the tension between "being" and "doing". Doing youth ministry programs or teaching a Christian Education class in reality is not that hard. There are plenty of great places to get curriculum on a variety of topics. These programs or curriculum are very well put together, theologically sound and easy to implement. In some cases, most of these programs will practically lead themselves. But to have the right people who are comfortable with their spirituality and to know who they are, is a very rare thing.
When I go around and speak to various churches about their youth or Christian Education program, one of the first questions is usually always "What do we need to do?" I would contend that that isn't the first concern that needs to be dealt with. What they need to be discussing is who is going to be involved in leading our teaching program and helping these individuals discover the very special and unique person that God has made them be. By doing that, they invest in the core of the program (the leaders) and begin to change a program from the inside out. For too many people who lead Christian programs don't appreciate the person God has made them to be. They don't know who they are because they haven't spent adequate time figuring that out. All they know is how to "do." Which leads me to the point of this article. It is not about "doing" it is about "being." Anyone can "do" but it takes a very special and unique person to "be."
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