Professionalism is the death of vocation

I can't help it, I'm a sentimental Brit. I drink warm beer because it reminds me of sitting beside a pub fire on a cold winter's day. I buy dates at Christmas even though I don't like them, because that is what I've always done. Ah nostalgia. Heck, I've been in the church too long. I will be campaigning to bring back the hymn books soon. And yet despite all this stuff and nonsense, I do have some nagging doubts that some things were in fact, rather than just in fantasy, better in a bygone age. For instance: youth ministry.

The new improved professional version has much going for it: it is safer, better organised, better presented, more thought through and whatever. In fact it is better in nearly every way except one apparently incidental way: the fruit. Yep, the all singing all dancing version is largely sterile and fruitless. At least it is in the UK and from what I've seen the US too.

Professionalism isn't necessarily a bad thing. My rugby team has gone pro, and they're darn good. However it is if it stifles us, because now that we're professional, we need to act the part. It is if it focuses attention more on how we do things than why, and the means becomes the end. It is if our identity becomes so intrinsically swallowed in what we do that we'd prefer to move the goal posts than admit failure.

Being called amateurish is a put down. But amateur simply means doing or being something just for the love of it. I'm a professional youth worker, but my heros were the amateurs who led me to faith. They weren't particularly good at what they did. But they were very passionate about it, or more to the point about Jesus. It showed, and I responded.

These days few young people come to faith through our youth ministry. We excuse this fact by saying faith is a journey, and young people are starting the journey further and further back these days. However I'm not sure they are starting further back than those radically converted on Paul's missionary journeys through the pagan Roman empire. But then those making this excuse probably haven't read much of those journeys. They've too many "how to" books to read on youth ministry. Personally I wonder whether we need more passion for Jesus, more reckless Pauline abandon and less youth ministry qualifications.

We train youth ministers in visionary networks, and most see the networks as the context for the training. I see the training as the contexts for visionary networks. Yes we'll teach how to do all the risk assessments necessary to produce a squeaky clean program, but only after we've inspired, please Father, one another to get down on our knees and cry out for fruit. We're not youth ministers. We're lovers of Jesus. We don't get paid to do this. In fact we have to pay, and significantly, if we're doing the job properly. It's my heart's response to His call. For ever an amateur. Whatever it takes to bring young people to faith. Hundreds, thousands of them!