{"id":3276,"date":"2025-05-27T18:22:51","date_gmt":"2025-05-27T18:22:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yplife.org\/?p=3276"},"modified":"2025-05-27T18:33:58","modified_gmt":"2025-05-27T18:33:58","slug":"pointing-teens-to-the-pastor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yplife.org\/?p=3276","title":{"rendered":"Pointing Teens to the Pastor"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hebrews 13:17 “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.”
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The problem with America and pretty much the world today is that everyone has their roles confused.\u00a0Children aren\u2019t obedient to their parents, wives are not submissive to their husbands, husbands are not the leaders in the home, the government takes more and more responsibility for raising kids,\u00a0and people are even confused what gender God made them to be.\u00a0This creeps into the church as well.\u00a0A church member doesn\u2019t like what he hears so he threatens withhold his tithe if the pastor doesn\u2019t change his message or sister so and so\u00a0wants more authority in the choir, and sometimes the youth pastor builds the youth department to himself.

Here are some things that happen when talking about the youth pastor building a youth group to himself:
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1. A man is fresh out of college and thinks about his youth pastor and how much respect he had for him, so inadvertently he wants\u00a0HIS\u00a0teens to respect\u00a0HIM\u00a0just as much.<\/strong> He does a great job but is sure to let the kids know about all the work\u00a0HE\u00a0does. The kids are drawn to him, his enthusiasm and his genuine heart\u2026

2. A man has spent some time, enough time with his pastor to realize that he is not perfect and over time his flaws are magnified.<\/strong> (Sometimes someone brings them to your attention, sometimes they are legitimate concerns) Whether out of pride or even genuine concern the youth pastor begins handling everything personally. Never directing the teens to the pastor, never letting him in on problems he is working through. He makes himself the hero

3. A man is arrogant, he is self-obsorbed and only views this job as a stepping stool to his pastor\u2019s job or his own \u201copportunity\u201d<\/strong> (*disclaimer)\u00a0This story could be tweaked and changed but the end result is still the same –\u00a0the youth pastor makes the Youth Department about HIM and points the teens to HIMSELF instead of the pastor.

Why does this matter?
<\/strong>The pastor is the authority of the church and that includes the youth department. God has ordained 3 institutions and one of them is the local church (BTW – A proper youth dept will direct the teenager to obey the leaders of these 3 institutions.) Who is the leader of the church? Eph 5:23 Christ is the head of the church, but 1 Peter 5:1-4 says the pastor is the under shepherd and should feed the flock and take oversight thereof. While God is the head, the man in charge of the church, the WHOLE church, is the pastor. God always deals with His people through His man\u2026 that man is the pastor. He, not you, will answer to God for all the ministries of the church. Therefore, an important part of the foundation for the youth dept should be the PASTOR, not just the youth pastor. The pastor cannot serve in every ministry of the church. Sometimes he must delegate! I understand that there are some churches where it seems like the pastor has to do everything but that is not usually the case. HE CANT DO EVERYTHING\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n