‘Vulnerability Is What the Next Generation Really Needs’ – Samuel’s Onelife Story
I love God and I love his people, but the pandemic was rough. And there came a point where I just thought, ‘I need some help.’
The beginning of 2021 was quite a quite a low point in my ministry and in my timeline as a youth pastor. We were in the middle of the Covid pandemic, and I was very aware that in my ministry, in my life, and also in my heart, I was hitting a brick wall. I was doing my best in terms of pastoring young people in an online world but by January 2021 I was finding it difficult, draining and lacking in creativity.
I had this sense that, at this point in my life, I need some outside input, some coaching, and an environment where I can think differently. I needed to have my mind and vision expanded regarding my current circumstances. And so I was looking for semi-academic leadership training that I could do alongside my job – something that was primarily going to sharpen me in my leadership and in my current role, but then also strengthen my heart health towards church ministry. That's what I was looking for.
I really think it was just God's timing that I was doing the Onelife Certificate. And it was genuinely everything I could have asked for.
‘good character and leadership is not a hurdle that you jump in your first three years. The fundamentals of good character and leadership is a task that we must continually devote ourselves to’
The teaching on the Certificate was absolutely phenomenal. The emphasis on character, and leadership, is timeless. I think it's biblical. I think it's godly.
The older I get, the more I've been involved in ministry, the more I’m realising good character and leadership is not a hurdle that you jump in your first three years then get past and not have to revisit. The fundamentals of good character and leadership is a task that we must continually devote ourselves to. And I think it's something that needs to continually be emphasised in any leadership role in the church especially, let alone the world.
Leaders have a responsibility to have a heart full of love towards God and a heart full of love towards people. And right in the heart of that is a call to holiness, a call to Christ-like character.
One session on the Certificate was all about the ‘Character Death Star’. It explores where your blind spots are when it comes to your character – those ‘cracks’ in your character that the enemy is looking to use to attack and take you out. If you can take out a leader, then the enemy can take out and disillusion everyone else, too. The ‘Character Death Star’ teaching really helped me to think about my own blind spots and the places where my character is wearing thin.
‘I’ve never been in an environment that was so encouraging about vulnerability’
One of the best things about Onelife and the Certificate was the absolute emphasis on vulnerability. I’ve never been in an environment that was so encouraging about vulnerability! We were able to get alongside peers in different contexts and learn from each other, be encouraged by each other and share with each other. I made some friends on the Certificate that I’m sure I’ll be friends with for many, many years, and that is invaluable.
We also had periodic coaching throughout the year, and it was just fantastic to have that kind of outside perspective on your life and what you're doing. The amazing thing about that coach was that they didn’t give a monkey's about how you're doing in your job. They don't care about your objectives or your goals or how well you're doing. They just care about you. And they want to see you thrive and having that outside voice from your local context was just brilliant.
Going forward in my ministry I want to become better at asking for help, and welcoming more outside voices and mentoring in my life. I want to be better at admitting I don’t have it all together and at asking for that outside input to check my blind spots.
I want my leadership, and youth ministry, to look more distinctly Christian than ever. It’s what makes us, us!
‘It’s so easy for the expectancy of the prayer and the prophetic to drop in youth ministry. It's so easy for youth ministry to become entertainment-focused’
The whole experience of the Certificate was so Christ-centred and covered in prayer, and expectant about the ministry of the Holy Spirit. But it’s so easy for the expectancy of the prayer and the prophetic to drop in youth ministry. Specifically, it's so easy for youth ministry to become so entertainment-focused. I'm so tempted to be a youth club promoter, and I'm actually quite good at it. It's a lot easier to host an event with 100 youth than it is to disciple 10 young people – it looks better, it sells better.
But the overwhelming influence of the Certificate has been to firm up my foundation, and give me more peace in my role. I'm here to love God, to love his people and disciple them in the way of Jesus. And if the silent disco headsets don't arrive on time, that's alright. Because I'm not an event manager.
My role is to be of good character, to maintain hope and disciple young people.
I took away from the Certificate the utmost importance of discipleship among the young people I work with. To disciple 10 young people who go on to disciple 10 young people themselves – I think it’s the ministry of Jesus. It’s the hard road, sure, it’s the narrow way – it might not be the most immediate win – but that discipleship and investing in their character formation will lead to the long-term transformation of young people’s lives.
I have a renewed sense of confidence, and hope, in what I’m doing and in what we’re doing as the local church and as youth pastors. That sense of security and identity has enabled me to be more peaceful and I think it helps other people and other leaders be more peaceful. I think it gives more space for mistakes and for learning, and I think it gives more space for other people to take up space on platforms.
‘I have a renewed sense of confidence, and hope, in what I’m doing and in what we’re doing as the local church and as youth pastors’
I want to be vulnerable. And I want our youth ministry to be marked by vulnerability. I think it's high time! I'm getting quite stirred as I think about it. I think it's high time we create church environments that are not about performing religious moralism, but are about the vulnerability and humility that God loves. Scripture is clear that ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble’ (Proverbs 3:34, James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5). Vulnerability is a huge aspect of humility and it is high time we welcome that. I've spent a lot of my life in church environments, trying to play church games and perform, when actually I think the real requirement of our time and with this generation of young people is vulnerability: in church, in faith, in life.
I would love to go on in my ministry, looking for people and praising people's character over their performance. When I look at the young people in my youth ministry or at the volunteers, am I looking for the cleverest or am I looking for the most faithful?
I would love to be someone who praises a person’s heart behind the scenes, rather than their excellence on platforms. The temptation is to raise up the gifted and to applaud the most spectacular performers, when actually deep down I know that God loves a heart that is devoted to him.
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Samuel Taylor is Head of Youth at Saint Church, London and was talking to Beth Naylor-Smith.