A Healthy Reminder

One thing in the student ministry world that is always a must, is that you understand the different things that teens are going through. In the wise words of my adviser and famous youth ministry guru Duffy Robbins, "we must find a way to be relevant without being relativistic..."

Going on, I was lucky enough to spend my Friday night with an incredible lifelong friend, my cousin, Brad Poley. Brad is a Junior at Bloomsburg University. Brad can be seen in almost every one of my childhood pictures. He's one of those people that you know will always be there, as family should.

Throughout my evening with him I was able to see a little bit of the past that I was a part of before, the party scene. We played a little jam session in his apartment packing tons of people in to have some drinks and to maybe sing along. I got to witness some all too familiar scenarios. I remember seeing people blacking out, then everyone messing with them while they are knocked out. I remember the huge mess that has to be cleaned up, and I also remembered what teens act like when they have excessive alcohol.

This was important to me because I feel like I had almost forgotten that part of my life. I know it's something I'm not going to be involved in, but it was still a good reminder.

A big part of my ministry has been being able to say, "I know how you feel, I was there!". I was able to say a similar phrase while recently giving a message on dating. Just this week I was asked advice from a student who is being affected by the teen party scene. I was quickly able to say, "hey... this is what could happen if you decide to take this road... I've seen it happen..."

Now by no means am I saying that you need to be in those situations to remember where you have been. But it just so happens that this time I was able to see it first hand. Teens go through a lot. They are constantly being told by "friends" that if they are not at this party or doing this, then they are not cool. Sometimes parents and coaches forget their days when they were the same way or in the same situation. I feel that God allowed me to go down some of those bad roads just so I can say, "you know what... it might not be what you think." I hope to be able to learn more and be able to guide others better and better as I am growing up and making all new mistakes.