O'Hare Airport, Chicago, IL

I think I'm a creature of habit.  I never thought I was, but I think I just discovered that I am. 

I'm here at O'Hare Airport preparing to head out of town for the weekend.  And I have a bit of a routine on morning trips like this...get checked in, go through security, head to Starbucks.  Order a tall non-fat Chai and a lowfat lemon muffin.  (Notice the "non-fat" and "low-fat" options...those are just things to make me feel better for getting a drink that already has 150 calories and a muffin with more than 400!)

But today I didn't feel like it.  I think I'm tired of Chai.  And I can already taste the muffin in my mouth before approaching the line that's already ten people deep.  So I quickly peruse the menu and look for another option.  (No one really looks at the menu at Starbucks...they're all just creatures of habit.)  I'm not a fan of coffee, I don't feel like tea, and it's a gloomy day so a cold drink doesn't seem appealing.  I finally settle on a tall vanilla creme, with caramel.  And a lowfat lemon muffin.  (I just can't change that much at once.)

But as I sit here waiting for my flight to board it's left me wondering a little bit about the way we run our ministries.  If they haven't already, within the next few weeks tens of thousands of youth workers around the country will embark on a new ministry year.  Many of them have calendars they've planned out for months, message topics they've been working on for weeks, and everything lined up to go. 

But how much of all that planning is a result of habit?  How many of us have started this next year the same way we started last year?  How often do we step up to the youth room (like I stepped up to the Starbucks line) without a clue that there may be a new way of doing things - a new menu of ministry options to choose from? 

In the college ministry I lead, our staff team just went through a process of recrafting this ministry year.  We've come to realize that the way we worked last year didn't work as well as we liked, so we had to go back to the drawing board.  This year we start with a whole new approach, an entirely new focus.  We know we're going to have a new group of students (so many have graduated or moved away), so it's actually a good time for a new start. 

What's happening in your youth ministry this year?  Have you learned anything from your prior experience?  Are you applying anything new that you've learned?  Have you considered making a change to your routines? 

You see, I'm not one to change just for the sake of change.  But I'm also not one to stick with the current plan just because we've always done it that way.  I'm tired of Chai right now.  It's time for a change.  Are your students tired of your youth ministry?  Maybe it's time to try something new. 

I'm praying for you as you start your ministries this year.  It can be a daunting task to lead a group of teenagers and try to help them know, love, and serve Christ.  But it can be done.  Maybe it means a little tweak here or there, but you can do it!