STUDENT MINISTRY: Are You a Claire or a Claude?

We have two dogs in our house. Claire is a Double Doodle — half labradoodle and half golden doodle. Claude is a Havapoo — half havanese and half poodle. Why do I mention these two furry freeloaders? I guess I can’t really call them that since they work with my wife in her counseling office, but they can be a pain in the neck. Weather permitting, my evenings usually include a walk with these two goofballs. Claire walks with purpose. She looks ahead and sees all that is around her. She sees the birds and squirrels. She understands my commands, and we quickly navigate turns and changes in our path. Claude is a different character. He usually has his nose down sniffing everything. He misses out on most of the things ahead of us, and I’m constantly urging him to rejoin us.

In ministry, we need leaders and servants more like Claire. Claire has a clear purpose as we walk. She works with and for me. Because she doesn’t spend her entire time with her face in at the ground sniffing, she knows what’s happening. Let’s just say that Claude doesn’t share some of those same qualities. Claire’s good qualities are the ones I want to highlight:

• Good ministry leaders are purposeful. What is your purpose? The Bible makes it clear for believers that we are to be Great Commandment (Matt. 22:36-40) and Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20) believers. We are to love God, love others and make disciples. That purpose gives us direction in all that do and how we serve. It shapes our decisions and choices in ministry.

• Good ministry leaders are cooperative. Just like Claire, we are to work with our ministry partners. This includes other pastors, Sunday School teachers, deacons, volunteers and, in student ministry, it also means parents. If we are constantly pulling in the opposite direction like Claude, not as much is accomplished. It is all about finding the direction that God is leading and joining Him as He moves.

• Good ministry leaders don’t get lost in the details. The key word here is “lost.” Claude loves to just sniff what is right in front of him. He doesn’t look around that much but gets stuck only in the here and now. While we need leaders that are concerned about the details, we need men and women who look ahead and remember that the details in front of them are a part of a larger picture and mission. The old saying “Can’t see the forest for the trees” is what I referring to here. Claude would stay in one spot sniffing that one thing and miss out on the journey of the walk if I let him.

While most of us probably don’t want to be compared to a dog, I wouldn’t mind being more like Claire where it counts (and being able to sleep 13 hours a day wouldn’t hurt either). As we serve Christ and lead His people, let us be mindful of what we need to do and be.