“I can’t do it if it’s not perfect”
You can say it’s not perfect and be correct. You can say its not ready and be incorrect. This is the big question, right? How will I know when it’s ready?
How will I know when this message will be ready to share?
How will I know when this program is ready to launch?
How will I know when I should change things up?
How will I know if I should become a youth pastor?
How will I know if it’s time to move on?
You don’t. Not entirely. You will have inklings that it’s ready and fear that it is not. It’s possible that “it” will never be ready because you desire perfection from yourself before we put it into the world. This makes me sad.
There is a closet full, a computer full, and mind full of great ideas that will never see the light of day because “it’s” not perfect.
How To Kill This Excuse: Faith and Trust
How did I know it was time to start a Youtube Channel equipping and training youth workers?
I didn’t
How did I know it was time to write a book?
I didn’t.
How did I know it was time to get up and do walk and talks in the early a.m.?
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I didn’t.
How did I know I should start a coaching program?
I didn’t.
All of these events involved trusting myself and not underestimating the value I have accrued over 30 years. It’s also where I had to not overestimate myself and not “think more highly of my yourself than you ought”. I had to trust in the Lord and in the doing.
God has proved himself over and over again in my life. It’s not Him I’m worried about. I cannot overestimate God. He will “do more than I could ask or think” if I let Him. It’s me I am worried about. Oh, and sometimes my critics.
Maybe this is why we don’t put out our best stuff. We fear that people, kids, pastors, staff, will look too closely and catch that we are not as perfect we we portray ourselves; that we shall be revealed as frauds. News Flash: The critics are frauds too. They don’t have anything new or perfect to put out so they criticize the people who do.
I just got back from speaking at a youth retreat. The weekend and the kids were pretty epic, but my messages were not ready until the day of. I had doubts and more doubts.
I agonized over wording, pace, the right background for the slides, and a dozen other little things. I wanted to make sure the gospel, and the message of the retreat, was made plain and receivable by a student. It wasn’t really ready, but the retreat started at 5:00 whether I was ready or not.
Nothing is perfect including, and especially, youth ministry. We have kids who do not show up, bail on us, quit following Jesus, and here we are without any thing perfect to show off. Or do we?
Love is perfect. Perfect love casts out fear. We can still love the kids we have, imperfectly, and they will receive it. They will forgive our lousy messages, our crazy ideas, our inconsistencies, our insecurities, and our imperfections if we just show up and love them.
So what if it’s not perfect. Quit making excuses and put it out there; it will be worth it and God will take it and do something awesome with it.