God used this fool

This months Synchroblog is on God’s use of the foolish.
At age 16 I started helping out at the weekly youth event for kids of ages 12-13. About six months later, because of some random events, it so happened that all three the adults running this event had to quit. Being left with two choices, either let this event end, or do it myself, I took the road less traveled by.
I started out this little youth group, made some changes, got a friend to help with the music, but he quit shortly after, and just did what I thought best. Sometimes I wonder at what I did, what we did, later when some friends also bought into the idea and helped out. In our own stupidity, things moved much faster that I think I would let things happen today. We made some small mistakes, some big mistakes. We had no “youth ministry” training. We knew absolutely nothing. The only thing was that we cared for these kids, they were friends, and we knew that it was all about relationships.
After two years, when I had to go to university, the youth group was what many would call “successful”: we had a number of kids coming every week. And we had fun, we the “leaders” also had fun. Somehow things worked out, without this fool really knowing what he was doing.
Looking back I sometimes think about the things we said, and I want to shy away. The theology was most possibly quite screwed up, I said things I would never repeat today. But somehow that didn’t matter. Luckily kids don’t listen to the things we preach, they change because of the relationships they are in. And we were simply little authentic believers that wanted to journey with them.
I think the most important reason why I am able to write this today is because it’s five years later, and I can look back upon what happened. And some of these relationships still continue. Driving back to Pretoria a week ago I again stopped in one of the towns just to quickly say hi to a girl that was in my youth group six years ago. These kids will still talk about what happened, what we did. I believe the fact that we fools were doing this, made the group very real. And God used it.
I guess this helped me to realize that we need to make room in our congregations for the fools that have ideas, and that really, it won’t necessarily turn out that bad if everything aint “under control”. I think sometimes we pastors have worked out things so well, with all out personality analysis, and courses in building up the congregation, in administrating the congregation etc etc, that we really struggle to let the fools (please understand this in a very positive sense) in our congregations loose, to let them make contributions. Sometimes, just maybe sometimes, we pastors need to learn to be God’s fools again.

Sorry for only adding the links now (Thursday), I haven’t been in a computer since Tuesday, posted from my cellphone, but couldn’t copy and paste. Well, here it is. This months fellow sychrobloggers!

• Fools Rush In by Sonja Andrews
• The Power of Paradox by Julie Clawson
• That Darn Ego by Jonathan Brink
• Won’t Get Fooled Again by Alan Knox
• Strength on the Margins by Igneous Quill
• Foolish Heart by Erin Word
• A Fool’s Choice by Cindy Harvey
• Quiet Now, God’s Calling by Jenelle D’Alessandro
• Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right… By Mike Bursell
• Ship of Fools by David Fisher
• Hut Burning for God by Father Gregory
• God Used This Fool by Cobus van Wyngaard
• Fool if you think its over by Paul Walker
• Blessed are the foolish — foolish are the blessed by Steve Hayes
• What A Fool I’ve Been by Reba Baskett
• My foolish calling by Lisa