Attitude: It's a killer, boss!

My youth minister in high school used to quote Bartok the bat from the movie "Anastasia," who said, "Stress-- it's a killer, boss!" Today, I'm borrowing the phrase to talk about attitude, which has the same, and greater, power as a ministry-killer.

I met a new parent yesterday, who has a son in sixth grade who hasn't really connected with our group. She saw our program about the youth ministry, sensed our excitement and passion for it, and had a lot of questions for me about how her family might get involved.

I was thrilled, and brought my report back to our regular youth staff meeting as a potential triumph. When the response I heard was, "We'll believe it when we see it," my optimism took a little bit of a downer. I didn't lose any excitement over the chance to meet a new family; that's still going to happen. What caught me off-guard was the attitude in our meeting.

I used to attend a music festival in lower Michigan; one year, in a class there, we were learning a particularly tough piece of music, and my part seemed to be the hardest of all. I really didn't like the piece, and even though I was improving at it, every time our teacher told us to take it out, I made the most horrible face. It was awful. If I had a picture of that face, I would have to censor it so none of my readers would get sick all over their keyboards.

My very wise teacher told me not to make that face even in practice. "If you start making it now, even to be funny," she explained, "you'll make it a habit, and then when we go to perform it, you'll make it on stage. The audience will know you don't like the piece." When the audience knows a performer doesn't like the part he or she is playing, they react differently to it-- usually not good-differently.

I don't like it when people hide behind busy schedules and don't commit to being part of a ministry, but I owe everyone I talk to the benefit of the doubt. When a person tells me that our ministry sounds exciting and they want to be part of it, it does not matter how long it takes for them to get involved. I will simply keep talking with them and reaching out and eventually, when God nudges them, they will be here.

Next time our youth staff sits down together, this is my first concern; to eliminate phrases like "we'll believe it when we see it" from our minds. If we start saying those things among ourselves, the people we serve with will start to notice that attitude in us. And that doubtful attitude has no place in the Kingdom.