FEELINGS

I come to you this morning not as a children’s minister but as a youth parent. Most of you know that Arlo resigned as youth minister last night. I am sure he did this with a heavy heart. I did text Arlo this morning and He and Jennie are fully committed to the youth until God brings us someone else. That includes Winter Extreme & I know some of you had questions about who would handle that trip. I am so thankful to Arlo and Jennie for stepping up immediately and volunteering when the Mayo’s resigned. They joined our staff & I fill like they showed love and a true concern for our youth.

As a church family we have some things we need to do. First, we need to be in prayer that the devil is barred from our church doors & from every crevice.  He will use any way he can to slip in. We need to pray for Arlo & Jennie because I know their hearts are hurting.  We need to be in prayer for whoever is on the youth search committee that they make decisions based on God not on their own feelings.  We need to be in prayer for Joey as he leads the committee. We need to be in prayer for whoever God brings us that our hearts will be open to change and we and our children will welcome them with open arms. We need to be in prayer for our youth. I know we had many youth upset last night. I hope our older youth who were devastated when they lost their 1^st youth minister will remember those feelings of sadness & heartbreak and reach out to those who are hurting & encourage them that it will all work out. Isn’t that what Christians should do for each other? As parents we need to encourage our youth to stay involved and be at church for all things not just the fun stuff. We need to encourage them to be respectful to Arlo & Jennie & to pray for them because they are still their leaders for the time being & because as Christians we should be respectful & be in prayer for people anyway. I also encourage you to ask them to understand the process of searching for a youth minister. The process can be long & we don’t want to think we are neglecting finding them someone but the truth is the person will come in God’s time not WBBC’s time.  This is a great opportunity for our youth to really experience church and see that it takes prayer and hard work to make things happen. This could be a great family bonding experience as you talk about your youth’s feelings, concerns, assure them God always has a plan & pray with them.  Lastly, this can be a time where you explain to your child that church is not about the youth leader, the Sunday school teacher, or the pastor. Coming to church is about worshipping God and building your own relationship with God. I remember years ago complaining about a fill in preacher & someone said to me, you are not here to like or dislike the person leading, you are here to hear the message about God & that should be where the focus stays. The point was taken & I have looked at the message ever since then, not the person. I know everyone has different feelings today. This was my way of letting them out. I hope they help someone. I hope you all know how much I love my church and only want to see the best happen at WBBC. Be in prayer for the Clark’s today. Amy’s mom is not doing well & be in prayer for the Raines family as they lay Carol to rest today.