THE HIDDEN SECRET OF STRONG YOUTH LEADERS

Firstly, Jesus was a youth leader! He surrounded himself with young people who He invested in; Jesus loved spending his time with young people!

Through-out His 3 years of ministry, Jesus had 3 constant pulls on Him almost always!

1.) He had the Pharisees - the religious people of the day always testing and questioning him.

2.) The needy - the people who came to Him needing a miracle, eager to hear and receive from Jesus.

3.) His disciples - his crew, his homies, his squad.

The Pharisees constantly asked Jesus about his ways and methods of ministry to try and catch him out; the sick and needy constantly asked Him to heal their sick and HIs disciples constantly asked of Him to explain why he did or said what He had.

Jesus was pulled by these 3 groups, yet he was never pulled apart!

What did Jesus have going on that enabled him to be pulled without being pulled apart? What did He have happening in his world that gave him the capacity to respond with Grace and Truth to the Pharisees, the sick and the disciples?

I believe the key is seen in these scriptures below:

Mark 1:35

"Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed."

Luke 5:16

"But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed."

Jesus had a private place of prayer that afforded him a public face of strength! I believe it was in these quiet, solitary places where he drew near to the father and communed with the spirit of God that gave him the core strength he needed to respond to the pull without being pulled apart.

As athlete’s we (I say "we" because I was one…) are taught that the key to great strength and agility is not the size of your biceps but the solidarity of your core. Core strength is everything!!!! The core muscles that surround our spine and abdomen stabilise you during movement, this stability enables you to be pulled in different directions whilst maintaining balance and accuracy of movement.

I believe this is the impact of a healthy, regular prayer life for every leader. Our intimacy with Jesus in prayer strengthens the core of our spirit which enables us to handle the pressure of being pulled without being pulled apart; able to give out and not be undone; able to respond to the people and pressures that leadership presents with Grace and Truth.

Let’s be leaders who have learned the art of creating a place in our daily lives to connect with God and I know we will find ourselves able to do all things through Christ who strengthens us!(Philippians 4:13)

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ALEX LEE

Alex Lee, along with his wife Jessen are the C3 Youth Pastors at Oxford Falls