Lesson 11:  You are who they see, not who you think they see.

If you have been in ministry very long, you have probably had a few days in which you questioned your success. Maybe you doubted your effectiveness. Maybe you doubted yourself as a person. I have those days fairly often. We give, encourage, build, teach, speak, love until we are dry and empty. We need what we give. We need to hear the words of affirmation. We need to know we are loved and valuable.

In those times, it is easy to put on a front. We end up trying to project a facade of someone spiritual, someone who has his or her life completely together. The funny thing is, students don’t really care about our super-spiritual projections of ourselves. They care about who we really are to them–personally.

This seventh-grader was assigned by his English teacher to write a poem about a hero of his choice. I am a big fan of Daredevil and Batman and I would have expected him to choose some bigger than life, fictional character like that. But this student wrote about me. I’m nobody’s hero, let me tell you, but it was flattering and affirming. How did he picture me? Not like I see myself. In one line he described me as muscular. I am grossly out of shape. He noticed my hairy arms and called me “part ape and part Arnold Schwarneger.”

Students view of you is a reflection of the relationship they have with you. And it might surprise you how they see you . . . the good, the bad, and the hairy.

Zach Skipper has spent over 12 years working with students. He has served as a youth minister, speaker, and bible study teacher. He is currently leading Bigtime Ministries while part-time coaching at one of the country’s leading Junior Highs in Birmingham, AL. To find out more about Zach’s ministry, contact him at www.bigtimeministries.com.