BUILD UP or Shut Up.

You are in a position to do more than influence students; you can help construct–to build up–young men and women. Don’t give in to the occasional temptation to destruct . . . to tear down. Berating a student because of poor behavior or a bad attitude is easy to do. The challenge is to let the student know how he has erred, and equip him and encourage him to make better choices.

One of my lifelong friends recently asked me to help him knock out his old bathroom so that he could remodel it. We were ripping and tearing, swinging hammers and crow bars to take out the old room. Destruction is fun for the destructors. But, when he went to put in the new room, he called his friend who was a professional handy-man to do the construction. Anybody can destroy, only the skilled can build up.

Work on your youth ministry construction skills. It is true: sometimes we need to use the sledgehammers of corrective words. However, if you are not going to speak the restorative words to build the student up, you should not saying anything. Youth leaders, teachers, coaches, ministers, and parents have been placed in the lives of students to help them mature into healthy and constructive adults. Choose your words wisely and let’s get to building!

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.