for those who know me well, it is no surprise that i think about the practice of youth ministry a great deal. i am very much a student of the profession to which i have been called, as well as a contributor to the conversation of "doing good youth ministry". as i have mentioned before, in order to continue to become better at doing youth ministry we have to ask some important questions and call some things out at times. one avenue we are heading down at oak grove which excites me is the road of "redemptive relationships". we have said together that we want to invest in each other, student to student, and adult to student, in such a way that we make a difference in each other's lives. our mentor program is a huge step in this direction, as are our community groups. there are times in youth ministry in which i feel we are doing so much peripheral planning that we almost become "too busy for kids". that is an indictment i don't want to live under. i don't want us to become so wrapped up in event management, and administrative details in the pursuit of youth ministry, that we are left for very little time to pour into kids in casual conversation and investments of time. i feel like we are asking the right questions and making some good decisions about how to spend our time and resources. we'll get there.