ENERGY killers

Last week my brother's 20 year old heating and air conditioning unit died. Yep he had to pay a ton of money to replace it but what he found out was that his old unit had been costing him twice as much each month to operate than his new unit would cost. The new unit was costly to install but in the long run will save him money. His old unit was an ENERGY KILLER...sure it worked but it was very very costly. I wonder what things in our organizations are energy killers? I am talking about things that may or may not work for some people or ministries but continue to drain our teams of needed energy. If you work with kids your list is probably going to be different but here are a few ENERGY KILLERS I think youth ministries face in many churches...

• Sunday School >> this many be working for you but for most student pastors Sunday School just kills energy and drives them crazy. Hey kids, come sit in a circle and for the most part here adults talk. Sunday School drains energy because it makes us create an environment for teens in a time slot that is just not optimal for serving teens and it keeps teenagers from serving in the church. If Sunday School has any chance of not being a energy killer you better reformat it!

• Poor environment space >> many times the ministry spaces we use for reaching teens just kill energy. Most of the time it is not the room, it is the lack of tools and freedom to transform the space into an area a teen would want to be. Florescent lights, white walls, and pink chairs are not going to get it. A sound system that cracks in and out when the band plays is not going to get it. A bad room can be an energy killer!

• Poor worship leading and planning >> worship leading and planning is an energy killer when you have the wrong people leaders and when the planning is aimed at adults not teens. Most student services I check out are planned by adults and you can tell when we the whole service is packed with things that appeal to adults. As for worship leaders...put a leader up who can't lead or sing and get ready to kill some energy!

• Too many events >> busy does not equal significant. There is a balance your team needs when it comes to events. Too many and you will KILL ENERGY because your events will be half baked and not that good.

• Tunnel vision speakers >> so many times youth pastors have no plan when they communicate and base their teaching schedule around their own desires. When the speaker says the same thing every week get ready for some energy to be killed. Youth ministries need a communication plan that empowers creativity and brings different voices and perspectives. God has too much to say to teens to allow a speaker to keep talking about the same thing. That will kill energy!

Those are a few energy killers I thought about in youth ministry today. I would love to hear from you! What are some energy killers that you see?