Mark Jackson reviews Inside the Mind of Youth Pastors

A healthy church doesn't need a youth pastor.

As a former youth pastor (nearly 13 years of lock-ins, cold pizza & egg-in-armpit relay, along with some amazing spiritual moments in the lives of youth & their families), that statement hit me upside the face. And since I preached through Luke 6 and the whole "turn the other cheek" thing last week, I kept reading Mark Riddle's book, Inside the Mind of Youth Pastors: A Church Leader's Guide to Staffing & Leading Youth Pastors anyway. In general, Mark says that churches rush to hire a youth pastor, do so for the wrong reasons, and then hamstring the person they hire with hidden expectations and inadequate support. This, my friends, was the story of my youth ministry life, with the wondrous exception of Good Shepherd Baptist Church in Silsbee, TX. If I had enough cash, I'd buy this for every senior pastor/staff member who was working with a youth pastor. It should be required reading. There's chapters on why you should never ask a potential youth pastor about his vision for ministry, why churches really don't want to hire innovative/catalytic youth pastors (been there, done that) and an especially pointed chapter entitled "If You Aren't Going to Mentor Your Youth Pastor, You Don't Deserve One." It's not a difficult read - well, I mean, Mark Riddle doesn't wax philosophical or get caught up in long-winded arguments. Instead, he makes his points quickly, cleanly & with passion... then gives you (and your staff) questions to process those ideas. A

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