While ministering to students and young adults, I have observed that they have amazing “sniffers.” What I mean by that is this: students and young adults can smell a phony and a fake from a mile away. This next generation is very good at picking up whether you are authentic or if you are just faking it. They are craving authentic friendships and relationships, authentic conversations, and authentic environments where people are just “real.”
If we desire to be effective in reaching the youth then we as
pastors, volunteers, parents must be authentic.
If you struggle at all with being authentic, then listed below are 3
easy ways of how to give off the right “stench”:
1. Be Yourself – There is only one you. Please be
you, otherwise the world will be void of something that belongs. Don’t try to be someone you are not or put on
a mask. This next generation needs you,
not some clone or copy of someone else.
2. Be Transparent – There is nothing more powerful
than a leader who is not afraid to live their life wide open for others to see
and observe. When we are transparent with the youth, it shows them we are just
like them, and allows a connection and respect to form in which true discipleship
can thrive.
3. Be Real – If you don’t know all the answers,
it’s ok. If you made a mistake, confess
it and own up to it. If you don’t care for Dubstep or Skrillex music, then
don’t try to fake like you like it. Just be real.
When we are ourselves, are transparent with others, and are
just plain real, that is when the smell of authenticity resonates in the
nostrils of this next generation. From
that foundation is where true relationships can be formed and real life change
can happen!
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