The Gift of Administration

I remember the first time anyone ever asked me if I’d considered the idea of becoming a full-time missionary.  While I certainly did not lack the zeal, the same script kept running through my mind: I’ve seen what it takes to be a missionary, and I don’t have it.  I remember looking to the men and women who had made the greatest impact on my spiritual journey, and seeing a common thread.  They were leaders.  They were intelligent.  People wanted to follow them.  Above all, they were always out in front.  They spoke eloquently with words that convicted a room of college students to take another step towards holiness.  “That’s not my gifting”, I thought.

Three years later, I realized I was right.  At the same time, I realized I couldn’t be more wrong.  Yes, it’s true, I’ll probably never be at the top of the list to give the next talk on a retreat.  Where I was wrong, however, was in thinking that it takes an upfront personality and strong communication skills to work in ministry.

In one the more commonly recognized letters (1 Corinthians 12) from St. Paul, we hear an exhortation towards unity within the Body of Christ: “As a body is one, though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:12).  The comparison to a human body is usually preached on by talking about the importance of arms, legs, organs, etc. and how a body does not function properly without each.

Prior to that and throughout scripture, St. Paul continuously lays out different giftings of the Holy Spirit.  These are sometimes referred to as charisms.

“There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit. To one is given through the Spirit the expression of wisdom; to another the expression of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the one Spirit; to another the mighty deeds; to another prophecy; to another discernment of spirits; to another varieties of tongues; to another interpretation.  But one and the same Spirit produces all of these, distributing them individually to each person as he wishes” (1 Corinthians 12:4-11). 

As my first year as a full-time missionary comes to a close, I can say I’ve earnestly come to appreciate St. Paul’s wisdom.  Right around the time I was asked about full-time missionary work, I had an opportunity to take a charismatic gift inventory test in which I was presented with a handful of potential charisms.  An important part of this inventory was understanding the Church’s teaching on charisms (“graces of the Holy Spirit which directly or indirectly benefit the Church, ordered as they are to her building up, to the good of men, and to the needs of the world” CCC 799) and the reality that a simple test cannot and should not define your spiritual gifts.  After all, the “Holy Spirit…[distributes] them individually to each person as he wishes” (1 Cor 12:11).  Additionally, charisms must be discerned and practiced in order to properly identify them apart from a mere talent.

One of the handful of potential charisms I received from the inventory was the gift of administration.   At the time, I overlooked it because I was studying business.  Of course, it made sense that my field of study might manifest itself as a charism, but I really didn’t pay much attention to it.  Additionally, on a long list of gifts, administration isn't usually one of the most desired.  I remember hearing missionaries I knew lament about being asked to do administrative tasks.  It sounded pretty bland and unimportant, and it certainly almost never garnered high praise.  

Though the latter may be true, my understanding of its importance to ministry has increased.   I can say with confidence now that God has given me the gift of administration, and the more I choose to press into that gift, the more the Lord continue to deepen it.  I hear stories about other missionaries praying for someone else to receive this particular gift.  I thank God that He chose me.  

Daily, I have the opportunity to build the Kingdom where God has gifted me and where I am most comfortable doing so.  Sure, signing paperwork for the next retreat doesn’t seem glorious.  Nor does setting up a website for students to sign up for that same retreat.  In my opinion, the glory of it lies in perspective.  If an administrator sees his or her job solely as pushing paperwork around, it’s going to be difficult to find joy in approaching work each day. When the mindset changes to How can I utilize the gifts God has given me to make it easier for my fellow missionaries to reach more men and women? then one can begin to see the fruit of such a gift.

I don’t necessarily always enjoy the tedious and monotonous tasks that I sometimes I need to handle.  Where I find the greatest life is when a fellow missionary or student approaches me to ask an administrative question that clearly has them flustered or confused, and I’m able to address their needs immediately.  In some cases, I’m even able to save them time from having to find a solution themselves.  Praise God for the ability to be a vessel in such a way.

Sometimes, administrators probably seem like the forgotten child in the background.  When something operates as expected, people typically don’t think about why that is the case.  If, however, something goes awry, everyone immediately knows who is at fault.  Sure, there are times when I’ve felt the brunt of criticism.  But what good is a gift if one isn’t willing to risk failure or judgment in using it? 

Ultimately, it is the satisfaction of knowing I'm able to provide a unique gift to help someone else that brings me the most life as an administrator.  After all, that is the true manifestation of all of the charisms: “graces of the Holy Spirit which directly or indirectly benefit the Church, ordered as they are to her building up, to the good of men, and to the needs of the world.”  They are gifts given to be at the service of others.  

Recently, a fellow missionary described my role with an analogy: “You’re like a liver.  I have no idea what you do, but I know I’d die if you weren’t there.”  Of course, like any part of the body, there’s an important role to play and each is necessary or it wouldn’t exist.  What I really like about the analogy is the recognition that the body doesn’t need to know what the liver does.  As long as the liver knows its role and also knows its own importance to the body’s survival, it can continue pressing on with confidence that it plays in invaluable function.

Youth Group Dance Moves & Childlike Faith

Sandusky Life Teen teenagers on the way to Life Teen Camp Covecrest in 2013

“'Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.'  Then he embraced them and blessed them, placing his hands on them.” Mark 10:14-16

Six years ago today, I walked into my first ever Life Teen life night.  For months, three of my friends had been “nagging” (my word, not theirs) me to join them on a Sunday.  Time and time again, I came up with excuses.  I really didn’t think I had time to spend at church on a Sunday evening when I had school work to do.  I also really did not want to enter into the stereotype of being the “youth group kid” - the weird kid who goes to church and enjoys it, going because he or she wants to be there rather than going out of obligation.

I experience a taste of that same stereotype towards youth group even today, probably by nature of my involvement with ministry.  The guys I live with will occasionally tease me when my old youth group worship dance moves make their cameo appearance, and rightfully so.  Nothing quite screams “youth group kid” like alternating a thumbs up and making an “L” with your hand to the tune of “I’m Trading My Sorrows”.  “Yes, Lord.  Yes, Lord.  Yes, yes, Lord” might bring back a few memories.  God bless all youth ministers for their humility in reaching teens!

Despite the reality of having cheesy youth group dance moves in my blood, I’m eternity grateful for high school youth ministry in all of its awkwardness.  Without those experiences, I wouldn’t have some of the friendships that last to this day.  More importantly, I may never have encountered Jesus and found my way onto the path that has resulted in a deep and lasting relationship with God the Father.  I didn’t know it at the time, but that first night at Life Teen and all those moments of cheesy dance moves altered the direction of my life forever.

Relationships by their very nature tend to be messy.  High school relationships are the epitome of that.  More often than not, they’re only temporary and are frequently built on a foundation of sand.  Once graduation hits and the full responsibility of adulthood is laid, friends who were once close are separated by the divergence of career paths and futures.  Even well-intentioned friendships will slowly fade as life diverges into different paths.  In all honestly, I would say the same about the relationships I had with my youth group peers as well.  Pride, jealousy, and desire for recognition often stood before generosity and service in my approach to those relationships. Relationships that were supposed to be centered around Christ were somewhat broken under the surface.

In the midst of those messy relationships, however, God was bringing about a purification in my own heart and helping me to grow in charity towards my peers, just as Jesus came into the world in the midst of a messy stable to bring about salvation and a unification of God and His people.  Underneath the emotion-packed praise and worship songs and the awkward dance moves, the Father was revealing Himself to us and opening a place in our hearts in which to dwell.  I have to believe that is why those same relationships that were marked with an underlying brokenness have lasted even to this day.

During the Christmas season, several of us got together for daily Mass and “Breakfast Club”.  It’s somewhat of a tradition we started a few years ago to reunite at least once per year and see where God has been working in our lives.  This year was especially blessed as we were welcomed into the home of a couple that were on the CORE team when we were active within Life Teen.  Updates led to reminiscing as we all recalled some of our favorite memories together – lock-ins, summer camps, conferences, praise and worship nights.  They all seem a bit more juvenile now, especially our teenage drama, but we wouldn’t trade those memories for the world.  Our relationships today are a testament to God’s ability to overcome human weakness.

Moreover, God has done so much through the small “yes” of a group of imperfect teenagers.  To date, here is some of the fruit born from God’s faithfulness to our “yes”:

4          Full-time missionaries

4          Life Teen summer missionaries

3          Franciscan University of Steubenville students/alumni

2          CORE team members

1          Full-time youth minister

I’ll be the first to admit that high school youth ministry is not for everyone.  It’s easy for those experiences to be all about the emotion, and emotion-centered worship prevents an authentic encounter with the Father.  Like relationships built solely around how an individual feels, emotion-centered worship eventually loses its luster.  When it does, the lack of real conversion underneath makes it easy to walk away from the faith.

As someone whose life was irrevocably changed by experiences in youth group, I maintain hope that our youth group programs and retreats are the future of the Church.  Moreover, they already are the Church.  Despite the immaturity present among even high school seniors, I’ve seen what God can do when a group of teens gives a united “yes”.  I’m sure the Blessed Mother didn’t fully comprehend what her “yes” meant when she was asked to bring Jesus into the world.  Regardless, God had prepared her to be the vessel necessary to do just that.  He used imperfect circumstances and relationships to bring His Son into the world.  He will use Matt Maher and Chris Tomlin songs to continue converting thousands of teenagers.

Ultimately, I don’t know why God decided to work so powerfully during my years in youth group, but I’ll forever be grateful for the way it has changed my life.  The experiences I’ve had, the relationships I’ve developed, my relationship with God the Father…none of these would have happened if God’s hand wasn’t in the midst of them.  My old youth group dance moves don’t always come out, but when the time is right, you better believe I cherish the moment.  It brings me back to that childlike faith I once had when I first encountered the Lord and which, in some ways, I long to regain.

“’Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.’ Then he embraced them and blessed them, placing his hands on them.” Mark 10:14-16

Visiting our former pastor, Fr. Dave

(Left to right) Jacob, Cory, Alex, and Austin joining a life night before heading to various
Life Teen summer camps to serve as summer missionaries

(Clockwise starting from left) Josh, Ryan, Austin, Jacob, Cory, and Alex on their
way to John 15, a college retreat hosted by Life Teen for all past missionaries