I've been thinking about this for a while, but I didn't think I would ever write it out until I had a conversation with a very good friend of mine yesterday. Now mind you, he doesn't know that he set me off on this, but he did bring this idea back to my attention. Now I know that Lent is over and I can complain all I want about youth group, but the fact is, I don't want to complain about it, and this blog is definitely not meant to be a complaint towards it.
Yesterday we were discussing youth group and some of the complaints he has about it. I had a lot of the same complaints a few months ago before I just became content with it. Particularly, we talked about Wednesday night discussions in youth group.
It always seems to me like there are 3 or 4 people who talk the most during youth group on Wednesday nights. Usually it's a few of the pastor's kids. Nothing wrong with that though. Sometimes I wonder though, can I get a word in?
Sometimes I feel like I'm going over their heads with what I'm saying and I don't want to say something. But sometimes, I also feel as if I can't get a word in because there is too much arguing going on between the 3 or 4 usual talkers.
From my experience, the 3 or 4 usual talkers are the only talkers really. I like to listen, but sometimes I also like to add in bit and pieces. People a lot of the time say I'm a good listener, but I do like to talk. I just sometimes choose to just listen than get into the arguments.
Though if we didn't have the 3-4 usual talkers, would we have any youth group discussion at all?
I think if these people decided to just stop talking then others would feel the need to join the discussion more especially the newer kids. I'll bet the newer kids don't want to say anything because they're afraid that they might say the wrong thing. Our usual talkers are well experienced and they grew up in church. Not all the kids in youth group grew up in church though.
I wonder what would happen if these people didn't show up or just decided to let others talk. I know one thing for sure, if we didn't have people talking, we wouldn't have much of a youth group discussion. So I guess I'm glad for the talkers that we do have.
But still, sometimes I gotta wonder, can I get a word in? Can I just add something? Can I just say something without an argument starting? Can I just say something without getting into a debate?
I think a lot of people in my youth group may share this similar feeling. I know my one friend feels this way. And as for the newer kids, I'd say don't worry about what the rest of us think of something you say. Don't be afraid to add to the conversation.
What do dead people do? Nothing. They don't talk or do anything. They just sit there. They're lifeless. What are we? We are living. We don't have a room full of dead people now do we? We have a room full of the living and breathing. We should all participate in the discussion even if it's just in something small like an agreement with another person.
2 comments:
I think maturity is knowing when to speak up and when to shut up. You can't have an extreme of either- but a balance of both.
I know what you mean about those talkers -- it's as if they're the only ones there -- but what really annoys ME is when they're like to somewhere like me or a friend 'why don't you say something'. I mean it's like 'Uh Duh. i cant get a word in, just stop talking and maybe you'll lean sumthing...'
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