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Beginning ministry...

I may not be at the point where I can truly say that I love the youth who come each Sunday and Wednesday. But I'm beginning to love them.

That could sound harsher than the meaning I intend to convey. The youth group at Roxboro Baptist is very well-behaved. They engage in discussion fairly easily and are willing to pick up the Bible and read. There is a lot about this transition that has been much easier than one may imagine (and many truly experience). It's not that my stomach crawls when I walk down to the big basement room with the ping-pong table and the stereo, the Bible verses on the wall and the kneeler I rescued from storage. I usually look forward to the opportunity to teach, pray, and listen.

But I don't really know them yet. I don't know what drives each of them. I wonder about their desires, their wants, their wishes and their dreams. What frustrates or scares them? What do they wish they could change about their lives? There is a lot I don't know. But I look forward to knowing it. And I look forward to loving what I know.

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