Be UrSelf!

One of the biggest struggles I have faced in ministry and life is simply being myself. The struggle of “imitation” is real and rampant even among ministry personnel. In our society people strive to be like those they look up to – like LeBron James, Taylor Swift, Brad Pitt, or Apolo Ohno. People will “try” to walk like them, shoot hoops or skate like them, sing like them, dress like them, eat what they eat, and the list goes on.

As a kid, I decided early on that I wanted to be like my big brother – so I imitated his every move. But as I grew older I realized that he was so much different than I was. I was tall and skinny while he was of medium height and built like tank. It was natural for me to want to be like him because he was older and could do some pretty cool stuff. At some point I finally caught on that although it was good to learn from my older brother, I was never supposed to be just like him. God makes each person unique.

Unfortunately, this human behavior carries over into ministry. Now, there is nothing wrong with learning from those who are successful in ministry. I have benefited from some pretty amazing pastors and youth leaders over the years. We can learn from others. The key is to learn from those who successfully follow Jesus while still maintaining your unique individuality. Be UrSelf. Learn to trust in the fact that God created you to be you not anyone else. Yes, learn from the best of the best – but at the end of the day, just be you – completely sold-out to following Jesus Christ.

I recently came across what I thought was a very creative video by Ed Young Jr. that drives this point home. You may not agree completely with Ed on everything but I hope you can see the point that he is making here. One thing that I can appreciate about Ed is his creativity and effectiveness in communicating the Gospel message – and his ability to rap.:)