Toothless Good Intentions and "What will you be doing?"

God has designed me to be an encourager, detail oriented and thorough, a good communicator, a systematic thinker, a problem solver, a peace-maker, a teacher, one who makes the way smooth for others, and passionate about loving Jesus and discipleship of the next generations of the body to love Him too. So what will I be "doing?” I will engage with and participate in the powerful work God is doing in and through the YouthHOPE team. I will serve at the NMSI headquarters spending my passions, skills, and talents however I can to promote and facilitate global youth ministry. That will likely include participation in teaching/training global youth workers, curriculum development, strategic initiatives, and system/process development. I expect to have opportunity to take short-term trips overseas with the team (my family may come too on occasion) to experience and participate in trainings and personally build relationships with global youth workers. Wherever I begin, I expect my involvement will evolve over time, and that's ok. The opportunity to spend my life and talents with my family, for the glory of God, and for the benefit of the kingdom through discipleship of global youth is an opportunity I want and a work God has designed me for!

My expectation is that my career with YouthHOPE will begin with my focused engagement with the improvement of systems and processes. I know many who greet the mention of systems with a roll of the eyes, and a toast to the mundane. Yes, it’s not a glamorous focus to be sure, and as a result, some may consider the task as less valuable or important than some other tasks. It can be tempting to view someone who’s focused on system and process development as simply “support” for others who are doing the "real" work of the great commission. I don't agree.

I'll pray for you.

I'm going to exercise 4 days a week.

I'm going to eat healthier meals from now on.

I'm going to keep my desk more organized.

I'm going to show my boss that I deserve a raise.

I'm going to be more patient with my kids.

I'm going to reach out to my neighbors and co-workers with the good news of Jesus.

Good intentions all. Raise your hand if you've ever had any intentions like these. Come on, don't be shy; all of your hands should be raised. Mine is.

And my hand is also raised for failure on all counts, with a commonality that’s shameful to admit. I suspect you can relate, and you've also had good intentions many times over that were eventually exposed as "toothless."

What is a "toothless" good intention? It's an intention that never happens, doesn't happen well, or happens briefly and is quickly forgotten.

Or through baseball lenses...  It's a miss for no "swing." It's a "swing and a miss." It's one game played, then quitting.

Or through travel lenses... It's a destination with no vehicle, no roadmap, or no departure.

Or through nature lenses... It's the gaping maw of a big and angry barking dog with lips curled in over empty gums. It may still be scary-ish, but how dangerous is the bite of a dog with no teeth?

Systems give teeth to good intentions. Your system "teeth" may be as simple as a single part if/then plan like: if I tell someone I'm going to pray for them, I'm going to pray for them right that moment and out loud with them if possible. It's a simple system, yes, but it's a system that gives your intention "teeth" and turns it into reality.

Jesus says, "Go and make disciples." Systems are not the motivation or the muscle to obey that command, but they are the means. They are the "teeth."

Every system is not a match for every intention, and the importance of the system increases as the magnitude of the goal increases. YouthHOPE wants to make disciples of the 1.8 billion youth in the world. We want the marginalized and overlooked youth between children and adults come face to face with the good news of Jesus, and experience new life in Christ. That intention is exceedingly (even unimaginably) large, ambitious, and God sized. Effective and constantly improving systems are crucial to the accomplishment of that goal!

Do you understand 1.8 billion? I don't... really. It's one thousand eight hundred million. It's one million eight hundred thousand, thousand. Does that help? Not really, huh? Perhaps this will help. A traditional steel BB is .177 inches in diameter. That’s smaller than the opening in a standard travel size toothpaste tube. Now, suppose 1 BB represents 1 person age 10 - 24:

• The Fox Cities Wisconsin (Appleton, Neenah, and Menasha) where I live has a youth population of about 11,000*. That population, turned into BB’s, would fit in a Tupperware sandwich container about 6” x 6” x 1.75”. (*suburbanstats.org)
• The youth population of the US is about 64 million*. That population, turned into BB’s, would fit in a box about 5’ x 5’ x 8’ high. That’s the size of a small bathroom. (*prb.org says 20% of the US population is age 10-24)
• The youth population in the world is about 1.8 billion. That population, turned into BB’s, would require a box about 32’ x 23’ x 8’. That’s the size of a 3-car garage packed floor to ceiling with small metal balls! 

If it's true that the importance of the system increases with the magnitude of the goal and the goal is to make disciples of as many of the 1.8 billion youth in the world, then effective systems for this goal are EXTREMELY important!

Don't misunderstand. YouthHOPE does NOT have "toothless good intentions." Their primary system to carry out their good intentions is to identify, train, and build ongoing relationships with global youth and youth workers who God is moving desire to be multiplying disciplers. I heartily agree with and support that systematic approach! They recognize that by training indigenous youth and youth workers how to be and how to make disciples, they are making an investment with an UNLIMITED potential return. They are convinced of the value and power of multiplication, and have an intense desire to do whatever they can to make disciples who make disciples who make disciples. God has built a team at YouthHOPE that has abundant motivation and muscle to work hard to that end, and He's doing great things through them. Yet, none of the YouthHOPE team would claim they are as effective as they can be. One of the things that I love about their team is that they are constantly trying to figure out how to do things better! They are motivated and empowered by the Holy Spirit and constantly looking for ways to better channel that motivation and muscle for the benefit of global youth! That's a purpose and a team that I can be passionately excited to be a part of!

scott