Posts Tagged ‘at risk youth minister’
“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far it is possible to go.” — T.S. Eliot
For all of us, it is often easy in life not to take risks. Easier to stand by and watch than to put our necks on the line in an attempt to change a certain situation. Or maybe some of us are great “dreamers” but we have a hard time, when it comes time, to step up and follow through with our dreams because of fear. No matter how great or miniscule, we deal with risk, everyday all of the time. There are statistics that can be looked at to evaluate the amount of risk involved in any given situation to either encourage people or deter people from doing things.
Sox Place is an environment all about taking risks. The only reason Sox Place even exists today is because of some very monumental risk taking. If Doyle had not taken a HUGE risk, over a decade ago now, and moved his family and entire life to Denver, Sox Place would not be here. If the people who continuously donate their time, money, and prayer, Sox Place would not survive the way it does today. If our staff members did not step out and decide that they would rather work with the kids at Sox Place, doing this ministry, rather than any number of career choices, Sox Place would not be what it is today.
People will often tell you that working with the type of kids that come to Sox Place is a risk that is just not worth taking. People will say that the risk is so much greater than the reward. However, isn’t this what is so amazing about Jesus and his ministry? Whether it is the story of the woman at the well or Jesus choosing to use fishermen as the men who will forever change history through his ministry, he leads a great example of what it means for us to be risk takers.
Lately, this is an issue that God has been laying on my heart in a huge way. One thing we always say at Sox Place is “We need to give them the best we’ve got.” We may not always have the best food for the kids or the sweetest new clothes but we always give them the best we have. It is so important for our ministry that this is also the case in all of our interactions with our kids, because they are worth the risk. God doesn’t call us to be complacent or to just try to meet the needs of the kids that walk through our door. God calls us to daily take risks and put our necks on the line for the people we serve.
As Jesus showed us how to be risk takers through his ministry, so can we show our kids how to be risk takers through ours.
- Sam
After living in Manhattan, seeing a homeless person becomes as normal as hailing a taxicab or going to a Yankees game. While most of us walk by, going about our daily routine, or snarl and roll our eyes at what we presume is the drug addict or alcoholic, have you ever actually stopped and asked them what their story is? That is exactly what Doyle Robinson does everyday in Denver, Colorado.
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From the darkness of his troubled adolescence in Arkansas, Doyle Robinson found the light: He would draw upon his own pain to help troubled teens. From his early days handing out tube socks to homeless kids on the 16th Street Mall, Robinson’s vision has grown to include Sox Place, a converted downtown auto shop that’s now Denver’s only daytime drop-in youth center, where kids can find a warm bowl of soup, a quiet place to crash, easy camaraderie and the occasional punk concert. And if they’re seeking spiritual guidance, Robinson — an ordained minister with the Assembly of God — can offer that, too. But he prefers action to words, showing the power of faith rather than preaching it.
Doyle believes in making a difference where you are, to those God brings into your path. He feels that to do nothing for those around him, with all that God has given him, is to fail miserably in life. Doyle would like people to say at his funeral: “Doyle added value to people around him.”
- What are your five favorite songs of all time? – “Long Cool Woman,” “Carry On Wayward Son,” “It Is Well With My Soul,” “Amazing Grace,” “The Messiah Will Come Again”
- What is a book you recently read and a quote or lesson learned from it? -Success Kills by Wayde Goodall, “The preoccupation of the day and our choice not to hear those around us can cause us to miss some very special people – and opportunities.”
- Who is your favorite fictional character?- Foghorn Leghorn
- What chore do you absolutely hate doing?- Filing
- What is your favorite summertime treat?- Sugar Free Popsicle
- What are your five favorite songs of all time? – “Wagon Wheel,” “Wayward Son,” “Amazing Grace,” “Son of a Preacher Man,” “O.M.G. (Jesus Wept)”
- What is a book you recently read and a quote or lesson learned from it? – The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway: “Now is the time to think of only one thing. That which I was born for.”
- Who is your favorite fictional character?- The Punisher
- What chore do you absolutely hate doing?- Laundry
- What is your favorite summertime treat?- Route 66 Cherry Limeade
- What are your five favorite songs of all time? – “Much too young”- Garth Brooks, “Folsom Prison Blues”- Johnny Cash, “When the stars go blue”- Ryan Adams, “Thick and Thin”- Seventh Star, “The funeral”- Band of Horses
- What is a book you recently read and a quote or lesson learned from it? – Tattoos on the Heart by Gregory Boyle. Everyone deserves a second chance no matter what they’ve done or what they’ve been through.
- Who is your favorite fictional character?- Tom Sawyer
- What chore do you absolutely hate doing?- Cleaning my Garage
- What is your favorite summertime treat?- Otter Pops
To Kara, being truly Christ-like means to demonstrate love and compassion to everyone, no matter who they are, what they’ve done, or what their plans are. She hopes she is able to convey a Christ-like love at Sox Place both behind the scenes and face-to-face with the kids.
- What are your five favorite songs of all time? – “In Christ Alone” (Townend/Getty version), “When I Fall in Love” by Nat King Cole, “When the Last Tear Falls” by Andrew Peterson, “Hands and Feet” by Audio Adrenaline, “Loose Change” by Andrew Peterson.
- What is a book you recently read and a quote or lesson learned from it? – Through a Screen Darkly by Jeffrey Overstreet: [Speaking of Jesus] “And He did not set conditions for the needy, saying that He would walk away if they spoke profanity, behaved inappropriately or had the wrong sexual orientation. No, as a good shepherd, He went out to find them and loved the sick, the weak, the appalling, the offensive, the reckless, the foul-mouthed, the addicted.”
- Who is your favorite fictional character?- Neville Longbottom
- What chore do you absolutely hate doing?- Dishes
- What is your favorite summertime treat?- Ice cold watermelon!
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