Stand for Something

YL Leader Survival Guide, Ch. 9

Peer pressure is a powerful thing. Even when you're a leader.

For me, it doesn't matter what the people are like. If I'm with energetic people, I'll notice myself acting more energetic. If I'm with older people, I feel the pressure to act older. And when I hang out with high schoolers, I feel the pull to act more like a high schooler.

Being a high school leader keeps you fun. You never forget how to go find something really fun to do when you've been spending time with high schoolers. When you're with them, you can make an awesome game out of an old Folgers can and two nickels... and be entertained for hours. It's like you get entertainment superpowers.

But there's another way you can be influenced when you're in ministry: there's often pressure to make exceptions to the way you've chosen to live your life.

For instance, you may find yourself in a situation where you could easily roast a sensitive kid and get some laughs or some street cred with some of those popular dudes you're trying to get to like you. Or you may end up in a situation where some kids are wanting to do something illegal that makes you extremely uncomfortable, and you have to either roll with it or be the party pooper.

What do you do??

These are situations I've been in before. And here is what I've learned in my experience:

Your High School Friends Need You To Stand For Something.

They need you to stand for the relationship and the life change that makes their hearts whole. They need you not to shy away from it just because you're worried they won't like you as much. You are the beacon that's calling them to the way they were meant to be all along. That's way more important than them thinking you're just a little bit cooler.

You don't want there to be any mistake as to what you've chosen to be about. Of course they're going to think you're weird when you make Spirit led decisions; everyone thought Jesus was weird too. Consider this the tiny little slice of persecution that we get to be a part of.

Many high schoolers desperately need someone to stand for true life living, because they don't have anyone else standing for that in their lives. They need someone to tell them that abstaining from sex is okay. They need someone to show them that sober, drugless fun on the weekends is a solid alternative. They need to witness someone who actually talks kindly about someone when they leave the room instead of the opposite.

Because if someone's not ever seen that life can be lived a different way, how will they ever have the guts to do it? How will they know it's even possible?

Overtly standing for Christ gives your friends a unique window into the fullness of a life with God that they may never have seen before.

What Might It Look Like?

It might just mean choosing not to be a part of a certain conversation. It might mean refusing to aid in a prank on a kid who will feel extremely hurt, or it might mean not driving a kid to a party on Friday night and telling them why. It might even just mean telling people that you're a Christian when they ask what Young Life is! We just have to be willing to let them know that we are choosing to live our lives a different way. Not condemnation, just public personal choice.

Sometimes we feel lame being "that guy" or "that girl." We get really worried about being the party pooper. But I think these are lies. True life is something worth fighting for, and its most certainly not lame. It's the difference between having fun at the beach and drowning in the ocean. Being able to show them that there's a better way to live is really important. And if in your heart, you're not sure that it truly is a better way to live, as I've honestly thought on multiple occasions, that's something to talk to God about. Trust me, He wants to talk about it, and it's not because He's mad.

Many situations we run across as leaders are going to have a lot of gray area. I think God designed it that way so we'd ask Him for help more often. He's pretty smart like that... He knows how to get our attention!

Let your friends know who you're representing through your actions and your words. All you have to give them is a display of who you are and whose you are. So depend on Christ, because He is really good at making a compelling case for Himself!


Matthew 5:13 - "You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot."

Matthew 5:14-16 -  "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."