I had an interesting conversation with one of the dads in our youth ministry. He was telling me a lesson he’s learned after having daughters. “Put them in sports,” he said, “I cannot give any better advice than that.” He went on to explain how much it helps teenage girls, as they are going through so much physical and emotional changes/swings. He’s seen it cut down the drama queen-”ness” of his daughter, giving her a healthy place to vent on the courtroom rather than having it bottle up inside of her and taking it out in catfights!
I’ve always thought this was true, having only been in youth ministry for a few years I could already see the difference in girls that played sports and those that didn’t. I’ve always given the analogy that girls are different than boys in that girls will be mad at one another, bottle it in, get really petty about it, talk behind each others’ backs and refuse to resolve the matter for weeks, months, or maybe even years.
Boys on the other hand get really hacked off at one another, throw down and wrestle (or…pull out the haymaker) and the matter will be over with. In fact, it seems like the two sparring partners go from being mortal enemies to best buds soon after! Girls that play sports seem to have a healthy forum to do this, playing rough with one another in sports and sweating it out!
It made me think about churches. Is there a way to cure the pettiness in our churches, the constant quarreling and self-focus? Maybe the equivalent to teenage sports is missions/serving. I like taking people on mission trips because it gets them out of their comfort zone (i.e. the “me” focus zone) and gets them in on the action that I believe our Heavenly Father wants us to be more excited about being a part of. It changes attitudes, and starts a hunger for serving others rather than getting the church to serve us.
Maybe missions/serving is the way to cut down on church drama queens?
