What's It All About

I'm a sucker for curriculum. Well, for those of you who know me, I'm just a sucker for good writing and good ideas that communicate faith well... so when that comes in the form of curriculum, I'm a sucker.
I like everything about it. I like reading it, the way it's packaged, the cover, I even like how it smells. It's that new book smell or something. But there is one thing I don't like about it; we tend to get tangled up in it... often.
I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about the studies, the rigmarole that comes with 'ministry,' particularly, youth ministry, and I've come to a conclusion. I think sometimes we do too much studying, too much talking, and not enough ministry. We find it easy to sit in on a Sunday morning service, Sunday evening fellowship, and Wednesday night small group and do what we do best... soak up stuff (or fill a seat, depending on who you are), and talk, amongst ourselves, but when it comes to actually getting into the world and loving people, or even more than that, just loving the people who are already in our world, we, well, we fail, miserably.
I noticed this in a restaurant recently. The restaurant was busy, and well, our group, made it busier, much busier. For the first time in my life I felt like God had given me a multiple choice assignment. I had options, and He had made them very clear. I could balk at the fact that I knew it was going to be awhile before our group got in to eat, which would severely set our schedule back, OR I could be a blessing to these people who were now frantic as we were filling their waiting area. Realizing my option, I decided to be the blessing.
I don't say this to pat my own back. Trust me, I've probably chosen poorly most times in the same situation. In fact, I know that I'm not always the best at how I treat people. (Seriously, I think I have road rage... yeesh.) But I realized at this moment... in this restaurant... that every SECOND of our day is an option.... do we balk at life, be rude to that person because, hey, they don't know we're a Christian, be impatient, judge that person because of how they look, or do I be a blessing. You see, being a blessing is ministry. Doing a Bible study is not bad, but it's not ministry. Knowing everything you can about Jesus, not bad, but not ministry. Loving people, that's ministry. Loving people despite where they are, who they are, and what they've done, well, that's Jesus.
So what's it all about? Why do we do those Bible studies? Why do we learn about Jesus? Why do we spend our time talking? It's supposed to be to make us better ministers, but if we aren't doing ministry, we're just wasting our time. I mean Jesus said to make disciple, not to sit around and talk about it all the time. That's what it's all about.