Going Through the Motions

“Ecclectic” is how you might describe my interests. Not only do I love a good musical, but I’m a life long devotee of the work of Mr Joss Whedon (I hereby declare myself a ‘sci-fipster’...liking him before Marvel got their clutches in) so imagine my delight when in the Autumn of 2001, the man himself brought an episode of Buffy to our screens in the genre of musical theatre. 

They sang, they danced, they slayed vampires. Life was good.

What I like about musicals is the stories they tell and the emotions that they manage to get across in those few bars, and the song that most struck a chord in my during  this episode was the opener “Going through the motions”, performed by (the not-especially-musically-gifted) Sarah Michelle Gellar. 

Buffy [S.M.G.] is a vampire slayer, but having recently returned from taking a 'break' from it (she was dead...now she’s not, move past it) she picks back up her old life, patrolling and hanging with the Scoobs, where she left off. 

If you have a few minutes to watch, take a look below (I could only find a Spanish subtitle version. Fun fact: Vampire Slayer is “Cazavampiros” in Spanish. Tell your friends.)

It struck a chord in me because this concept of going through the motions can so easily become my natural leaning. Just keep going. Keep at it. Just get it done.

It's such an easy to trap to fall into in youth ministry, where September can feel like you step on the hamster wheel of youth groups, kids clubs and Bible studies and don't step off until the following June. It can be hard to stay fresh, to really mean what I do and be purposeful and deliberate about the activities and groups I run.

To go through the motions is to stagnate and forget the reason behind why I do what I do.

The next few posts will be looking at figuring out how to be intentional with what we do. How we can avoid feeling like we’re just doing the same old same old. 

May these words be a prayer, for vision, drive and determination to persevere through the temptation to go on cruise control.

“I don’t want to be going through the motions, 

losing all my drive. I can’t even see, if this is really me, 

and I just want to be, alive.”

(Or in the words of Buffy la cazavampiros...

“Atravieso emociones, pierdo mi illusion,

Ni siquiera puedo ver, si esta realmente soy yo,

Yo lo unico que quiero es sentirme....viva!”)