linked post: 4 reasons i don't do messy games

Aaron Helman is a youth pastor who runs a great blog over at Smarter Youth Ministry. We like the way Aaron thinks about youth ministry and enjoy his blog. 

Today on Aaron's Blog, he writes a really thought-provoking post on why he doesn't do messy games. The comments are good, too. (Maybe consider adding your voice there.)

Below is a portion of Aaron's post with a link to the original article. Click on the link to head over to Aaron's blog to read the rest of the article.

I met a guy who says he invented messy games.

It's a dubious claim at best, but he's adamant that he's the first person to plan and play a messy game.

(According to him, messy games owe their inception to an idea he implemented in summer of 1978.)

If it's true, then I've got a very personal message to deliver to the guy who invented messy games.

I wish you hadn't.

Listen I don't think there's anything inherently evil about messy games, but there's a reason I never participated when I was in high school...

...and there are reasons I don't play messy games today.

It's probably okay if you want to play messy games, but here's why I don't, and it's worth your consideration too.

This list might make you rethink your messy games, and it might make you rethink the kinds of messy games you play.

I suppose it might also make you rethink whether or not you want to read this blog, but I hope we're past that by now. Let's get started:

1. I don't personally like them.

I have never enjoyed a messy game. In high school, I skipped messy game night at youth group. At camp, I spent the entirety of messy games in the bathroom.

I'm not scared of messy games; I just really dislike them.

And I learned very early on, it's not a good idea to fake things. I'm not a good enough actor to get students excited about something that I'm not excited about doing myself.

My last church had a tradition of doing an annual messy games event, and I tried to keep it going like a good employee, but it started to fall apart.

Why? Because no matter how I faked it, my lack of enthusiasm seeped into my students.

CLICK HERE to head over to Smarter Youth Ministry and read the rest of the 4 reasons Aaron doesn't do messy games.