I Hate Taco Bell

Does anyone actually like Taco Bell? I mean the food is greasy. It's not even real meat. The sauce and cheese and shells all taste like plastic, and the Taco Bell near my house literally takes 20 minutes at the drive through (even if I am the only person in sight)! I don't just dislike Taco Bell. I truly hate Taco Bell. If Taco Bell ceased to exist, I wouldn't miss it. I wouldn't shed a tear and I wouldn't feel bad for the people who worked there. Now they are free to go get new jobs at places far less disgusting. Oh, and did I mention that I have never eaten at Taco Bell and walked away feeling well? I literally get sick every time I go there (maybe once every five years).

My ration was probably more like once every twelve years - for real! But all of that changed when my husband became a youth pastor. I discovered that there was this crazy, strong-stomached or maybe taste bud-less genre of people in society today who eat at Taco Bell, and actually enjoy it!! Teenagers!! Who knew? I thought that Taco Bell would eventually go out of business, but I discovered that it was teenagers who keep the place open. Several times we went to Taco Bell with teenagers and discovered that they loved it. Sitting down at a table in Taco Bell with teenagers miraculously opened them up to these strange new adults who wanted them to talk about God. And amazingly they did! Suddenly being thrown into their world and eating their food opened the flood gates and created a bond. Taco Bell - the great equalizer.

I did eventually convince my husband that Dairy Queen was equally effective, but Taco Bell reminded me of something key while working with teenagers. I don't have to water-down God's Word or child-proof doctrine to talk to a teenager, nor do I need blinking lights, comfy seats, and mood music. I just need to do something or be somewhere that levels the playing field. All of my best teen conversations, counseling, and discipleship times have been in their environment - a gym, a outdoor patio, in a ball-field, at Taco Bell or Dairy Queen, in a coffee shop, in my car driving to or from an event. A place where it isn't distinctly the church auditorium, the intimidating youth pastor's office, or even my classroom.

Teenagers are usually smart and thoughtful. They want to mull over hard questions and discuss deep topics, but they want to be comfortable doing it. Keep that in mind next time and consider enduring Taco Bell.