Beware of new teen trend: hugging!

Here is an interesting article that was in the New York Times this morning :http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/28/style/28hugs.html?em

It talks about how hugs have become popular with teens. I find this kind of funny and kind of sad at the same time. It is crazy how different generations view things like this. Some people may think that this is a major problem in schools and they blame it on MTV. I think that it is healthy for people to have appropriate physical contact with others, but maybe I am just a crazy person. I think that there are much bigger issues in schools and with teenagers that we should be concerned with.

To Fathers

Here's a great quote by Mark Twain:

"When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years". -Mark Twain

So true!

Rick Warren on Susan Boyle

Here's a great video of Rick Warren talking about Susan Boyle. What do you think?

Teenage Culture

This past week I went to a seminar on youth culture, which was led by Dr. Chap Clark. (No relation that I know of) Dr. Clark is a professor and director at the Fuller Seminary Youth Institute and has authored dozens of books on youth culture and youth ministry. Needless to say he is a guru on youth culture.

Dr. Clark discussed his research on youth and talked about how teens have been abandoned by adults. He talked about the secret world that lies beneath the surface of teenagers and how most kids are really hurting inside, but don't know it or don't know how to deal with it.

I resonated with a lot of the things that Dr. Clark discussed especially the parts about the ways kids are recognized in society. He said that kids are welcomed into society when and if they:

-perform well enough to be accepted
-conform enough to be accepted, or
-portray an image that is pleasing enough to be accepted.

I thought about this through my lens as a youth minister and high school sports coach and I couldn't agree more. We tell kids that athletics is for character building, but I see parents upset with their son if they make an error or drop a pass. I see kids who live one life at school and another at church. I see kids portray one identity around their parents and a who different identity on facebook. There is something very wrong with the message that we are sending to kids about what it means to be successful and what it means to live life to the fullest. I think that we need to seriously consider what messages we are sending to kids and rethink what we tell kids it means to be a mature follower of Christ.

Too Busy to be a Teen

It is really hard to be a teenager these days, but it might even be just as hard for teenage parents. I don't fit into either one of those categories, but I have a lot of interactions with both groups. Here is my outsider perspective on one of the major issues facing teens and parents: Teens are way too busy! High school has changed so much in the past 5 to 10 years. Kids are taking AP classes, playing AAU sports, learning multiple languages, staying involved at church, and not to mention the endless opportunities of clubs that they can join at school. Mix in some time for friends and family, and hopefully there is enough time to relax and just enjoy being a teen.

I am a high school baseball coach and youth pastor, so I know first hand all of time that kids are pressured into committing to. Just last night I had a phone call from a parent of one of the boys on my baseball team. She asked if it was okay with me if her son left a few of our baseball games early to get to an AAU basketball practice, which is over an hour drive away. I wanted to reach through the phone and smack her for even allowing her son to play two sports at one time, let alone drive him to practice in a city that is over an hour away. I told her that it is baseball season and not basketball season. Basketball season just ended a few weeks ago for high school and already AAU practices are starting. She was worried that if he didn't go to AAU practice that he wouldn't play and then he wouldn't make the team next year. I told her that if he leaves baseball games early, he wont be able to play this season. I understand her concern about playing time, but since when does a 14 year-old freshman boy worry so much about playing time on a AAU team while in the middle of a season of another sport? It's just crazy how much things have changed for teenagers.

I came across this article in the Washington Post that discusses teenage busyness:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/14/AR2008071401396_pf.html

I think that this article is right on and as a coach and youth pastor, I am going to continue to encourage kids and parents to just take time to be a teen. To relax and enjoy this season of life, because it will be over with so soon.

What are you looking for?

Here is a cool video....



This video really captured my attention. I couldn't help but relate this to my life. Sometimes I get so caught up in the details or all of the chaos going on around me, that I miss something great. For me, that thing that I often miss is God. I know that I am a youth pastor and I should always be looking for God, right? But all too often I am simply just not paying attention to the right things or just not looking for Him. What about you?

Check out this website!!!

I came across this website the other day: www.iamsecond.com There are some powerful video testimonies of celebrities, athletes, musicians, etc. who have given their life over to Jesus and have put him first in their lives. Amazing!

Everybody's doing it???

At high school youth group last night we had a discussion about alcohol and drugs. I posed the question, "what percentage of kids at West Ottawa High School drink alcohol?" Some answers were: "50%, 70%, and 90%." It seemed a bit high, I thought. I asked if they really thought that only 4 out of 40 kids at our youth group didn't drink. Then they realized that their perception was probably a little off. I remembered a survey that was done at Hope College a few years ago. It was about the perception of alcohol use. It asked students what they thought the percentage of Hope students drink regularly. Then it asked each person how often they do drink. The survey showed that students thought that 80% of all Hope students drink regularly. In actuality, only 30% of students drank on a monthly basis and even fewer (10%) drank once or more per week. I found this interesting, but the more I thought about it, it made a lot of sense.

Our culture, media, churches, and other sources of influence make it seem like drinking is such a big issue, that everyone is doing it. We teach young kids that they need to be ready for high school and college because they are going to have to constantly say no to drinking and drugs because everyone is doing it. It makes you feel like you are in the minority if you don't drink. Isn't that what Satan wants us to think? Think that we are on the outside looking in. Think that we are weird for not giving in. I think that we need to share the message to young people that in reality more people than not chose to not drink. It is perfectly normal to not drink before 21 or to not do drugs, or to not have sex before marriage. It's the popular choice to be responsible and disciplined with your actions. It may not seem like it because the majority of the attention in the news goes to negative stories about youth or young adults. As a society, we have labeled the adolescent years as years of irresponsibility and drunkenness. We need more stories about good things kids are doing because that is the popular choice by teens. As the church we need more stories about teens serving others, raising money for community projects, and going on mission trips. We need to raise kids up and affirm them for making good choices, so that they don't feel like they are in the minority.

Evangelism: What does that mean?

At Fellowship we have bee talking a lot about Evangelism. We have been going through this Natural Church Development process, which looks at the strengths and weaknesses in seven vital categories. The lowest category for our church was "Need Oriented Evangelism". As some members of the congregation met to discuss the results of the NCD process and to discuss our lowest factor, the question got raised, "what is the definition of evangelism?"

I would say that a good majority of the people in the room saw evangelism as standing on a street corner and telling random strangers about Jesus. One man I talked to said, "I know that I am supposed to evangelize, but if evangelism mean to talk to random strangers, then I am very uncomfortable doing that." As Christ followers we know that we are instructed to, "love our neighbor" and "make disciples of every nation", but what does that actually look like?

Other people that I talked to had a different idea of evangelism. They thought that evangelism was to make friends with non-christian people and invite them to events at the church. One person said that his goal was to minister to his co-workers by getting them to come to church and keep them coming back.

Another view of evangelism come to us from Saint Francis of Assisi, who famously said, "preach the gospel at all times and when necessary use words." He is basically saying, let your actions, your life, your daily interactions with people show the love and compassion of Jesus. So what does that look like? Well....it's not so clear. I think that is different for everyone based on their gifts and life situation. It can also depend on how one defines the gospel of Jesus. However, we do know that this means that we should act in Christ-like ways to those in which we have interactions with. We need to promote justice, forgive others, feed the poor, tell the truth, live humbly, love unconditionally, etc. What does that look like in your life? Maybe you are a high school or college student and you need to stand up for a friend or for the truth. Maybe you are middle aged and can help provide resources to those in need in your community. That might mean being a mentor or providing leadership for a non-profit. Whatever it might be, nearly anything that you do already, could be done in the name of Jesus in a way that bears witness to the gospel to which we have been called.

But what about those who believe differently than us? Check back later for more on evangelism!

Here's a stimulus package for you...

With all the talk of economic stimulus and corporate bailouts, it has gotten me thinking a lot about what Christians and the church as a whole can learn from our recent financial meltdown. Here is what I think: We rely way too much on the federal and state government's to provide people with the types of things that the church or other non-profit organizations should be able to provide. What is our government set-up to provide its citizens? The answer is life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It seems more and more that we Americans have this sense of entitlement or have certain expectations for what the government should be doing for us. Why do we expect the government to provide us a job, a house, money for food, or medicine? Should the federal government really have to do all of this? I certainly don't think so! This should be and needs to be done by the church or other nonprofit organizations. Maybe the money that the government pours into programs to meet these social needs could be spent in other places and we could make our government smaller at the same time. I look at an organization like Young Life that provides mentoring to teenagers. In the Holland area alone, this organization reaches hundreds of students every year and has an annual budget of around $200,000. Would a federal sponsored program be able to reach those kids? Yes, but it would probably cost millions. (Note: I haven't done much research on this....it's just a hunch.) So, let's start thinking of ways that we can get back to a smaller government. Let's start being more grassroots about our politics. Let's start living into the principals that Jesus taught us to, "love your neighbor as yourself." If we have a need in our community, let's meet that need and find ways to get at the root of that problem. Let's teach people to fish and not just hand-out a fish or two. Let's not rely on the government to put a band-aide on our problems. It's time to speak up, act out, and do our part. This is not a time to sit back and wait for our government to fix our problems.

I am sure that I will have more later. I would love to hear your comments!

New Name.....New Direction!

I have been struggling with what direction I wanted to go with this blog. After some serious time of thinking and serching for inspiration, I have decided that I wanted to focus my vision on what I will write about. I have decided that my posts will be my thoughts or insights as a youth/20something minister about following Jesus in a world where people are becoming evermore disconnected and disengaged with the church. I hope that you enjoy and participate in the conversations that will follow!

New Evangelism Idea

After all of the talk about evangelism during the Natural Church Development meeting I started to think about new ways for Fellowship to evangelize in our community. Here is a funny idea:



Well....maybe it's not the best idea.

That's My King!

Yesterday was the Inaugeration of President Obama. It was truely an inspiring and historical moment for our country. We pray that during this time of great challenges, that God will grant President Obama the wisdom and courage to lead with integrity. I heard political commentators on TV talk over and over about how the President of the United States is the most powerful person in the world, which is probably true. I was reminded of the following video, which helps me to not forget who is really in charge and how truly is all powerful.



Comments???

Did you know?

Check out this video about the changes in technology. It gives us a good perspective to the world in which we live.



Any comments?

Cinematic Orchestra - To Build a Home

Check out this powerfull music video by Cinematic Orchestra. I posted the lyrics below and I will leave it up to you to interpret...



Lyrics to To Build A Home :

There is a house built out of stone
Wooden floors, walls and window sills...
Tables and chairs worn by all of the dust...
This is a place where I don't feel alone
This is a place where I feel at home...

Cause, I built a home
for you
for me

Until it disappeared
from me
from you

And now, it's time to leave and turn to dust...

Out in the garden where we planted the seeds
There is a tree as old as me
Branches were sewn by the color of green
Ground had arose and passed it's knees

By the cracks of the skin I climbed to the top
I climbed the tree to see the world
When the gusts came around to blow me down
I held on as tightly as you held onto me
I held on as tightly as you held onto me......


Cause, I built a home
for you
for me

Until it disappeared
from me
from you

And now, it's time to leave and turn to dust........