GIFTS OF LOVE OR GIFTS OF OBLIGATION?

DYING BOY'S FINAL WISH COMES TRUE
We feud with our families and refuse to forgive and forget before the holiday. We feel our Christmas is just not right because we don’t have the funds to spend the way we want to. We train our kids to expect great gifts for Christmas. As adults, we secretly get disappointed when we don’t get the gift we were hoping for. We eat enormous meals and watch the leftovers go rotten in a few days. We go through the holiday thinking we understand the meaning of Christmas because we focus on Jesus’ birth, yet most of us fail to sacrificially give a gift that can make an impact on someone who really needs it. We make sure we tell our kids about the gift of Christ but don’t show them the gift of servitude that came with the birth of Christ.
Jesus came to the earth as a gift of redemption.
I celebrate Christmas by giving gifts of obligation.

May the Lord grant me the heart of this young child.

CHRISTIANS ARE SO UNCHRISTIAN: TRUE OR FALSE?

I've been reading Dan Kimball's book "They Like Jesus, But Not The Church". And it has inspired me to repost an old post. I don't want to forget where Christianity is today and the severity of what is happenening to the Body of Christ in North America. Here it is:

A gentleman came up to me the other day and told me how he had asked a fellow coworker why he didn’t come to a bible study that was open to all the employees at their job? The young man told him to get lost (with more descriptive words) and take his religion crap elsewhere. This blew the man away because his coworker was a man that was always showing others respect and love. But when it came to a Christian trying to have a “Christian conversation”, he was turned away like he had some nasty plague.

In Dan Kimball’s book, “They Like Jesus, But Not The Church”, he tells us how the issue is not Jesus, but rather His followers. Though Christians need to hold onto the Truths Jesus gave, it’s how Christians have handled that Truth that has scarred so many into turning them away from Jesus.
JESUS VS. CHRISTIANS


Judgmental, antihomosexual, hypocritical, too political and sheltered. According to the book “UnChrisitian”, written by David Kinnaman, these are the words of those outside of the church from the late teens to early 30 somethings when asked to describe Christians. According to Kinnaman's Barna study, here are the percentages of people outside the church from that age range who think that the following words describe present-day Christianity:

* antihomosexual 91%
* judgmental 87%
* hypocritical 85%
* old-fashioned 78%
* too political 75%
* out of touch with reality 72%
* insensitive to others 70%
* boring 68%

Kinnaman believes that these are not stereotypes with no basis of reality. Each person in the poll gave specific details on why they believe such things about Christians. This morning, after I read one of those “Christian-fowarded emails” that determines how solid of a Christian you are by forwarding it on to as many people as possible, I could only laugh and think of what a person outside the church would have thought if they read it. It was about keeping America a Christian nation because that is what the founders intended it to be. The last words read something along the lines of “If you’re a Christian, then remind people of what our country is by telling them to SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!!” Wow.

Christians have two ways to react to this. One way is to justify every critique that has been given us by those outside the church and point the finger back at them. The other way is to evaluate how we want to be perceived by those outside the church and how can we change that perception without compromising The Truth. One thing is certain: those outside of the church hate us....and sometimes, I don’t blame them.

JUDGING A BOOK

Several months back I was hearing all this hoopla about the “Twilight Series”. I read magazine articles about it. Some saying it will be the first series to sell on the scale of Harry Potter. It was the next hot thing out there. So I decided to check it out. When my wife and I were in the check out lane at Wal-Mart, I told her I forgot something and then ran and grabbed the book. When I brought it back to the check out lane, she looked at the book and said, “Are you sure you want to get that? It looks and sounds like a girls book.” I kind of agreed, so I put it back and grabbed a different book.
Over the next couple of months, we kept coming across that book and the youth of our church couldn’t keep their mouths closed about it. Needless to say I regretted not getting it. So I went out and purchased it. While I was being drawn into the book, I was waiting for something vampireish to happen. Some fighting, action, garlic, stakes, crucifixes. But all I was coming across was some really cheesy teenage love story. IT WAS DRIVING ME CRAZY! I wanted to see these amazing, super-human tough vampires go to action. And it finally came……..in the last couple of chapters. My thoughts of the book? Sappy and disappointing.
She seems to have all her stuff together. She’s a beautiful young girl. She’s very personal and doesn’t lack friends. When we talk, she makes sure she tells me about how she told someone about her faith. She lets me know what book of the Bible she’s reading. Every Wednesday she’s one of the few girls who bring her Bible. But every now and then I have to approach her with something I’ve heard. Parties where she’s wasted. Several guys that she’s crossed boundaries with. Smoking weed. She is a young gal that is trying to do the Jesus thing, but has a problem of being transparent. She feels that her job is to make people believe her life is good, but has not come to understand that being a Christian means that we’re just not good.

One of the most exciting youths in our youth group is a young gentleman named Brian. If one was to look at him, they would probably be scared out of their pants because he has a pretty rough image. He has a head full of crazy out of control hair. He has a tough (yet handsome)mug on his face that looks like he could chew your face off. He’s not a small guy. He dresses to his own liking, not to impress anyone. And he has his own rock band. But if you were to have one conversation with this young man, you’d thing you just had a conversation with someone that has the heart of Mother Teresa. He’s by far one of the most loving gentlemen I have ever known. He goes out of his way to make his beautiful girlfriend know she's loved by him. He asks the serious questions. He wants to grow deeper but recognizes his struggles. When we worship, he’s screaming off the top of his lungs. This youth gets all the leaders excited and has much potential (along with his girlfriend Candace) to do great things for the kingdom of God.

We hear and see things and we assume it’s true. We see a book and we figure it has to be good because it looks good or that’s what people are saying. But sometimes we pick it up and read it and it is nothing we were expecting. We judge to quickly. We need to make sure that we don’t assume the book is good or bad until you know for yourself. The hearts of each individual has its own motives, and we don’t know what it is. All we can do is see the fruit of someone and let it be what it is.

“Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.” 1Cor. 4:5

WHY SHOULD I BE THANKFUL?

My car battery keeps draining due to the weather. My newborn baby keeps me up late and wakes me up early. My two year old is acting like she’s seven and rebelling like a 17 year-old. Our bank account is low on funds. We’re looking for a new house and trying to figure out how we’re going to pay for it without me having to find a second job. The heat in our van doesn’t work. Our dog keeps pooping in the house. My cat keeps sneaking out of the house and tearing the farm cats into pieces. I’m overweight. I have parents of kids in the ministry who do not like the way I do ministry. I have youth who do not like the way I do ministry. I have non-Christian youth falling further away from Christ. I have Christian youth who are making worse choices then the non-Christian youth. I have youth who think other kids are faking their faith. My new Blackberry is not working like it should, considering I wasted hundreds of dollars on it. We can’t find our WIC coupons to get the free food the government gives us due to are income. I haven’t seen any of my close friends in months and years. I miss my family.
AND TO TOP IT OFF, I CAN’T STOP SINNING.
Looking at the list above, I can’t help but to wonder; why am I the happiest I’ve ever been in life? Why do I love life more then I have in the past? How can I be so excited to come home and relax with my family? Am I crazy for looking forward to coming to work everyday? Why do I long to spend more time with the youth in the ministry?
WHY DOES GOD GIVE ME THE GRACE TO FACE EACH AND EVERY DAY? WHY DOES HE SHOWER HIS LOVE ON ME AS IF I AM HIS ONLY LOVE? HOW CAN HE GIVE MY HEART THE REST IT SHOULDN’T HAVE WITH ALL THINGS CONSIDERED? WHY IN THE HECK DOES JESUS WANT TO ROMANCE MY FAMILY LIKE WE’VE BEEN FAITHFUL TO HIM AND NEVER BROKE HIS HEART OUT OF OUR OWN SELFISH REBELLION AGAINST HIM? WHY AM I LOVED BY GOD?
Bottom line, how can I not be grateful in life? All things may fall, but Christ remains faithfully crazy in love with us. This thanksgiving, above all things, let us remember how great the Father’s love is and how loved we are by Christ.
Romans 8-35, 37-39- “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword...Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

THE INFLUENCE OF MUSIC

Some looked at him as a god, some viewed him as the devil. Parents were cringing, while daughters were drooling . Whether you like him or hated him, In the 1950’s, Elvis Presley brought Rock-n-Roll to the forefront of culture and music hasn’t been the same since.
In the 60’s, they took over the British airwaves. Then they conquered America. After that, the world was at their feet. Instead of duplicating the sound of previous pop-culture hits, The Beatles were so unique, record labels kept slamming the door on them because they never heard anything like it and they just weren’t what the music industry needed. This led to be one of the biggest music industry blunders in history. The Beatles have sold over 1 billion units world wide.
They helped tear down the 60’s free-love movement. Rumors of Satanism and mysticism plagued their image which they welcomed. A band of mystery that people really had trouble figuring out. Led Zeppelin set the bar for Rock-n-Roll. Their number one hit “Stairway to Heaven” is the most played song in the history of album oriented radio.
He was no longer Little Michael. He was a young man who taught the world new dance moves while he serenaded everyone with his soft voice. Michael Jackson has the most
# 1 hits in music and the album “Thriller” is the world’s best selling album. No single person dominated the pop-culture scene more then Michael Jackson did in the 80’s.
In 1990, Nirvana was the final blow to the hairband era. They didn’t care for makeup. They didn’t want to look good. They just wanted to do music. They wanted to do it loud and with a message: “look at what you’ve made me”. They became the voice of the post-boomer generation and they were tired of the world. The music scene was in desperate need of a makeover, and Nirvana delivered in every aspect.
Music is the most powerful tool in the shaping of youth culture. It shows the world what’s to be worn, what words are to be used, and how to dance. Youth desperately look to the music world to help shape their image and define who they are. Music is the mirror to how we view ourselves. And artists have helped us put an image in that mirror.
When was the last time we sat down with a youth and asked to “see in their mirror”? Granted, the music may be extremely horrible and may resemble the sound of a cat getting its face smashed in with hammer (with a tight beat in the background). But have we taken the time to see how these kids view themselves? We become so quick to introduce these kids to artist like Stellar Kart, Switchfoot, Lecrae, or Skillet. If we want to be edgy, we give them P.O.D.’s newest album. Instead of passing onto youth what you believe they may like, first take a journey into their world to see who it is they are. Evaluate their culture first, as Paul did in Athens.

“Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.” ACTS 17:22-23

"HAPPY" PEOPLE

I’m really hesitant to write this blog because I know if I use certain words, certain people could get offended. And I also know some parents do not like to hear such words. But bottom line, the reality in every middle-school and high school across America is that there are certain kids that are......how should I put it.....that are attracted to the same-sex. So knowing some people do not like to hear those "vulgar" words and so I don’t offend people, instead of using the oppropriate words, I’ll use the word “Happy” to speak about the males and females of this groups.

How should we, lovers of Jesus, react to HAPPY people that enter the schools, the work place, the restaurants, etc….? What should we tell a HAPPY person if they want to go to a Bible school? What if a HAPPY person came to our church and was praising God with outstretched arms? Would we doubt their “realness”? How would we react if our kids were hanging out with a HAPPY person on a Friday night? What if they were invited to a party full of HAPPY people and we knew there would be no drinking or drug use?
If we saw an old woman that attends our church getting harassed, we most likely would stand by her side and defend her. Would we do the same for a HAPPY person we don’t even know?
What if 9 out of 10 HAPPY people that attend middle school or high school feels as if they are harassed and mistreated by others? Would you stand up for them?
What if 3 out of 5 HAPPY people in middle school or high school felt like their lives were at risk on any given day at school? Would you defend them?

The middle schools and high schools of our cities have HAPPY people in them. They form groups like GLSA, HAPPY Student Alliance, and they protest the mistreatment they face day to day. Do we you feel such a group in uneccesary? Some HAPPY people walk around with HAPPY PRIDE symbols, whether it be a rainbow scarf, or a pin, to let people know they are not scared of what public opinion is regarding their lifestyle. Do we see this pride as obsurd? Do we question why someone can take pride in being "different" form what is "normal"?

If Jesus were around today, could we see Him being overly vocal about HAPPY people and the choices they make? Or could we see Him spending time with them to show them they are loved by the Father? Can we see Jesus sitting with them at a lunch, work, the mall, their homes. Or do we see Jesus at a rally protesting and telling HAPPY people they are destroying our families?
Bottom line, do we see Jesus leading the way for us to throw stones because WE are the perfect people? Or do we see Him kneeling next to a HAPPY person that's lying on the ground, writing in the dirt looking at us?

TEENS FINDING VALUE IN MAKING BABIES

The things I'm willing to tell you just so I can write a blog. I do admit and confess, sometimes I watch the Tyra Show. Alright, I LOVE THE TYRA SHOW! THE SHOW IS AWESOME! I'M ADDICTED TO IT! SHE’S SO STINKIN CREATIVE AND FUNNY!!!!
Alright, now that I’m officially look at as a tender creampuff, let me move on.
The other day, I was heartbroken (yet fascinated) to hear what this 14 year-old girl was saying. She was letting Tyra know that she was very, VERY sexually active. Not just sexually active, but extremely anxious to get pregnant as well. And not JUST anxious to get pregnant, but TAKING FERTILITY DRUGS! At the age of 14. MIND BLOWING! She came from a family without a father and a single mother who has had several men living with her through this young girl’s life. So whatever this girl’s perception of boys is, she’s picked it up from her mother. But I couldn’t help but to laugh when Tyra asked her who her role model in life was. The little girl beamed with joy as she said, “Jamie Lynn Spears, who I hope I can be as good of a mother as. Compared to her sister (Britney Spears) she’s a way better mother.” Wow. A 14 year old girl wanting nothing more in life then to be like a 16 year old mother she doesn’t even know. I got one word for that: LACKOFPOSITIVEINFLUENCE!!

Since that episode, I can’t stop thinking about that girl. Not necessarily the girl from the Tyra Show, but THAT girl in today’s society. When I look at a 13 or 14 year-old, it’s hard to imagine that they even know how to ride a bike yet, let alone make a baby.
The Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit organization that focuses on sexual and reproductive health research, policy analysis and public education, reports that “Teenagers in the United States are more likely to have sexual intercourse before age 15 and have shorter and more sporadic sexual relationships than teenagers in Canada, France, Great Britain and Sweden. As a result, they are more likely to have more than one partner in a given year.” That to me is the recipe for BABY.
With pop-culture influencing kid’s into making bad choices the norm; with a single-parent struggling to raise their child in a positive manner; with Christian’s being to scared to teach about sex; No wonder kids want to make babies. They have become oblivious to the depth of God’s love for them.
ROMANS 8:35,37: “Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ's love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture. None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I'm absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.”
When THAT girl can embrace THAT truth, then they can finally understand the true beauty and purpose of an intimate relationship.

Poppin verse Krump

Battle of the ages. Different generations have brought a different flavor into culture that seems to come to a clash with each other every so often. You get it from your older or younger co-worker. From your uncle or niece. From your teacher or student. Every generation believes what they’ve brought to the forefront of culture makes more sense or will have more of an everlasting wrinkle on the pages of history.
66 Ford Mustang Coupe verses 02 Dodge Viper GTS;
Elvis verses Timberlake;
Hymns verses Contemporary;
Daily Planner verses Blackberry (I think my wife is the only person still using a daily planner).
POPPIN VERSES KRUMP…..?
Being an elementary age kid in the 80’s, I caught the tail end of a dance craze that brought some light to the Hip-hop culture: Breakdancing. I remember believing my older brother was pretty good at it even though he had no idea what he was doing. But after watching the movie BREAKIN, I couldn’t blame him for trying. That movie inspired millions of suburban and small town kids to learn how to pop.
Poppin was a craze and almost every kid gave it a try. Stand in front of the mirror and start poppin away. The more you did it, the more you fooled yourself into thinking you looked cool.
Now-a-days, if you want to get your boogey on, you better know how to krump.
It’s the hottest dance out there where you just go ballistic on the dance floor. Throw your arms and kick your legs, but someone how some way, you better make it look controlled and cool. If you’re not careful, someone may come up and punch you because they might think you’re trying to attack them.
B-boys that pop hate krump because it’s too simple, and fams that get krump think poppin WAS cool…….25 years ago!!

Poppin vs Krump (krump starts at 2:49)

Battle of the ages. Ol’ School verse New School. Sounds very familiar in the world of Christianity. Some elite traditionalists cannot stand to hear the word “relevance”. Relevant means worldly. Some ultra-modernist think tradition is for grandma and only kills the church. I can’t help but to wonder….who’s right?
In a culture where the body of Christ looks like Popeye’s beloved Olive Oil because churches are half full (I like to use a paradigm-shift there), it amazes me that this is an issue.
The Church is in a state where we can't afford to not remember what it means to be a Body. And not just any body, but of CHRIST. The Apostle Paul tells us that “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.-1 Cor. 12:12-18.

So whether you like to Pop or get Krump, it’s all about letting go and dancing. To dance means to move to the music with the best moves you got. Relevance doesn’t mean “young”. It means meeting people with what they love. Tradition doesn’t mean “non-applicable”. It means remembering where we come from. Tradition will always be relevant as long as we have people who love it. And relevance will always be needed it we ever want to reach ANYONE for Christ. In the big picture, don't they go hand-in-hand?

"RUN!!! HALLOWEEN'S HERE!"

“Jo-Jo, I don’t think it’s a good idea to have a Halloween party for the youth” she said. “You’re promoting Witchcraft and Satan worshipping. You know, I have a good idea. Why not have a Harvest Festival Party? Kid’s would enjoy that.” I asked her what that would look like and she replied, “It’s the same thing as a Halloween party but it doesn’t promote Satanic Worship.” I said, “Oh, so it’s all in the name?” And she responded, “Pretty much. Also, having the kids dress up in something more innocent like an angel or a disciple.” All I could think was Wow. I would love to see some of the football players dress up like fat baby cherubs.

Tis the season for some Christians to flee from evil and others to be in the world. Both very biblical stances. Some teenagers will be at churches to participate in youth functions that provide a Christian alternative to Halloween while others will be putting on a mask to try and pass as a kid so they can get their share of candy. Some parents will look at youth pastors as heretics for doing an event that has the word “Halloween” in it while other parents are calling the youth pastor incompetent because the youth pastor doesn’t understand that God is bigger then Halloween. Either way, the youth pastor gets the awesome job of choosing which side the youth program is going to go.
So my stance as the Youth Director of New Hope Community Church is……………..go get tons of candy from as many houses as possible and then go into a cave and pray while you eat.

HELICOPTER PARENTS

It’s just another day for this young college student who has jumped into the “beginning” stages of adulthood. He wakes up in his one person dorm room and goes through the male college-age ritual of getting ready in the morning; smell his pants that he wore yesterday to make sure they don’t stink. Gargle mouthwash instead of brush his teethe. Smell his armpits to see if they’re just too ripe to not use deodorant. Right before he walks out the dorm, he hears his computer chirp which means he has a message from someone. He goes over to read the message, and is suddenly filled with shame and embarrassment. Message from mom reads, “I KNOW YOUR NOT GOING TO YOUR CLASSES WITHOUT CLEANING YOUR SELF UP PROPERLY!!” He really hated that darn webcam in his bedroom.

Helicopter parents just don’t know when to let go. They hover over their kids and hinder them from becoming adults. As of lately, they’ve been joining Facebook to have a peek into the secret lives of the children. Their kids don’t have to get jobs if they don’t want to because they’re going to be bogged down with homework, so they buy their kid’s groceries for them, weekly. They spend thousands of dollars to get there college kids “help” from a “doctor” because of their depression and stress they have from being in a new environment. Yeah, some parents take it to an extreme but majority of parents do practice helicoptering. "We estimate that 60% to 70% of parents are involved in some kind of helicoptering behavior," says Patricia Somers, an associate professor of education at the University of Texas-Austin, whose analysis is based on more than 50 interviews with officials from 10 four-year public universities across the USA.

“The desire to be needed is very powerful in parents," says Adele Faber, a Long Island, N.Y., author of parenting books. "To go from that all-powerful parent whose kids desperately need you to someone who sees a child as a separate individual is a very hard journey. We need to help our kids be separate and independent people who can function on their own."

We fear for there safety. We Fear for their spiritual growth. We believe they aren’t ready to face to “real world”. We don’t trust their judgment. I can’t help but to wonder, WHAT THE HECK HAVE THE PARENTS BEEN DOING FOR THE PAST 18 YEARS!!?? Have they not taught their kids anything? DO they doubt the Holy Spirit will guide them? Do they think their prayers for their kids will not reach God’s ears?
"'I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.'"- Jer. 29:11. This is our hope as Christian parents: God is in control and we can trust him. He really does have only the best planned for our children.

KIDS HATE SHARING

I was shocked to see my best friend Aaron get grabbed by his ears and yelled at by his mother. I can tell by his grimacing face that she had one heck of a grip on it. I told her it was no big deal and it didn’t bother me. She said, “Jo-Jo, stay out of our family affairs.” So I did. She went on to say, “We’ve been telling this boy he needs to learn to share more. All he does is take, take, take, and take from people. But when it comes to sharing, it doesn’t get anymore selfish then him.” I knew I shouldn’t have asked for some of his potato chips.
Something about sharing just doesn’t resonate with kids. I’ve watched some of the most loving parents do an excellent job raising some of the most loving children. But when it came to sharing, these loving children turn into rabid pit-bulls. I’m constantly telling my daughter she needs to share. She agrees with the statement, but doesn’t AGREE with the statement.
“In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
Acts 20:35 NIV
Somewhere along the line someone had taught me how to share. Sometime in my life, it was more then my parent’s emphasis on sharing that opened my eyes to the beauty of sharing. At some point, it went past words and it was put into action. That’s what caught my attention. That’s what got me excited about sharing. That’s when I found out one of the most beautiful things someone can do for someone else is giving up a portion of what it is they have as an expression of selflessness and love. It’s a practice worth doing. I’ve seen 65-year-old men and women who’ve been trained to never provide for someone who doesn’t earn it or obtain it themselves. If you ask me, that goes completely against scripture. What’s that one bible verse? Oh yeah. “God helps those who help themselves.” Oh…wait. That’s not in the Bible. That was that old lady down the road.

THE WRONG KIND OF "HIGH" SCHOOL

He’s a good looking young guy that all the girls are nuts over. He’s friends with all kinds of kids in the high school and one of the most popular. He’s an amazing skateboarder. He’s one of the most social teenagers I have ever met. He can hold a conversation with anyone from a five year-old kid to a crabby old grandma. He makes sure he looks good with his dress attire at all times, staying up on the hottest clothes. Oh, and one more thing: he loves to smoke marijuana. Well, I should say loved because now he’s on fire for Jesus and loves to do anything possible to praise Him.
This young man is a kid that really had me confused. He looked like he had it all together and you couldn’t hold anything against him. But recently he admitted to me that smoking and selling pot were his main focuses in life. This is such a common trend among teens in your local high school. It’s no longer just the kids that look like “bad” kids that our getting more deeply involved with drug use and selling. You can find the best athletic star high during class with a pocket full of mom’s and dad’s prescription pills to sell to anyone willing to buy a cheap high. According to a study by Columbia University’s National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, 61% of high school teens say their high school has a major drug problem, compared with 44% in 2002. Problems are rising in middle school, too, with 31% of middle schoolers saying their school has drug issues. That’s up from 19% five years ago.
These kids have turned to drugs because that seems to be the answer for their lives. I disagree with psychologists who think there is a deeper issue at hand with anyone who uses drugs. Some kids do have deeper issues, but others just want to have fun. When I first became a Christian, playing capture the flag or watching the Princess Bride on a Friday night with a couple dozen Christian kids that could never watch anything PG13 or worse was not my idea of fun. I missed my old life of partying and freedom to choose whatever I wanted to do. I missed smoking pot because that was my idea of fun. And not just fun but that’s what cool people did. I was too cool to be with those “Christian Nerds”. (I happen to still hate The Princess Bride but I am far from cool these days.)
With drugs becoming more and more of an issue in the high schools, we need to prepare our kids for that reality. Make sure that we are engaging with them about the issue. Not just telling them they better not do it. Make sure they keep an eye open for who is doing the drugs and not assume it’s the kids with the baggy dark clothes with long hair and smells like a dead skunk. It could well be the kids that they can’t wait to bring home and show off how cool of a friend they’ve made. We should make sure our kids are proclaiming that Jesus came “that they may have life, and have it to the full.” If our kids don’t pay attention and take action, then it’s a battle already lost and pointless to fight.

TEENS AND MONEY

She was driving well past the speed limit. She got pulled over. She got a stiff fine. And this young teenager’s response? “I’m so angry at my parents! They expect me to pay for this ticket. It’s just not fair!”
I’m sure she had better things to spend the money on. Clothes, cell phone accessories, itunes for her ipod. All the essentials for a teenager. Summer is coming to end and several kids have gotten their first jobs and are about to taste the part of reality that I’m still learning myself. Juggling three or four responsibilities and carrying a job all at the same time. With school, sports, time for friends and so on, how in the world will they have time to work? But without work, how in the heck will they get all the finer things that their friends have? For most teens, that’s the only thing having a job is good for: to feed their raving appetite to buy more stuff.
THE THINGS TEENAGERS WILL DO FOR $

I’ve seen teens give hundreds of dollars to the church and others spend thousands of dollars on stuff that’s equally valued to belly-button lint. Either way, spending the money is what made them feel good. It’s what all people do, not just teenagers, to find happiness. (I find it quite comical when people say money can’t buy you happiness. When I bought my daughter the new Dora The Explorer movie, I got pretty happy when she screamed “DORA!!!!!” and then hugged and kissed me.) Sure, the joy of earning and spending the money from the first job is great. But too many parents hand off the financial responsibilities to their kids without helping them understand the depth of the danger they could face if they’re not careful. “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, in their eagerness to get rich, have wandered away from the faith and caused themselves a lot of pain.”-1 Tim. 6:10.
In this day and age, parents have no choice but to make their kids get a job due to the hurting economy. But if we make our kids get jobs, we should also have restrictions on what they should be spending it on. Granted it’s their hard earned money, but they’re young teenagers that have an obsession with spending. I was talking to a young teenage girl today who is working two jobs, and she told me that she’s only responsible to buy her new clothes after her parent buy her her school clothes, and to pay for gas. I asked her why she has to have two jobs to do that and she told me she LOVES to buy new clothes. With today’s adults defined as the Credit Card generation, and dept being higher then ever, we should see the spending trends of our kids and make sure they understand stewardship and wisdom. They should learn from our mistakes. But we can’t expect them to learn by watching. Because all they’re seeing is the crazy spending habits that is behind the reason some of our kids have to get jobs.

THE 23: WHO CARES?

They’re not aloud to be outside of a business for more then five minutes. They don’t feel welcomed at the local high-risk youth hangout spot. They’ve either been thrown out of their houses or haven’t been home in several days with out the parents even noticing. So where do they hang out? They call it The 23.

At the 23-hour parking lot on any given day you will find anywhere between 10-20 kids hanging out. Well, maybe not all kids. Their ages range from 14-24. These are the outcast of our community. The druggies, potheads, losers, scum, dirty people of our society that most people don’t really care about. The police don’t mind that they hang out at the 23-hour parking lot. As long as they don’t hang around the community and scare the ones who make the wonderful town of Cambridge civilized. It makes sense now that when someone new to the community hangs out at The 23 they assume he’s an undercover cop. They’re not use to seeing police near there so they think it’s a little too fishy.
You’ll find beer cans, cigarette butts, candy wrappers and a mass variety of garbage on the ground. You’ll even find a tore-up mattress on the floor with a dingy pillow laying underneath a tree where kids will be resting.
What should be done about this issue? Should they be chased away and dispersed? Some think so. Should they be arrested to teach them a lesson about right and wrong choices? Some would argue that. Should they be ignored? This community has mastered that.
"There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land." Deuteronomy 15:11

CHRISTIAN YOUTH OBLIVIOUS TO REALITY

After hearing of a father who sat down with his son to discuss the content of one of his son’s favorite songs, Greenday’s “Longview”, not in a reprimanding manner but rather as an opportunity to have a father-son conversation, it taught me a parenting lesson I will never forget and will utilize: know what is inevitably going to reach my children’s eyes and ears, and see the opportunities for life lessons.

More then 75% of kids that attend youth group during their high school years will walk away from the church when they reach college. Studies have shown that a key reason for this is due to lack of “heavy” material that has prepared them for the real world. A second reason is they believe the church is irrelevant. Another reason for the departure from the church is a new taste of another reality.

Kids are being raised with Christian barriers around them so thick they don’t have a clue on what’s happening apart from their Christian communities. At youth group, I had a sweet, innocent girl ask me what Cocaine was! It was cute, but really weird. One of today’s hottest songs is “I Kissed a Girl”, by Katy Perry. She was raised by parents who are both Pastors. Here is what she said in a recent article in Entertainment Weekly.
"After leaving the nest and seeing some of the world and seeing all kinds of people, my brain has a little bit of a question mark about what I believe. I’m still searching."
It took her to move out of her Christian house in order see what's really happening in the world. And that’s a standard for kids that leave the house and decide to put their faith in God on the back burner.

A recent study by a research group in Britain recommends parents to watch some of the steamy nighttime dramas that are aimed towards their teens in-order to have an opportunity for must-needed conversation with their kids. “This provides a springboard for parents to communicate their own values as well as helping teens to think through and challenge their own existing beliefs about sex, sexual health, relationships and the opposite sex," writes Anita Naik, the author of the report, issued by Britain’s Department for Children, Schools and Families. Utilizing what will, in due time, be introduced to the kids by giving them a practical biblical lesson from a source that can potentially catch them off guard due to culture shock.

Philippians 4:8 tells us to think about whatever is true, honorable, fair, pure, acceptable, commendable, excellent, and praise-worthy. This is a standard verse used by Christian parents to help guide them through parenting, and I believe it does need to be practiced. But does this mean we need to raise our kids to never notice what is happening around them? Is it a mistake to take what is dominant in youth culture and see what truths can be found? In the Book of Acts, “Paul stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “"Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.””
What are we preparing our kids for?

CHRISTIANS ARE SO UNCHRISTIAN: TRUE OR FALSE?

A gentleman came up to me the other day and told me how he had asked a fellow coworker why he didn’t come to a bible study that was open to all the employees at their job? The young man told him to get lost (with more descriptive words) and take his religion crap elsewhere. This blew the man away because his coworker was a man that was always showing others respect and love. But when it came to a Christian trying to have a “Christian conversation”, he was turned away like he had some nasty plague.

In Dan Kimball’s book, “They Like Jesus, But Not The Church”, he tells us how the issue is not Jesus, but rather His followers. Though Christians need to hold onto the Truths Jesus gave, it’s how Christians have handled that Truth that has scarred so many into turning them away from Jesus.
JESUS VS. CHRISTIANS


Judgmental, antihomosexual, hypocritical, too political and sheltered. According to the book “UnChrisitian”, written by David Kinnaman, these are the words of those outside of the church from the late teens to early 30 somethings when asked to describe Christians. According to Kinnaman's Barna study, here are the percentages of people outside the church from that age range who think that the following words describe present-day Christianity:

* antihomosexual 91%
* judgmental 87%
* hypocritical 85%
* old-fashioned 78%
* too political 75%
* out of touch with reality 72%
* insensitive to others 70%
* boring 68%

Kinnaman believes that these are not stereotypes with no basis of reality. Each person in the poll gave specific details on why they believe such things about Christians. This morning, after I read one of those “Christian-fowarded emails” that determines how solid of a Christian you are by forwarding it on to as many people as possible, I could only laugh and think of what a person outside the church would have thought if they read it. It was about keeping America a Christian nation because that is what the founders intended it to be. The last words read something along the lines of “If you’re a Christian, then remind people of what our country is by telling them to SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!!” Wow.

Christians have two ways to react to this. One way is to justify every critique that has been given us by those outside the church and point the finger back at them. The other way is to evaluate how we want to be perceived by those outside the church and how can we change that perception without compromising The Truth. One thing is certain: those outside of the church hate us....and sometimes, I don’t blame them.

ACTS 2:42

While playing football in high school and even some in college, the key to every game was to get a win. Do your part at your position, and then you played a key role in the win. But the whole team had to function in the same manner. EVERYONE HAD TO BE ON THE SAME PAGE BY DOING THEIR PART AS INDIVIDUALS. But every week, some how someway, someone on the team would be off and would fail to consistently do their job. And the team paid for it.
Right now, I’m doing life with 12 teenagers (I love Keely and Kish) and 2 adults. And when I say doing life, I mean the whole bang. We are living with each other in a cabin for a week, and working with each other at the same place. Eating together, sharing the same bathrooms (which really stinks), working 11 hours-a-day with each other, and due to tight quarters, I’m sharing a bed with one of the guy leaders. With all that going on, that typically spells disaster.
In all honesty, I was predicating just that. Who would have thought that a vision and goal set among teenagers, by teenagers, could be done without the fighting and bickering that is pretty typical in the weird life of teens (because adults never do that).
When we first started this venture, we really focused on what it means to be a community of Christ-followers. As a community of Jesus-people with a desire to see God exalted, what is to be expected? Whatever the age, if the goal is the same all across the board, you can move forward in confidence knowing the goal will be met. Praise God for the example set in ACTS 2:42!

TO OFFEND OR NOT TO OFFEND?

In 2005, the Supreme Court ordered a 10 Commandment display outside of a Kentucky courthouse to be taken down. This led to a national debate over Church and State and the rights of those that the 10 Commandments “offend”.
In 2006, a Danish Newspaper was under fire for publishing a cartoon that “mocked” the prophet Muhammad. This led to riots in many European countries because Muslims were “offended” by the cartoon.
Recently, a professor at the University of California told his students that he “expects them to work hard and would hold them to high standards.” He later received a call from an outraged parent who was “offended” by the professor because he was mistreating the young.
At a previous job where we have a daily trivia question posted, I wrote the question, “ACORDING to the book of Genesis, what was created on the 4th day?” Not even three hours later, I was told to change the questions because the biblical context could “offend” a customer.

In today’s society, walking on eggshells is starting to become the norm. Lawsuits are rampant. Teachers are fired. Coaches are superficial. Pastors avoid sermons on hell. Parents are ticked. Even Christians have done a good job at being offended by anything that isn’t “Christian” enough in the perverse society they live in. In a culture of such diversity, your chances of offending someone are higher then Simon Cowell criticizing someone for their singing voice.
A couple of weeks ago, I was reading Romans chapter one (22-27) in which Paul talks about some brutally honest, but “offensive” material. In another letter, Paul teaches us to stay away from certain “things” because they are immoral. James, in his letter, calls believers hypocrites in their whole lifestyle, as did Jesus. Talk about not holding back and not letting offendedness dictate their mission!
As a youth missionary, I am called to understand and know the culture in which my students live in. I’m called to be relevant, creative, passionate, sound, loving, and a hundred other things in order to be effective in the ever-shifting culture of youth. But I’m also called to use wisdom and discernment. And what my wisdom (or lack-there-of) and discernment is telling me is that……um…well, I really don’t know what they’re telling me. Am I to address some of the outrages things kids take part in? Should I provide material to parents that will help them understand and confront the things in the life of teenagers that are just confusing? Will a parent get offended that I would suggest that they keep up with what their good Christian child potentially could be partaking in?
Albert Mohler Jr., the president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary says, “All that is required for someone to be offended is the vaguest notion of emotional distaste at what another has said, done, proposed, or presented.” And in due time, the offender will start to feel the heat. “Once we begin playing the game of offendedness,” Albert says, “there is no end to the matter. There simply is no right not to be offended, and we should be offended by the very notion that such a right could exist.”

YOUTH SUBCULTURES

Youth Subculture: a minority youth culture whose distinctiveness depended largely on the social class, ethnic background, a particular music genre, clothing styles, hairstyles and footwear. However, intangible elements, such as common interests, dialects and slang, and gathering places can also be an important factor.

CLIP FORM MEAN GIRLS


At a local high school hangout spot, I asked a group of kids to name off the different subcultures they see in the school. They shot off seven or eight different groups; Goths, Emos, Jocks, Preps, Nerds, Wanna-be-Gangsters, Band and Drama Geeks, etc… I was surprise that they didn’t mention one of the largest subcultures in the school. Christians.
In the high school, every year there seems to always be a large group of Christians that flock together and walk side-by-side like they’re team captains walking out into the middle of the field together. They have a special connection that others don’t have. They have The Holy Spirit. They have the love of Christ in their hearts. They have a common Book that they all read. They go to the same churches. They attend the same youth group. They hear the same messages. They listen to the same Worship songs. They love the same Christian bands. They listen to the same Christian radio station. They hung out last night playing the same board game. They pray the same prayers for the same friend. They play the same sports and star in the same dramas. They sing the same songs in Choir. They studied together for the same test. They have crushes on the same boys and girls. They go on the same mission trips, youth retreats, and summer camps. These kids do all things together so they can grow closer to the Lord together.
Just like the Christians, the others subcultures are doing things together as well. The Goths are huffing paint. The Emos are cutting themselves. The Jocks are getting wasted at a party. The preps are wasting there money on material things. The nerds just wish someone would talk to them. The wanna-be-gangsters are rolling blunts and talking about pimpin hoes. And the band and drama geeks are sharing the latest piece of gossip.
So as far as blending in, the Christian subculture has done a pretty good job. According to the kids I talked to at the high school hangout spot, they don't even notice them.