"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.