Youth Specialties Blog
Youth Worker Stories: Ben and Nicole
By Youth Specialties on April 10 2012 | 3 Comments
We love stories of youth workers serving students. Here's the story of Ben and Nicole Edwards following God's call at Joshua Station in Denver, CO.
By Youth Specialties on April 10 2012 | 3 Comments
Free Blue Like Jazz Movie Discussion Guides
By Youth Specialties on April 04 2012 | 5 Comments
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Blue Like Jazz is a movie that tells the story of one person’s search to discover God for himself. It is a story that involves doubt, insecurity, bad behavior, questioning and an honest look at what it takes to have a faith of your own, not merely one that you inherit from family or a church community.
And as difficult as it can be to see people we love struggle, we know that it is through struggle, though asking honest questions and wrestling with things ourselves that we find what it is we truly believe. There are great studies about the role of doubt in forming peoples’ faith, and we hope that this discussion guide about the stories told in Blue Like Jazz will be a help to engage the teenagers in your group (and their parents) to work on their questions and doubts together, and know that they are not alone, swirling in the blue without someone to grab hold of them.
We have 2 FREE discussion guides to help unpack the themes in the film.
College / Youth Adult Discussion Guide
At this year's NYWC, Tic Long sat down with the director Steve Taylor to talk about making the movie:
See the Official Trailer:
By Youth Specialties on April 04 2012 | 5 Comments
Did You Just Say _________ Flakes?!
By Shawn Michael Shoup on April 02 2012 | 7 Comments
I left a blank in the title of this post because I didn't want it to be flagged as obscene or automatically dismissed by your filtering software. Insert the word “penis” where the blank is and I've got an interesting, true story that's worth the telling.
I got home late Saturday night after participating in a 24-hour prayer and worship event with friends in Oglala, South Dakota. It was a great time and I came back feeling spiritually renewed and energized. I had taken my daughter's iPod charger with me and was returning it to it's spot and plugging in her device when the words popped up on the screen. Even worse, it was a private message from – GASP! – a boy.
I could feel anger rising up inside me. What unclean thing just said those profane words to my 17-year-old daughter?!
Well, it happens that I knew this young man, which made it even more upsetting. I thought pretty highly of this guy, and to think that he was talking like this to my baby-girl… it just didn't sit right with me.
I had all sorts of thoughts instantly jump into my head.
• I'm cutting my girls off! They are never gonna see communication from the outside world again!
• BOYS! I knew they were evil!
• Disgust. How could these two people that I love and care about talk and use this kind of language behind my back?
• Flakes?! I wonder what this even means! Probably some new slang I need to catch up on.
Thankfully, instead of acting out of my emotions at the time, I decided to let my sleeping daughter lie and, instead, messaged this young man a simple question: “Why is there a message that says “penis flakes” from you to my daughter? I'd like to know, please.” Simple. Straight forward. Direct. I got this message back in the morning…
Hahahahahaha! Oh boy. Well if you looked at the previous conversation, we were talking about autocorrect. And I, too, had this moment where autocorrect made me look bad. I was talking to this one girl on Facebook and she decided to ask me what was up. So I said, “Nothing much. Just eating breakfast.” And then she asked me, “What are you eating?” and I told her I was eating Frosted Flakes. But autocorrect changed it from “frosted” to… that other word. And then I never heard from her again. It was kind of an inside joke from a longggggg time ago and I didn't realize how immature or inappropriate the phrase was until now so I truly am sorry and I promise I won't say something so weird and inappropriate again… Hope you can forgive me.
I immediately messaged him back, saying, “Forgiven.” As soon as I read it, I vaguely remembered my daughter telling me about this instance on a car ride home from school about a year ago. I thought his response was pretty mature. We ended up chatting some and that was the end of that.
My favorite part of the message was his typed “nervous laugh” at the beginning of his response.
My daughter and I laughed about it later in the day. She knows that I was just trying to look out for her, and in retrospect, we both found the whole exchange hilarious.
A day removed now, I'm thinking back to my initial reactions and how the whole thing could have ended much differently if I had overreacted out of anger. Anger can be such an ugly monster. And I know, in my years of doing student ministry, that I've let it negatively affect how I've reacted to students in the past.
I know that there's a story of Jesus turning over tables with a righteous anger and that's legit. And I'm sure there are opportunities where a righteous anger is the appropriate response – maybe even in ministry. But I'm willing to bet that being slow to anger and offering obscene amounts of grace is much more in character with Jesus. God is so much more about restoration and healing than He is finger pointing and placing blame.
Take it from me. Sometimes it's just better to let the flakes fly… and let them land where they will. Okay. Bad analogy. Sorry.
Take it from me. Don't react in anger. Been there. Done that. Don't feel as good about sharing that story.
By Shawn Michael Shoup on April 02 2012 | 7 Comments
Social Media Passover Exodus - Video
By Chris Davis on March 29 2012 | 0 Comments
Thought this was a fun video to share. It's a fun retelling of the Exodus story through social media and Google properties. It might be fun for you to use for Easter.
(HT to Jeremy Steele @ Youth Ministry Geek)
By Chris Davis on March 29 2012 | 0 Comments
Video of the Week: Fruit of the Spirit Music Video
By Youth Specialties on March 27 2012 | 0 Comments
By Youth Specialties on March 27 2012 | 0 Comments
“Evangelism Gone Bad” Contest
By Chris Davis on March 26 2012 | 0 Comments
To celebrate the release of Jonathan McKee's new Real Conversations DVD curriculum, we are have a contest to find stories of evangelism gone bad. Watch the video to learn how to enter.
Recap the details:
1. Create a 1 minute video showing awful evangelism among teenagers
2. Upload it to YouTube and tag it “EVGoneBad”
3. Email the link to the video to Contest@youthspecialties.com by 4/13 to be entered.
4. Voting for the finalists will be between 4/17 – 4/23
5. Winner will get lots of great stuff!
More about Real Conversations new DVD curriculum on evangelism:
Don't overlook your best evangelism tool—your students! Most of us would love to equip our students to reach their friends. In four video-based sessions, youth ministry expert Jonathan McKee trains students how to reach out to their friends… without scaring them away.
For many teenagers, sharing their faith in Jesus to their friends is an overwhelming and scary prospect. Outreach is inviting their friends to a fun event once a year.
In this entertaining DVD training, Jonathan McKee ignites the passion of Christian teenagers to live authentic lives and gives them tools to reach out to their friends in ways that won't give them cold sweats! The message is simple: an authentic faith creates opportunities to talk about Jesus. In this dynamic DVD training, students will discover the secret to sharing the reason for the hope that's within them.
Click here to learn more and watch a sample.
By Chris Davis on March 26 2012 | 0 Comments
Youth Ministry and Baptism: From Norway!
By Andy Root on March 23 2012 | 1 Comments
I have been in Bergen, Norway for the last week, spending time with one of the emerging youth ministry scholarly voices in continental Europe, Bard Norheim. Bard was a missionary in Estonia for number of years, and while there, as part of his ministry, he got involved in the local music scene. It was this context of ministry that eventually led Bard into doctoral work, which he just completed this week, defending his dissertation. It then only made sense to him to conclude his project on youth ministry and baptism by re-uniting with some Estonian musicians to write a song and create a video (oddly, based on his dissertation). Take a look…
By Andy Root on March 23 2012 | 1 Comments
