I was talking to a bunch of youth pastors and the subject of ‘what movies can you show to a youth group‘ came up. We all had stories of movies that we thought were okay to show, but upon watching them in the context of church we quickly realized that they were NOT OKAY. I made the mistake of showing Zoolander (even the edited version was way too bad) and other had showed Goonies or Ferris Bueller (kids with potty mouths).

So any suggestions of good (sorry, no Facing the Giants) movies that you can show in the youth group setting (and the youth will actually watch)?

Here’s our list so far:

Night at the Museum

Napoleon Dynamite

Princess Bride

Any Pixar Movie

Elf

From the mouth of a student (who is a Christian but sick of the posers he’s around) I was talking with:

“I don’t consider myself a Christian because I’m too real.”

Powerful quote. I don’t think he really knew the gravity of what he was speaking. As Christians, I think we’ve forgotten (or hidden ourselves behind fig leaves) how to be real. We just try to fit a mold that doesn’t exist beyond the sweet preachy t shirts, bumper stickers, and CD’s found in the Family Christian Bookstores. It’s become the pursuit of ultimate fakeness. As long as we look holy, then we’re good. We’ve gained this goodness, but lost the authenticity. And without authenticity, what are we actually left with?

Any thoughts?

Just got back from taking 48 kids to Acquire the Fire, a two day conference mixed with speakers and bands. Here’s my review from a perspective as a youth worker and from the reactions from the youth.

I wasn’t impressed. I felt it was overall half baked.

What was good? Skillet. Skillet. Skillet. Man did those guys put on a good show. Some bands put out good Cd’s, but stink live (worst I’ve heard: Smashmouth - absolutely putrid). They had a great stage presence, engaged the audience well, and sounded amazing. They were my highlight and moved themselves just below U2 in my best performers I’ve experienced live. WOW is all I can say. They made everything worth it.

Other than that, it wasn’t very good. The overall theme was not very defined: you need Jesus and culture is bad. I love it when people preach that advertisers and the cultural machine only want your money, then you see concert promoters selling t-shirts for 25-30 bucks! And this really got me. I’ve already paid $55 bucks for the concert, then they send around the offering plates! If you need money for scholarships to ATF next year - take it out of my ticket price (and I sure don’t remember being offered these scholarships for our kids - we raised our own money)!

I love these types of events and I hate them as well. I cringe when I hear “You want to rock it for Jesus!” No, I don’t. We took non-churched kids to this and it’s a weird cultural experience. They feel weirded out and I feel ashamed that I’m surrounded by “Christians.” The funny thing is they act this way, all amped up and sold out for Jesus, but walk outside and drop F-bombs. At least my kids drop them consistently. Our kids felt the hypocrisy in the room - and it was thick.

But I don’t want to sound all bitter about the event. All of this really lead to great discussions with some of our guys. Some of them made commitments that weekend. And I firmly believe that any time you spend more than a couple of hours with kids, good things happen. It was time well invested, we laughed, we shared and we cried. God moved… just not in the way I expected.

Sometimes I walk into these events hoping they they will be a “magic pill” that will revolutionize these kids. And it doesn’t. It’s the time we spend with them, not the lights and entertainment that change them. Investment and time will lead to opportunities to speak into them that no concert or event can do.

ATF: 2.5 out of 5 (without Skillet 1.5 out of 5)

For more on Ron Luce and ATF go here.

Funerals are peculiar things.

Saturday, I attended a funeral of a student that died in a car accident. I didn’t know him personally, but I did know one thing: he wasn’t a believer. I was asked by our church to attend this funeral to possibly counsel with youth who had questions or needed someone to talk to. I’ve been to many funerals and there’s aways a distinct difference between those of people who know Christ and those who don’t. The feeling in the room was absolute devastation. Everyone was clinging on to something and holding on to anything they could find. There was no hope.

It just breaks my heart to think how differently that ceremony would have been if the young boy had known Christ. How it changes our view of this life, if this life isn’t all there is.

I mourn for the loss of that young man’s life because he didn’t know Jesus. I mourn for the family that’s left behind, because they don’t know Jesus. I mourn for the fact that this will all repeat itself again, if they don’t know Jesus.

But I’m getting preachy. What does it mean to me? I now have a picture of that student on my desk. It’s a sobering reminder for me. It reminds me the job I have as a youth worker. I share Christ with kids that don’t know him. And that student represents one that will never know Him. It reminds me the seriousness of the task at hand. There are lost who need to be found. I may not be the Savior, but it’s my job to point them to the Savior.