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Weekly Resources, Ideas and Articles from The Source for Youth Ministry Tuesday, June 5, 2007
MTV is a window into our youth culture. That's what I always tell you. But lately it's getting harder and harder for me to even peek in that window. Every glance is like a flashback to the pubescent conversation that surrounded me in the jr. high boys locker room during second period P.E. so many years ago. If you've been an EZINE subscriber for even six months, you've probably heard me refer to the twice a year that I watch MTV. I never gain popularity points in Christian circles by verbalizing that. Some from the church think I shouldn't be paying any attention to filthy influences like MTV. At the other end of the spectrum are those in the church who think the polar opposite, "Oh, MTV isn't that bad." Regardless, twice a year is enough for me. I get a sufficient taste of MTV each year by simply watching their Movie Awards (late Spring) and then their Video Music Awards (in the Fall). I'll be honest. I'm a big advocate of keeping aware of our youth culture and even using it to provoke discussions with kids. (We're even devoting time in each of our free podcasts to a section we call youth culture window.) But I can only stomach so much of MTV. I'm not a big fan of adults in the corporate world pimping smut to our children. And that, in a nutshell, is MTV. But please, don't take my word for it. Decide for yourselves. MTV.com has a link on their front page to see the highlights of Sunday night's movie awards on demand. You can watch every minute of Sarah Silverman's raunchy opening monologue as well as some of the other online highlights you don't want your students seeing (Oops, I guess it's too bad that 74% of 8-18 year olds have ready access to a home internet connection1 and 59% are MTV viewers, watching MTV at least once a week). Or -most of you are reading this article on Wednesday-check your TV schedule; a repeat of this year's 2007 MTV Movie Awards is being shown again on MTV tonight. I encourage you to watch just the first 10 minutes of the show. If they decide to actually air the first 10 minutes again, then this is what you'll hear:
Our kids are watching this. The people on this show are their role models; either Amy Winehouse singing about rehab, or Lindsey Lohan missing the awards because of it. And you wonder why so many books are being written about hurting kids. SO WHAT! So how do we respond? How do we not respond? Why even pay attention to the MTV Movie Awards? Good questions. Allow me to address them while at the same time imploring you to carry out these three essential practices in your youth ministry. 1. UNDERSTAND OUR GENERATION: I watch MTV twice a year for better understanding of who our kids are and what they are becoming. Staying current helps me know what messages kids are hearing and even opens doors to discussions about these messages. When I hear kids talking about Rihanna, I know who they're talking about. When they're joking about the movie Borat, I have an understanding of what they saw. 2. CONSIDER OUR AUDIENCE: If we start ranting to our kids about the "smut on MTV" they'll dismiss us in a second. I'm quick to tell youth workers and parents about what we've discussed above, but with kids I try to be a little shrewder. I try to do a lot more listening than talking. If they mention Kelly Clarkson's music video for her song Never Again, or Fergie's video for Glamorous, I have thought through questions that I can ask them about the videos. The questions I ask church kids are different than the ones I ask unchurched kids. With unchurched kids I might use discussions like the Linkin Park discussion guide we recently put on our site that inquires about forgiveness and opens the door to talk about the "new start" that Jesus offers us. With church kids I might be a little more assertive and ask them how they decide what to allow in their iPods or on their TV screen. Even then I don't close doors by barking out condemnation. I listen, taking careful note of their opinions. This understanding will help me as I choose my curriculum, small group material and discipleship material that I use with these students. 3. PRAY FOR OUR STUDENTS: After watching the MTV Movie Awards this week, my first reaction was despair. I'm far from a spiritual giant, but the dark cloud that hung in the room after the show Sunday night forced me to my knees. I needed God so I turned to Him. We need to remember to turn this over to Him. Sometimes I'm too quick to click on the Billboard charts or the youth culture website... but slow to talk to the creator of the universe. Carve out a time. Set your alarm 10 minutes early, go into your closet and pray. Jesus was one of the best living examples of one who mingled with sinners. And Jesus was also a incredible example of someone who constantly sought out time alone to just pray and refuel. If he needed it, I'm sure we do too. Pray for our students. Pray for wisdom as we help kids see the truth in a sea of lies. These three practices won't solve all your problems or turn you into the next Walt Mueller, but they may just provide you with a little help and encouragement as you strive to reach out to kids in a relevant way with the God's truth. So I guess this Fall it's back to the proverbial jr. high locker room one final time in 2007 as I peek through MTV's window once again for their VMA's. 
Jonathan McKee is president of The Source for Youth Ministry and
author of numerous youth ministry books like
"Do They Run When They See You Coming?"
and the forthcoming "Getting Students to Show Up."
Jonathan studies youth culture and trends,
speaking and
training
across the country and providing free online resources, training, & ideas for youth workers at
www.TheSource4YM.com1. http://www.kff.org/entmedia/upload/Executive-Summary-Generation-M-Media-in-the-Lives-of-8-18-Year-olds.pdf
Jonathan's brand new book "Getting Students to Show Up" hits the shelves in July. This fantastic resource is recommended by Kurt Johnston, Dan Kimball, Wayne Rice, Jim Burns, Scott Rubin, Les Christie and more. Outreach Magazine's Tamara Rice says it well:
McKee shows readers how to program their outreach events, whether large scale or small, from the time the idea is first sparked at a leadership meeting until the lights go out and the last kid leaves the building--on time! Working within the demographics of their own communities, their individual budgets and resources, any youth pastor can use this guide to program an event that works-effective youth outreach events are programmed one tiny detail at a time. Getting Students to Show Up is just what today's youth workers need. No gimmicks and gags, just practical how-tos that have already been tried and found to be true. Tamara Rice, Media Editor OUTREACH Magazine  PRE-ORDER THIS BOOK FROM US NOW AND GET THE  Event Resource DVD FREE! (shipping with the book in July) You know how we at THE SOURCE like to give you free stuff! So we put together a spectacular DVD for you with three different countdown videos and a few other extras you'll enjoy! CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS & TO PRE-ORDER THIS BOOK
If you missed it, we just launched our free The Source for Youth Ministry Podcast, providing help, encouragement and entertainment to youth workers around the world. This show is fun and applicable with ideas you can use that day! And like our web site, it's always free! Episode #1 is up on iTunes already. Subscribe, take a listen and write a review! Episode #2 is just around the corner with information about our SUMMER PODCAST GIVEAWAY- some great prizes you don't want to miss. So if you haven't downloaded this free resource for youth workers, do it now! Each show The Source for Youth Ministry Podcast will feature:
Or, if you don't have iTunes already... jump on Apple's web page and download it now, then click on our podcast page. Delivered free via e-mail to subscribers each week. We encourage you to distribute this newsletter freely and ask only that you not change its contents. HAVE YOU MISSED PAST "EZINE" ARTICLES? CLICK HERE FOR JONATHAN'S "EZINE" ARCHIVES And for more FREE resources and ideas ... go to THE SOURCE www.TheSource4YM.com Copyright ©2007 The Source for Youth Ministry All rights reserved. |
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