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Jonathan's Resource Ezine

Weekly Resources, Ideas and Articles from The Source for Youth Ministry
 Tuesday, June 17, 2008

In This Issue

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Featured: Top 10 Summer Pool Ideas

Over here in the U.S., the weather is turning warm, school is out and summer is here. What better time to head to the pool! (New Zealanders... file this idea away for a few months!)

We'd love to hear your ideas too! I'll blog about it this morning so you can use the comment feature to chime in and share even more pool ideas that have worked for you in the past!



HERE'S OUR TOP 10 SWIMMING POOL IDEAS: some entire events, some games and activities. Some of these require bigger pools like those at camps or community centers. Others could be done in the pools in people's backyards.

  • Dive In Movie Night: This is one of my favorite summer activity ideas. In high school ministry I try to rotate this one in at least every four years so kids get to experience it once. Basically, watch a "water" themed movie while floating in the pool (personally, I always select "Jaws"). Have everyone bring something to float on (we never charged admission, a tube or a raft was their ticket in). Click here for more about this event   idea.

  • Water Joust: This activity is always a hit (no pun intended). Two people stand on a large raft and battle each other with noodles or blow up toys like the traditional joust game. (This requires a pretty large inflatable raft that at least two students can stand on and battle each other- I've done this on the traditional "queen size" inflatable mattress made for the water. This can ONLY be done in a large pool where kids can stand on a raft with no danger of falling and hitting their heads on the pool edge. Have spotters with flotation devices at the edge of the pool for an extra safety stop). Rotate different kids through battling each other. Have a championship at the end for those with the most wins. For large groups only a few can participate; but it's a great spectator sport.

  • Change Dive: Simple but loved by all. Get anywhere from $10 to $100 in change: quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies. Throw it all in and spread throughout the pool. Gather everyone around the edge of the pool. Offer a prize for the person who collects the most money and yell "Go!"

  • Watermelon Polo: Get a small to medium sized watermelon and smear it in some sort of petroleum jelly like Vaseline. Float a hula hoop on each end of the pool and divide into teams. Play water polo with the greased melon and the floating hoops as goals. Great fun!

  • Summer Luau: Don't underestimate the popularity of the age ol' Hawaiian themed pool party with grass skirts, coconuts and tiki torches. Play Hawaiian music, serve tropical fruit drinks and cook Pumba! (Hakuna Matata!)

  • Raft Creation: This competition takes a little more time. Give each group or team a certain number of the largest trash can bags you can find and some tape/rope etc. You can inflate them, cut them, tape them... anything. See who can build the strongest raft and then, at a specified time, race across the width of the pool.

  • Belly Flop Contest: Yes, the ol' belly flop contest is always a hit. Give each person an opportunity to get themselves ready, get into a quick costume (cape, mask, draw a target on their belly with a sharpie...), then announce them one at a time. Have a panel of judges hold up numbers, rating them 1-10.

  • Pool Waterskiing: Yes, you can water ski in a pool! (Only do at a camp or some place with an Olympic sized pool!) The trick is in the pulling. I use to see it done at a camp where they had a pickup truck ready to pull just outside the pool fence. The key is that you DON'T tie the rope to the truck... you have a strong staff guy bracing himself and holding a water ski rope in the back of a truck just outside the pool area. When the skier yells, "Hit it!" the truck takes off and skis the person 3/4 the way across the pool before the person in the truck lets go of the pull rope (for safety). (Try it several times in advance with some staff people to get the timing down and to know when to let go of the rope. Also have spotters with flotation devices at the edge of the pool for an extra safety stop).

  • Poolside Steal the Bacon: Just like Steal the Bacon with its many variations, but in the pool. Two teams can either be in the water or standing on the opposite sides of the pool (if you have a deep enough deep end that allows for safe diving in). The "Bacon" can be anything (ball, rag, raft, a penny, be creative here) and can be floating on the water, sunk to the bottom, or even in the process of sinking.

  • Water Ballet: Give each team (works best with teams of less than 10 people) a certain amount of time to perform a synchronized swimming/water ballet routine that involves EVERY team member. Play classical music through a sound system or boom box, if possible.

For even more pool game ideas, jump on our
GAMES & ICEBREAKERS page and click on
SWIMMING POOL GAMES

Jonathan posted these Top 10 Pool activities in his blog today. Chime in and add your own pool activity ideas that have worked for you! (and if you haven't subscribed to his blog yet, click here, or look for the red subscribe button on the left sidebar of his blog).

CLICK HERE FOR THIS BLOG


Youth Culture Window: Usher Takes a Stand... or at least... Does It Standing Up

Mixed Messages from Usher's New Album
David R. Smith

Hypothetically. You just got married and became a parent for the first time, and you wanna release an album about your new life. Would your descriptions include "making love in a club," or getting it on with your significant other by "trading places" sexually?

Well, Usher's new album does...and it's a hit!

R&B phenom Usher just released his latest album entitled Here I Stand. Concerning the autobiographical work, he says, "This album is about that transformation from a guy who was a hustler, a player - a guy who could have any woman he wanted and chose to take advantage of certain situations." But with the mixed messages in his lyrics, especially those about having sex in a club with an unknown woman, many are asking just how committed this superstar playa-turned-devoted-husband plans on being.

Ushering In...
In case the only usher you know is the person who collects the offering every Sunday morning at your church, let me introduce you to Usher Raymond IV, a very sexy 29 year old R&B sensation, who's known for creating melodic "baby-making" music, and sporting rock hard abs in the process. He's released four previous albums, sold 30,000,000 copies of them, and taken home 5 Grammy's along the way. In over a decade of making music, he's had twelve Top 10 singles, including eight #1 hits, with Love In This Club being the latest. When he's not in the studio, he manages both the NBA team and record label that he owns.

It's been four years since he released his last album, Confessions, which made history with 1.1 million records selling in the first week. In the time off, he married his former stylist, Tameka Foster, a woman 12 years his senior, and fathered a child with her, Usher Raymond V. He also recently fired his "mom-ager," opting for new leadership for his new vision and album.

New Music For A New Life?
Usher says of his former life, "I was just looking for good times. In the club. Not living right. This woman. That woman. Uncertain. Unsure.... But there does come a time when you start thinking, 'Who's gonna love me and take care of me when I'm down? Who's gonna care about making sure that I'm okay?' I need a companion. Damn."

It's from this sentiment that Usher produces his new album. We Googled excerpts from three songs off the album; see for yourself if these lyrics portray an Usher who has settled down and is serious about faithfulness in marriage.

Love In This Club
I wanna make love (in this club in this club, in this club)...
On the couch, on the table, on the bar, on the floor.
You can meet me in the bathroom, you know I'm trained to go...
Might as well give me a kiss, if we keep touching like this
I know you're scared, baby, they don't know what we're doing.
Let's both get undressed right here, keep it up girl, and, I swear.
I'm gonna give it to you non-stop.
And I don't care, who's watching.

This Ain't Sex
Baby I can't wait to get you up in my room
Baby first let me go and set up the mood (set up her mood)
And I'm gonna do you up and then, I'm gonna do you down
I'm gonna have that body baby floating all around
And all you gotta do is get close to me
Bring it all to me, it's going down
Yeah, we ain't havin' sex
We're making moments that will outlast the world (talking about our love)
And This ain't sex
This is the symbol of the true makings in love

Trading Places
I'm always on the top tonight I'm on the bottom Coz we trading places
When I can't take no more, tell me you ain't stopping Coz we trading places
Now put it on me baby till I say Oooo weee
And tell me to shut up before the neighbors hear me
This is how it feels when you do it like me
We trading places
Gon get it, get it get it, get it get it,
Gon get it, get it get it, get it get it,
Gon get it, get it get it, get it get it,
We trading places stay tuned for part 2
You been me I been you but we gon switch this thing back
Ima put it on your ---

Usher claims that this album is about a transformation from 'playa' to husband. The question is... are kids really getting that message?

CLICK HERE FOR THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE


Podcast: Jonathan tackles student leadership in this brand new podcast episode where two high school students share amazing insight...

THE SOURCE PODCAST: Episode #16 (5/31/2008)

Listen to it now for free on iTunes! (CLICK HERE) Or, if you don't have iTunes already... jump on Apple's web page for a free download, then click on our podcast page.



In this episode, youth worker Andy Matzke joins Jonathan once again... this time with two of his student leaders. The four of them talk about: student leadership, youth culture today and the temptations that kids face, integrity, and finally the effect that mission trips and service projects can have on our kids.

Episode Highlights:
  • Jonathan and Andy are called fools by student leader Noelle!

  • In our Youth Culture Window section we ask the student leaders to share their two cents about "situational ethics" and the 98% of students that admit to cheating.

  • Noelle keeps it real, sharing her thoughts on why lying and cheating might be a greater temptation than "stealing."

  • Andy declares that Jonathan must treat him golfing before the next podcast!

  • Student leader Shea shares her thoughts on why our "good" church kids suffer the same moral failures as "unchurched kids."

  • Andy shares the SEVEN SINS OF MISSION TRIPS.

  • The girls share how some of Andy's strict training requirements and standards strengthened the kids as a community.

  • Andy provides some incredible "takeaway" from this podcast with amazing ideas for service projects and mission trips.

CLICK HERE FOR THIS PODCAST



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