Not afraid of the truth

CONTENTS
1. Tools for Parenting Teens
2. Links to Learn From
3. Inside Your Teen's World
4. Learn Their Lingo
5. A Little Encouragement...And Humor

===========our sponsor===========
PLANETWISDOM HAS BEEN TO THE MOVIES!
Understand these movies from a Christian worldview. These reviews make a great discussion guide to help your teen make wise media choices.
See PlanetWisdom movie reviews here:http://www.planetwisdom.com/movies/
===========our sponsor===========THE CORE REALITIES OF YOUTH MINISTRY
You mentor. You sweat. You pray...a lot. You speak about the Bible, lead discussions, and play the occasional crazy game. And you spend countless hours with students and some with their parents. But what drives you to do what you do? Mike Yaconelli lays out a blueprint to explain, drive, and define healthy youth ministry as he unpacks nine core realities crystallized from the popular, 100-city, YS one-day seminar called "the CORE."
Learn more about and purchase the book, "The CORE Realities of Youth Ministry" here:http://www.youthspecialties.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=135
*Save 30% off the retail price of "The CORE Realities of Youth Ministry" when you purchase it at the YS Store and use coupon code YPNSP4. This offer expires 10/7/08.
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1. TOOLS FOR PARENTING TEENS
This week's excerpt is from the book "The CORE Realities of Youth Ministry," by Mike Yaconelli. While written for youth workers, the concepts in this excerpt could easily be translated into family life as well as youth group life. These words will get you thinking about how you can encourage truth in your teen's life, in order for them to experience true freedom.
VERACITY SHOWS THAT TRUTH IS FREE.
"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:32)
Truth flourishes in freedom. Rather than being locked in a prison or a tiny room that keeps it from life, God's truth roams free, getting into every aspect of life. When we walk in truth, we, too, become free. It releases us to the real world, to God's world. This freedom means that our lives are challenged; we are given blessings and responsibilities. In our lives, freedom means we are not afraid of untruth, so we tell the whole truth, and we experience the consequences of our choices. Students see and experience this freedom in our youth groups, and they are better prepared for the truth in their lives. Here's how that freedom might look.
1. Freedom means we are not afraid of untruth. When we walk in truth, we know we can trust it in all situations; we are not afraid to let it confront untruth. All ideas are welcome because we know truth will flourish and lead to Jesus. However, just because we are free to evaluate all ideas in light of truth doesn't mean we have to treat all ideas as equal. What it does mean is that we don't have to try to protect the truth by hiding it from those who want to analyze it. Freedom means we can show truth as it is and know that it will stand on its own.
2. Freedom means we tell the truth--the whole truth. We are free to tell even the not-so-nice parts: Jesus heals some, but doesn't heal all; the rain falls on the just and the unjust; Christianity causes great joy and great suffering; evil is real and vicious. We tell the whole truth, just like the Bible.
One part of the whole truth is that there are human elements in Scripture. The Bible is about people. People feel, cry, hurt, worry, doubt, panic, and fear, and we refuse to edit or doctor the text, to ignore the human aspect, to make it look good intellectually. For example, in John 21, Jesus appears to the disciples, and it's clear that the disciples are discouraged and depressed. It's great that Jesus came to earth; it's wonderful to know how much Jesus cared; but it's also important to know how difficult it was for the disciples to believe, just as it is for us.
The whole truth includes the rewards, too. Luke 24:13 describes two disciples who were walking along the road to Emmaus after the death of Jesus. Obviously, the two were depressed and lost as well. By the end of the story, though, their hearts were burning and their spirits were excited. There are times when the disciples hurt, and there are times when they delight in Christ's presence. The veracity of truth is that we can bounce from despair to happiness and back again.
3. Freedom means we experience the consequences of our choices. We may choose to jump from a building because the rush of the fall is what we want. The consequence is the crash at the bottom, and that may not be what we want. We can't have freedom of choice without consequence. Walking in truth has consequences, too. Life isn't lived in a philosophical vacuum, but in the trenches, and as we work there in truth, we make changes and are changed. What we do in this world matters.
Although warned, Peter betrayed Jesus, and he experienced the consequences. He felt alone angry with himself. He suffered with the memory of his betrayal for the rest of his life. However, Peter didn't choose despair; he chose to return to the Christ. This decision had consequences, too. One story about Peter's death indicates he was crucified upside down because he still felt the humiliation of his betrayal. Returning to Christ did not mean that Peter could eliminate the consequences of his betrayal; he continued to feel the pain of that moment until his death, but he did make another choice, and the consequences of that second choice reach beyond this world. We must be aware and remind our students that our decisions can change us in ways we aren't expecting.
**
Mike Yaconelli was the co-founder of Youth Specialties. He spent 43 years of his life in ministry to youth, and 20 years as a pastor of a small church in Yreka, California. He wrote dozens of books for youth ministry. Before Mike passed away in October of 2003, he also wrote "Devotion" for students.
Learn more about and purchase the book, "The CORE Realities of Youth Ministry" here:http://www.youthspecialties.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=135
*Save 30% off the retail price of "The CORE Realities of Youth Ministry" when you purchase it at the YS Store and use coupon code YPNSP4. This offer expires 10/7/08.
**
2. LINKS TO LEARN FROM
Movie Reviews: Find out about the latest movies from a Christian perspective at PlanetWisdom.comhttp://www.planetwisdom.com/movies/
Adolescent Development: Check out some great articles to help you understand and help your teen through adolescencehttp://www.youthspecialties.com/freeresources/articles/adolescent_development
3. INSIDE YOUR TEEN'S WORLD...Random things you may not have heard about...
Report: Teens, Video Games, and Civicshttp://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/263/report_display.asp
Baggy Pants Ban "Unconstitutional," Rules US Judgehttp://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5ioneCGmNqFWu8xsXxFdAxwZZUZmg
4. LEARN THEIR LINGO...Some slang and texting lingo for you to speak (or at least understand)
- a minute = A long time. Not just 60 seconds. "Dang! I haven't seen you in a minute, girl, where you been?"
- baby daddy = a male, often a boyfriend or an ex-boyfriend. Most often means the father of, or someone who provides for, a female's child. Derived from "he is my baby's daddy." "When my baby daddy get back, he'll bust you in your grill!"
5. A LITTLE ENCOURAGEMENT...AND HUMOR
"Tell me I'm clever, Tell me I'm kind, Tell me I'm talented, Tell me I'm cute, Tell me I'm sensitive, Graceful and wise, Tell me I'm perfect--But tell me the truth." ~ Shel Silverstein


Used with permission - copyright 2008 :: Youth Specialties300 S. Pierce St. El Cajon, CA 92020 888.346.4179

A perspective from a parent volunteer

CONTENTS
1. Tools for Parenting Teens
2. Links to Learn From
3. Inside Your Teen's World
4. Learn Their Lingo
5. A Little Encouragement...And Humor

===========our sponsor===========YES, YOU REALLY CAN GET ALONG WITH YOUR PARENTS!
For many teens, the idea of getting along with their parents may seem like an oxymoron. Whether they get along with their parents most of the time or they seem to always be butting heads, "Wisdom On...Getting Along with Parents" can help teens understand both sides a little better and improve their relationship.
Learn more about and purchase the book, "Wisdom On...Getting Along with Parents" here.http://www.youthspecialties.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=432
*Save 30% off the retail price of "Wisdom On...Getting Along with Parents" when you use Coupon Code YPNSP1 and order by 9/17/08.
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1. TOOLS FOR PARENTING TEENS
This week, our YS office manager and mother of two teenage boys shares how and why she spends her free time hanging out with and ministering to high school girls.
A PERSPECTIVE FROM A PARENT VOLUNTEER
Had you asked me five years ago what I'd be doing in 2008, volunteering in high school ministry would've been the last thing to enter my mind. It's funny how radically things changed after I decided to relinquish some control over my life to God.
Here I am now, a 50-plus-year-old mom of two teenage boys; one a recent high school grad, the other a freshman in high school. I vividly remember the first time I summoned the nerve to set foot in our high school youth room at church to pick up my son from a small group meeting. The room was noisy, chaotic, and brimming with enough testosterone to carry the men's basketball team through the Olympics. I felt like I'd stumbled into a foreign land. But several years later, this very same room now feels like home to me. It's funny how uncomfortable I felt there that night. I'm so thankful that God knows me better than I (thought) I knew myself.
I ventured into the world of high school ministry on the slow track. After several years of serving in women's ministry, I felt a prompting that some major transitions were in store for me that involved office ministry or some type of administrative work. About two-and-a-half years ago our high school and middle school pastors dropped by our women's ministry gathering to talk about various needs in student ministry. One of the projects was database entry. Well, that was right up my alley since I worked with databases every day at my law-firm job. It sounded great and fit right in with my busy lifestyle--they explained they only needed help during the summer, and I could work on the project at my own pace.
That summer as I entered information into the database, I also started praying for the students--and God started to change my heart toward the students in our church. I was inexplicably drawn to continue praying for them and our student ministry.
By the end of that summer I wanted to check out and consider--as crazy as it seemed--serving student ministry in a capacity that wasn't just behind the scenes. This was a radical change in mindset for me. My own high school years had been a painful experience, so it wasn't an age group I was naturally drawn to--but in retrospect, it's a ministry that God had prepared me for. In the fall I continued with database entry, and I mentioned to our youth pastor that I was open to ramp up my involvement in high school ministry. Soon I found myself assisting at the info desk during the Sunday morning services; I helped with event sign-ups, got to know many of the students that I'd been praying for during the summer, and met some of their parents as well. I got to know the students who served on the greeter's team, and we'd chat about what was going on at school and in the rest of their lives. I found that I really enjoyed hanging with the girls, hearing their stories--and I knew this crazy place of high school ministry had gotten hold of this 50-plus-year-old mom. I found purpose and joy in serving and in standing beside these students, the next generation of Jesus' followers.
I've shared some of my life story with these students, primarily within the context of our Sunday morning services and one-on-one conversations. I've driven to and from various events, phoned students and their parents, served ice cream, helped with various service projects, brought snacks, helped wash cars, entered the world of texting and teen culture, served as an adult volunteer at retreats, attended conferences and seminars on leadership and issues that impact teens, shared meals, coffee, smoothies, and co-led a girl's small group. I've prayed with the wonderful students who've captured my heart, and I've cried and laughed with them. But mostly, I've just been there for them.
As a parent, I've found so much joy in serving student ministries in my church. I'd like to challenge and encourage you to consider using your time and resources to invest in a kingdom-sized, God-led impact on the lives of your sons and daughters and their friends.
Why not call your youth pastor today and find out what you can do to help at your church or parish? Who knows what God can do with a willing heart of just one more parent in the youth ministry at your church?

**
Linda is the glue that holds Marko and Tic together and keeps the YS office running as smoothly as the YS office can run. Linda loves all things administrative, an obvious carryover from her previous career as a senior paralegal for a major international law firm.
Linda has been married to her husband Kevin for 25 years, and they have two wonderful teenage sons, Kyle and Brian, and a small menagerie of not so small household pets. When Linda's not at YS or at home, you can probably find her at Journey Community Church where she volunteers in high school ministry, serves on the prayer team and co-leads a small group for high school girls.
**

2. LINKS TO LEARN FROM
Young Adults and Liberals Struggle With Moralityhttp://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdateNarrowPreview&BarnaUpdateID=315
Living in a "Porn is the Norm" Culturehttp://cpyu.org/Page.aspx?id=219124

3. INSIDE YOUR TEEN'S WORLD...Random things you may not have heard about...
Channel 4 and Bebo Launch a Social Action Website Aimed at Teenshttp://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/sep/01/channel4.bebo
With the teen suicide rate increasing, the cause is becoming the focal point:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122038021590991599.html

4. LEARN THEIR LINGO...Some slang and texting lingo for you to speak (or at least understand)
- TLMeImDrmn = Tell me I'm dreaming
- Chopping = Selling drugs. "Dan got caught up chopping yesterday."

5. A LITTLE ENCOURAGEMENT...AND HUMOR
"Your modern teenager is not about to listen to advice from an old person, defined as a person who remembers when there was no Velcro."~ Dave Barry

copyright 2008 :: Youth Specialties300 S. Pierce St. El Cajon, CA 92020 888.346.4179

Hide and Go Seek

Hide and Go Seek!

CONTENTS
1. Tools for Parenting Teens
2. Links to Learn From
3. Inside Your Teen's World
4. Learn Their Lingo
5. A Little Encouragement...And Humor

===========our sponsor===========PLANET WISDOM TOUR
Be sure to check out the Planet Wisdom Tour. You can request info, including a free DVD, here:http://www.planetwisdom.com/tour
===========our sponsor===========THE ADVENTURE OF CHILDLIKE FAITH
Michael Yaconelli invites you to recapture the joy of being a child and apply it to your relationship with God. You'll be encouraged to ask difficult questions about faith and take Jesus at His word when He says, "Anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."
Learn more and purchase "Dangerous Wonder" here:http://www.youthspecialties.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=317
*Save 30% off the retail price of "Dangerous Wonder" when you purchase it at the YS Store and use coupon code YPNSP2. This offer expires 9/17/08.
================================

1. TOOLS FOR PARENTING TEENS
This week is all about being the family that plays together--and in doing so, finding the way to navigate challenging times.
A PLAYFUL RESPONSE
Instead of Christians wearing sackcloth and ashes at the condition of our world, maybe we should strike up a game of capture the flag in our neighborhood. Our neighbors may need Jesus, but first they need a rousing evening of charades. Certainly our children need discipline, but what they may need more is a family Ping-Pong championship. What if our strategy to win the world was to "play" people into the kingdom of God? What if we invited people over to our home and, instead of telling them about our joy, lived it by playing with them? What if we could hear laughter in a church as well as "amens"? A friend of mine is a member of a church who toyed with making their motto "The Church That Knows How to Play." I think he's onto something.
What if the family became a place that played together as well as prayed together?
Seventeen years is a long time to know someone, and Ron's parents thought they knew him. What had happened during the previous summer, though Ron's parents had no idea. All they knew was that when school began, their "normal", straight-A son had become a "punker." Black was the only color he would wear--a black Metallica T-shirt, black pants, black motorcycle boots--and with his earring-adorned, shaved head (seven earrings total) and his nonstop obsession with heavy metal music, the seventeen-year-old Ron showed very little resemblance to the sixteen-year-old version. Mom and Dad were worried. Home had become a war zone. Each day when they came home from work they'd have to storm downstairs to Ron's locked bedroom where the music was so loud the walls were shaking. They would bang on the door and loudly ask Ron to turn down the music.
After six months of escalating tension, Ron's parents decided to get counseling before they lost their child. Many issues came to the surface and the process went on for many months, but one of the solutions the counselor suggested sounded so bizarre they were reluctant to try it. "When you both get home tonight," he advised, "go down to your son's room, bang on the door, and when he answers tell him to turn his music off and come upstairs because you both want to talk to him. When he finally saunters into the room with a chip on his shoulder and slumps into the kitchen chair with an attitude, look him square in the eyes and say, "Ron, you mother and I are counting to one hundred. Now go hide."
When you love your son like these parents did, desperation combined with love will motivate you to try anything--even play. And one night that is what they did. Can you imagine the look on Ron's face? Can you imagine what Ron said to his friends the next day? "You guys are never going to guess what happened last night. I played hide-and-seek with my parents until three in the morning. I still can't find them." Ron didn't become a Republican or start listening to country and western music, but when his parents played hide-and-seek with him, they did break through the longstanding tension and began the long process of healing.
A family I know was facing a very difficult financial crisis. Finances were so bad that the parents were on the verge of losing their business and, with Christmas coming, things were looking very bleak. Providing enough food and clothes for the family was difficult, and Christmas gifts were out of the question. Mom and Dad decided to tell their five children the truth about their situation. They would not be able to afford Christmas presents this year, and they requested help in deciding what to do about it. The children responded excitedly, "Let's have a coupon Christmas. Instead of giving each other presents that cost money, let's give each other coupons worth some kind of service." And that year each person in the family received a book of coupons with the following gifts:
From the kids to one another:
- When you don't want to do the dishes, present this coupon and I will do the dishes for you without complaining.* *Good ONE time only.
- Behind on your laundry? No problem. Present this coupon to me and I will gladly do your laundry.* *Good ONE time only.
And from the parents:
- Anti-grounding certificate. Keep this until Mom and I have forgotten we gave it to you. When you are grounded for whatever reason, present this coupon and you will be forgiven the grounding.* *Definitely good ONE time only.
Every member of the family unequivocally states to this day that the best Christmas they ever had was the "Coupon Christmas."
In this family's playfulness, they discovered that god was hiding in the "poverty" of their financial situation.
**
Mike Yaconelli spent 43 years of his life in ministry to youth workers and students, and 20 years as the pastor of a small church in Yreka, California. He wrote dozens of books and articles for youth ministry, as well as the books "Dangerous Wonder" and "Messy Spirituality," which are aimed at mainstream Christianity. He was the co-founder of Youth Specialties, an international organization devoted to equipping youth workers through training and resources. Mike was a prophetic voice in the church-at-large and was a devoted husband and father until his death in 2003. He is still widely regarded as both the visionary founder and the chief critic of modern-day youth ministry.
Learn more and purchase "Dangerous Wonder" here:http://www.youthspecialties.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=317
*Save 30% off the retail price of "Dangerous Wonder" when you purchase it at the YS Store and use coupon code YPNSP2. This offer expires 9/17/08.
**
2. LINKS TO LEARN FROM
Minnesota debates raising the driving age to 18. [Minn Star Tribune]http://www.startribune.com/local/28036944.html?elr=KArks7PYDiaK7DUHPYDiaK7DUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU
High profile teen pregnancies offer teachable moment on teen sex [Detroit Free Press]http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008809090313

3. INSIDE YOUR TEEN'S WORLD...Random things you may not have heard about...
Hooking Up - New HBO Series subtitled: You don't learn everything in class.http://www.hbolab.com/

4. LEARN THEIR LINGO...Some slang and texting lingo for you to speak (or at least understand)
- Deface: To remove a ‘friendship’ from Facebook due to having either accidentally adding him/her as a friend or actually adding them and reconsidering later.
- 4yeo: Text messaging “for your eyes only”
5. A LITTLE ENCOURAGEMENT...AND HUMOR
"The face of a child can say it all, especially the mouth part of the face."~Deep Thoughts by Jack Handy

*All outside Internet links are here to inform or entertain you...we at YS don't necessarily endorse or support every link you find here.
copyright 2008 :: Youth Specialties300 S. Pierce St. El Cajon, CA 92020 888.346.4179