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

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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.
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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