This Generation
I was reading a blog by Josh Griffin who is the high school pastor at Saddleback Church and I saw this video.
This is one of the first videos that I feel really depicts youth, their culture and what they are feeling. So many times we assume we know what they are going through when in reality their culture is changing at an alarming rate and we wonder how they could possibly be so confused or not have it figured out. Because when we were their age…we really can’t use that statement anymore. Anybody who works with teens or parents teens needs to see this video, it is well worth the watch. All I can say is we need to pray for this generation and take every opportunity to speak truth into their lives by our actions and not just our words.
It’s All About Me…
I know when you read that title you probably thought I was going to really stick it to those people who think the world revolves around them or I was going to hit some pride issues. Nope. Today really is all about me which is very awkward. I had someone say to me the other day, “I really enjoy reading your blog but I still really don’t know what you like or don’t like.” So today is a few lists of things that I like and most likely I will lose some readers because you may not like what I like and may even be offended that I would like that. (There was a lot of “likes” in that sentence.) However, this is who I am. So, here we go.
Top 5 Artists or Bands:
- Nirvana
- Hillsong
- The Beatles
- Eminem
- U2
Top 5 Movies:
- Braveheart
- The Notebook
- Gladiator
- The Breakfast Club
- Dumb & Dumber
Top 5 Books: (The Bible being the exception)
- Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller
- Visioneering by Andy Stanley
- Crazy Love by Francis Chan
- Confessions Of A Pastor by Craig Groeschel
- In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day by Mark Batterson
Top 5 T.V. Shows
- Survivor
- Modern Family
- The Office
- Greys Anatomy
- Sportscenter
Top 5 Favorite Real Foods
- Pizza
- BBQ -Ribs & Brisket
- Seafood
- Mexican
- Chinese
Top 5 Favorite Junk Foods
- Doritos
- Oreos
- Candy
- Beef Jerky
- Ice Cream
Favorite Sports Teams:
- NFL- Philadelphia Eagles
- MLB- Philadelphia Phillies
- NBA- Los Angeles Lakers
- NHL- Philadelphia Flyers (To be honest I only watch hockey in the playoffs)
- College Basketball- University of North Carolina
- College Football- University of Southern California
People I’d Like To Meet: (Alive or Dead)
- Martin Luther King Jr.
- Steve Jobs
- Chris Farley
- Francis Chan
- Steven Furtick
- Perry Noble
- Nelson Mandela
- Andy Stanley
- John Maxwell
- Bono
- Kobe Bryant
There it is briefly the things I like.
Do You Know Greyson Chance?
Do you know Greyson Chance? No, you soon will as his rendition of Lady Gaga’s Paparazzi on YouTube has had over 15 million hits. He was on the Ellen show recently and his web popularity is increasing quickly. Potentially the next Justin Bieber? Maybe, the kid has the stereotypical hair and he has great vocals and unlike other artists he writes his own music as well.
Two observations. One, this kid is about to get a lot of attention, he must stay humble, it will fade fast if the right people are not in his inner circle. Two, when you watch the video, some girls just looked bored and disinterested. Just a reminder, be careful what you do or the facial expressions you make because 15 million people just may watch it on YouTube.
Night Of Nets
Mary Davis who is on youth staff has been working with World Vision as we partnered with them for our Poverty Revolution weekend. Through Mary’s contact with World Vision we ended up on their website. You can check out the site here or you can read the story below.
On April 25, around 20 high school and middle school students from Fellowship Church in Glen Mills, PA watched the documentary, When the Night Comes. Mary Davis, a volunteer youth leader at the church, coordinated this screening as a preparation for their Night of Nets event that will take place on June 6.
After watching the film, Mary had the students brainstorm ways to get more students involved for Night of Nets. They decided to show the film during their larger youth group night. It will be a relaxed event, and students will be encouraged to donate $6 (the cost of a bed net). They hope that students will desire to get further involved in the fight against malaria after watching the documentary.
Mary has a great deal of passion for getting students involved with social justice work and missions. She has been in youth ministry for 10 years and explains, “I’ve seen how when kids are exposed to what’s happening in the world, we watch them grow up and choose career paths and live lives that desire to make a difference.”
In March, the youth group at Fellowship church held an event known as Poverty Revolution. Part of this event included participating in the Broken Bread poverty meal to raise awareness about hunger. Through this event, students raised $3600 to go towards items in the World Vision gift catalog.
Mary loves teenagers and college students and has seen first-hand the impact they can have, “I love watching their faces when they recognize what’s going on in the world and the role they can play. There is hope in this realization and that’s what the gospel is all about!”
Mary will continue to engage students at this youth group for years to come with help from World Vision ACT:S. She explains, “World Vision ACT:S makes it very easy to connect these issues to students by having quality products and videos. We are able to take what you give us and adapt it to what will work for our group. Your resources allow us to engage students on different issues, and we are very grateful for this. We will keep coming back to you guys.”
Francis Chan – #CatWest ’09
140 Character Tombstone
If you could write out what would be on your tombstone today what would it say? Better yet what would someone else write about you? What if you could only use a 140 characters like you would in a Twitter feed? Twitter has changed the way that people and companies communicate. It has changed the way people even blog requiring shorter, quicker posts that don’t lose the attention of our readers.
I think it is an interesting idea though, how do you sum up your life in 140 characters or less? So I throw this challenge out to you today, 140 characters or less how would my life be summed up? That’s right I am asking you to write my faux Twitter tombstone today. What better way to improve in the weak areas than to see what people would say about you today? Why wait till its over to make the changes? Make the change necessary today to impact today.
Constructive Or Destructive
I got angry this morning. I know those of you who know me are extremely surprised but guess what I got angry yesterday as well. Most likely you got angry within the last two days. Sometimes our anger is justified and sometimes it is silly and stupid. I think for me yesterday it was justified when a rock hit my windshield and cracked it because it can’t be repaired. So there was anger that I would have to spend more money to take care of a vehicle. Today it was because the Mercedes parked right in front of Starbucks and the lady that parked there couldn’t walk ten more feet and park in a spot. That anger or frustration or pet-peeve was not constructive.
There are times when our anger is justified and sometimes needed but we have to be careful that we don’t take our anger too far. I get angry when I see natural disasters take out a population because they don’t deserve that and most of the time I can’t do anything about it. I get angry when I see social justice issues. I get angry when I see people being hurt or taken advantage of and they can’t stand up for themselves. I believe those are constructive angers because hopefully it will compel me to do something. It evokes a passion in me to do something. Our anger can be destructive when we use it to hurt others or to tear down. When our anger gets out of control or when it is over things that are silly that don’t really make a difference.
So the question for you today: Is your anger constructive or destructive. Does your anger improve the situation or make it worse?
To-Do Vs. To-Don’t
Time management is an issue for almost everybody. As soon as we scratch an item off our “To-Do” list it almost immediately gets replaced with another “T0-Do” item. This item always seems to be even more important and crucial than the last one we did and so begins the ugly circle of scratching items off a list to feel better about ourselves and our time management skills only to feel bad about ourselves a second later because our list got bigger.
I’m learning as are most of you that I can’t do everything. I have to be strategic with my time and energy. Just because something may be important to you does not mean that it is important to me and vice versa. So I tried something the other day and I called it the “To-Don’t” list. Yes, sadly I felt good about making the list and immediately scratched it off of my “To-Do” list. The concept is all those things that I don’t accomplish at the end of the day were either not that important or “critical” or I simply ran out of time. Most likely I ran out of time because I spent to much time on items that weren’t that important. So occasionally I have a “To-Don’t” list because I can’t do everything. I am finding that most of the items on that list can be delegated to someone else.
Do you struggle with time management? Have you ever tried to make a list of things that you were not going to do? It’s therapeutic and it just may allow you to spend time on the things that are really important.
Is Your Legacy Forgettable?
It’s more than what you make or what you do its what your made of. Our self worth gets wrapped up in our successes or the compliments we receive. Our self worth sometimes comes from the size of our check to the title we have that identifies us. The truth is all that stuff is nice but really doesn’t matter. Our self worth comes from what were made of. The character that we possess and the integrity in which we live out that character. Something that takes a lifetime to develop and earn can literally be gone in seconds leaving us with questions and scars. So focus on who you are and not so much what you do. Only one of those will truly leave a legacy people will talk about in the way you want them to. The question is: forgettable – easily forgotten, would that define your legacy?
70% Is The New 100%
I read recently that people rarely give more than 70% effort at any given time. 70% effort towards their careers, personal physical upkeep, the relationships they are in and in their ministry or serving opportunities. One of my pet peeves is when people talk about giving a 110% because that is just not possible. We were challenged in staff meeting last week to make “Surprise and Delight” a regular part of our interaction with people. I was challenged in my Backstage Leadership coaching call to give an extra 1% professionally and personally.
I would say it is overzealous to go from 70% to 80% effort. But 1% is something you and I can do. Imagine what that would look like if we were to give 1% more effort than we are today. What that would look like to say or do something just a little extra out of the ordinary. I wonder if it would make those around us feel just a little bit more important, would it make us feel a little bit more important?
So whether today your at a job you don’t like only giving 55% effort, try taking it to 56% effort and maybe tomorrow it will become 57%. Maybe in your relationship with God your spouse or your kids you having been sitting at 60% effort, try taking it to 61% effort and see if it makes a difference. It is the slow process to giving a little bit more today than you did yesterday. Are you up for the challenge?
