EDUCATION: Movies! Movies! Movies!

If you like to show movies as an activity, please choose them carefully and not those that are just popular and/or have trendy values without consequences.  I've listed a few you might want to try.  They bring up a number of discussable topics.  If you check on the Focus on the Family Plugged In website you can see a review and commentary that will help guide your discussion and if you're not familiar with a movie the kids would like to see you can check it out here first.  Some of these movies have study guides that go with them.  If you do a search for the name of the movie and "discussion guide" or "discussion questions" you'll find a number you can choose from.  You can find study guides to a lot of other movies as well at Christianity Today's website.  Don't forget the popcorn!

Facing the Giants (about a football coach whose life isn't going the way he'd like it to go and what he does to change it)
Luther (obviously about Martin Luther)
The Nativity Story (obviously about the Christmas Story)
One Night with the King (the story of Esther)
To Save a Life (about a student who commits suicide and how his friend reacts)
Courageous (about a man is a polic officer who is disconnected from his family and chooses to make a change in his life)
Soul Surfer (about a young girl surfer who loses her arm to a tiger shark and her experience with God's emotional and physical healing)
Sarah's Choice (about a 20-something woman who finds herself pregnant and considering an abortion)
Bruce Almighty (funny but a LOT of untruths and misconceptions about God and Christianity - for me it would require in-depth discussion)
The Ultimate Gift (about a young man who expects to inherit a lot of money to continue his shallow lifestyle but his grandfather has some lessons for him first)
Evan Almighty (this one is funnier than Bruce Almighty and a lot less crude)
The Grace Card (about a man whose son has been killed and his trip to forgiving both the man who killed him and himself)
Escape (this is a new one and there's no review by Focus on the Family yet but there is a YouTube trailer - it's about a doctor and his wife who decide to help people and get caught up in human trafficking and have to learn to trust God)
Amish Grace (this is also not on the Focus on the Family website but there's a YouTube trailer - it's about the real life incident of the murder of an Amish girl in her Amish school house)

If you know of a great movie you've shown, please share it in the comments! 
Again, the link for Focus on the Family is:  http://www.pluggedin.com/ and it reviews movies, videos, music, tv, and games. 
One link for some study guides at Christianity Today is here:  http://biblestudies.stores.yahoo.net/modico.html.

H.S. YOUTH: What's in a youth room?

I've seen some amazing youth rooms.  Some really large churches go all out and have special video game areas, booths that make it look like a restaurant; which is fitting because they have a coffee shop or cafe where kids can get food at a reasonable price.  They have pool tables, large screen tvs with surround sound, and even a stage.  Cool, huh?  When I asked about it I was told that they hoped the kids would come hang out there more often.  Hmmm...  I'd love it if kids hung out at church too but I'm not sure you need all those bells and whistles. 

I've also seen youth rooms that were really small, creatively painted by the youth with Christian murals, had old couches, tiled floors with large pieces of mismatched carpet over them, and were very comfortable.  They didn't have a stage or a coffee shop but kids brought coffee (if they drank it) and somebody usually brought food if they were hungry.  There was a small fridge and a snack cupboard that congregation members would keep stocked.  They might have a tv or a source of music and maybe an old pool or ping-pong table. 

My point is that there is no better or worse youth room.  Would the youth program without the big fancy youth room survive without it?  Yep.  If they're about building relationships they will.  The purpose of a youth room is to provide the kids with a place in the church where they can ponder faith and life issues comfortably.  Music is super important in the life of a teenager so the only really necessary element is a way for them to play and listen to music.  These days that might look like an iPod docking station of some kind. 

 

It is not the cool youth room that brings kids into the youth group.  It's the cool people!

H.S. YOUTH: Open Church - Open Choice Nights

As a teacher I always have games and activities to keep my students busy.  We have to plan their time, right?  WRONG!  When I would ask them if they'd rather play a game or just talk, they'd always robustly respond, "TALK!"  It's great to have games and activities and all kinds of fun stuff for kids to do but these days teenagers are totally over scheduled.  Sometimes what they want is just hang-time.  Developmentally they need hang-time... a chance to relax, just be themselves, and ponder life together. 

I grew up in a youth group that wasn't DCE driven.  Every week we had Friday Open Church and that meant we could all come to the church and hang out.  Sometimes we planned special activities but sometimes smaller groups might play volleyball or throw a softball around, a few might shoot baskets, play cards, or just hang out.  These days I wouldn't do that every week but it's certainly something worth talking about with the kids to see if they're interested.  There could be a variety of unplanned options but they decide what they are and it has to be ok not to do any of them.

Don't get me wrong.  Special activities like a night of Minute-to-Win-It games, progressive dinners, local scavenger hunts, live Clue, Messy Olympics, organized game nights, etc. are always a good time but they make some kids uncomfortable.  Every conversation youth have doesn't have to be structured and as leaders it gives us a chance to honestly hang out with them too.  Valuable conversations!!

REACH OUT: 2 Essential Questions

In my opinion, from 7th grade on members of any congregation should be able to answer two essential questions:

1.  What do you believe and WHY?

2.  What do Lutherans believe and WHY?

This may seem obvious but I've spoken to MANY teenagers and adults and asked them, "If a friend asked you what you believe, what would you say?"  Most of the time they can give the most obvious and easiest answer that "Jesus died for my sins and yes, I'm going to be in heaven when I die."  That's important to know and believe but it's not really what that friend is looking for when they ask that question.  They want to know what you believe about Jesus, what you believe about God, and they want to know WHY you believe it!  When they ask what Lutherans believe they want to know why you are Lutheran and not anything else?  Why not be non-denominational?  They want to know where your faith comes from.

How many people can actually have that conversation?  Can they tell somebody using their own thoughts and words what they believe and why they're LC-MS Lutheran?  Do they have the information?  Have they been given the chance to practice saying it until they're comfortable with it?  We believe some very unpopular things, do they know why?  Maybe it's time for a catechism revival!! 

FAMILY: Baptism = New Parent Ministry

Somebody once asked me, "What kind of ministry is available for infants after they've been baptized?" Hmmm... that one took me by surprise. They're babies. Her concern was that sometimes people come to have their babies baptized and then don't come back. Well, that's a ministry for the parents, not the babies. I have a few suggestions along those lines.

• Along with the traditional candle and banner, give each family a baby Bible or a Bible storybook.
• Write (or have the pastor) a prayer for the parents to say together every night for their newly baptized child.  Print it on attractive paper or frame it.
• If the parents aren't members, give them a member mentor who will pray for them and call periodically (maybe once a month for a year) to see if there's anything with which they can help.
• If you have a number of new parents, start a new mom's group.
• Give the parents a list of babysitters (from the congregation) that they can trust.  Be sure to update it regularly.  It'll give you a chance to get in touch with the families again.
• Give the parents a list of "support parents" they can call if they need help with something.  Ask for a year commitment and update regularly.

Some things may simply be a matter of having people volunteer to be available, if necessary.  They may never be contacted.  But if somebody brings a child to be baptized, it's a beautiful opportunity to show them they too have been brought into our community of care.

RALLY SUNDAY: 100 Day Challenge!

Rally Sunday is fast approaching for many churches and it's the perfect time to introduce a 100 Day Challenge.  (January is a good time to renew it!)  Challenge your congregation to change their lives in ONE way for 100 days.  You can either choose what you'd like them to focus on or you can let each one choose their own, according to their personal needs.  Either way there is no losing choice here!  As with everything, there needs to be some follow through and a bit of accountability so don't forget to do some bulletin, newsletter, or email reminders.

Try 100 Days of...

• Thanking God - Say a special prayer of thanks every day.  "Dear Heavenly Father, creator of all things and keeper of my soul, I am so thankful for everything you give me each day including..." and list 5-10 things.  Don't just thank God for everything, don't just list your kids and spouse.  List the gifts God has given, right down to the flowers on your porch and the beauty of fall!  And don't list the same things everyday!
• Trusting God - Is there something in particular in your life that gives you stress?  Choose something that only God can change in you and give it to Him and see what He does with it.  Every morning... "Dear Heavenly Father, I am struggling with... please give me the strength and courage to give it to you for only You know what is truly best for me."
• Learning about God - Read the Bible!  It takes less than 5 minutes to read one chapter in one book.  Do it in the morning, in the evening, or even on break at work.  You can easily find a Bible online.  My personal favorite is Bible Gateway.  Don't put any pressure on yourself about where or when or what your mind set should be.  Just read it!
• Listening to edifying music - There's nothing wrong with popular music, but if you're going through a tough time put the local Christian station on your car radio and listen to that as you drive.
• Letting God have your Day - When you wake up, say out loud, "What can I do for you today, Lord?  I am at your service!" 
• Changing how you Pray - We often have a tendency to pray for ourselves first.  If that is you, try thanking God first, then praying for others, and asking for yourself last.
• Reaching Out - Maybe you're one of those people who really loves God but just has a bit of fear about announcing it to the world.  This is the perfect challenge for you to say something about your faith to somebody.  If you have colleagues that don't know you attend church, mention it.  Challenge yourself to talk to somebody outside the believing community.  If you've been hesitant, you could get really crazy and post something Christian on Facebook!

Encourage your congregation to use your Rally Sunday to kickoff real change in their lives.  The Holy Spirit is just waiting around to be of service!!

CHRISTMAS: What's your program?

Sometimes in smaller congregations it can be hard to come up with a Christmas program that fits your population.  In the past I've had some interesting programs because we had only early elementary and high school kids, less than 15 early elementary kids with the majority of them under 7, only about 12 kids total at varying ages, and small groups who weren't singers or instrumentalists. 

Most published programs seem to be musicals geared toward large churches with a large population of elementary kids.  They have a number of roles and a large chorus and they all have cute names like Christmas comes to Sonland Ranch or something similar.  That's cute but not exactly a retelling of the original.  My philosophy is that when it comes to the Christmas story, more creative is not necessarily better.  The big question is how can you have a meaningful program that celebrates the birth of Chirst with any age or size group? 

After many years of being frustrated, I finally had to write something myself that could easily be adjusted and was an honest retelling of the birth of Christ.  My goal was that it be authentic, bring in the prophecy, included realistic dialogue that might show the drama of the situation (I mean really, what happens when a girl has to tell her parents and finace that she's pregnant by God?), add music that I didn't have to write, and involve any number of people of any age.  WOW!!  It's a whole congregational approach!

There are a LOT of options for this retelling of the birth of Jesus: 

 

• People of many ages can be included.
• Scripture readings (blue text) and spoken dialogue (red text) can either be read in front of the church or off-stage. 
• Young children can be dressed as angels and can sing before and/or after the service.
• Small groups of children can recite parts of scripture.
• Teenagers or adults can read dialogue or play parts in costume.
• A full costume drama can be done.
• Suggested traditional carols or contemporary music is included.
• Choir anthems and/or special music can be added or swapped throughout.
• There are opportunities for solos or CD music can be played.
• Beautiful art can be included as slides.
• Candles can be used during the final song.

(If you'd like to see what I put together to adjust to your congregational needs, please feel free to look here.  This is not a sales pitch.  It's free!  There's a poster sample too.)