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Justin Niksich
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Louie's talk really captured me. Here's some of the hilights of his talk today...
As a young minister, I hoped to create all sorts of buzz, having the coolest this and the biggest that for my ministry. I prayed for these things...as I grow older, I now really only pray for miracles. Students live in a world dictated by their culture. Most students try as hard as they can to fit in, but feel empty and alone. What kind of culture are we creating from our students?
One quick look at youtube can help us understand what students want. The Lady Gaga song, "Born This Way" has well over 11 million hits...11 MILLION. Heres a sample of the lyrics:
"There's nothin' wrong with lovin' who you are"
She said, "'Cause He made you perfect, babe"
"So hold your head up, girl and you you'll go far,
Listen to me when I say"
I'm beautiful in my way,
'Cause God makes no mistakes
I'm on the right track, baby
I was born this way
Don't hide yourself in regret,
Just love yourself and you're set
I'm on the right track, baby
I was born this way
(Born this way)
...
Don't be a drag, just be a queen
Whether you're broke or evergreen
You're black, white, beige, chola descent
You're Lebanese, you're orient
Whether life's disabilities
Left you outcast, bullied or teased
Rejoice and love yourself today
'Cause baby, you were born this way "
This could almost be a song we sing in youth group!...that is, until you get to the part about embracing being gay, lesbian, transgendered. But what does this song teach us? That students are seeking a message of hope! They are searching for the message of Christ.
We need to create a culture of Christ's love. We should be living to become the bearers of a new generation of culture-bringers...bringing the message of Christ. So, how do we deliver this message of Jesus? We don't need to TRY to make Jesus amazing, he already is!
haha...the Justin thing is awesomeness!! :)
ReplyDeleteI like this thought you posted, and the quote on FB about Jesus being relevant (or was that Sarah?) Anyway, I get emails from Jonathon @ The Source (http://www.thesource4ym.com/GAMES/) and his big thing is about being relevant to our youth, making Jesus and the Bible relevant, but I always struggled with feeling like we, as youth ministers, are tempted to compromise so much under the flag of relevance. And, like you, over the years we've realized that Jesus is always relevant to everyone, everywhere...and that we often sacrifice relationships with these students in order to spend more time making cool videos or a "better __________." It's so hard to remember the truth sometimes. My thoughts are all over the place, but I guess I'm trying to say, thanks for posting your thoughts...makes me think! :)
Well, these are not just thoughts... They are constructed bits of thought brought into one cohesive unit by a somewhat dysfunctional brain.
ReplyDeleteIf I posted things how my brain really thought them, I'm sure one of two things would happen...
1) My blog would be a viral web sensation
-or-
2) [more likely] I would have even less visits a day and would probably be shut down by the FDA or something
of course, to do any of this, I'd need some sort of brain sensing technogadget that converted brainwaves to text.... Yet another reason that I need an iPad...I'm sure there's an app for that