Gone Country . . . Not!

I was reading Josh's blog today and hit a link to a Trace Adkins video. I decided to watch the video and as much as I hate country music, the video has an awesome message. You should check it out for yourself!

PS - This doesn't mean I am going to start listening to country music!

MTV Generation

Below is a post I wrote 2 years ago after a volunteer meeting. I am reposting it because of the the previous blog titled "MUSIC" I posted earlier today!

Yesterday, during one of my meetings the topic came up about what I and others watch on television. I don’t think it was a negative thing, I just think some people were surprised when I said that I watched MTV. In shock the next question was, "Do you watch it to learn teen culture or for entertainment?" I simply said, "I watch it for both reasons!" After I said that, it was almost as if people looked at me in a different way. Like they were shocked that I had just said that I watch MTV for entertainment purposes. Now please hear me when I say this, not everything on MTV is good, but not all of it is bad either. The question here really isn’t IS MTV OK, the question is what is the content and purpose of what you are watching on any network channel, MTV or TBN. We have become people that are more worried about what people might think instead of challenging them to think and relating to them. Yes, there are some shows on MTV and other popular, more “Christian acceptable” TV stations that my wife and I won’t watch simply because of the message or the vulgar content of the show. But at the same time there are many things that have caused us to talk though and challenged us to take our faith deeper. On the same note, I have also had countless opportunities to have spiritual conversations with people who don’t have spiritual conversations because of something that we both have seen on TV.

The truth is simply be careful what you watch, and be able to explain why you don't watch something or you don't listen to something. Let me give an example. When my son was first born my wife would watch a show that was designed to help women start over and get a better handle on life. The show was a great tool for those women. But for us it caused a lot of problems. After watching a few shows, my wife began to over analyze our marriage and family and look at all the negative things instead of looking at the positive things. It really became a battle for us and we began arguing about things we never use to argue about. When we sat down and talked it out, we realized that this show was creating some problems that we really didn’t have. (some of you may be thinking I was trying to cover up a problem, but there really wasn’t one. The enemy was using this show to produce doubt. He does that you know John 10:10) So we cut that show off and things amazingly got better. You see even though the show was something very good, for us it had become something that was damaging to our relationship. Now does that mean others shouldn’t watch it . . . not at all, it just isn’t something we are going to watch.

Now I understand some will try to bring out the extremes and say does that mean I should get drunk to be accepted by people who get drunk in order to share my faith with them. The answer is no, the Bible tells us not to be drunkards for one but we miss the point. I am simply saying that there has to be willingness to learn and relate to a world that desperately needs Christ. How we do that is the dying question. What makes something good and what makes it bad? What makes something Christian?

I realize that all truth is from God, and it may come from places that are least expected. Example, the death of a WWE superstar caused the gospel to be heard by several people watching a couple of weeks ago when WWE did a memorial event to recognize and celebrate the life of Eddie Guerrero.

Here are a couple of verses I think of when it comes to this topic, check them out and let me know what you think if you have the time!

Galatians 1:10; 2 Corinthians 10:5; 1 Corinthians 9:19-23; 1 Corinthians 10:31-33; Philippians 4:8; Colossians 2:2-6

Music

For some reason today I have had "Party Like A Rock Star" playing in my head. I know, the question has to be asked, Can you be a student pastor and listen to that kind of music. If you know me there is probably alot of things I do that like watching MTV that could cause some to be shocked however, I do have strong beliefs and will post a blog from a year ago later.

Anyhow back to the song, "Party Like A Rock Star". I don't know how I came across it but found this song redone by a christian with christian lyrics. Pretty good check it out. I also included a song that was big in August/September.

Praise Him Like a Rock Star

Crank Dat Holy Ghost pt2

Inside The Mind Of The Boy Dating Your Daughter

The stereotype of the 16-year-old boy is that he has sex on the brain. But a fascinating new report suggests that boys are motivated more by love and a desire to form real relationships with the girls they date.

The report, published in this month’s Journal of Adolescence, paints a far different picture of teen boys than the stereotype of testosterone-fueled youth. Psychology researchers from the State University of New York at Oswego surveyed 105 10th-grade boys whose average age was about 16. The boys, most of whom said they were heterosexual, were given surveys asking them to select various reasons why they asked girls out, dated and pursued physical relationships. Most of the boys had dating experience, and about 40 percent were sexually active.

READ MORE . . .

Weekend Review - SEX

Well today we finished our 6 week sex series. (Praise Jesus) It was a good series that I feel the student enjoyed. We held a panel today with 5 adult men and 5 adult women and two students. We allowed student to jot down questions they had a bout sex and the panel on the fly answered those questions. Here are the questions our teenagers asked:

* How old should you be before you have your first serious boyfriend?
* Why does God allow people to use sex in an unholy way?
* Is constant lust for your wife wrong?
* Why is homosexuality wrong?
* How do you date while putting God first?
* Since love is so powerful, how would you get out of a situation where you want to do stuff sexually?
* Why do people give up their children after they have had sex?
* Were you a virgin before you got married?
* Was is weird/awkward or bad the first time?
* How important is it to have Christian friends to keep my behavior within God's boundaries?
* Did you regret losing your virginity before marriage?
* How do I handle myself at parties where some teens are touchy-feely?
* Once you are married, is it ok to have complete sexual freedom with your spouse? (any kind of sex)
* Is oral sex within marriage wrong? Outside of Marriage?
* How often do old people have sex?

Our panel did a great job answering these questions. What a great way to end a series leaving students with many answers and some action steps to navigate through relationships safely and successfully.

Will Friday's Lights DIM?

This is one of my families favorite TV shows. We DVR it every friday night and watch after our festive nights if we go out! Great show if you aren't watching it!

First it was a talent show. Then it was a Friday night time slot when most high school football fans are well, at a high school football game. Now, it’s the recently ended writer’s strike, not the suspension of Brian “Smash” Williams that is threatening to upend the Dillon Panthers’ chances to repeat as state champions.

Like Tim Riggins, one of the show’s strongest characters, Friday Night Lights just doesn’t seem to get any breaks.

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Teens who watch wrestling take more health risks

I grew up on this stuff and I am pretty normal, but that was back in the day. I wonder what they say about the UFC?

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Teenage fans of TV wrestling are more likely than their peers to be aggressive or take chances with their health, a study suggests.

Researchers found that among 2,300 16- to 20-year-old Americans, those who watched professional wrestling were more likely to be violent, smoke or have unprotected sex -- and the more they watched TV wrestling, the greater their odds of taking such risks.

However, he told Reuters Health, it is "definitely possible" that TV wrestling affects teenagers' behavior. In an earlier study, Wolfson and his colleagues found that teenage girls who watched wrestling were more likely to get into fights or carry a weapon at a later point in adolescence.

In general, researchers believe that children can become desensitized by violence in movies, TV and video games -- particularly when those portrayals downplay the consequences of violence. A steady dose of media violence may also influence young people's perceptions, priming them to take other people's words and actions as hostile and to react aggressively.

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Parents' Drinking Influences Teenagers

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - When it comes to alcohol, many teenagers may take a cue from their parents, new research suggests.

In a study of more than 4,700 teenagers, researchers found that parents' drinking habits appeared to influence their children in both direct and indirect ways.

In the first case, teenagers seemed to simply follow the example of a parent who drank excessively, the study found. In the second case, many teens seemed to view parents' drinking as a sign of lax parenting, and this, in turn, affected their likelihood of drinking.

Read More . . .

Generation Myspace . . . Getting Fed Up

Uh-oh. Social networking was supposed to be the Next Big Thing on the Internet. MySpace, Facebook, and other sites have been attracting millions of new users, building sprawling sites that companies are banking on to trigger an online advertising boom. Trouble is, the boom isn't booming anymore. Like Heritage, many people are spending less time on social networking sites or signing off altogether.

The MySpace generation may be getting annoyed with ads and a bit bored with profile pages. The average amount of time each user spends on social networking sites has fallen by 14% over the last four months, according to market researcher ComScore. MySpace, the largest social network, has slipped from a peak of 72 million users in October to 68.9 million in December, ComScore says. The total number of people on such sites is still increasing at an 11.5% rate, but that's down sharply from past growth rates. "What you have with social networks is the most overhyped scenario in online advertising," says Tim Vanderhook, CEO of Specific Media, which places ads for customers on a variety of Web sites.

Read More . . .

Youtube - now a place to find out how to cheat on test!

There's more at this link!

Hangin Tough

That's right, looks like the New Kids are back!

Can't Hardly Wait