...I am still tired as I am listening to music and uploading music from CDs to my comupter. This is a large task because I have a large CD collection. I also am dling this at work / church because we have the internet here and not at home and when I am putting songs on the computer it automatically names them when you are online. Good stuff. I am currently uploading Fly By Night which is made up of Justin Vande Kerk, Joe Vande Kerk, Ethan Koerner, John Hoogeveen (all former Dordt people). It is a really awesome CD and I havent listened to it in a couple of months. So It is good to be back.
So I had youth group tonight. Both the middle schoolers and the high schoolers. It was really good and we had a lot of fun. I jump back in forth between the two because they are at the same time. It works pretty well because there are a lot of leaders. I spend more time with the high schoolers because I feel like I can connect more and I can go deeper with them even though I would like to go even deeper yet. I got to give it time.
So we talked about Silence and Solitude with the high schoolers with is a very important topic when we think about how much most of us have too much going on all the time. We watched the Nooma Noise video by Rob Bell which I really recommend to everyone. Well there is a lot of silence in this video and the kids didn't know how to stop talking (good thing we are tlaking about that) So it took them liek 5 minutes to be remotely silent because they were laughing and reading the words like "silence". It was a good illustration of how it is a tuff discipline for them.
The middle schoolers talked about drugs and alcohol tonight and will be for the next couple of meetings. I came in drinking a bottle of beer (fosters to be exact - because that is what I have been drinking and cooking with lately) at the start of the lesson and I had some of the other leaders act like I was the devil and they were scared of the beer. It was pretty funny and I stole the idea from vintage21.com. The point was to show that some people go too far with there views of alcohol as all bad. Well I was pushing for the kids to see that it is not all bad when you are responible and of age. I found out later tonight that In the schools here they actually tell their middle schools that alcohol is bad .(period) So that was what the other leaders were thinking they were going to tell the middle schoolers. A little miscommunication here and I kind of put some of the leaders on the spot. All I wanted was to be honest with the kids. But maybe just telling middle schoolers that beer is bad and why is the better thing and then later in like high school go deeper and say that beer is not bad in itself. What do you guys think about this? I know what way I am leaning after talking about it so far, but I would like to here what you guys think about that.
give your imput please.
7 comments:
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dude you need to add word verification so you don't get spam comments. this is my first time reading your blog! i think that alcohol is ok when used in moderation (don't get drunk) and you are legal and if you have a problem with drinking too much or what it does to you, quit. i don't think you should drink for a reason, like because of a bad day at work or a argument, etc. because that is how it becomes something you need, habit forming, controlling. i try to drink only when i'm in a good mood and would also be fine with saying i could drink something non-alcoholic and be ok with that too. nice to hear from you mike.
i have regretably been drunk twice. and i know it was wrong. i know that i need to be more careful when friends are buying me drinks because i don't keep track of them as well.
hey mike..stumbled upon your blog here. i just want to say, that as a person who was taught/preached that alcohol is evil, your lesson sounds great. it is a process of understanding for me now, as i can see that alcohol in and of itself is not evil and have to understand what that means in my life. it may seem odd, but its a big adjustment.
I wish you the best in all your work and miss seeing on campus!!! you are awesome :)
I’ve become a blogging addict! It’s my new denis. :)
Okay. First of all, you need to know your kids and you need to know where they are at. I don’t know your kids, so my thoughts are just based on the middle schoolers that I know and my experiences. Your group might be different.
I don’t think most middle schoolers can grasp the concept of why alcohol isn’t altogether bad. Middle schoolers are starting to think on their own, but not nearly as much as high schoolers do. Growing up in the Midwest, I learned that alcohol was bad...from my school, from my parents, and even my own church/youth group. I never saw alcohol as being the “devil,” but I know that many people wanted me to see it that way. Looking back, it was almost like there was this unspoken fear or mystery about alcohol. It was such a “hush-hush” thing, which is why I think a lot of teenagers end up experimenting with it.
My advice? Speak the truth. Wear that belt with honor! But do it at a level your middle schoolers are ready for. You may need to wait until the kids are in high school to speak the entire truth. But that is where knowing what your kids are ready for comes in. When speaking to middle schoolers I would talk about what makes alcohol bad. Then when they’re ready, in high school, I’d dig deeper and talk about what it means to drink responsibly. If we don’t talk about drinking responsibly in our churches, where are kids going to hear the truth?
Back to work. Be blessed and keep loving your kids, Mike!
~Julie
hey mike. i apreciate your question and you effort with the youth.
My family drinks and my parents taught me from the beginnig that alchohol can be dangerous and we have had alchoholics in our family.
I feel really wierd about the idea of not telling them the whole truth. If you don't tell them both sides of alchohol I think that they might feel really confused with the mixed messege or..... being lied to?
I don't know man, but that is what i think of right away. I think that you are amazing and you will figure it out.
Alrighty, I’m not saying that one should lie about such things. But I think kids need to understand the dangers before they can understand WHY you need to drink responsibly. I think you need to focus on the dangers and then talk about when it is okay to drink. If your middle schoolers ask you what you think, you can stand there and tell them the truth. Don’t paint a pretty picture and try to be something you are not. Kids appreciate honesty.
I’ve been kicked in the butt more than once this past year for speaking the truth, and I’d do it again. Just present it with tact and you’ll be respected for it.
The Spirit will lead. He always does.
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