Micaiah 2006

Everything I Needed To Know About Youth Ministry I Learned From Jack Black


On the prompting of a friend (AJ), I recently rented the movie "School of Rock". I'd rented it before, but AJ challenged me to watch it again, this time with youth ministry in mind, and watching for parallels. If you've never seen it, you can see a summary of the movie by clicking here. I gotta say, though there are defiantly some parts that have absolutely no relevance, there are definitely some similarities. I will list them below:

1. You gotta stick it to the man.
Jack Black's character is a wannabe rocker who seems o have the philosophy of rock down to a science. The most important thing about Rock: Stick it to the man.

At first I was tempted to draw a parallel between "the man" and the influences that secular culture has on teens and young adults today. Culture, or "the man", tries to entice them, to enslave them with weeknight events, sports, ipods and such, enslaving them to it's corporate and individual driven chains. As Youth workers, our task must be to teach young people how to rebel against "the man" and think for themselves, expressing themselves through their true liberty as rockers, or in this case, Christ Followers.

Of course then my wife mentioned, "Maybe the man is actually the Senior Pastor who you have to sneak around and "convince" that your "methods" of youth ministry are legit." Interesting thought.

2. Help the kids find their place in "The Band".
It's true that God has given each person special gifts and abilities. Some people could preach to thousands, while others really serve God best by having some friends over for supper and just hanging out with them. Jack helps each of the kids find where they fit in "the Band" and then goes a step further to encourage them and even challenge them when they don't think they can do it. Furthermore, when a kid thinks that they can do more, Jack always gives them a chance and never lets them simply be comfortable in mediocrity.

3. They gotta make the music their own.
At one point in the movie, we see the lead guitarist playing a song and he is doing it absolutely perfect, exactly how Jack had taught it to him. And Jack stops him. He explains that Rock is not about playing it perfectly, you've gotta own the music.

With youth, I've seen to many kids that simply try to mimic the faith of their parents, their friends, or even their youth pastor. This is a huge mistake, because when these kids make it out into the real world (or the stage of life?), they fall flat on their face because they have never taken he time to really examine what it means to be a disciple. They may have played the role beautifully, but they never took the time to make it their own. We need to encourage teens and young adults to take their faith serious. Yes, faith is a community thing, and your faith will affect those around you and vice versa, but let's encourage our young people to go ahead an question their faith. Allow the kids to stand up when you are teaching and say, "Prove it!" "Where d you see that?' "How does that apply to me?"

4. Let the kids play their own song.
Yes, you are the youth leader. You are the teacher who has some capacity of training or life experience, but that doesn't mean that every single thing in the group needs to be done or planned by you. In the movie, Jack has written a song that he plans to have the kids perform at the "Battle for the Bands", but at the last minute he switches it up and tells the kids to do a song that one of them had written.

In other words, Jack realizes when it's time to step back and let the kids take some leadership (not complete mind you). He realizes that at some point, the kids arrive at a place where they know what is relevant to the "Rock Culture" even more then their teacher. In youth ministry, let the kids take some measure of control, form a "leadership team" or something like that which will allow the kids to have some say in how things are done in their ministry.

5. It's not about you.
You would think that this would be pretty obvious, but I have met to many students at Bible College studying youth ministry, or even Youth Pastors in the field, who are where they are basically because they want to relive their teen years. I'll even admit, I was one of those. I started in youth ministry in order to try and reassure myself that I was "hip and cool".

In SOR, Jack starts off teaching these kids about Rock and Roll so he can enter them in battle of the bands and win the grand prize, with plans to just take the money and run. He had no plans to invest in these kids, he just wanted to use them to "make it" himself.

Even though it might not be as blatantly evil with some youth workers, we need to be on guard that our focus is not on "making it" in youth ministry, but rather, on building the kids up and helping them to make it in life and when all is said and done, teach them how to truly stick it to the man!

Year in Review

Well, the year is coming to a close rather quickly and because I'm gonna be pretty busy from now until we leave for Peru on the 30th of December, I thought I would put up a year in review slide show.

Some of the pics have captions, some don't, but here are some of the highlights from my year:

1. Birth of Micaiah
2. My Mom coming to visit
3. Visiting Family in Illinois
4. Seeing my Dad meet Micaiah
5. Dena's Mom's visit
6. Dena's Dad's visit
7. Dena's Grandmother's visit
8. Working with the International youth group
9. Working with the IYG Guys Bible Study
10. IYG Guys Bible Study retreat in the mountains
11. IYG Campout with AJ Thomas
12. Preforming my first wedding for my best friend, Michelle
13. And lots of other stuff....

Tom-Kat

First off, let me just say, Tom Cruise has had some great movies. Top Gun, Mission Impossible... um... well... I guess that might be it... oh and Jerry McGuire (however I got so sick of people saying "show me the money" for the next 5 years that I secretly wanted to give Cruise a lobotomy). And as far as Katie Holmes, with the exception of the week I was stuck in bed in High School with no cable and forced to watch Dawson's Creek reruns, I'm afraid I think she's just another puppy dog face in a sea of dogs... oh, well, that may not have come out the way I meant it.

But this is my thought: Why do we seem to (sobeit, subconsciously maybe) hate our lives so much that we are obsessed with the lives of people that we will most likely never meet. I mean, why is it that single mothers of four have no problem neglecting their own children, but will flock to the television to catch a fuzzy glimpse of TomKat's baby Suri?

Is it simply disenchantments with our current condition? Is it a sense of "If only I had (insert regret here), that could have been me with all that money, marrying that hot celebrity."

The most confusing thing perhaps is that this celebrity addiction seems to go beyond the realm of trailer trash (I lived in a trailer for part of my childhood, so I am allowed to use this term) into seemingly committed Christ Disciples. Is it that they want to escape from their life for something more exciting? If so is this the fault of themselves? Is it the fault of those who have pureed the gospel to the point that it is about as exciting as liquefied spam and made the xian life to seem totally devoid of adventure, and instead just a long list of rules and requirements? Both?

Anyway, that's it for now. I was just taking a minute to blog this morning during a commercial, but now I need to get back to the E! Channel's coverage from Italy.


PS: Here's a quick explanation for those of you who don't understand the religion of this High Priest of Sceintology. And who better to explain it then Stephen Colbert!

1. FIRST NAME? Elliott
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? My Uncle Ellison, but he thought his name was to feminine, so I ended up as Elliott.
3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? In May when my Dad saw Micaiah for the first (and so far only) time.
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Depends on how focused I am, if I'm in a hurry it's just chicken scratch.
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Corn Beef.
6. KIDS? Micaiah and...
7. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Maybe... depends on my mood when I first met me...
8. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? Yeah, I only write though when I am really contemplating something or when I get ito a poetry writing mood.
9. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Yeah, probably more then I should.
10. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? yeah
11. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Would love to.
12. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Coooooooookie Crisp.
13. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? I wear sandals and crocs, so I don't have to worry about it.
14. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Not like, "Hey, I think I could birth a baby strong, but Iyeah, I'm buff."
15. RED OR PINK? Red.
16. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? My impatience. I can't even wait for my hair to grow before I cut it.
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? Mom, Dad and the Pabsts Fam.
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Um, I'm putting it on my blog so I don't care.
19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Pajama pants with the "One Up" mushroom from Mario brothers and bare feet.
20. LAST THING YOU ATE? Chili-Mac. It's an awesome comfort food Dena makes with Mac and Cheese, hamburger, corn and tomato paste... awesome.
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Dogs barking across the street...
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Black or blue.
23. FAVORITE SMELL? Cost Rican Coffee in the morning.
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My Mother in Law. We invited her down here a week before she was suppose to come (for xmas) in order to help take care of Micaiah while we pack.
25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Confidence.
26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Yeah.
27. FAVORITE DRINK? Coffee
28. FAVORITE SPORT? Um... Hockey, it's the only sport worth watching... well, besides sumo wrestling.
29. EYE COLOR? Azul
30. HAT SIZE? Dunno... big
31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? no
32. FAVORITE FOOD? Mexican or Italian.
33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDING? Scary movies where the good guys win.
34. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED AT THE MOVIES? Nacho Libre.
35. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE U WEARING? Yellow Santa Cruz vintage tshirt
36. HUGS OR KISSES? Kisses from my hot hot hot wife
37. FAVORITE DESSERT? Anything with coffee in it.
38. WHO IS LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Stephen Harper
39. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Probably someone from the IYG
40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? Just finished Velvet Elvis and Rainbow 6. About to start Faces of Protestantism in Latin America.
41. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? Mouse pads are a tool of oppression instituted by "the man" in order to sell foam mats with pictures of kittens on them in an effort to strip humanity of all things masculine.
42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? My Name is Earl and The Office... I love Jim's constant tormenting Dwight.
43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? Micaiah's laugh when I really get him going, oh, and the theme song from The Office.
44. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? TRS.
45. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? Russia or Albania.
46. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? I can fit a tenis ball in my mouth and close my mouth around it.
47. WHEN AND WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Listowel, ON, 1981
48. IN A PREVIOUS LIFE, WHAT WERE YOU? A politician, but not the crooked kind.
49. IF YOU WERE TO PURSUE ANOTHER DEGREE, WHAT WOULD IT BE? MA in theology, missiology, apologetics or something to do with youth ministry.
50. IF YOU HAD TO CHANGE YOUR NAME, WHAT WOULD IT BE? Something snazzy like Skippy or Charlie.