Time Magazine: "The Truth About Teen Girls"

Just got finished reading this article in Time Magazine. I think parents should take the ten minutes it would take you to read it, and do so. There are some pretty interesting things reported on in this piece. One thing that caught my attention is what Belinda Luscombe called the "drip-drip effect". She said that tweens and teens aren't influenced by the big "firestorms" that have been erupting lately, (Miley Cyrus's semi-naked photos, the Jamie Lynn Spears pregnancy, the Juno effect, etc.) but that teens are more influenced by the constant message they receive through the media. More than these high profile happenings teens are effected by the consistency of the "worlds" message on sexuality. So, parents of tween or teen girls, take the time to read this article.

Communication with Parents

After grading aspects of our ministry at the end of the summer, we found that our communication with parents was a "C" at best, and you'd probably have enough ammo to give us a failing grade if you wished. So, over the past month and half we've put some things in place to help us in this area. Here's what we have:

Video Podcast For Parents:
We're not sure what this will evolve to, but we want a way to be in front of our parents. Parents are so busy that it's difficult to have meetings that they can attend. So, we're going to try and answer questions about our ministries in a quick 10 minute monthly video podcast.

Parent Newsletter:
This is just a another resource to put in our parents hands. This newsletter has basic info and upcoming dates.

Website:
We're trying to keep the website updated weekly. This is probably the greatest resource for our parents, but getting them there is difficult at times.

Text Messaging:
We're in the process of getting a text messaging software so that our students and parents can be reminded of events.

Are there any methods of informing your parents that works well? And if you use any of these methods what is some information that you include in them?

MTV VMA's

So the biggest thing to come out of MTV VMA's wasn't the videos, but the purity ring battle.  Russel Brand, an english comedian and MTV's host for the 2008 VMA's, made some crazy remarks about the Jonas Brothers wearing purity rings.  This didn't sit well with Jordin Sparks and she let everyone know about it.

Brand later apologized for his comment. Any thoughts on the resurgence of the purity ring? We've given away 600 purity rings in our ministry since April of 2007 when we had our last "purity conference".

The Common Catalyst

Today was filled with hours upon hours of meetings. And, I'm happy to say that I actually gleaned some good info from it. Something I thought was note worthy was some data that has been collected on our church and other churches across the US. One of our pastors visited Willowcreek in Chicago for the "Reveal" conference, which surveyed 157,000 church members. There was some amazing data that came from this that will hopefully help us be a more effective body. One of the things that this survey gave us were the "catalyst" that would move a person in their journey from a new christian to becoming a fully devoted follower of Christ. The #1 "catalyst" came in the form of an activity. That "activity" was service. Plain and simple. Service was the #1 mover of Christians in their journey in drawing closer to Him. It makes sense doesn't it? Being the hands and feet of the one who died for us? It makes sense to me. When we make it more about others, and less about ourselves we begin to see this life through the lens of Jesus. I thought we did a really good job of giving our students chances to serve, and we aren't going to stop. I can't wait to see the hearts of these students continue to change as they catch a glimpse of heart of Jesus.

1st Ever Ampdcast for Parents

Well, we finally have our first ampdcast done. This is a resource speciffically for our parents. We're looking to give parents of our students here at First Orlando a way to ask us questions and have them answered. I'm sure we'll get better and more relaxed as we do more. In this one we discuss "how to get your student involved" as well as the series we're currently in on Wednesday nights.

The Gloves Came Off!

Did you catch the Sarah Palin speech? I don't think I've ever smiled during a "polictal" speech. I did last night. She had some great jabs that were delivered flawlessly. In the begining I was intrigued by McCain's choice for VP, but wasn't sold. Last night I was sold. I'm on board. Any thoughts?

24 Hours in Texas: Unveiled Girls Conference 2008

I just got back from a whirlwind day in Texas (my home state). It was a real blast hanging out with Keith Harmon, the high school minister and Colby Weaver, the girls minister. The trip had a simple purpose: get the word out for Unveiled Girls Conference. It was really great to see the passion Colby has for this project and for the girls that it will influence. As she spoke to some of the most influential youth pastors and Christian school big wigs in Dallas/Ft. Worth it reminded me of the battle waging for the hearts and minds of teenage girls. She did a great job explaining why this conference should be a must attend for the girls of their ministries and schools. It's always fun to be around those you work with and see them share their vision and get excited about the changed lives. The dates for the Dallas Unveiled Conference is October 4th, and the Orlando date is October 10th & 11th. It should be a blast, and she's got some great speakers and worship leaders showing up, such as: Lisa Whelchel (from "Facts of Life" fame), Kari Jobe and Superchick. The official website should be up in a matter of days, but you can already buy tickets here.