20% of teens say they've put nude pics of themselves online

The internet makes anyone who works with students very nervous.  These statistics don't make you feel better.  

"A survey of 1,280 teenagers (users age 13-19) and young adults (age 20-26) conducted by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and CosmoGirl.com has revealed that one out of five (20 percent) teens overall have posted nude photos or video of themselves on the Internet—that number goes up to a third when young adults are included. While 71 percent of teen girls and 67 percent of teen guys who have sent these photos say they've sent them to a boyfriend or girlfriend."

Here's the survey.

I found this MSNBC video on Kate McKay's blog, and it deals directly with this issue.

Brian Mills also has a blog post on this issue.

I Need Africa More Than Africa Needs Me

Take a couple minutes to watch this video.

4 Warning Signs of an Abusive Teen Relationship

Our friend James West over at Total Life Counseling Center had this to say on the topic of "Abusive Teen Relationships."

"Having a teen dating in today’s world is quite a challenge! Because so many
teens are accepting some level of abuse as 'normal' in relationships, knowing
the warning signs of a potentially abusive relationship become critical."

He goes on to list and discuss 4 signs that parents should be aware of. These are:
1. The relationship becomes very serious quickly.
2. Controling behaviors are very aparent in the relationship.
3. One begins to isolate the other from friends and family.
4. Veberal abuse

He talks more in depth on his blog about these 4 red flags.

Elf it!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Tis the Season for Spending

Came across some staggering statistics about Christmas time economy at the local Starbucks.

• 2007 Holiday Retail Sales = $474.5 Billion
  
• 30 to 35 million real Christmas trees are sold in the U.S. every year.
  
• $9.3 billion in jewelry-store sales during November and December, 2007.
  
• 20 billion cards, letters and packages are delivered by the US Postal Service between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
  
• $19.8 Billion in computer and video game, console, and accessory sales during November and December, 2007.
  
• In November and December of 2007, consumers accumulated an estimated $12.8 billion in new debt, according to cardtrack, an organization that tracks credit card use. That is 16% of the total debt accumulated that year. (According to a 2007 survey, 1/3 of consumers were still paying off debt from the 2006 holiday season.)
  
• In 2007, the average consumer planed to spend more that $800 on Holiday related shopping and more than $100 on themselves.

Crazy stats.

Students Cheat, but STILL See Themselves as Ethical

Found this article on Drudge Report. You can read it here.  Here are some of the most concerning points of the article. 

“American teenagers lie, steal and cheat more at "alarming rates," a study of nearly 30,000 high school students concluded Monday. 

The attitudes and conduct of some 29,760 high school students across the United States "doesn't bode well for the future when these youngsters become the next generation's politicians and parents, cops and corporate executives, and journalists and generals," the non-profit Josephson Institute said. 

Boys were found to lie and steal more than girls. 

Overall, 30 percent of students admitted to stealing from a store within the past year, a two percent rise from 2006. More than one third of boys (35 percent) said they had stolen goods, compared to 26 percent of girls.

An overwhelming majority, 83 percent, of public school and private religious school students admitted to lying to their parents about something significant, compared to 78 percent for those attending independent non-religious schools.

Despite no significant gender differences on exam cheating, students from non-religious independent schools had the lowest cheating rate, 47 percent, compared to 63 percent of students attending religious schools.

Despite these high levels of dishonesty, these same kids have a high self-image when it comes to ethics."

Some 93 percent of students indicated satisfaction with their own character and ethics, with 77 percent saying that "when it comes to doing what is right, I am better than most people I know.”

Vision, Purpose and Values

It's always important for volunteers and staff to know the vision, purpose and values of the ministry. Keith keeps this in front of us all the time so that it is something that we never loose sight of.

Vision and Purpose
*Love God (Passion for God) = Great Commandment
*Love People (Passion for People) = Great Commandment
*Go Tell (Passion to Serve) = Great Commission

AMP’D Student Ministry Core Values…
*God loves lost people, therefore we love lost people.
*God’s Word is our authority for faith and daily living.
*Life-Change best occurs through discipleship.
*Excellence honors God and inspires people.
*God’s unconditional love and grace transforms lives.
*Christ-followers pursue spiritual growth.
*Uncompromising integrity reflects God’s character.
*God uniquely gifts Christ-followers regardless of race or gender.
*We are culturally relevant without compromising God’s Word.
*Loving relationships permeate through every aspect of AMP’D.

Lunch with Brent Crow

Keith and I had a chance to spend time with
Brent Crow over lunch at Orlando Airport a week ago. Brent is Jay Strack’s main man on the Student Leadership University front. He sees a lot of student ministries all over the world, so it was cool to get his take on what’s on the horizon for studnet ministry.
Here are some bullet points from our time with Brent:

-Do what no one else is doing.

-Students are looking for an experience.

-You have to let students lead and they must have ownership. Students love to create things and experiences and opportunities.

-“The greatest things going today are student created. Youth Ministers aren’t coming up with the new things, because it’s coming from the students.”

-Students want to be challenged like adults.

-“We treat a lot of our students like kids and we don’t tackle the deep things of God.”

-Teach them the Word of God. They can handle the Word, they have algebra, chemistry, etc.

-Give students a cause. Students are hungry for the Word and for a cause, something to believe in and run with i.e. social injustice…

-They have passion for these “causes” so you have to give them an outlet.

Keith and I keep getting reconfirmed on this thought that I have posted on before: the students of this generation are a cause oriented generation. They are more plugged in to the world affairs than any other generation.