Coffey Anderson at Amp'd

This was a fun few days spending time with Coffey Anderson. We met him in LA on our mission trip with the Dream Center. What a great guy, who loves the Lord and wants to use his talents to glorify Him. Here's some Youtube videos that will tell you more about him and also let you see a little of what he did here on this past Wednesday night for a group of nearly 400 students. So much fun.

This aired on Nashville Star.


This is his "Umbrella" Remix that he did for us at Amp'd.


Here's the Ampdcast he did for us.

Amp'd Parents Podcast #2: Ben Trueblood

Long time no blog. Here's Keith Harmon and Ben Trueblood, the student pastor at Liberty Baptist Church in Hampton, VA, talking about how important parents are to what we do here in student ministry.

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.

Amp'd Students in Baptist Magazine

Someone brought it to my attention that I was in the Florida Baptist Witness, a printed state wide magazine. The article was written on the Youth Evangelism Conference that went on the first weekend of August here at First Orlando. After finding this article on their website I saw that our students had also made the article (the very top of the page), which is super cool. Here's the link to that article.

Star Wars: Clone Wars Movie Review

Three months ago I was super pumped to see this movie.
I grew up on Star Wars. I had action figures. I dressed up as Darth Vader for Halloween (gasp!). It was series that had all the elements a kid with an over active imagination could want. Anything that I could turn into a light saber (or a light saver is what I called them) I would. Canes, poles, random sticks lying on the ground would transform me into a Jedi Knight. I loved it. Twenty two years after the first one came out George Lucas gave us the prequels to the original trilogies. I actually slept outside and waited with some buddies in line for my ticket to the 12 o'clock showing of Episode 1. I'm not a hater, but it didn't quite have the same magic as the originals. The rest were ok, with Episode 3 being the best of the prequels, but nothing captured the magic of the original trilogy.
So, what do you do with an animated Star Wars? In the prequels, Episode II ended with the Clone Wars beginning, and Episode III began with them ending. We never really were able to see Anakin, who later turns into Darth Vader, live up to what we have pictured in our heads for 25+ years. In Star Wars: A New Hope, Obi Wan Kenobi says that Luke's father was "the best star fighter in the galaxy and a good friend". We never were able to see that in its fullness. In the prequels we never get to see Anakin as a hero. We see Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan in that light, but we never get to root for Anakin. This why I really liked Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
A week before this movie opened I read some early reviews that really chewed it up and spit it out as garbage. Those critics that I hold in high regard hated it. My eagerness to see this movie left quickly and so I waited 2 weeks before I actually took the time to watch it. That was a mistake.
For the same reasons the critics I read hated this movie, are the same reasons I think it works. From the beginning you realize this is a different take on Star Wars, and I'm ok with that. It needed some new blood.
I really enjoyed the relationship between Anakin and Ahsoka. Ahsoka is a new female character who is introduced as Anakin's padawan (student). She's a spunky young kid with a nickname for everyone and a quick remark for every situation. She adds a lot of fun and character to this series. I think that was the main thing that was missing from the prequels. I really enjoyed the brother-sister relationship that Anakin and Ahsoka begin to develop. But, the reason this movie works for me is because we FINALLY get to see Anakin as a hero before his fall to the dark side. You actually root for him. And you seriously begin to like the guy, which makes his turn to the dark side much more tragic.
This movie was a lot of fun, and the more I think about it the more I enjoy it. If this is the way the TV show goes, then we'll be in for a weekly treat. Final grade: B+

Rare Talents and the Olympics

I'll be honest. I didn't think this years Olympics was going to hold my attention very well. And, truth be told....it didn't. Except for, you guessed it, Michael Phelps. It was fun watching "history in the making". But, I'm calling your attention to a video that is connected to the Olympics, but in a different way. This is incredible in its own special way.

Tweens and the "R" Rated Movie

As a minister to tweens and teens I am constantly looking at the culture, trying to understand the M.O. behind ad campaigns and movies. It isn't a shock to hear that many tweens watch "R" rated movies....because I believe that is who they are marketing to. I know, shocking right? How do you market "R" rated movies to tweens? Very carefully. Take the new movie "Step Brothers" with Will Ferrel. The movie was advertised for the longest time in front of PG-13 movies. It was "not yet rated" and because of that many tweens were drawn in to the hilarity of Will Ferrel and John C. Riley. It's not difficult to wander into a movie while holding the ticket to a different movie. I did it as a teen, and I'm sure if I did it as a teen then it is still going on today. In case you were wanting some statistics on this, you can read it here at USA Today.

Here is the Plugged-In synopsis of "Step Brothers".

Youth Evagelism Conference

We hosted the Florida Youth Evangelism Conference this weekend. It was a fun weekend where an about 600 students attended the conference from all over Florida and even Georgia. David Nassar, one of the top youth communicators in America, spoke on the theme of Urgency. When it comes to communicating to students what it means to live out a life that is pleasing to Christ, there is none better. I was fortunate enough to be asked to lead a session titled "Cultural Youth Thoughts that Drive Actions and Attitudes of Youth Culture (Gothic, Hip Hop, etc)". Keith just called it "Facebook, Myspace and more", which was a little easier to swallow. But, it was basically a sprint through Youth Culture and the prevailing thought of today's teens and those we would consider "lost" or "un-churched". Keith taught a session on sharing your faith and Colby did the always great "Modest is Hottest" topic. All in all it was a fun weekend. Big Daddy Weave brought the worship and did a great job with that as well. Urgency was such a timely topic for what the students are facing now. The church, for reasons we won't go into, has a horrible name with the outside world, and the students need to bring the truth of God's word to them without compromising it, but couple that truth with love. It was a great weekend.

X-Games

I think I have gotten more into the Summer X-Games than the Olympics. This vid is of Kyle Loza who I found out later is a Christian. Pretty cool. There were a lot of great moments this weekend, and this is just one of them.