Yesterday merged into today
1. I enjoy tv, but in recent months, I almost never watch it leisurely. Late last night I wanted to veg for a few minutes so I curl up with a pillow and start watching Everybody Loves Raymond (sans commercials, thanks to peekvid.com). Next thing I know, it's 6 am and I'm still in my clothes from yesterday, lights on. Even though I slept solid (obviously), I somehow feel cheated, like today just kinda grafted itself to yesterday and I didn't have a chance to make sure I was ready (clothes ironed, lunch packed, etc.).2. I have a vague recollection of a dream I had in my deep state of slumber. I won't bore anyone with the spotty details that remain in my mind, but I do remember I was quite amused by the circumstances in the midst of my dream. The thing that makes me laugh right now is that I remember having the thought, "I so have to blog about this..."
3. Last night at youth we had Battle of the Bands, featuring 10 bands from local high schools. There's no official final count yet, but I think we probably more than doubled our previous record for attendance on a Tuesday night. It seemed to go smoothly from a logistical, programming, & security perspective. Each band had a 10 minute set. Most of it was quite hard core...I think it's called "screamo"? It's not my first pick stylistically, but they all seemed "good" in that it sounded as intended. All bands but one were secular. All lyrics were screened by Pastor Mark and anything that was inappropriate was cut/replaced (not that you could decipher what most of the words were anyway). The mosh pit seemed like absolute madness, especially when you watched from the balcony. To my knowledge, no one was hurt. A lot of the first time kids looked quite rough around the edges, but they seemed respectful from all of the interaction that I had. Pastor Mark took 5 minutes near the end of the night to share his testimony and give a brief overview of what we are about.
What intrigues me most about this event is the wide variety of responses among the adults. I heard everything from "This is awesome!" to "There is nothing godly about what is happening in there..." One person suggested to me that this could cause some of our regular kids to stumble because they could get a taste for the more edgey lifestyle and want to experiment.
I have my thoughts. What are yours?
posted by sibbie751 @ 7:40 a.m.
10 Comments:
I thought it was strange that you wore your 'jammies' to work today! Now it all makes sense......
I think that when you are reaching out to the community and the people that need Jesus, then quite often you are going to difficult, dangerous, or un-pretty places. That's what reaching out sometimes takes. So, I think it's great that hundreds of kids were in a positive environment (where they had the opportunity to experience Jesus for a period of time)and walked through doors they would never have walked through outside of this event - all b/c the youth reached out and saw them for who they are. Isn't that what it's all about? Seeing people for who they are, and still inviting them in regardless.......REGARDLESS....
I personally think what happened in at battle of the bands was AWESOME..I wasn't even there but the energy in the church when I came back was AMAZING!
I can understand people's concern about our regular kids..but you also have to look at it this way too..the whole idea of the battle of the bands probably when through many levels of authority before it was ever planned..I truly believe that we have God ordianied authority in the church at Moncton Wesleyan and that they carefully consulted God about it...if God didn't want it to happen you would have thought that he could have gotten THAT message through to someone who could have stopped it...but it didn't happen.
Also, there are some pretty onfire teens in our youth..I think those ones will do fine..and that they'll be challenged to be more Christ like because now all of these people in their high schools have seen them in church.
Long day, can't really put a sentence together but I totally agree with the other two comments...I think it's awesome that the youth leadership is thinking outside of the box!
i think the battle of the bands was an amazing outreach, i'm one of the "regular church kids" and if anything, then seeing all of the unsaved youth being at our church made me want to reach out to them even more, not join them. i think that a lot of teens came who would never have come into a church otherwise and i think that a lot of them will come back on a regular youth night.
-one of your
silent readers.
Woohoo! Debbie commented on my blog!
Audrey,
I'm very interested in peekvid..how does it work?
Krystle...as for peekvid, it worked last night (just click on a link for whichever show you want to watch and then choose which episode) however when I've attempted to use it today, it's acting like the site no longer exists.
Debbie...thanks for offering your thoughts! Great to have the perspective of a "regular church kid".
Kristi...Just for the record, I did NOT wear my pj's to work. Thanks for your other thoughts regardless...REGARDLESS...
Here's my perspective. The music was screened so that aspect is an amoral issue. It was not Christian, but it wasn't negative either. It was simply a tool to bring the kids in. We would not have gotten 600+ teens coming out to hear Christian music. To say that it was not a godly activity...is this based on the fact that it was a hard style of music? That the kids dressed kinda different than we do? If we wait for them to look and sound like we do before we appeal to them, it's not going to happen. Sounds like maintenance mode to me.
As for the notion that this might cause some of our own teens to take steps backwards spiritually...I think that's ridiculous. That perspective does not give our teens NEARLY enough credit. They are much more rooted than that, and I would be concerned if we were not encouraging them to engage in their own peer culture through any means (short of sin) for the purpose of being a light. Do they not see/smell/hear these same people every day at school? If rubbing shoulders with foul-mouthed, smoking non-Christian teens at school doesn't cause them to stumble, isn't it a little crazy to think that listening to a few loud songs at church will?
One thing that rots my socks is the idea that the purpose of youth ministry is to get kids graduated with their faith intact. It's like, if we can get them through this pesky teenage stage and they still want to come to church, mission accomplished. HORSEPOOP! Let's set our sites higher. A Christian teen who loves Jesus passionately is a force to be reckoned with. Let's pour into them and disciple them continually, but let's turn them loose to make an impact for eternity! They are the ones best equipped to reach their peers. Equipping and encouraging them to build relationships with non-Christians is not a threat to their spiritual vitality, but a catalyst.
OK...got going on a rant there. Let's get back to Battle of the Bands. Partway through the evening, I was outside keeping the smokers within their designated area and I got chatting with a girl who plays bass for one of the bands that had just finished. She was very excited to be there and so easy to talk to. It was only a 5 minute conversation, but it was clear to see that she and her friends felt welcome and accepted. Some of these bands have probably never played outside of their garage, and for this event they suddenly had a huge stage with smoke machines and a lighting specialist and hundreds of teens screaming for them. I'm sure they are told that their music is just a racket all the time. This week, they were superstars.
Of course, this isn't what we do every week at youth, but do you think that the bands and their fans and others who came just to see what the talk was all about, that they might have had some their stereotypes about church challenged? Might they consider it a possibility that church could be fun and relevant and real? Is there a chance that they felt a little bit of love and acceptance that they don't find elsewhere?
Actually theres a study (forgive me I can't think of it..) that says that a lot of teenagers will turn away from God in their first year of college/university..
So if you think that it stops at high school you are SOOO wrong! It's so easy to slack at going to church because you're in a new town and you don't know where to go or your too tired from a long study session on Saturday night (yearh right). It's also super easy to get in with the wrong crowd.
Just my 4 cents...
I realize this blog is old now but i thought i would coem out of the closet as a silent reader and post a comment.
I think its great that that many people came out to youth. The problem remains taht the didn't come for youth..they came for music. This week at youth the attendance seemed less than usual than more.
I have to wonder if we are offering "cheaper grace". Is the gospel no longer "cool" enough? The gospel and Jesus isn't cool and will never be cool. Are we as Christians trying to ahrd to achieve this?
I know i felt "cool" to belong to my church because we were putting on a secular rock concert but maybe im the only one. Should i feel proud to be aprat of my church becaseu we put on shows or because Jesus is present? Again, that's just what i felt.
I don't think this atmosphere will casue teens to stumble. i, like Debbie, am one od them. I dodn't want to join them or their "horrible lifestyle". I felt sorry for them. (maybe thats wrong too)
anyway, just some thoughts..I havne't decided what i think yet and I probably forgot some stuff but that's okay.
bye.
Laura Harris
www.downhere.com
^go^
Hi my favourite daughter, did you really wear your jammies to work??? This blog thing is neat, talk to you soon. Love ya , Dad
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