Lesson Learned at the Dirk vs LeBron Showdown

Sitting in a loaded stadium watching the Dirk's Dallas Mavs play LeBron's Cleveland Cavs-awesome! Lots of energy and "celebrity" watching

I have been watching pro sports for a while now and have never made the Big Screen.  Well, last night I MADE IT.  Well...sort of.  Look closely. I am in the grey pull over appearing right above the head of the young man reaching for the camera.   The man next to me, their dad and great friend of mine, snapped the picture you see below.



As you can see, the seats and camera crew where way up there.  Certainly a cool pic and great memory from a great game. The moment came and it was gone.  Even though I coaxed the guys to try different things to attract the cameras attention (I could not help myself-I may or may not have challenged them to take their shirts off and wave them), the moment was over.
The event drew my attention towards the Big Screen for the rest of the night as I watched what people would do and how they would do it to get their seconds of fame.  Here is what I learned from my people-watching extravaganza.

People want to be seen.  My favorite screen moments where created by people who did not realize they where on screen.  The person next to them nudged them into looking up to the screen.  Then the magic happened.  Smiles, dancing (sometimes innapropriate), kisses, hugging and overall this is my moment behavior.  Really, people do crazy things to be seen.

Seen people bring energy.  When the game went into OT (again, great game) the camera caught one young Mav Fan who in turn grabbed the attention of the entire American Airlines Arena. The camera gave him much more than 5 seconds.  They used his passion to amp up the entire place.  He pumped his hands, beat his chest and begin to yell at the top of his lungs-the crowd responded. The kid who was seen changed the energy of the entire arena. I am certain that this young fan felt directly connected to and impacting a truly great sports moment.

Zacchaeus.

Nathanael.

The "Blind Man."

The woman "at the Well."

The woman with "the Issue of Blood."

The man with "a Legion of Demons."

Are a short list of people in the Gospel Story who wanted to be seen, where seen by Jesus and changed the energy of entire crowds.

Let's remember that our students (and those we engage with every day in the stores, coffee shops, gyms and places we frequent) desperately want to be seen.  That's why some do crazy things to stand out.  They want to feel a part of something bigger than themselves.  They want to be noticed.

As youth workers, we spend a lot of time being seen by those we are ministering to and with.  If you want to change the energy in your student ministry, start by focussing on the answer that is right before your eyes-the students and adult volunteers the Lord has placed before you.

Place the Big Screen attention you posses as a leader on them and watch the energy rise in them and your ministry.

Oh, your first notion may be to focus on the "franchised" students and adults.  They are easier and give you more in return right?  Wrong.  My advice, don't ignore those, but focus on students and adults who rarely get the Big Screen shot.  That's what Jesus did and it worked out pretty good.

Here is a closing observation.  One of the celebrities we watched (through the binoculars) was Mark Cuban.  It was cool to watch his passion for his team and game.  Even so, the one who stole the show and brought the energy to the Arena?

That young Mav fan-Just sayin'! Seen People Bring Energy!

A Seriously Playful Week of Camp

 
(In front of the selection panel on our ICE CREAM TRUCK!)


 Jesus called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. -Jesus (Matthew 18:2ff)

"This is the most fun I have had since I was 5 or 7!" These were the words spoken by a high school student last week at a summer camp.  What's the big deal? He was serious.  

It appears that scholars (Elkind, Clark, Hirsch, and others) are right.  The world in which we live is squeezing the life out of our students.  Much of what they do is judged, critiqued and then shipped back to them for improvement.  Everything (their words not mine) is a competition.  Last week, at a magical place called Pine Springs Summer Camp, we stopped the competition, critique and shipping and replaced them with play, creativity and worship.  

The result?

Our students (and adults) discovered or rediscovered what it looks like to have a child like faith in Jesus.  It was awesome and life changing!  

Why spend a week exploring child like faith? Read these words from Robert Capon:

We are in a war between dullness and astonishment. The most critical issue facing Christianity is not abortion, pornography, the disintegration of the family, moral absolutes, MTV, Drugs, racism, sexuality, or school prayer.  The critical issue today is dullness. We have lost our astonishment. The Good News is no longer good news, it is okay news. Christianity is no longer life changing, it is life enhancing.  Jesus doesn’t change people into wild-eyed radicals anymore, He changes them into “nice people.” (Episcopal priest Robert Capon used by Yaconelli in  Dangerous Wonder)

This past week, dullness was attacked and wonder pursued and nice people challenged to be radicals for the Kingdom of God! 

It was a Seriously Playful Week of Camp

Check out all the fun!

PINE SPRINGS 14

 

From Laughs to Cheers--What should really be applauded!

"You have got to see this video!"  was the Facebook post attached to the below video.

I will go ahead and say it...um...it brought tears to my eyes (actually, I made one of my staff stop what they were doing and come watch the video--yes, they had tears as well!).  Here it is:

I am sure there are many reasons why viewers liked the video. I bet these two are at the top of many lists:

• The underdog proved the critics wrong (or "critic" Simon)
• The "I can't believe this unattractive person is on the stage"onlookers were brought to tears by the beauty of the singing (even a little painful to write the word "unattractive" because I do not believe, in my core, in this sizing-up-of-people type of assessment)

So what could be wrong with these two?  The boy's performance was what silenced the critics. Isn't that cool? Question, what if the song turned out horrible?  Would the critics and crowd be vindicated in their judgment of the young man?  

While I enjoyed the underdog win and critics brought to tears moment (I really enjoyed it!), what really impressed me was the young man's commitment to his friend.  Watch again if you missed it!
Simon told the young man that his friend was going to hurt his chances in the competition.  Even so, the young man chose his friend!  Remember, in the adolescent underground, the rules are different.
Rule of adult world:  Take care of you!
Rule of the adolescent underground: Don't abandon the abandoned!
This "rule" can often hurt a student when they fail to get adult help for a troubled friend.  However, in moments like demonstrated in this video, this rule is one of this generation's greatest assets and something we adults could learn a few lessons from.

QUESTION:  What other lessons can be drawn from this video?

Another Shooting, More Finger Pointing, More Heartbreak, More Frustration…

I have just finished reading the latest headline, “Third Student Dies After Ohio School Shooting” and my heart hurts—I hate reading these types of headlines—it makes me sick.

Here is what will happen and is happening now, we are all asking the question, what made the 17 year old T.J. Lane snap and randomly shoot his peers at school?  All day long, the media has been pointing to bullying, social media, gun control, and parenting as causes for this horrible tragedy.  I am sure each of these may have impacted the young man’s decision to calmly walk through the hall of his school with a gun.  I do not know enough of the situation to weigh in on an opinion at this point—their will be enough finger pointing. 

However, what if we are looking in the wrong direction?  What if, adult culture and our treatment of today’s teenage population are more to blame for such tragedy than we want to admit? 

I have worked with students for over 21 years and have a middle school student of my own.  I have witnessed bad parenting behavior from myself and other adults. I have witnessed really bad mentoring behavior from myself and other adults as well.  In other words, there are no “perfect” adults in a student’s life.  Even so, I believe most adults really want the best for today’s teenage population—I really do believe this.  However, when there is a problem in Teen Land, we adults often blame every influencing factor in our teenager’s life other than ourselves.  As a result, we tend to prepare the road for the student instead of the student for the road.  Furthermore, when we feel like the road is acceptable, adults take their hands off the wheel and expect students to drive themselves through all the hazards of life. It’s not working! (I realize that is a heavy line of statements that probably should be unpacked a bit—I will let them set and marinate a bit—you can weigh in on them if you wish).

I have been reading through Christian Smith’s Lost in Transition book.  It is, admittedly, a look into “the dark side of Emerging Adulthood” (18-23 years old).  As today’s headline story of the Ohio Shooting unfolded, I was drawn to Smith’s introductory comments and his research team’s take on the role adults play in various teenage “problem behaviors.”  To be clear, Smith does not specifically name school shooting or any other teen issue, he is speaking in generalities, yet his words caused me to think—think deeply.  Hold on adults, he brings the heat: 

It’s the Adult World, Stupid

Another common attitude that American adults hold about young people—which we reject, just to be clear—is that whatever problems youth have are entirely their problems, unrelated to the adults around them.  The assumption is that something particular about teenagers or young adults rains problems down on their own heads, problems for which they are entirely responsible, which older adults simply cannot comprehend or explain.  The something may be “raging hormones.” It might be their not yet properly wired brains. Or it could be simple immaturity, rebelliousness, or stupidity. Whatever the cause, the problem is clearly the young people’s fault, this widespread view holds.  The adults involved are of course innocent.

Having studied young Americans for a decade, however, we have clearly seen that, contrary to this well-worn cultural script, most of the problems in the lives of youth have their origins in the larger adult world into which the youth are being socialized….But one way or another, adults and the adult world are almost always complicit in the troubles, suffering and misguided living of youth, if not the direct source of them. The more adults can recognize and admit that fact we think, the sooner we will be able to address some of young people’s problems more constructively (11) (emphasis mine).

I write today because my heart hurts and I want such tragic headlines to go away—this desire motivates me to continue my work with students.  I want adults to do exactly what Smith is suggesting, “to address some of young people’s problems more constructively.”  So, through the entire finger pointing process in this horrible tragedy (an unavoidable process), let’s remember what our mother’s told us, “When you point a finger at someone else, you have four pointing back at you!” And by all means, remember in prayer all those impacted by this painful event.

Question:  (Back to the marinating series of statements) …when there is a problem in Teen Land, we adults often blame every influencing factor in our teenager’s life other than ourselves.  As a result, we tend to prepare the road for the student instead of the student for the road.  Furthermore, when we feel like the road is acceptable, adults take their hands off the wheel and expect students to drive themselves through all the hazards of life. It’s not working!” Do you agree or disagree?  Explain.

"I hear something!": Are adults listening?

For a while now, my son has been saying, usually late at night, "I hear something outside my window!"
My usual response, "There is nothing outside your window--it's just the wind in the bushes."
His comeback, "No dad!  I hear something!"
My comeback (sometimes a little irritable after walking outside "to check things out, in the cold"--I know, dad of the year stuff) "Dude!  There is nothing there--please, go to bed!"

Well...um...there was something there!

We were searching for the basketball tonight and I stumbled across this hole. This is a rather large hole that has been dug under the foundation of my home (yes, it is under my son's window) by a "critter."  By the looks, I am assuming it to be the home of a good ol' Texas Armadillo.  It is certainly going to be fun catching the beast, but that is not my point for writing.  My son was trying to tell me something but I was NOT listening. Sure, the truth was hidden, by the bushes, but he was right and I was not giving his experience much credibility.  

How many times do we as adults fail to listen to what our students are trying to tell us?
For a while, students have been trying to tell the adult world a number of things like...
"I am buckling under the pressure at school!"
"I am hurt by my parent's fighting!"
"I am sick of feeling I am never good enough!"
"I am sick of living out my parent's dream for my life!"
The usual adult response "There is nothing to your feelings--it is normal teenage drama!"
The student comeback, "Hey Adults! I am really hurting here!  Listen! Please!"
With irritation, the adult world responds, "Look at all we are providing for you!  All the activity!  Remember, these are the best year's of your life!"

What if our students are trying to tell us something and adults are not listening? 
Just saying...what if?