Who Wants Them More Part II

The world sees the urgency to relate to the youth.

"If you don't understand and recognize what they are thinking and what they are feeling and then be able to take that in and come up with a really precise message that you are trying to reach these kids with you're going to lose. You are absolutely going to lose." -Rob Stone Teen Marketing Executive.

They have done their homework really nice. BUT WAIT! before you go on with preconceived ideas that "this is just how young people are", lets look at the real behind the scene tactic.

MTV says that this is what the kids want, so this is what they give them; or that they are only reflecting the state of the youth. However check out these comments

"But MTV came along and saw in gangsta rap something that made great television, which was rage and also a violent attitude toward power, which, of course, is a core value and rebellion for young people. It was the most visually and musically expressive form of rebellion available at a time when rock 'n roll, which used to provide that rebellious feeling, had become very big, very 1980s. We all know what that was like.

So gangsta rap was used by MTV to connect to kids at that very rebellious stage, and they've continued in that tradition."

furthermore

"In American culture, rebellion is such a very important core value for teenagers, even if you don't have anything to rebel about. You could be totally set as far as having the television in your room and the phone and the computer and you're like getting laid and you're smoking dope and everything is groovy. But you still need to feel that you're oppressed in some way, because that's part of how we form our individuality in this culture. And so gangsta rap and its variants come in to fill that void and is used for that purpose." Seabrook Interview

So MTV takes one thing that our teens struggle with (rebellion)and markets their products to feed into that.
Teens don't understand their sexuality- so what does Brittany Spears and company say to them "FLAUNT IT EVEN IF YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND IT".

So our kids end up imitating what they see on T.V. not really T.V. mirroring what our kids are doing.

Are these the answers kids are looking for? No! So why do follow in this way? Well who else is taking as much time and spending as much money to understand our teens and get into who they are, and get into their pockets.

It's time we responded with the same sense of urgency if we want to get into the battle and save this generation.

Who Wants Them More?

Who wants the youth more? The world or the church?

Check out these startling quotes from an interview John Seabrook a writer of the New Yorker and some other quotes from "The Merchant of Cool" A report on the creators and marketers of popular culture for teenagers.

MTV says, "We listen to the kids and give them what they want." (John Seabrook interview) ["It is true that MTV has created a relationship with its audience that is more intimate than network relationships. People do watch MTV with a sense that it's their MTV, and that was, of course, the original marketing strategy. "My MTV. I want my MTV." And they've been very successful at creating an intimacy in the relationship of the audience to the programming. "]

MTV along with top marketers in the world call teenagers their "demo" meaning their primary target for advertising.
"...if you get the young person at that age when their minds are still unformed commercially, you can brand them, as it were, and then have their allegiance for the rest of their consuming lifetimes." (John Seabrook interview)
Seems like the strategy to go after young people isn't a big secret after all.

WAKE UP CHURCH!

THE WORLD WANTS TO BRAND OUR KIDS. BRANDING IS PERMENANT.

Who Is Really Raising Our Kids?

Have you ever seen or heard things come out of your children that you know was not placed there by you?

You may be saying "I never wanted my child to grow up to be this way."

This picture should explain what the closest voices to our kids are and who is really having the most influence on them.





1) The average teen will watch nearly four hours of T.V. a day.
2) The average teen will spend 17 hours or more a week on the internet.
3) Male teens average over an hour a day playing video games and girls nearly 45 minutes a day.
4) The Average teens spends 12 or more hours a week listening to music.
5) 33% of 13- to- 17-year-olds reported that their parents or guardians know “very little” or “nothing” about what they do on the Internet.

Check it out: http://medialit.med.sc.edu/mediause.htm and http://www.kidsnewsroom.org/newsissues/072503/index.asp?page=Science2

Now how much time do we spend engaged with our children a week/ a day?. Our message will have a hard time getting through when it pales in comparision to the amount of time our kids are spending hearing the message coming from the Media.

Our influence should help teens interpret the media, instead the media tell ours kids how to interpret what we say...and it's not in our favor.

We need to make a stand to not seek out the convenience of letting T.V., computer, video games, and radio raise our kids so we can do other things, because they will surely be shaped in THEIR image and not ours.

Your partner to reach this generation.

Jean

What it takes to be a hero! Finale.

In the comics, heroes are identifiable by their exterior atributes; big muscles, special suit, and/or fancy gadgets. In the real world special heroic powers are contained in the interior...the heart. In fact heroic acts don't often make loud audibles noises or make a scene that draws in crowds. However for the one(s) that was saved, that one act is eternally imprinted on their hearts and mind.

Who's hero are you? Did you ever think that you could be one for somebody. All it takes is courage. You can make a huge difference in someone's life.

So here is the final part to becoming a Hero.

#3) Overcoming your Kryptonite. Oh yeah, those radiated particles from Superman's home planet that bring him to his knees and could eventually kill him. Can you beieive that?! He is constantly saving the world yet little bits and parts of his past weaken him to next to nothing.

It is that the same way with us. We want to do great but we succomb to words, worries and fears from our past that lead us to believe that we will never mount up to anything.

I like the part in the movie where Superman had to overcome many chunks of kryptonite imbeded in the huge object he was trying to throw out of the earth. If he had quit the world would have been destroyed. Yet Superman pushed through the impact it was having on him to complete the task. Thus he saved the world in spite of it nearly costing him his very life.

It is going to have to be the same way with us. We have to overcome hurtful words that were spoken over us or past, as well as those worries and failures to be able to step out and make great things happen for God in this world. Then we will be a hero.

So let's go it's time to make a decision to be a hero.

Jean

What it takes to be a hero. Part II

Hero (noun): A person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life.

Who wouldn't want to have their name associated with feats of courage or nobility of purpose. God has designed us that way to get us in the battle.

We all have a strong desire to be a hero to save the day. The only difference between a hero snd someone who is not is that a hero moves past just dreaming about it.

This takes us to our second requirement to being a hero.

2) Be sensitive to the needs of others.

The best quote from Superman Returns is stated when superman himself take Lois outerspace and asks her to listen.

Superman: What do you hear
Lois: I don't hear anything
Superman: I hear everything. You wrote that the world doesn't need a savior but everyday I hear people crying for one.

Wow. So the question is what do you hear. Are the concerns of your own life so loud in your ear that you can't hear what concerns others have.

Hero's are sensitive to the needs of others. They can't stand to see them hurt.

Matther 9:36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

We see here that Jesus is moved to action because of his sensitivity to the needs of others.

In order for us to be a hero. We have to train ourselves to hear and see the needs of others and move to action.

What it takes to be a hero.

Yesterday's youth meeting was tremendous. I decided to blog about the message Title. Have you ever dreamed about being a hero. Anytime I see a film like superman I just get a strong desire to save world. I remember jumping off my roof at the age of 12 with bed sheet tied around my neck just thinking for sure that I would fly. Well of course that didn't work.

I learned that it takes more than looking like superhero on the outside to actually be a hero. I will note three things that I feel are vital to being someone that can make a difference in the world.

1) Know where you come from. Origin defines who you are and where you are supposed to be heading. Throughout the movie Superman Returns, you saw moments where superman himself retreated to meditate on words spoken by his father Jor-el. Those words reminded Superman who he was and why he was sent to planet earth.

To be a hero in Christ you must know where came from. You are not random dust. You are God's forethought. Psalm 139:13 "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb." and God has sent us with a mission. Matthew 10:16 "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves."

Have you settled the issue of origin and God's purpose for your life in your own heart. That is the first step to becoming a hero.

Stay tuned for the other two points. And if you like this post a comment.

Answering the Call

Welcome 'brave' partner. I want to thank you for responding to what God is doing. Our teenagers are hurting and lost. I look in theirs eyes and see hurt, pain, confusion, despair, hopelessness, fear, and insecurity. The fighting is most fierce here, and the devil is not playing fair.
We are called to turn our hearts to them and reach out to them and save them from the lies of the enemy that have so many of them turning to rebellion, drugs, fighting, sex, homosexuality & lesbianism, cutting, pornography, gang violence, stealing, cheating, disobedience, drunkenness, tattooing, piercing, witchcraft, lying, rage & anger, anorexia & bulemia, self-hatred, etc., the list goes on. If you want to know how close to home this is, of all the above specifically mentioned habits, there is only one that I have not come across in the past year in dealing with our own Every Nation Tallahassee youth group. Our own (your own) kids are dealing with these tough issues. It is time for us to get in the game.
This vision is not only to reach our own kids but to save thousands of young people from destruction. If your heart is for business or politics or schools or whatever we cannot neglect the ones that will take it over after our time is past. THEY ARE THE FUTURE AND OUR GREATEST INVESTMENT.

What It Will Cost:
Re-prioritizing your schedule to make room. I know some of you are saying "I'm already too busy." That is exactly why I am asking you because you give your best to what you feel is important. I am convinced that God's mission to redeem the hearts of young people is crucial enough that I can ask you to reprioritize to give some of your energy to this work. Our teens (and your teens) are too important to drag in people who are just laying around, doing nothing to work with them.

How do I join?
I'm glad you asked. I have been fasting and praying for over a month asking God to reveal his plan, strategy, and key leaders. He has shown me how my role will change to facilitate the carrying out of this vision. He has also laid many of you 'busy' people on my heart as leaders in areas crucial to success. I want to talk to you more about it. Simply comment to this blog, 'I want to know more' and I will respond to you with a call. And continue to pray as God properly places people for this task.

Thank you very much and God Bless you

Jean