A good friend follows God's call

Kenny Carter, the student ministries worship leader is heading off to God's next call on his life. As he put it to the students...

"He will be like Lance (Contemporary Worship Director at Resurrection) for another local church here in Overland Park, except with more hair"

Kenny shared more than that of course, but it sure lightened up the announcement that he would be leaving to pursue God's next call over his life. Kenny has had a great impact here at rezlife over the last four years in his role as the worship leader. He has developed over 5 bands, mentored dozens of students, and instilled confidence in young people to live a life in Jesus Christ. For that I thank him!!

We will be searching the nation for the next worship leader who will follow in Kenny' footsteps. In the meantime, we are inviting guest worship leaders in to "guest lead" with our worship settings. If you know of anyone who might be interested, have them send us a resume to

tami.casey@cor.org

most pressing issues in ministry to students?

Every year in October over 2000 Pastors and church ministry leaders attend The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection's Leadership Institute. This is a powerful conference with many workshops, fellowship, inspiring worship, and powerful plenary speakers. This year will, of course, feature Adam Hamilton, Founding and Senior Pastor of Resurrection. We will also be welcoming Jim Wallis, President of Sojourner's magazine in Washington DC, and author of "God's Politics", and "The Great Awakening". Jim will also be preaching inside the weekend services at Resurrection.

As a part of LI 08, we also offer pre-institute workshops. These are four-hour intensive workshops designed to really dig into certain topics. I would love your feedback and suggestions for the Student Ministries forum this fall. In 07 we picked four pressing issues in youth ministry today:

• Bridging into other ministries

• Leadership Development

• Involving Parents in Ministry

• Hurting Kids

Over the course of four hours we facilitated discussion focusing in these areas including; best practices, ideas from your church, and insights from veteran youth worker's. We had over 70 youth minister's in attendance. It was a great time of interaction, fellowship, and idea-sharing.

Please share with me here, on facebook, or by e-mail at tami.casey@cor.org if you have issue ideas for us to take on. Any feedback is much appreciated!

I know where I'll be on May 22nd!

Adam speaks of the breath of God

I am writing this blog from the Starbucks at Winter Park mountain, Colorado. Above is the graphic Jason Watson created for this weekend's high school winter retreat For Pastor Adam's teachings each night. Check out more of Jason's art at his flickr account

I took the video below to kick off Adam's first teaching message with the students. It was focusing on the breath that comes from God through creation and the formation of human beings. Adam shared some great insight as to the difference between when God "made" the animals, plants, etc., but "formed" man, as a potter does clay. He reminded students that God created us for three reasons:

1-to give His love away
2-to have each of us reciprocate love to God
3-to accomplish His work here on earth

It was a great first night, and NO hospital visits yet-I hope I didn't write to soon!! LOL

more discussion on teenagers and sex

Here is an excerpt from Sister Mary Rose McGeady on the important topic of teens and sexual risks. She reminds us how important the faith community is in shaping distinct moral values in regards to sexual activity. My hope is each parent has open discussions on this issue with their student. Parents, please do not be afraid to discuss your hopes and your guidance for your son or daughter!

Research is beginning to show what many of us have long known from working with teens - that religious faith and a strong moral sense play vital roles in protecting teenage boys and girls from too-early sexual activity and teen pregnancy. For example, according to the 2001 National Survey of Family Growth, 48 percent of 15- to 19-year-old girls said that they were virgins, and nearly one-half of these young women said that the main reason they had abstained from sex was that it was against their religion or morals. Clearly, the role of faith in preventing teen pregnancy is a vital and important one. By teaching and preaching religious values, faith communities can help shape the character of our children and give them answers to their most heartfelt questions.

To support faith communities in this regard, the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy's Task Force on Religion and Public Values has compiled Nine Tips to Help Faith Leaders and Their Communities Address Teen Pregnancy, which summarizes a wealth of experience and advice from faith leaders around the country. The members of the Task Force - religious and secular leaders representing a broad ideological spectrum and a range of faith traditions - hope these tips encourage religious leaders of all faiths and denominations to take on issue of teen pregnancy in the context of their religious beliefs.

Teen pregnancy and birth rates in the United States have begun to decline, although it remains true that our nation still has the highest rates in the industrialized world by far - with nearly one million teen pregnancies every year. Communities of faith know that teen pregnancy is a complicated problem. They also know that their work with young people must compete with messages from a wider culture often at odds with the ethics and morality of their religious traditions and beliefs. That's why it's so important for faith communities to get kids when they're young - and to stay with them through their teen years. As teenagers yearn for spiritual guidance, faith communities are uniquely situated to minister to this need, and faith communities quite properly place questions about sex firmly within the context of religious values and moral traditions.

Sister Mary Rose McGeady
President and Chief Executive Officer, Covenant House International
Member, National Campaign Task Force on Religion and Public Values

The Nine Tips

1. Address the need teens have for spiritual fulfillment and help them find answers to the many challenging problems they face. It is during the teenage years that many young people first struggle with the enduring questions of human existence, and the intensity and urgency of these questions can be very powerful to them. Many teens hunger for a framework of values and faith that can help them make moral decisions and manage the everyday problems of living that can be so stressful in these transition years. They also want help in seeing beyond the present moment. Because faith communities are uniquely able to provide the spiritual guidance that many teenagers crave, they should embrace this responsibility with energy and commitment.
   
   
2. Encourage parents to talk with their children about sex and morality within the context of your faith tradition. Many parents are embarrassed and uncomfortable talking with their children about sex. This is not unusual, but it is unfortunate since parents are children's first and best teachers about values and moral expectations. A faith community is an ideal place for parents and children to learn how to talk with each other about these important topics. Consider sponsoring workshops for parents about how to talk with their children about sensitive subjects, such as human sexuality, according to the children's age and maturity and within the context of your faith tradition. And help your parents set proper limits for their children's behavior.
   
   
3. Enlist adults in your faith community to help young people. Teenagers develop character and personal values through interacting with respected and empathetic adults. Sometimes faith leaders themselves are available to work directly with teenagers, but often they carry so many responsibilities that they need help from others. If this is the case, ask highly trusted and knowledgeable adults in your faith community to assist in the important work with teenagers. Whether the adults create an organized mentoring program or something more informal, be sure they understand teenagers and can talk about values and relationships within the context of your faith's principles.
   
   
4. Make sure the children and teenagers in your faith community understand what your faith tradition says about sex, love, and marriage in general and teen pregnancy, in particular. Use clear and unambiguous language. Young people need to know and understand where your faith tradition stands on matters of sexuality. Faith traditions can have a strong impact on helping teens avoid too-early sexual activity and pregnancy, but messages need to be clear, direct, and precise. Encourage open, honest, and frank discussions about the challenges — and choices — that young people face in their daily lives. Discussions about sex, love, and marriage within the context of religious faith should begin when children are young, rather than waiting until they're teens.
   
   
5. Learn about contemporary youth culture — what your young people are reading, listening to, watching, and doing. Understanding the world of teens makes communicating with and caring for them easier. The influence of the entertainment media, in particular, on youth culture is extraordinary. Know the music that young people enjoy. Watch the television shows they watch so you'll know which characters they may be trying to emulate. Take a look at the magazines they are reading. With such information in hand, you can better explore with teens how the cultural messages they receive agree with or differ from what is expected of them as members of your faith community.
   
   
6. Organize supervised group activities for teenagers in your faith community. Teenagers need things to say "yes" to, especially when we are asking them to say "no" to too-early sexual activity and pregnancy. Encourage the parents and other adults in your faith community to organize and lead group activities with teens. All the activities that you sponsor for young people — from prayer circles to field trips — are excellent opportunities for fostering fellowship and supportive friendships. By creating a positive and spiritually-oriented peer culture, you can help teens make the right decisions about sex.
   
   
7. Reach out to teenagers who are not involved in any faith community. Though young people seek answers to spiritual questions, some are reluctant to find them in institutions of organized religion. And it is often the teens who are outside of faith communities and unattached to any positive group who are particularly likely to get in trouble. One dynamic youth minister in California reached out to neighborhood teens by encouraging them to structure their own youth program. He also moved his youth activities into a storefront center just a half-block from the church. A youth group of thirty teens that once met in the church basement now numbers in the hundreds.
   
   
8. Celebrate achievement and excellence. By specifically supporting excellence and achievement of young people, faith communities can help to create an environment for young people that reduces the risk of early sexual activity and teen pregnancy. For example, research has shown that early school failure and dropping out of school are closely associated with becoming a teen parent. By encouraging educational achievement, faith communities may be able to help persuade teenagers to stay in school. Organize tutoring, homework assistance, and opportunities for community service. Encourage or offer scholarships for college and vocational training.
   
   Celebrate spiritual and non-academic achievement as well, like volunteer work or excellence in the arts. Consider recognition ceremonies during regular worship services or designate specific days each year to honor teenagers for their accomplishments in a wide range of areas. Give the teenagers in your faith community a place to shine no matter what their abilities or interests.
   
   
9. Reach out to other faith communities, neighborhood organizations, and institutions that work with young people. You don't have to go it alone. Working together, faith leaders can make a real difference in preventing teen pregnancy. Consider coordinating with fellow leaders to preach on the topic of teen pregnancy the same week. Or develop a particular prayer for all young people facing choices about sex and relationships. Look to clergy associations, ecumenical councils, and other local faith networks for support and collegiality in addressing this and other issues important to young people. And remember that other public and private institutions can be valuable partners in helping young people in your faith community — including schools, public health departments, YMCAs and YWCAs, Boys and Girls Clubs, libraries, and recreation centers.

But everyone has one

If you're tired of hearing your kids beg and nag about what they want to buy-or what they want you to buy-you'll appreciate Nathan Dungan's comments in Prodigal Sons & Material Girls: How Not to Be Your Child's ATM.

In today's possession-crazed society, the average child has unrealistic expectations about money-and expensive taste, writes Dungan. Convinced that American kids lack a sense of financial responsibility and that even preschoolers are being led astray by what he calls a "three-headed monster" of consumer products companies, media conglomerates and advertising agencies, he asks parents to compare the marketing that is targeting children today with what the parents experienced at the same age.

Besides identifying how he believes marketing is exploiting kids and distorting the difference between needs and wants, Dungan recommends that you teach your kids to analyze marketing messages. This can be a game: for example, when you're watching a 30-minute television program, count the product placements (the brand-name items being used by actors), logos, promotional messages superimposed on the screen and advertising with the ending credit lines. For older kids, try "Name That Ploy:" analyze each billboard, magazine ad or broadcast commercial for messages such as:

• The "cool" factor. If you buy this, you too will be popular, have fun and look good.
• Bandwagon. Everyone who's anyone uses this product. If you don't buy it, you might as well stamp "uncool" on yourself.
• Celebrity testimonial. I'm a superstar and I love this, so you will, too.
• Emotion. Buy this product and you'll feel happy (or confident or secure or loved).
• Expert testimonial. I'm the expert and I'm telling you, this is what you need.

Other techniques to alert your kids to: repetition (if you see the name or hear the message enough times, you'll eventually buy) and slogans (a catchy phrase is memorable).

However, Dungan also asks parents if they are modeling overspending and undersaving with such questions as:

• Have you ever lived beyond your means to try to achieve higher status with your peers?
• If you reviewed your savings history with your grandparents, what would they say?
• Do you justify spending more time at work because it allows you to spend more?
• Are you willing to change your own consumer habits?

About the author: For more information about what Dungan calls the manipulation of kids, and what he advises parents to do, see a PBS site called "Don't Buy It," a well-designed web site with components such as "Commercial Questions" at pbskids.org. The "Food Ad Tricks" section will delight the kid who's always looking for disgusting stories.

Girls need sports too!

In keeping with insight into the well-being and growth of young women I found the info below-pretty good I think!

Have you ever wondered why girls drop out of sports by the truckload once they reach high school? The drop-out rate is seven times greater than that of boys.

Take Your Daughter to a Sports Event
If it's guys playing, mention that girls can play the same game and ask if she would like to go see a game. Then, follow through by taking her to a game.

Monkey See and Monkey Do
Play around as much as possible with your daughter in various sport settings. Go to the pool, kick balls, hit balls, go hiking, skiing, running, biking and/or shoot hoops for fun.

In the Beginning, Do Not Nag About Any Weight Issues
When trying to get her up and moving, talk about your own experience with sports. Set your goal on showing her how much fun sports can be and things you used to do that left you feeling good about yourself.

The Explanation of Health Benefits Can Come Later
Eventually, she will feel and look better than ever. When this happens, you will see a boost in her self-esteem and in her energy level.

Introduce Healthy Eating Habits as Early as Possible
Regardless of what your daughter is involved in now, always model good eating habits. Mention, but do not nag, how certain foods help various parts of the body and how they make us feel.

Always Be Your Child's Number-One Fan
Regardless of her physical performance, cheer her on. Think of the all-around health benefits as well as emotional balance she is gaining.

Whatever you do, do not overschedule your kids and do not force them to play a sport if they do not want to. There is a big difference in encouraging and "forcing."

Jodie Lynn is an award-winning internationally syndicated family/health columnist and radio personality. Parent to Parent is now going into its tenth year and appears in newspapers, magazines, newsletters and throughout the Internet. She is a regular contributor to many sites including eDiets.com and is the Mom to Mom Expert for BabyCenter.com and has a regular family segment on two radio programs, one of which is syndicated to over 20 stations. She has written two books and contributed to two others, one of which was on Oprah and has appeared on NBC in a three month parenting segment. Her latest best-selling parenting/family book is Mommy CEO, revised edition. Preorder Lynn's new book, "Mom CEO: Avoiding the Distressed Housewife Syndrome and Winning at Motherhood," online or from any bookstore.

About ModernMom.com: Modern Mom ( www.modernmom.com) features smart and practical advice on topics such as parenting, finances, career, health, wellness, beauty, entertainment and more. Read more about Family & Parenting at http://www.modernmom.com/category/Family

Clapham Sect: Phase II

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CSP2 is an abolitionist group formed by Sally Rymer, a 15-year old student who attends Lee's Summit United Methodist Church. She has a passion to see slavery abolished throughout the world, where over 27 million people still languish under the yoke of slavery. You can get more information and show your support at the following sites: CSP2's website CSP2's Ning page CSP2's Facebook cause Also check out Amazingchange.com

Formats available: Flash Video (.flv)

Tags: slavery, abolition, justice, oppression, rezlife, rezlifekc

Surviving the Storm

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This is a summation of a sermon series I taught in September of 2007. This series was developed through our student-led worship design team in response to a young man in our community who took his own life.

A powerful and honest video testimony from Hannah, a rezlife student leader, impacted our community in a great way. I personally believe that God used her voice in this confusing and frustrating time for our students.

We offer the acronym HEAL as a tool for how to respond to tragedy

He (Jesus) is Here
Expose your Emotion
Advice from Above
Lean-in and Learn

Formats available: Flash Video (.flv)

Tags: storm, pain, hope, despair, loss, faith, god, jesus, help, prayer, rezlife, rezlifekc

crisis in teenage girls

My hope is that the below article will help shed some light on the very real behavioral risks for teenage girls. Parents ask me all the time about teenage behavior and temptations. Sometimes I find we are blind to the pressures that teenage girls are dealing with. These statistics may hurt a bit, but they are very real.

It scares me to think about these statistics now that I have a daughter, but I want to know them and prepare her to the best of my ability to live differently than the world. I want my daughter to love Jesus and have the strength to stand up to such pressures!

In this article read how girls entering puberty often face a "crisis in confidence" which makes them vulnerable to risky behavior, and these bad choices can have devastating lifelong consequences.

The 13 Crises
What struggles do teen girls face today? Echevarria discusses "13 Crises," which include having sex, getting pregnant, drinking, smoking, developing eating disorders and contemplating suicide. Echevarria predicts that the vast majority of girls will confront at least one of these before she turns 18. "If parents think their girls won't be faced with one of these crises, they're dreaming," she says. "And because these problems are also things girls don't want to share with parents, a mentor can mean the difference between life and death."

Things girls are more likely to tell a mentor -- but not a parent:

1. "I had sex last night." 53.1% of all high school students have had sexual intercourse at some point; 14.5% have had sex with four or more partners.
2. "I had unprotected sex." Nearly half of currently sexually active high school students did not report using condoms during their last sexual intercourse.
3. "I'm pregnant." 25% of all first births in this country are to teen mothers aged 15-19 years old.
4. "I've been smoking for awhile." Smoking among teenage girls is rising. If a girl begins to smoke, the habit usually begins between the ages of 10 and 16.
5. "I got drunk last night." The percentage of eighth graders reporting daily use of alcohol rose by nearly half between 1995 and 1996. Nearly a third of high school seniors reported having been drunk in the past month.
6. "I want to kill myself." 29% of adolescent girls reported having thoughts of suicide. From 1980 to 1992, the rate of suicide among young white females increased 233 per cent.
7. "I throw up after each meal." Eating disorders are a particularly pronounced risk for girls, and they're likely to be connected in complex ways to a girl's relationship to her parents.
8. "My mom doesn't care about me." Nearly half of girls surveyed did not name their mother as the person to whom they would turn for emotional support.
9. "I hate myself." Nearly one in every four girls surveyed exhibited depressive symptoms; one in ten showed "severe" depressive symptoms. Girls scored notably worse in this area than boys did.
"I want the pill." The leading reason adolescents gave for not getting needed medical care or birth control consultation was reluctance to tell parents about a problem or situation.
10. "He hit me." One study found "disturbingly high incidence of violence," with 18% of girls in grades 5 through 12 reporting some form of physical or sexual abuse.
11. "An (older male friend or relative) keeps coming on to me/sending me love notes." Most abuse occurs at home, occurs more than once, and occurs as a result of the actions of a family member or friend of the family. Girls may have serious reactions of shame, guilt and self-hatred following these episodes.
12. "This guy made me do something I didn't want to do." Nearly one in ten older girls answered "yes" when asked whether "a boyfriend or a date has ever forced sex against your will."

About this article: Sources quoted: Child Trends, Inc., Study, 1994; Youth Risk Behavior survey, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 1995; Commonwealth Fun survey of 5th through 12th graders, 1997; National Institute on Drug Abuse reports; Carnegie Council on Adolescents report.

great off-the-cuff interview of Rick Warren

great link from the appian way blog, our IT team here at Resurrection. It is a video clip interview with Rick Warren (author of purpose-driven life, Saddleback Church Senior Pastor) at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

He is interviewed by Robert Scoble (author of Naked Conversations, uber tech blogger).

It is well worth the ten minute time investment to watch.