Y Culture Talk

Authenticity

2011-04-15T08:30:00.000-07:00

Young people long for authenticity. They express it in the music they listen to, the movies they watch and the clothes they wear. Culture as a whole, often takes these expressions born of freedom and creates their own inauthentic ‘group’ look with them; thus, defying the young person’s attempt to be an individual and be authentic. It doesn’t change the desire and longing to search for authenticity, it just perverts it (Heike).

Young people look for authenticity in other people. Particularly in their role models. Are they hypocrites? Do their actions follow their words? Can a person ever be excused for behaving differently to how they speak and believe? Is the individual fake? Recently, Britney Spears has been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. Yahoo music news columnist Ben Gilbert writes, “Some fans say the star's been replaced by a male body double…” The source of this rumor is Britney’s new video “Till the world ends.” The uproar is because people obviously expect better. They expect Britney to dance, sing and act in her own videos. Who doesn't!

Why bring this up? In a media saturated world where role models are as much a creation of the Simon Cowell’s of this world, as they are the embodiment of persons’ hopes and dreams, young people have become jaded by the inauthentic. Susan Boyle on “The View” ) received both support and outrage from fans when she stopped her song “Holy Night”, half way through a live performance (Shepherd). The outrage came from fans, who felt cheated, the support from those who breathed a sigh of relief that Susan Boyle really sang the song!

What does this have to do with you youth work? Young people see enough of others who lack authenticity. They don’t want to see it in their youth worker. I think that youth leaders sometimes put themselves on pedestals. I know I certainly have in the past. I don’t mean that we think we’re perfect or better than others, but we feel a pressure to present a more perfect image of ourselves than is actual reality. We may not change our clothes to present a false identity, but we espouse Biblical and cultural truths without talking through our own personal struggles with these truths.

It is one thing to know that God hates lies; it’s another to explain how we may have stumbled in this area recently. It is quite another thing entirely to take a young person on a physical journey with you so that they are standing right next to you when the chance to lie arises. What will you do? How will you act? You talk about using your money to glorify God, how do you spend it? Why do you spend it that way? Is loving others something you’re paid to talk about or do you really love your wife and kids? When you go to the mall or Best Buy what do you browse through? There will always be some doubt about you in the mind of a young person, until they have seen your life through your eyes; warts, failings and all.

Works Cited

Jenß, Heike. "Dressed in History: Retro Styles and the Construction of Authenticity in Youth Culture."Fashion Theory: The Journal of Dress, Body & Culture 8.4 (2004): 387-403. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 15 Apr. 2011.

Gilbert, Ben. “How New tunes, this weeks hottest tracks” Is Britney a Man. 8 Apr. 2011. Web.

Shepherd, Sherri, “Susan Boyle 'View' performance of 'O Holy Night' cut short when singer chokes mid-song” New York Times. 30 Nov. 2010. Print.

Pace of Life

2010-04-06T06:04:00.001-07:00

"There is a time for everything..." So says the writer of Ecclesiastes.

Why is it then that so many people today say a variation of, "I don't have time for this." We have successfully created some of the most busy lives in history. Yes we accomplish so much more, we can look at our achievements and think: what a great society we live in. Yet, we so often miss the point, or so I feel.

When we make ourselves so busy that we suddenly lack the time to build meaningful relationships, or our business takes us outside of community, or we even lack the time to listen each morning for God's simple, "I love you." Then what we have really done is filled the time we do have with meaningless clutter. Which is perhaps what the writer of Ecclesiastes had in mind when he also wrote, "Meaningless, meaningless, everything is meaningless."

I have a simple question today: How meaningless is your life? What has made it so?

Every Page needs a Schmidt

2009-11-03T07:30:00.000-08:00

Sergey Brin and Larry Page. You may not recognize the names but you will definitely recognize their company. Google.com . Yet arguably, Google would not be what it is today without another man, named Schmidt. Schmidt became the CEO for Google when it started out. Why? Page and Brin had the youthful enthusiasm and energy to help drive it forward, Schmidt had the wisdom and acumen of an accomplished business man from Silicon valley. In many ways Schmidt became their mentor.

In youth ministry we often think of mentoring as a time where we sit down with one of our students and input into them. We ask them how they're doing, or we enter their world and sit down with them at lunch, or we help them discover how to study the Bible. All good things, but not the method that helped Schmidt, help Google.

I'm sure Schmidt had times where he sat down with Sergey and Larry and gave them input and advice. In the book "Google Speaks" he refers to the many arguments they used to have. I am also equally sure that the true depth of wisdom in their relationship was the fact that Schmidt didn't just enter Page and Brin's life, he let them enter his. Brin and Page were considered genius' with amazing ideas, but Schmidt had worked and earned a living in Silicon valley and Google would rise or fall on Silicon Valley. They had to learn from Schmidt.

In our own mentoring the easy thing to do is do nothing at all. The good thing to do is to step into our students worlds. Go eat lunch with them at school, watch them play base ball etc. The great thing to do is to let them enter our world. Take them with you when you go shopping. Let them see how you make your life changing decisions. Mentoring is more than just telling, it's showing, and being.

Jesus took his disciples everywhere with him. They saw how he ate, how he spoke to women, children, and religious leaders. They saw how he prayed, how he worked out, where he spent his money. Jesus was constantly being with them. It cost him. He was rarely alone; he had to rise early in the morning and go to a lonely place to pray. It was worth it. Those disciples sparked off a movement that 'turned the world upside down.'

So I have a few questions:

Do you mentor anyone?
How are you at being with them?
If you have been mentored by someone - what made the biggest difference? How were they at being with you?

Michael

Dnow09 fall_retreat

2009-10-26T14:08:00.000-07:00

~Video footage can be found on Facebook at the Pais Pantego group~

I just returned from our student ministry event dnow09! It was all about discovering more of our story. As people we tend to let our story become very self focussed. I firmly believe each student has an absolutely incredible story to tell, God created each person so uniquely that it's impossible not to have a story that is amazing. How amazing, is in part, up to us. Yet we often make our story so focussed on our self that the incredibleness of it all becomes mundane. Mundane because we take out the creator. Without a creator we lack the uniqueness of his creativity. We lack the hugeness of his story, the tapestry that weaves us all together.

Our story is big because He is big. Our story matters because He makes it matter. It's powerful because it has the creators handwriting all over it. Many of our students realized that this weekend, yet how many will remember in one week?

My hope is that they all will. My belief is that many will, but some won't. Jesus tells the parable of the soil. Some words land on good soil. People who get it and stick with it and let it change them. Then there are those who receive the word, it changes them for a time, but it's just surface change, the pressures of school or family or just peer pressure, creep in and steal the truth from them. Finally there are those that don't even receive the word, because they weren't listening, their focus was not on the message or the challenge and opportunity. Their focus from the beginning was on other people.

I pray that those who attended make their focus the creator, let him write the next part of their story and have an amazing time connecting their story to others so that these others can also be connected to God's.

Mike

#Saveballoonboy

2009-10-15T13:36:00.000-07:00

I think this story emphasizes the true strengths, and weaknesses of twitter.

My friend twittered about a kid stuck in a flying saucer type balloon. I was intrigued, I logged on to twitter and found everyone was raving about this boy. Within a minute I had the general idea of the story. One minute later I found it on yahoo and read through a more detailed article. Essentially a 6 year old had climbed into a balloon at the back of his house and it had gone up into the air and, (At the time of this blog) no one knows where it is.

Back to twitter: whole communities of people are currently searching the above # and #balloonboy and #breakingnews in an effort to find out what has happened, as well as sending the family their good thoughts.

Strength: Instant news, instant communication, instant information.

Weakness: How to validate? Lack of depth.

Neutral: National trend/craze/frenzy instantly.

Twitter #Saveballoonboy and #balloonboy to see what I mean:)

Mike

I wonder why the U.K goverment missed its target!

2009-02-26T06:24:00.000-08:00

I read this exert in an article today:

"Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed there were 7.8 conceptions per 1,000 girls aged under 16 in 2006, rising to 8.3 per 1,000 girls in 2007. The actual number of pregnancies in girls aged under 16 increased from 7,826 in 2006 to 8,196 in 2007. Nearly three-quarters of these pregnancies were in 15-year-old girls. And the overall pregnancy rate among under-18s in England and Wales has risen for the first time since 2002. The under-18 conception rate increased from 40.9 per 1,000 women in 2006 to 41.9 in 2007. The Government has pledged to halve teenage pregnancy rates among girls under 18 by half by next year but is widely expected to miss that target."

What's changed in the last few years? Well the government decided to teach oral sex as a safe alternative to full sexual intercourse, then they added teaching about gay sex, and then they claim that the reason pregnancies have increased is because of a lack of teaching on contraceptive use. I don't know about your own experience but I know that when I graduated high school every student in my class had been taught how to use a condom - surely it's impossible to claim they don't know how?

I wonder if the actual reason for the increase in teenage pregnancy is the increase in teaching about sex in all it's various forms? Could this be the case? Maybe instead of teaching about the freedom of sex we should talk about the responsibilities and consequences, of sex instead?

Michael

Social Networking Sites

2008-12-07T17:54:00.000-08:00

I have a few minutes to spare and so I thought I might write something about Social Networking Sites. Recently I was introduced to 'Twitter.' I thought it sounded a little weird when I first signed up for it but my friend Tiffani Barnes insisted it was the new up and coming site and that it would help the both of us keep in touch. Being what I call a "Blue" - meaning I love connecting with people and often re-charge myself by being connected with friends - I signed up. I am also involved with Facebook. My Myspace is out of date.

For those who don't know about Twitter:: Twitter lets you leave update messages of up to 140 characters - just like a text message. You can send them online, via an instant message device or by twitters very own "tweet deck." Once I sign up others can choose to 'follow me'. If they choose to do this they will then receive an update every time I leave a message. Now that I am 'Following" Tiffani, if Tiff leaves a message, I receive it. What I really like about it is that if Tiffani travels back to Texas and puts it on Twitter I am instantly aware that she will be in Texas in the next few days and can arrange a visit from that point on!

Since signing up for Twitter I've managed to find out that several of my favourite political radio hosts are also a part of it. It seems that Barack Obama used Twitter and Facebook as a means to pass his campaign message quickly around the youth who supported him. I know for Pais we use Facebook to send out messages to all current, past, and future apprentices. It also allows us to advertise and connect with youth. One would think that it has to be a good thing! Right?

My Fiancee (Soon to be wife) Heather, just concluded a study on cell phones and their use in social interaction. Heather concluded that often those who frequently text people still felt a distinct loss of social connection. Now the study was specifically about texting, but I wonder if it were broadened to include Social Net Working sites if it would offer the same results. That those who frequently used Social Net Working as a means to connect, were in fact, disconnected.

One would think the technology simply made connection easier.

I wonder if it's to do with how social networking sites are used. I put forward that the way older people and younger people use these sites and these technologies differ. I just received a "Twitter" from someone wondering why many people didn't have biographies on their "Twitter" profile. They wanted these people to "stand" for something - an insight into the man's mind. The reason I could find so many of my favourite political radio hosts on "Twitter" is because they want to use it for political means. Not a bad idea - but definitely not the main idea behind why most young people use it!

Youth and young adults use such sites to 'chat' and 'splurge'. They blog to let out their emtions and clarify their thoughts. They "Tweet"( Yes it sounds wierd) because it's "the thing to do" or because they want everyone to know about them. They Facebook for both of these reasons. Their agenda is to simply "Let people know about them." Many others tend to have the agenda of "Getting out the word about such and such." The two definitely overlap at times but they're very different.

Since those who want to use it for political ends don't use it just to inform about themselves they pour more effort into their 'real life' relationships, whether that be family, work or friends. Perhaps the reason so many young people feel so disconnected is because their social energy is poured into 'internet connections' which therefore leaves them wanting in the face to face arena.

And such are the ponderings of Me:)

Michael

Y Culture || The New Definition

2008-12-05T19:38:00.001-08:00

I've been doing alot of thinking recently. I started this blog quite a long time ago but I really haven't done anything with it. Why?
Time is one excuse - and perhaps legitimately but I think I made it to narrow. From now on Y culture will stand for talk about all of our culture, whether it affects the young or old. No topic will be off limits. And I will definitely try and make it a more regular blog - interesting, informed and not just opinionated.

Regards,

Michael

Sex Talk

2008-02-07T14:28:00.001-08:00

I was thinking about sex the other day. The fact that it is such a big deal today and sold in a way that is completely untrue. Our young people belive the following things. (Please note that they are often kind of contradictory to each other.)

1) Sex is to be experimented with
2) You can have no strings attached sex when ever you want
3) Sex is something special (I believe most young people still think that to begin with)
4) Sex is cheap to the extent that over 90% of 16 - 18 year olds have seen some kind of on line porn - even if accidentially.
5) If you've not had sex by the time you're 18 you're strange - if you've not had sex by the time you're 21 you're a lier.
6) Sex sells.

On Pais we talk about how the devil has switched the labels of what is valued and what is invaluable. Sex is something that doesn't necessarily have it's label switched - so much as it has many labels attached to it. Our society (In the West) officially still looks down on pornography and for the most part is against prostitution and yet we have an active sex trade in Los Angeles where children as young as 14 are sold into prostitution, in our schools we promote younger and younger sex education that encourages oral sex as a kind of 'safe sex' methodology, and students with standards are ostracised.

I think about the American Idol episode where because one would be rock star stated he had not kissed someone and was saving himself for marriage the judges told him to go away, laughed, and said "come back when you've kissed a few girls." Really - have we sunk so low?

Yet this is the reality facing our teen agers. American Idol is by far the number one program on t.v. and it laughs at someone who has morals and standards...sex is perhaps a sign of the ever increasing mixed message our teenagers are sent on a daily basis.

It fascinates me that our society can simultaneously promote it as special and cheap. If you disagree with me on the point that society thinks it's special and significant then think about this:
--Example--
If someone finds out their partner has had sex with someone else while dating them they are horrified...why if it's so cheap? It's still seen as something that should be exclusive to a relationship IF you are in a relationship. Some part of the human psyche still belives this. Some part of the media does - they make a big enough deal about relationship cheaters right?

And yet they disregard it on the other hand. I like Rob Bell's comment that this is really about that. Sex is really about connectivity and relationship. The fact that it's so cheap really shows that we are a disconnected people with disconnected teenagers looking for a way to connect.

So as parents and teenagers I think we should ask our selves the question - what message are we sending out there? Are we truly valuing the relationships we are in? Are we truly showing the youth of today that the reason sex is valuable is because people are valuable, it's dangerous to break relationships and have no commitment - that's why sex is dangerous - but how valuable and beautiful it is in the context of a committed, connected relationship!

I sit back and I wonder when we will really start to do something about pornography - about the millions addicted to it. I wonder when we'll get serious about ending prostitution and the half naked commercials on t.v. How many of you actually write in and complain about those commercials? Yet if it had an F word in something other wise innocent would you? We've become desensitised in a society saturated by it. It time we actually cared enough to stand up and fight for a connected VALUABLE future full of connected VALUABLE people.

Michael

Slave Trade

2007-12-19T21:50:00.000-08:00

I was reminded today of perhaps, the two great moments of my nations History. Most argue Britain’s greatest moment was standing head to head against Nazi Germany when the rest of the world cowered in its apathy or surrender. Indeed this was great. Yet, greater still, I might put forth, was the moment when one man, William Willberforce by name, galvanized a nation under the belief that “all men are created equal.” Thus, abolishing the slave trade throughout the British Empire and setting into motion a force that would bring freedom to millions of slaves throughout the world.

Why is it we remember wars and their victories but have not one day set aside to celebrate the beginnings of freedom for so many. Surely that day was, and still is, a day worth remembering and honoring from year to year and generation to generation?

I also ask myself the question: "How many today realise that this trade still exists in much of the world, all be it illegally?"

What will be the legacy my generation leaves behind?

August Rush

2007-12-09T17:02:00.000-08:00

"Listen to God. Find his heart beat." Those were the words spoken to me several months ago by a dear friend.

His voice is everywhere because his truth is everywhere. Where ever we turn we can see it if we only have eyes to see and ears to hear and a heart that we still so it can hear and beat in rhythm with his own.

The problem this generation of young people face is no different to the last generation or the one before. Read the writings of the greats pastors and evangelists of the last three hundred years. All indicate a falling away, a dis respect, an apathy; the only difference is that over the years the seeds produce more fruit; the dark becomes darker, the light becomes lighter. Perhaps the greatest challenge facing any generation is the challenge to hear God's heart beat. The same challenge I face very day, the same challenge we face every day.

I just watched the movie "August Rush" and I loved it and it challenged me. It convicted me. Hopefully it changed me; because God spoke through it. The boy could hear the music where ever he went and he wanted to play the music to as large an audience as possible. So that his parents might heart.

Firstly: I want to hear the music - and no where is it heard more profoundly than at Christmas. As I left the movie I turned to my girl friend and said "That was a great Christmas movie" My girl friends response:: "It wasn't a Christmas movie."
I smiled, "It was about family and love; isn't that what Christmas' is about?"

I hear you saying; "What about Jesus?"

But isn't that the point?

Christmas is where it all began happening. God finally, personally stepped into our world and showed us a better way. Long before he died he showed us what it meant to live life to the full. Long before he died he showed us how to hear the music, what the music looked like when played. The blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk. The prostitutes are restored, the Temple is made pure, the lepers walk without crying 'unclean', the out casts belong and the hopeless have hope. Jesus played the music better than anyone, he lived the music. He invited us, as family into his musical piece of genius. Without Christmas there would have been no example of this hope, this music.

That is what our students face; a need to know there's hope, a need to know their pain can be healed and their hurting is right. A need to know there is a reason to be sold out to Christ. A need to know their guilt can be taken away. Wiped away, washed away, separated for ever. I'm taking a chapel on Wednesday and I've been struggling to find the right words to say. I didn't' want to give just another Christmas story.

"For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given." Isaiah 9:6

These words are loaded with history and meaning. These words are only the beginning. Remember where we came from and now what we can be. When Jesus was born he showed us how to play, his whole life was spent playing the perfect melody. He saw music that had been broken and his own collided with it, drew it into his own symphony and made it beautiful. He is still at work today, only his symphony is louder every day, as broken sounds are made melodious and beautiful with each word and touch of his heart.

Christmas is only the beginning, his life showed a way, his cross opened the way and his Holy Spirit makes a way.

Michael

Y Culture

2007-12-06T09:50:00.000-08:00

Y Culture stands for Youth culture and the question of why? Why talk about it? Why is it an issue? Why do young people have their own culture and adults another?

Culture changes constantly. What you do today always affects something in tomorrow. A quick dictionary search of the word will probably show a list of possible meanings; the two I want to focus on are:

1. Anthropology. the sum total of ways of living built up by a group of human beings and transmitted from one generation to another.

2.the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group: the youth culture; the drug culture.

Youth culture is different because they take on board what has been passed on and believed in the last generation and then move it one more step forward. I believe it was the Manic Street Preachers who sung "If you tolerate this your children will be next." In many cases what we tolerate today will become what youth believe and act on tomorrow.

A prime example of this is the hot topic of abortion. Take a look at the information contained within this link: http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_induced_abortion.html

You will find that the dacade after abortion was legalised it soared and became an accepted social norm. Even today it is still millions higher than it used to be. Who would have thought that within the last 40 year over 42 millions abortions would have taken place? Now we have a culture of acceptance towards abortion.

Other issues that have grown in acceptance are divorce, single parent families and pornography. Big issues to be sure. But they reflect a new culture within our young people, brought on in some cases by the increase in the prolific spread of media and the internet. In either case - we face a good many issues that I will at least attempt to discuss at some point within this blog.

On the other front, what about cutting, self harm, low self esteem, depression and suicide?

Personally I'm fed up of the attack upon the young people we serve today. I'm an executive director for Pais:USA http://www.paisproject.com/ and I face these issues with young people week in and week out. I hope that eventually through this blog I can do two things.

1) lend my own experience and help to those youth pastors out there who are fighting this war with me.

2) Help contribute to the growing discussion on how we best serve this generation.

Michael Davies:: Youth pastor Pantego Bible Church:: Executive Director Pais:USA