6 Weeks and Counting...

So sorry for the slight hiatus last week. The WCA staff has begun our countdown to the opening session of the 2007 SHIFT conference, just six weeks from today! We can hardly believe that it's coming so quickly. Don't forget to sign-up if you haven't already.

Here are just a few things that we thought you might like to know about:

• MySpace is making it easier for parents to monitor their kids accounts now. In an effort to appease some governmental critics (the critics don't really stop there), they are now giving parents the ability to see how their child is representing him or herself on the site. This information isn't given secretively. The account holder will be notified that information is being shared. — Although a respectable move, I suspect that kids will venture to have a couple of accounts...one that they let their parents see and another that they "really" use. OR, they'll just find another social network site where they aren't being monitored so closely. Don't you think?

• Holistic youth ministry? Doesn't that sound like a pill you can take that makes your youth ministry...err...whole? ChristianPost recently posted an article that I think has some relevancy and the very least find interesting. The gist is, maybe what youth ministry needs is a focus on the student as a whole, not just their spirituality. This includes health, friendships, family, etc. While this sounds good and most youth leaders would agree, a recent survey found that there are serious discrepancies between the idea and the execution. — Don't you think that this is a legitimate approach?

• Finally....they say that 73% of all statistics are made up on the spot. (If you can find the stat that confirms 73% let me know). While that may be true, a recent article suggests that Evangelicals are, and I quote, "some of the worst abusers of simple descriptive statistics, which claim to represent the truth about reality..." — I bet 45% of you all know people who do this.

Are we friends? Really?

If you've had your run at Friendster or MySpace, you've certainly had to ask the question, "Do I want to be their friend?" or even more complicated, "Who should be on my top 8?" Well, the psychology of what a "friend" is has changed. We know that. But now, finally, one guy has written a lengthy report on this very topic. It's quite interesting but we must warn you that there is some vulgar language. Don't say we didn't warn you.