An "IM Generation"

In support of why you should be interested in services like www.mozes.com, check out this article over at about the "IM Generation." Here's a great summary quote for you to chew on in the meantime, "The panelists all agreed on one point: traditional media, from TV stations to advertisers to the print industry, really isn't in touch with the "IM generation" of tech-savvy teenagers and college students."

Mozes NOT Moses

In an constant effort to keep our pulse on ways to connect and communicate with student culture, we have found something that you've got to know about. With the increased use of text messaging the folks over at Mozes.com decided to put together a keyword based system that will allow you to collect the cell phone numbers and blast your own messages. We think the possibilities are endless. From polls to contests, to FYI about an event or breaking news, we are getting giddy in our seats just thinking of what's possible. Check out www.mozes.com for more information. Oh, and did we mention that it's free? Yeah. Go get'em tiger.

Millennials & the Church

The January/February 2007 issue of Outreach magazine has an article on the millennial generation, targeted towards pastors. Although it's nothing new, their perspective and approach is interesting and challenging. Inside you'll find a handful of statistics, from organizations other than Barna, that will help you understand more about the Millennials and how they think.

News & Blog Friday

Believe it or not, there is a lot of talk on the web about student ministry. From news to blogs, it's happening all day long. Here are just a few items that we found noteworthy:

• Interview with Tony Jones, author of Postmodern Youth Ministry

• A great video interview by Rob Bell via PremierTV from the UK.

• This will just make you laugh, or at least smirk.

• To disciple or babysit? One bloggers thoughts on programmatic versus disciple based youth ministries. We happen to agree. In fact, so much so that one of our main sessions is called A Leader's Guide to Preparing for the Long Haul. It deals with this very topic.

• A GREAT looking youth website. OH! And did we mention, that the youth pastor there (Judah Smith) is speaking on the impact of technology and ministry? Seriously...why haven't you signed up yet?

And finally...

• "Life is change. Growth is optional. Choose wisely." (Karen Kaiser Clark )

Friend or foe?

Tonight at midnight, thousands upon thousands of people all across the country are going to drop $600 for the new PlayStation 3. For those of us who wish we could be there, so sorry. For those of us who value sleep more than the temptation to stare at yet another screen for hours on end, enjoy your sleep. But from our perspective, this highly anticipated release also releases another not-so-highly anticipated problem; our students have yet another reason to disengage from reality and withdrawal from authentic community. Even if you don't agree, the hours spent playing a gaming system, no matter what it's called, is time that we or they will never get back.

So what can you do? Likely nothing. But the worst thing you could do is to ignore it. Our challenge is and will always be, to provide opportunities for these kids to redefine commonalities and community with the people around them. The world offers plenty of opportunity to be isolated and lonely. It's our job to guide our students into community and real communication.

Be proactive, not reactive.

Redefine a "Christian"

It's funny to see how the church struggles to find a universal perspective of what a true Christian looks like. To some its about appearance. To this new generation, it's about the heart and not their appearance. Funny. I think there's a scripture about that somewhere. Well, anyway. A church in Illinois decided to tackle this issue head on and did a parody video based on the Mac vs. PC commercials you've seen. This one is classic and actually made us laugh out loud. Yes, that's LOL. Enjoy.

Email is so last year!

Email is out. A new survey says only 1 in 5 teens actually uses email to communicate. Hands-down, the preferred medium — at least among friends — is instant messaging. Which leads to the question: How does your ministry communicate with its students? Read more about the survey here...

Thou Shalt Not Steal

The lines between the Internet, music, and piracy are getting fuzzier every day. The LA Times reports an alarming increase in the amount of shared — not purchased — “christian” music. And how you feel about the issue pretty much depends on how old you are. No surprise there.