Tons of FREE Resources for Youth Ministry

Blood Done Sign My Name

This brand new MOVIE CLIP DISCUSSION comes from a powerful scene from a new release. It will definitely catapult your group into a discussion on recognizing evil…even evil that cloaks itself as religion. The movie clip is even included in this resource!

Main Point: Throughout history, many evils have disguised themselves as "religion." Sadly, determining the difference between evil and religion is not always easy. But we must recognize the difference so we can respond appropriately.

The Video Clip: Based on a true story, Blood Done Sign My Name is a movie set in the Deep South during the Vietnam War era. Racial tensions are already running high, but then….

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You've read our articles summarizing the content coming out of Beyonce. You've read our articles summarizing what you can expect from Lady Gaga. So I guess it's no surprise what results when the two of them team up. It's racy, it's explicit... and it's the number one downloaded video on iTunes right now.

I'm referring to the brand new hit music video for Lady Gaga's Telephone. Beyonce joins her for this 10-minute music video that CNN calls the most "anticipated, dissected and discussed video in months."

This video (WARNNG- This video doesn't say EXPLICIT content- but, even though it has no actual nudity, I think most of you will find it rather explicit) offers a little bit of everything that Gaga knows will sell: girl-on-girl kissing, blurred nudity (I've noticed that a lot of videos and TV are doing this lately. They show nudity, but simply pixilate anything explicit), racy outfits (Gaga devotes a good portion of screen time to dancing in a thong bikini), mass murder (complete with props from a Tarentino's Kill Bill), explicit words... and plenty of "eye candy." I've already seen several versions of the video. One (the iTunes version) shows her almost completely naked spread eagle with her crotch blurred out. Then one of the female prison guards comments, "I told you she didn't have a d**k."

I guess Gaga really wanted to clear up any misconception that she was a hermaphrodite.

The video really is receiving a lot of buzz. It reminds me of the buzz that Michael Jackson's Thriller received when I was a kid. Everyone just HAD to see the video (I saw it at my friend Kevin's house). Fast forward 20 years and I guess Michael would have had to have been naked for that one.

REACTING... NOT OVERREACTING
Parents and youth workers-- sadly, many of our kids will probably see this video. It's all over the web. Even if we block explicit content, very often YouTube and iTunes will avoid those blocks, and both provide the explicit version of the video.

So it's this simple. Have conversations with our kids about these kind of videos. If we are relying on "Cybernanny" to do the job for us.... we're falling short. We need to talk with our kids about simply avoiding this kind of eye candy. Fathers, talk with our sons about what the Bible means when it says to "FLEE" sexual immorality. We don't need images in our heads of Gaga in a thong.

Keeping aware of popular media in our youth culture can open the door to conversations with today's teenagers. Let's keep that door open by not over-reacting, but engaging in a healthy dialogue (like the Apostle Paul did in Acts 17). As parents, balance dialogue with boundaries. It's okay to say, "This doesn't belong in our house." That generally works better than lighting the computer on fire and grounding our kids for 6 months!

Are you prepared to talk with your kids about using discernment when choosing what videos they watch? And for those of our kids that already have seen it.... are your prepared to discuss what they saw?