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Weekly Resources, Ideas and Articles from The Source for Youth Ministry
Wednesday, March 7, 2001
| In This Issue |
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| The Santana High School Shooting and Compassion for …?Eminem??? Eminem Part II |
March 7, 2001
We’re glad to provide you with effective resources, programs, games, events, discussions, and ideas! Whether you are a volunteer, a youth leader, a youth pastor, or DOUG FIELDS, we all can use these practical tools to help our ministries.
You know that Jonathan’s Resources exists to provide resources to youth workers! As I always say, “let’s not waste time … everyone needs good resources- here’s one.”
and Compassion for … Eminem???
Eminem Part II
This week the news reported another disaster resulting from the violent influences plaguing our youth. My heart sank and my stomach turned as I heard the news of Monday’s tragic shooting at Santana High School in Santee, CA. How should we react to this kind of news?
Last week I voiced a warning about the effect some of today’s esteemed “artists” can have on our youth. Most Christians applaud that message. We’re outraged with what we see in this world. Anger is an emotion that is stirring in many of us right now – and anger in itself, is not necessarily bad – sometimes it’s a necessary substitute for tolerance. However, what we do with that anger – how we express that anger – is vitally important.
Is This What We Look Like?
Last week I met a nice man who was doing some maintenance on my house. We had a pleasant conversation which led to him asking about the van I had parked in the driveway, “Campus Life … is that a Christian organization?”
“Yes. We work with students on campus …” I gave him my shpeel.
“Praise God! I go to First – – – – – – Church (I’ll keep the denomination anonymous).” He paused. and his expression changed. His eyebrows lowered and his lower lip raised, almost quivering. “Did you get ‘So and So’s’ (I’ll leave out this name too) newsletter?” A popular Christian newsletter dealing with current issues Christian’s face.
“No, I think I missed that one.”
“Well he was talking about Clinton.” He started turning red at this point. He almost screamed, “That man is the SCUM of the earth- he is the lowest …” He went on and on, venting about our former president and the terrible example he was as a leader.
Funny thing. I agreed with almost every argument he addressed. But the way he delivered the message, gave me a glimpse of this mans heart. I saw more hate in this man than I’ve seen in most hard-core gangsters.
The Point
Let me get straight to the point. If we look in the Bible, every time someone asks Jesus what is most important, he always answers something like this:
“Love God. Love Your Neighbor.”
All through the Bible we hear about the greatest of the commandments:
“Love God. Love Your Neighbor.”
Someone asked Jesus to expand on that “neighbor” analogy. Jesus told a story most of us have heard hundreds of times … but did we get the point?
You see, a man was walking in downtown Los Angeles, just down the street from the STAPLES center, when he was mugged by three gangsters. They took his wallet, money and his watch.
A minister from a nearby church drove by, saw him lying on the ground, and quickly looked around for his own safety, and stepped on the gas. He would have called the police, but he couldn’t afford a cell phone, and he wasn’t about to stop and use a phone in THAT neighborhood.? Besides, by the time he got home in Valencia, someone else would probably have found him.
A high school teacher drove by, saw the man lying there and pulled aside. He almost got out, but he thought it might be a trap. He’d worked with students for years, even had a knife pulled on him once. He knew what these kids were capable of. He got out of there quickly and put it out of his mind.
A limo passed by and screeched to a stop. Guess who got out. Eminem got out- and ran over to the man. He told the driver to call an ambulance, then, looking at the man, quickly changed his mind. He picked up the bleeding man and put him in the limo. He took off his soft jacket and laid it behind the mans head. He told the driver to go to the nearest hospital quick.
At the hospital Eminem stayed until he found out the man was going to be okay. He gave the doctor his card and instructed him to call if there was any financial obligation.
Which of these men was the most neighborly?
Many of us might answer the exact way the religious snobs of Jesus day did, “the one who showed mercy to him.”
And that answer gives away the very point that Jesus was trying to make. When we heard the beginning of the fictitious story we weren’t surprised at all. Most of us even filled in some of the missing pieces of the story, like what denomination we think the pastor was who passed by without helping. Most of us would have even jumped ahead to fill in the obvious … “yes, yes, and then I came by and helped the man!” BUT, most of us would have been outraged with the way Jesus chose to finish the story. Most of us, hearing that story, are so busy being mad at Samaritans, Eminem, Bill Clinton, or the guy who shot all the other students Monday, that we can’t picture any of them being the hero in the story. Our hate burns so deep that we can’t even say his name so we say “the ‘one’ who showed mercy to him.” We wouldn’t dare yell out “The Samaritan is the hero! Yay Samaritan!”
The point isn’t ‘stop and show mercy to mugged people.’ The point is that your neighbor is the person you hate the most, the person that just stabbed you in the back, the person who you want to be neighborly to in the least way! You need to love that person. Let go of your hate against this person and let God’s love flow through you.
We hear about PEACE, HOPE and LOVE, in which the greatest is …? Love.
Some of us have forgotten about the love.
So What is Compassion?
Jesus’ life illustrated something very powerful. A word that can change your outlook and, in turn, change your life. Jesus was a walking example of Compassion.
When Jesus was walking on the road one day, Bill Clinton tried to see him through the crowd. He couldn’t see so he climbed up a tree. Jesus stopped in his tracks, looked up at the former President with compassion and said, “I’m going to your house today.”
Entire denominations boycotted and picketed Jesus for this reason. “Hey Jesus! Trust me! You don’t want to go to his house. He’s the SCUM of the earth!”
Jesus was eating in another man’s house and Madonna came in crying, and poured perfume all over his feet. Jesus, moved with compassion, started to comfort her. Everyone in the room said, “He obviously hasn’t seen her TRUTH OR DARE video or he would know what this woman stands for!”
The Hate in Me
I’m writing this to myself, for I have struggled more than most of you with judgmental, unloving behavior. I’ll never forget a few years ago when I found out that the rapper Eazy E. had died of AIDS. I had seen many students – many friends – be influence by Eazy E.’s music. I had been a victim of Eazy’s lyrics. Eazy E. and NWA were probably one of the biggest influences in the growing popularity of gangster rap in the latest 80’s. Many of you remember how many students rushed out to by Raiders Jackets and hats and baggy pants- a fad started by Easy and NWA. Eazy E. disgusted me, and I never saw the hate creep up on me.
I walked into my parents house and heard the news about Eazy’s death. Before I could even think I said, “Good. He deserved it!”
The tongue is the window to the heart.
My prayer is that we as Christians don’t forget about the love that we need to have for the lost. That includes Eminem. Jesus wants us to love him. He doesn’t want us to role over and play dead. He doesn’t want us to go buy his C.D. But he wants us to look at him through Jesus’ eyes. Eyes that looked out at a crowd that spit on him, put a crown of thorns on his head and mocked him on the cross … just before He looked up and pleaded to the Father, “forgive them … they don’t know what they’re doing.”
Last week when the man in my house finished venting about our former president, I put my hand on his shoulder and smiled. I didn’t give him the response he wanted to hear. I simply said “Don’t forget that we need to love the former president.”
“He doesn’t even …”
I continued, “Remember … he might be just the kind of guy Jesus would have hung out with.”
The man shrugged and walked away. The stench hung in my house.
Do you reek hate … or love?
Compassion to Make a Difference is part of a training Jonathan does to churches, leaders, and youth groups. For more information about Jonathan’s training, check out his training page and who’s recommending him:
https://thesource4ym.com/trainers
Jonathan McKee is president of The Source for Youth Ministry and author of the new book “Do They Run When They See You Coming? Reaching Out to Unchurched Teenagers.” (CLICK HERE FOR THE BOOK) Jonathan speaks and trains across the country and provides free online resources, training, & ideas for youth workers at www.TheSource4YM.comDelivered free via e-mail to subscribers each week. We encourage you to distribute this newsletter freely and ask only that you not change its contents.
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Jonathan McKee
Jonathan McKee is the author of over twenty books including the brand new The Guy's Guide to FOUR BATTLES Every Young Man Must Face; The Teen’s Guide to Social Media & Mobile Devices; If I Had a Parenting Do Over; and the Amazon Best Seller - The Guy's Guide to God, Girls and the Phone in Your Pocket. He speaks to parents and leaders worldwide, all while providing free resources for youth workers on TheSource4YM.com. Jonathan, his wife Lori, and their three kids live in California.