eZine 03.23.2010

A Glimpse Into Miley
Posted on Monday, March 22, 2010 2:58 PM

Our Sunday paper, The Sacramento Bee, always includes a little celeb magazine-insert called PARADE, providing celebrity interviews and photos. Yesterday’s PARADE featured an in depth interview with Miley Cyrus titled, Nobody’s Teen Queen. And she made that point quite clear. She’s gonna do what she wants to do. Or to quote her, “Dude, I choose!”

Miley also spoke her mind about her Christianity, going to church, and the revealing way she dresses. Her opinions in short:

And her risqu? attire?

Hmmmmm. More on that in a minute.

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged about Miley. For a long time I jumped to her defense. After all, she’s just a teenager, and I know I did some STUPID things when I was her age. But as time progressed, the innocent Hannah Montana has begun to fade and a more risqu? Miley is beginning to emerge. The pinnacle was probable the Teen Choice Awards where she not only did her little pole dance, but she wore a dress that would have made J-Lo blush. I spoke my mind clearly about that the day after that event.

In this PARADE interview she addresses criticisms like these. I think you’ll find her reasoning disappointing?

Other Topics Jonathan Blogged about Recently:

Yeah, this movie is as old as most of our kids? parents, but it?s still a great one for Easter. This MOVIE CLIP DISCUSSION will help you explain the compassion Jesus shows others, and call them into a relationship with Him. It?s got everything you need: Bible passage, small group questions, and even a wrap up.

Main Point: To get a glimpse at the person of Jesus

The Movie Clip: ?Water from a Stranger?

Who is Jesus? What was He like when He was walking around earth? How did He respond to normal people day to day? How did people respond when they saw Him? This film was about a guy named Ben Hur who lived during the time of Jesus Christ. The movie isn?t about Jesus, but a couple of times during the film, Ben Hur crosses paths with Him. This is one of those scenes.

As you?re gearing up for your spring break missions trips, stow away with David R. Smith as he journeys to South Africa on a short term mission trip. In this episode, he interviews two youth workers, and you’ll learn about some significant history of South Africa, the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and what youth culture looks like in the third world country.

Listen to it now for free on iTunes! (CLICK HERE) Or, if you don’t have iTunes already… jump on Apple’s web page for a free download, then click on our podcast page.

Episode Highlights:

• Become aware of some of the ?dangers? of traveling in South Africa
• Learn how American pop culture is impacting South African youth culture
• Hear about South Africa’s history and how it differs so greatly from that of America’s history
• Hear about youth ministry that’s happening internationally

Tis the season to train our leaders, I guess… because that’s what I’m spending most of my time doing lately!

I just got back from a training workshop I did in Iowa for pastors and youth workers. I really enjoy training today’s leaders. This week I get to turn around and do my CONNECT workshop at a huge Youth for Christ conference near the coast of Maryland. Then I’ll do my parenting workshop a couple weeks later at a church in South Bend, IN, and again a month later in NJ.

Here’s a peek at my speaking/training schedule so far for this year:

January 8-9, 2010 (Nashville, TN)
CONNECT Training Workshop,
Our Savior Lutheran Church

January 16-17, 2010 (Beckley, WV)
Youth Ski Conference, CTI Group Adventures

February 5-7, 2010 (Dallas, PA)
Junior High Winterblast, Camp Orchard Hill

February 26- 28, 2010 (East Troy, WI)
Timberlee, WinterXtreme

March 6, 2010 (Oskaloosa, IA)
Volunteer Power Workshop

March 26-28, 2010 (Baltimore, MD)
Keynote Speaker, Impact 2010

April 10, 2010 (South Bend, IN)
Preach/Parent Workshop, Trinity EV FREE Church

April 17, 2010 (Saint Louis, MO)
Faithfest 2010, St. Louis network of churches

May 15-16, 2010 (Jackson, NJ)
Youth Rally, Preach, Parent/Youth Worker Workshop

July 11-16, 2010 (Hordville, NE)
Covenant Cedars Bible Camp, Summer Camp

October 2-4, 2010 (San Diego, CA)
Training Workshops, Youth Specialties National Youth Workers Convention

	“We have Jonathan do his training seminars at our National Youth Workers Convention every year and he always does a great job. Not only is Jonathan’s presentation dynamic, his information is extremely helpful to those in attendance. In fact, that’s why we publish his books.” Tic Long, President Youth Specialties Events

	“Jonathan is an incredible communicator. He has what it takes to get tough with this generation. He is funny, committed, challenging, and he speaks with an edge.” Jim Burns, Ph.D. President, Youth Builders

	“Jonathan is a very talented speaker!.” Ken Davis Dynamic Communicator’s Workshop