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 | Jonathan’s Resource Ezine |
Weekly Resources, Ideas and Articles from The Source for Youth Ministry
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
| In This Issue |
- Youth Culture Window: The Hottest Virtual Teenage Hangout… A Little Too Hot
- Something New: Special New Podcast Episode-High Impact Outreach Ministry
- In Two Weeks: Jonathan’s Collection of 10-Minute Talks in Print-With Free Supplemental CD-Available for Pre-order Now
| If you aren’t a subscriber of this EZINE and would like to subscribe – it’s free – just pop on www.TheSource4YM.com and sign up in the upper right hand corner. |
| Youth Culture Window: |
A Virtual Pick Up Joint Where Authenticity is Scarce
David R. Smith
And what’s on the menu for today? Hmmmmm. Should I pick up on some girls, get a virtual lap dance, or meet a stranger and give them a cyber French kiss… all in 3-D! (yes, you can actually select “French” from the menu of “flirt” actions)
It’s called IMVU.com, and millions of teens are navigating through “rooms” making friends… and making out. It’s little wonder that the site has registered 20 million users, most of which are American teenagers.
The Newest Online Hangout
Although it sounds a lot like it, IMVU is not just another virtual world. The company actually bills their site as the “world’s greatest 3-D Instant Message server.” If that sounds a little arrogant to you, just know they have very good reasons for making that claim.
IMVU encourages their users to “be the person you want to be” … a tempting offer for teenagers who “represent” themselves online.
Users express themselves by creating a personal, three dimensional character, known as an avatar, that can chat and interact with any other user from around the world. The options for customization are almost endless. Users can purchase a wide variety of virtual products including clothes, accessories, whole rooms, and even pets, using very real credit cards.
I investigated the site myself. Signing up was easy and I was able to create my very own “avatar,” a virtual representation of myself. Okay, okay… it doesn’t look anything like me at all! But I can see why teenagers like this site so much; there’s no option for “overweight,” “acne,” or “straight-up goofy looking!” (You should see me…I’m a stud!)
The avatars are almost always depicted as very attractive teenagers, (regardless of the user’s real age), and the graphics used by the designers give the avatars a very realistic appearance. Their body language can show emotions that range from interest, to confusion, to happiness, to boredom, and can even give that “come hither” look.
That look comes in handy for the female versions of the avatars who are dressed in incredibly sexy outfits. It’s a rarity to find a room without at least one “girl” walking around wearing a skimpy two piece of some sort. Designers have also given the avatars the ability to perform physical acts with one another, including flirting, dancing, kissing, and massaging. (On my very first visit, a female avatar approached mine, said hello, and then mounted me on the couch and kissed me.”)
Didn’t You Say Something About Lap Dances?
As if the site was not raunchy enough, for a fee, IMVU offers an Access Pass for even racier content. Users can gain access to “restricted” material for those who pay a nominal fee and can prove they’re 18 or older….
| Something New: Special New Podcast Episode-High Impact Outreach Ministry |
SPECIAL EPISODE: “HIGH IMPACT OUTREACH MINISTRY” (6/28/2008)
Jonathan: When you hang out with kids, tell us about how that happens, your programming.
Rob: We try to reach a wide spectrum of kids and so we do different things for different groups of kids. Monday night will be a high school campus life outreach event. So, we’ll have high energy, we’ll feed them, we’ll BBQ, we’ll play dodge ball… But there’s always about a 30 minute serious discussion… some of these non-church kids, they have no boundaries, but we say, you need to respect the adults, you need to respect “The Barn.” We know what your language is like, but we would ask that you don’t cuss here, and if you do as a matter of fact, we’re gonna ask that you do 10 pushups. And so now, you just see kids dropping all over the place. We used to have to catch them but now….
Jonathan: I noticed there’s a lot more very strong kids with very large pecs in that area.
Rob: That’s right. ?Do you work out? No I just go to “The Barn” and cuss a lot.’
Jonathan: ?I just go to “The Barn” and curse like a Marine.’ No, that’s good. Hey you said you use 30 minute discussions. Sometimes outreach ministries have the reputation of ?Oh, it’s all just fun and games – no content.’ But you actually really go toward… making sure. Do these discussions actually open the Word?
Rob: Oh absolutely. Absolutely. We’ve found that, we’ve beat around the bush about God, and we’ve tried to be very seeker sensitive and it just hasn’t been very effective, because at the end, the kids are like, ?Why don’t you just tell me what you really want to tell me?’ They’re there because they want to know the truth.
Jonathan: Instead of trying to be so Christian PC.
Rob: Yeah! And so, Jesus is appealing to everybody I meet on campus. They’re interested about Jesus, and so, we’ll just talk about His life. We’ll have a series on “This is how Jesus interacted with people,’ and they’re curious. It’ll be maybe a 15 minute talk, it’ll be a video clip, and then we’ll break up into small groups, often getting our stuff from The Source, I have to admit.
Jonathan: I love it.
Rob: That’s an unpaid endorsement, right there!
Jonathan: That’s awesome, man! We’ll you know, when it’s ready made and it’s neat, cause I hear it from youth pastors all the time. They say, ?Thanks for The Source for providing this stuff, because it gives us more chance to hang out with kids, and we just print off your resources and use them.’
Rob: They all think I’m a genius by the way! ?Man, you watch a lot of movies! You’re great!’
Jonathan: Well, you know, David’s one of the guys who writes a bunch of that stuff. So, thank him.
David: And that Monday that you were just talking about, is that a couple of hours?
Rob: Yeah. 7-9. We feed them. We begin with food; we end with food. And a lot of games. 30 minutes of the 2 hours is intentional discussion, small group time, large group setting. Very, very structured.
Jonathan: Cool. So, what’s happening the rest of the week in “The Barn.”
Listen to this entire interview 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:
- You get to hear Rob’s “golden voice.”
- Delve into the Center for Disease Control’s 2007 report about teen drug and alcohol use, as well as the latest statistics on teen sex in our Youth Culture Window.
- Hear why David and Rob like “outreach kids” so much.
- Find out how Rob does life-changing outreach ministry… in a barn! (Warning: He talks about programming!)
- David talks about taking over a Krispy Kreme doughnut shop and using it as an outreach center for hundreds of high school students.
- Hear the guys’ strategies for winning over the trust of school faculty and officials to further enhance their on-campus outreach.
| In Two Weeks: Jonathan’s Collection of 10-Minute Talks in Print- With Free Supplemental CD-Available for Pre-order Now |
Looking for some “ready made” resources so you can ?hang’ with kids instead of re-inventing the wheel, trying to create material? Jonathan McKee’s 5th book comes out in less than a month, and people are already talking about this one. Recommended by Duffy Robbins, Dan Kimball, Kurt Johnston, Ken Davis, Dave Rahn, Gordon-Conwell’s preaching dept., and more… 10-Minute Talks provides 24 “ready-made” talks, and a free supplemental CD with transcripts & a complete small group curriculum for each talk.
Two-time “Outreach Award” winner Jonathan comes through once again, using his style as a storyteller to communicate truth to today’s generation of young people. Communicate more while saying less, with 10-Minute Talks.
Author/Speaker Greg Stier says it well:
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| GREG STIER ABOUT TALKING TO TEENGAGERS: “It seems as though books about how to do ?talks’ are a dime a dozen. Not this one. 10-Minute Talks is full of material that flat out works. If you’re a youth worker who’d rather spend time ministering to students than Googling the latest lesson outlines and illustrations, 10-Minute Talks is exactly what you need. Jonathan’s talks combine compelling intros, solid biblical teaching, and practical applications. You won’t be disappointed!” -Greg Stier, president, Dare 2 Share Ministries |
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Copyright ?2008 The Source for Youth Ministry
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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.