| TheSource4YM.com | |
 | Jonathan’s Resource Ezine |
Weekly Resources, Ideas and Articles from The Source for Youth Ministry
Tuesday, September 6, 2005
| In This Issue |
- Featured Article: Fear of Katrina … or What Katrina Brought Out of People? A Discussion Idea
- Something You Can Use: Eleven Different Video Clip Discussion Starters Dealing With the Subject of “When Bad Things Happen”
- Summer Articles at a Glance: School’s Back in Session and Ministry is Up and Running. What Did I Miss from THE SOURCE this summer?
- Get Trained by Jonathan for just $10 this Month in Two Cities: Jonathan Training in Wisconsin, West Tennessee/West Kentucky
- End of Summer Sale-Last Chance to Get the FREE Source 2005 Resource CD: Buy either of Jonathan’s books this week and get the CD FREE- this is the last week!
| 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. |
| Featured Article: Fear of Katrina … or Fear of What Katrina Brought Out of People? A Discussion Idea |
September 6, 2005
“I’ve never been so scared in my life. And not scared of hurricanes or floods … scared of people!”
That’s what one man who “escaped” the Superdome told reporters yesterday.
What’s more terrifying?
A hurricane?
A flood?
…or mankind?
The news went on to describe the horror of rape and murder in the Superdome, the only shelter that many families were able to escape to. But most who fled to the Superdome wished they never had.
“I’ve never seen such a lack of humanity.” Blurted a man who “escaped” the Superdome with his family after three days. “I’ve never seen such a display of cruelty and utter selfishness … people taking advantage of an already horrible situation.”
Sitting with her daughter and other relatives, Trolkyn Joseph, 37, said men had wandered the cavernous convention center in recent nights raping and murdering children. They found a dead 14-year old girl at 5 a.m. on Friday morning, four hours after the young girl went missing from her parents inside the convention center. “She was raped for four hours until she was dead,” Joseph said through tears. “Another child, a seven-year old boy was found raped and murdered in the kitchen freezer last night.” (Yahoo news, Sept. 2, 2005)
A group of British students who sought shelter in the Superdome were so terrified by the people there, they gathered into a group of 30 and set up a sort of protective perimeter. Zoe Smith, 21, from Hull, said: “All us girls sat in the middle while the boys sat on the outside, with chairs as protection.” Another student reported, “We were absolutely terrified, the situation had descended into chaos, people were very hostile and the living conditions were horrendous.” (mirror.co.uk, Sept. 2, 2005)
The picture wasn’t a pretty one. It’s a picture of sin on a rampage.
It’s sad to see how humans respond to tragedy. Instead of compassion and care, we see looting, rape and murder. A lack of supervision and authority creates an opportunity for theft and robbery.
The picture isn’t pretty when accountability is removed … when the lights go out.
THE QUESTION OF CHARACTER:
A friend of mine was in a California mall when the 1989 earthquake hit during the World Series. The power went out, the stores went dark and chaos broke out. My friend said that voices throughout the store whispered, “Grab it!” “Take it!” … as people were snatching merchandise and running for the doors.
Who are you when the lights go out?
How do you respond in situations like the above?
A DISCUSSION IDEA:
This brings up the subject of character. What happens when the lights go out and sin seems to go un-noticed? This is the subject of one of the VIDEO CLIP IDEA discussions that we just added to our web page. The movie clip is from Ocean’s Eleven when the power goes off in the casinos. The lights shut off and chaos breaks out. People are screaming, madly grabbing money and running.
GROUP QUESTIONS AND A WRAP UP
| Something You Can Use: Eleven Different Video Clip Discussion Starters Dealing With the Subject of “When Bad Things Happen” |
In the aftermath of the Katrina disaster, many of our students might have questions about “Why Bad Things Happen to Good People.” Or where is God “When Life Stinks?”
For those of you who frequent our web site www.TheSource4YM.com … you know that we like to use movie clips as “jumpstarters” for discussions with teenagers. Jump on our VIDEO CLIP IDEAS page and scroll down to the category “When Life Stinks.” In this category alone check out 11 different video clip ideas and discussion starters. Most of these discussion starters include small group questions, messages and/or wrap ups.
| Summer Articles at a Glance: School’s Back in Session and Ministry is Up and Running. What Did I Miss from THE SOURCE this Summer? |
Kids are back to school and summer break is over. Now many of you are back in the saddle ready for the new school year. What did you miss from us at THE SOURCE this summer?
If you missed some of our free EZINE newsletter’s this Summer, take a peek at some of the articles we brought you:
- What to Do with Incoming Graduates … So They Don’t Request to be Sent Back!
- Why My 12-year-old Can See Rated ?R’ … But Not PG! What Films are Actually Appropriate?
- Post Modernna? Our Culture’s Take on Religion … from the Mouth of Madonna
- A Face Lift for THE SOURCE Web Site-Now Even Easier to Find the FREE Resources You’re Looking For!
- If Teenagers Only Had a Brain: Our Response to All the Hype about the Teen Brain
- The Crap Your Kids Will be Watching This Sunday Night-What you Should Know About the MTV Video Music Awards
| Get Trained by Jonathan for just $10 this Month in Two Cities: Jonathan Training in Wisconsin, West Tennessee/West Kentucky |
Youth Specialties/Zondervan recently released Jonathan’s hit new book, DO THEY RUN WHEN THEY SEE YOU COMING? REACHING OUT TO UNCHURCHED TEENAGERS. (CLICK HERE FOR THE BOOK) And the training is coming to two U.S. cities this month!-Waupun, WI-
September 17th, Jonathan is doing a Saturday workshop (9AM to 3PM) for youth workers within driving distance of the Milwaukee, Madison, and Fox Valley areas. If you’re a youth worker, paid or a volunteer, this is for you!
Here’s the details:
WHEN:
- Saturday, September 17th, 9AM to 3PM
- Youth for Christ/The Union Youth Center, 450 East Franklin Street, Waupun, WI 54963
- Two choices:
- $20 after Sept 14th or at the door on the 17th (includes lunch)
- ONLY $10 if you pre-register before September 14th (includes lunch)
- Contact Fond du Lac Area Youth for Christ at (920) 923-1416 or email yfc@dotnet.com
September 24th, Jonathan is doing a Saturday workshop (9AM to 3PM) for youth workers in the West Tennessee/West Kentucky area. If you’re a youth worker, paid or a volunteer, this is for you!
Here’s the details:
WHEN:
- Saturday, September 24th, 9AM to 3PM
- Tennessee Valley Community Church, 1025 Mineral Wells Ave., Paris, TN 38242
- Two choices:
- $20 after September 21st or at the door on the 24th (includes lunch)
- ONLY $10 if you pre-register before September 21st (includes lunch)
($10 pre-registration will be available at the See Ya at the Pole Rally Jonathan is speaking at in Paris, TN on September 21st.)
- CONTACT the Tennessee Valley church office at (731) 641-8822
| End of Summer Sale-Last Chance to Get the FREE Source 2005 Resource CD: Buy either of Jonathan’s books this week and get the CD FREE- this is the last week! |
We’ve got less than 400 of our 2005 Outreach Resource CD’s left-and we’re giving them away for free to anyone who orders now.
Jonathan’s new book, DO THEY RUN WHEN THEY SEE YOU COMING is the book that everyone’s talking about. Saddleback’s Kurt Johnston says it best:
“Most youth workers feel like we just aren’t reaching enough students for Christ-at least that’s how I feel. In this book, Jonathan took me on a journey that was both convicting and encouraging at the same time! Instead of a few “happy hops to Heaven,” Jonathan provides a holistic approach to reaching this generation of un-churched students.”
Recommended by Mark Oestreicher, Bo Boshers, Jim Burns, Walt Mueller, Chap Clark, Wayne Rice, and more!
AND GET THE FREE CD
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Copyright ?2005 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.