eZine 09.15.2009

Weekly Resources, Ideas and Articles from The Source for Youth Ministry
Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Kanye bringing Taylor Swift to tears, Lady Gaga thanking God and gays, Jack Black leading the audience in a prayer to Satan, Russell Brand going on and on about what sexual acts he’d like to perform with who… nothing surprising. Welcome to the MTV Video Music Awards (The VMAs), the biggest pop culture phenomenon of the year.

No one knows what the MTV VMAs will deliver. Ever since Madonna’s passionate onstage kiss with Brittany in 2003, and Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” in the MTV sponsored SuperBowl halftime show in 2004, audiences have readily braced themselves for what MTV has in store for us next. Sadly, not much would shock our desensitized audiences any more. It’s hard to believe that MTV could stuff anything more vile or degrading up their corporate sleeves.

Teen audiences gathered by the millions to watch the show live Sunday night, September 13th. Those that missed the show and heard the buzz at school Monday morning, popped onto the internet on their phones and computers where MTV.com provides the entire show at the click of a button. The MTV VMA’s have never been so accessible to this generation of young people.

What Kids Saw
The night began on a touching note as Madonna paid tribute to the life of Michael Jackson. Madonna confessed that when she found out that Michael died, all she could think about was, “I had abandoned him. That we had abandoned him. That we had allowed this magnificent creature that once set the world on fire to somehow slip through the cracks. While he was trying to build a family and rebuild his career, we were all busy passing judgment. Most of us had turned our backs on him.”

The audience was hanging on every word Madonna spoke. She ended her speech saying, “I want to end this on a positive note and say that my sons age 9 and 4 are obsessed with Michael Jackson. There’s a whole lot of crotch grabbing and moon-walking going on in my house.” Her final words were, “Yes, Michael Jackson was a human being. But damn it, he was a king. Long live the king.”

Modonna exited stage left and the show digressed.

Katy Perry sang Queen’s We Will Rock You as British comedian Russell Brand entered the stage to MC for the evening. As Russell thanked her, she lifted her leg and grabbed her crotch. I’m still not sure why, but in all honesty, I’ve stopped asking.

After a few serious comments about Michael Jackson, Russell descended to the only kind of comedy he knows, perverted attempts at humor. After announcing that last year he learned that he could say anything and “get away with it,” he quickly turned his attention to the bizarre musician Lady Gaga.

That final word was censored. Unfortunately the guy manning the censor board didn’t find it necessary to bleep his next line when he said, “and if I do pull her leotard to one side and find a little something a little extra there, I’ll just make it stiff and hang me hat on it.”

We shouldn’t be surprised by his topics of conversation, nor his verbalized sexual ambitions. After all, he sang about them in this pre-show ad released by MTV a few weeks ago to promote the upcoming awards show.

This article would become blocked by most explicit content blockers if I repeated most of what Russell said. Let’s just say that he ended comparing himself to Harry Potter, but grabbing his crotch and saying, “my sack of magic and wand are tucked up in these delicious trousers where they will stay til the end of the evening, you have my word as an English gentleman.” The rest of the evening was filled with banter about sexual exploits, the anatomy of women, and any other low hanging fruit he could get his hands on.

Kanye West, no newbie to tirades, found a new low at the show, interrupting Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech for Best Female Video. Taking the mic from her, Kanye said, “Yo Taylor, I’m really happy for you, I’m gonna let you finish, but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time!” He unnecessarily repeated himself for emphasis. “One of the best videos of all time!” Boos starting echoing throughout the room, Taylor standing there with a horrified look on her face, and Beyonce looking confused and slightly flattered. Taylor didn’t get to finish her speech. She was escorted off the stage where she burst into tears.

I was so disgusted with Kanye’s selfish outburst, that I was caught off guard by the next moment, Jack Black’s feeble attempt at humor. Black, giving a tribute to metal music, mused, “Since we’re giving a rock award tonight, who wants to pray to the Devil with me?” He instructed the audience to grab the hand of the person next to them and then prayed, “Dear Dark Lord Satan…” The crowd was interesting, chuckling at first, but then caught in an awkward silence, seemingly not knowing how to react.

Lady Gaga, highly anticipated because of her bizarre persona and fashion sense, sang her song Paparazi, wearing a bizarre outfit that looked like a mix between a showgirl costume and one of Paris Hilton’s bathing suits. The performance showed a little creativity, and a little too much Gaga, ending with her smearing fake blood over her body and face.

A little later on in the show, the bizarre Lady Gaga graced the stage once again, this time wearing a red scarf over her face, to collect her award as Best New Artist. Her first mummified words: “It’s my first CENSORED Moonman!” I guess this censored word is one of her favorite adjectives because just a few seconds later she said, “This is for my CENSORED fans!” She continued. “You’re the best fans in the whole world and I love you. And it’s for God and for the gays!”

Hmmmmm…

When a celebrity makes news these days, for good or bad, there’s usually a lesson in it for our teens. That’s the case with Chris Brown’s recent interview with Larry King. This outreach-focused lesson centers on helping students overcome their sinful nature.

Main Point of Discussion: Because we all have a sinful nature, we all have the potential to act in terrible ways. That’s why it is critical as Christians to defeat the inclinations of our flesh through the power of the Holy Spirit

The Background:
R&B singer Chris Brown pleaded guilty to felony assault after a widely publicized incident with his former girlfriend, Rihanna. A second felony charge of making criminal threats was dropped.

On August 25, 2009 Brown was sentenced to five years probation and six months of….

Sunday night millions of teenagers watched The MTV Video Movie Awards to catch a glimpse of the best artists of the day… unfortunately the most of what they caught was the “worst of them.” Kanye was sure at his worst.

If you haven’t read the headlines by now, Kanye did one of his dumbest moves yet live on the show, leaving Taylor Swift in tears. As I sit here and write…

Usually the skits on our website are of the STUPID variety, but every once in a while, one comes along that’s not only fun, but powerful. This is one of those skits. It can speak volumes to your students about sexual purity.

The point of the skit is how people like their water: fresh from an un-opened bottle vs. slightly used from a bottle that has been shared.

Setting:
In a short film this scene takes place on a city street corner. As a skit, you can set your stage as though a few students are taking a survey of people passing by.

On a street corner the two reporters ask a random person, “Which bottle of water would you like, this one or that one?” (Each interviewer holds a bottle of water. They….

If you’ve got students who want to reach their friends for Christ, but need a little reinforcement before doing so, this brand new SPIRITUAL GROWTH AGENDA is for you. It’s ripped straight from the tragedy surrounding the death of DJ AM (Adam Goldstein).

Main Point: We can’t truly help others until we have been transformed by Jesus Christ.

Discussion Starter: The death of DJ AM.
Adam Goldstein, better known as DJ AM, recently died of an accidental drug overdose in his New York City apartment. In interviews over the years, the 36 year old disc jockey spoke openly about his former drug addiction that lasted from childhood into his early 20’s.

Adam gained tremendous popularity as a DJ during the decade he was sober. He was part of a band named Crazy Town with a hit entitled “Butterfly.” He also….