Ezine Archives

eZine 11.02.2004

November 2, 2004

TheSource4YM.com

	Jonathan’s Resource Ezine

Weekly Resources, Ideas and Articles from The Source for Youth Ministry
Tuesday, November 2, 2004

In This Issue

Something You Can Use: “Radio” Video Clip Idea … The Cost of Compassion
The Time Has Finally Arrived: Jonathan’s Book is Available for Pre-purchase Today and We’re Giving Away a Free CD to Celebrate!
This is the Last Week of $10 Registration for Jonathan’s “Reaching Out To Unchurched Teenagers” Training in Milwaukee on 11/13

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.

Something You Can Use: “Radio” Video Clip Idea … The Cost of Compassion

Radio PG 2003 (Cuba Gooding Jr., Ed Harris)

Plot Outline: The story of a high school coach and the developmentally challenged man whom he took under his wing.

Radio contains a few good scenes for discussions on accepting others different from us, compassion, priorities, humility vs. pride, taking a stand, and caring when it costs. For this discussion, we use two scenes to talk about the cost of compassion. Have 3×5 cards & pens ready for the wrap up.

Start your small group discussion by introducing the clip and explaining the basic plot of Radio for those who didn’t see it.

INTRO: “This first clip is with Coach Jones at home with his wife. He’s just confronted Frank, a parent who doesn’t like Radio being a part of school. Frank and a few others have given the coach a hard time about letting this developmentally challenged young man help in the high school sports department because of certain inconveniences and awkward incidents. In this scene, we hear Coach questioning if it’s worth it. As we watch this first clip, pay attention to the difference in perspective between the coach and his wife.”

SHOW CLIP 1 HERE. From where the studio logo appears, fast forward to 1:34:40 (around scene 27 on the DVD).

Note: To avoid a curse word, we suggest you read this first line (provided here), as Coach curses at the beginning of it:

Coach: “Maybe the whole thing’s just a big mistake. Radio probably would’ve been better off if we’d just gotten him some help.”

Then start the video/DVD for the rest of this short scene. Script cue:

Linda: Help? And what you’ve been giving him has been…?

Coach: Couldn’t have been easy on you and Mary Linda…me spending all this time with Radio the past few months.

Linda: Harold, wait. You can’t believe that’s been a mistake, you being with Radio. You’ve been so great for each other.

Coach: Yeah, well, look where it’s got us.

Linda: Where it got you is a school full of kids that love him. And Mary Linda feels the same way. And anything that Frank can do or say? that’s not gonna change anything. It’s never a mistake to care for someone. That’s always a good thing. Right?

STOP here (before church scene) as Coach thinks about what Linda has just said.

Note: Set up for Clip 2 while you continue the discussion.

SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS:

Was Coach justified in feeling the way he did-that it was a mistake to care about Radio? Why or why not?
What was the difference, in that scene, between the coach’s perspective of Radio and his wife’s?
The coach had made an investment into this mentally challenged man’s life and made him feel part of the school. He adjusted his priorities and went the extra mile for someone. Share a time when you went the extra mile from someone outside your family.
Sometimes we need to switch around our priorities because we realize there’s a cost to caring for someone. It might make us unpopular or inconvenienced. Give an example of this-how caring for someone else can be inconvenient or uncomfortable.

Matthew 25:34-40 (NLT)

Then the King will say to those on the right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. [35] For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. [36] I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

[37] “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? [38] Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? [39] When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?’ [40] And the King will tell them, ‘I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’
So, according to these verses, what are we, those who are “blessed by God,” supposed to do?
And when we help others and care for others … who are we actually doing it to?
What can you do this week to show love to God, by caring for others?

SHOW CLIP 2 HERE. Fast forward to 1:37:24 (Scene 28 on the DVD) at the barbershop. There is a meeting with some of the parents and the principle. One disgruntled parent wants everyone to agree that Radio is “a disruptive force” in the community because of some incidents that happened earlier in the film. Coach Jones enters with his wife and daughter.

Script cue:
Coach Jones: Well, I had a talk with Radio this morning. I told him, in not so many words, that we might be looking at some changes. It didn’t take long to see the more I talked the more he didn’t understand me. We got a lot of that going on around.
When I was playing, I had a coach. He used to tell me to keep my priorities straight. He’d say, “Son, you figure out what’s important. You push everything else aside.” I love football; I love everything about it. I love Friday nights when you’re looking for a win and Saturday mornings when you found it.
But that’s not what’s important right now. We got ourselves a young man we’re not thinking about. The same young man who could hardly talk when we first met him, and now he’s making announcements in the morning over the loudspeaker. Same young man who got himself a football letter last fall, but he never wears it, because he can’t afford a jacket. Now we’re asking him to leave…
…I know some of you don’t know or don’t care about all that Radio’s learned over these past few months. Well, the truth is we’re not the ones who’ve been teaching Radio. Radio’s the one been teaching us. ‘Cause the way he treats us all the time is the way we wish we treated each others even part of the time.
Look, I know something’s gotta happen here. I know some changes gotta be made. And I know I can’t let what happened last season happen again. So I’ve decided to step down as head football coach…(crowd murmurs disappointment)…I’d like to keep teaching, if that’s all right. Keep an eye on Radio, make sure he stays out of trouble. And I’d like to spend a little time with a few other folks I’ve neglected over the years…while I still have a chance to. Much as I love this game, you know, it’s not half as important as setting that right.

STOP when, outside, the truck drives off and auditorium scene fades.
The coach adjusted his priorities so that he could continue to impact Radio and others. He gave up coaching football. Are there things in life that we may have to let go of to be able to serve God and serve others?
Are there any priorities in your life that you may need to adjust so that you can serve God and serve others?

Wrap up: What will that look like in your life? How can you shift your priorities so that you’re living out what Jesus said in Matthew 25?

(If you want-you can play a worship CD conducive to prayer and reflection.) We’re just going to take a moment of silence and ask God to help us set and live out His priorities in our lives. If He lays it on your heart to actually do something ? like send a card, buy a soda for someone you wouldn’t normally interact with, or invite them to church, write that down on this 3×5 card I’m passing around. Then, let’s break up into pairs asking each other what we wrote down and praying for each other ? that we’ll obey God’s leading and walk out those priorities.

The Time Has Finally Arrived: Jonathan’s Book is Available for Pre-purchase Today and We’re Giving Away a Free CD to Celebrate!

The time has finally arrived and we’re celebrating by giving something away! Jonathan’s book comes out in one month, so we are starting pre-sale today and giving away the new 2005 Outreach CD to anyone who pre-orders with us!

Now, we know that you can go down to your neighborhood Christian book store in December and buy this book. That’s why we’re throwing something in for free, just to say “Thanks for buying it from us!”

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS BOOK

THE FREE 2005 OUTREACH RESOURCE CD
Every once in a while we like to put some new resources and ideas on a special CD to offer to our EZINE subscribers. And you know how we love to give things away … so we’ll be giving away this CD for free to everyone who pre-orders Jonathan’s new book this month.

This CD will contain:

The prototype of EVENTMAKER, a great new online event-planning tool that does the planning for you.
52 of the best “Out of the Box” Outreach Event Ideas you can use in your own ministry-a year supply, if you’re really ambitious!
The “Reaching Out to the Unchurched” Power Point Training mini-seminar that corresponds with a chapter right out of Jonathan’s new book, enabling you to teach the material to your student and adult leaders.

Again-this CD will be given away free to everyone who pre-purchases Jonathan’s new book this month. So pre-order now!

CLICK HERE TO PRE-ORDER THIS BOOK
AND GET THE FREE CD

This is the Last Week of $10 Registration for Jonathan’s “Reaching Out To Unchurched Teenagers” Training in Milwaukee on 11/13

On November 13th, Jonathan is doing a Saturday workshop (9AM to 3PM) for student leaders and youth workers in the greater Milwaukee and Chicago area. If you’re a youth worker (volunteer or paid) or if you have staff or student leaders that want to reach out to the “unchurched,” this is the place for you!

Here’s the details:

WHEN:

Saturday November 13th, 9AM to 3PM
WHERE:

www.peacelutheran.org

COST:

TO REGISTER:

Micah@peacelutheran.org

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