Ideas on Redeeming That Which Is Lost by Matt Johnson
I love entertainment, especially in the forms of movies and music, but unfortunately I am either left disturbed or disappointed in some of the messages that get produced rather than entertained. You cannot always avoid what is popular by ignoring it, media is all around us and continues to influence but there are ways to redeem it for good. This type of redemption that I am talking about is simply not just changing the name of what is popular, give it a holy title, and then use it the exact same way it is currently functioning in, such as changing ‘myspace’ to ‘mypraise’ or ‘youtube to ‘Godtube’…which I still use youtube to find most video clips that deal with spirituality. Here are a few examples that just scratch the surface of what I am talking about…
Facebook – If it were not for facebook I would not be as updated with people as I am and vice versa. Though it is not my only means of communication with a student, facebook event pages help everyone know what is going on and then by simply changing your profile picture to a picture or logo of the upcoming event, it promotes itself.
Warning: though it is easy to stay in touch with others on facebook, it is also easy for others to be more honest and open about deeper issues that would be better discussed in person. Encourage your students to be careful what they share to others as it is hard to get something off the internet, help them by giving them a phone call sometime rather than just chatting.
Music – Though certain sounds and genres of music can be influencing, lyrics have an unbelievable power over listeners. One of the biggest examples of this is that lyrics have the power to create false realities and create a poor sense of character through shallow descriptions of the meaning of life, possession over people, sex being the main part of relationships, and derogatory comments that make us look down on others and place us higher. There is enough sad material out there to support my statement, yet our students continue to bop their heads to the beat and accept the message in some way.
One way to expose these lies is to share some of the lyrics during your program or even share it with your student on facebook and ask them what they think of the message. I would by no means make this activity a standard part of your program but expose these falsities once in a while to generate a discussion. Here is a fun example of what we did with one song…hopefully we didn’t go too far.
http://www.facebook.com/v/441284690462
Movies – Movie clips have been used to support main for a while now, as a culture of entertainment, we speak in movie quotes, so why not redeem this to make relate-able points of needful information. A few clips I have used…
Discipleship – Karate Kid
Identity – Toy Story
Redemption from wrongs – The Mission
Generosity – Pay it Forward
Be nice to others or you will be hit by a bus – Mean Girls
We owe it to those we teach and mentor to be conscious of what is going on in society and in their lives and make appropriate examples of what is right and what is wrong. Don’t be afraid to chime in some helpful wisdom, because being a friend who is acceptable of everything is not always being a true friend.
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Matt Johnson is the high school youth pastor at Coquitlam Alliance Church. He is saved by grace and loves the opportunity of serving youth ministry with his wife Kat.
Image: “Media” by *om3r
