Posts Tagged ‘Peer Pressure’

If you haven’t seen this video of Susan Boyle on Britain’s Got Talent already, you’ve probably been hiding under a rock somewhere. They estimate it’s been watched online more than 100 million times in the last week!

(And can you believe YouTube couldn’t figure out how to make money from it?)

It’s an amazing video with a good story and a great reminder: Don’t judge a book by it’s cover. Even though Susan might look simple and “frumpy” (not my wording!), she truly blew the audience and the judges away with her absolutely amazing voice.

For me this begs the question, what gold is hiding in your students? Do you see the God-given potential in each of them, or have you judged some books by their covers?

YouTube won’t let me embed the video so the best I can offer is this link. Be sure to check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

Every student I have ever spent serious time with eventually complains, “There is nothing to do around here.”

I’ve been around the block a few times so let me tell you: There’s always nothing to do around here. It doesn’t matter whether you’re in the middle of a city, suburbia, or corn fields.  Boredom is part of student life.

Now this sexting trend is running rampant and they’re telling us that 20% of teens have done it.

Why is sexting even an issue? I think it’s the same reason students get so bored.

Forgive my broad generalizations and help me get to the point here. When their kids are young, most parents put a lot of energy into keeping them happy. We want to protect them from the hardships of life and let them enjoy their childhood.

By the time the time they are teenagers, and sometimes not even until college or after college, most students have had very little (real-life) responsibility. For many, their basic needs are taken care of and a majority of their time is spent finding entertainment and having a good time.

This me-centric period of life leaves students wanting. That’s why they can be surrounded by movie theaters and coffee houses and still be convinced that there is nothing to do while grandparents rant about this ungrateful generation. When such a great majority of your life is consumed with making yourself happy, you soon find that selfish pleasure can only take you so far.

Unfortunately, the barrage of media and culture only enforces these misconceptions and keeps students from digging deep to discover what’s really going on. All they hear, and consequently all they think, is “do this, buy that, experience this, and you will be popular and happy… tomorrow.”

This very simplistic view of adolescent life uncovers part of the root of so many issues students deal with, from sexting to drinking to drugs to sheer boredom. It’s all part of the relentless drive for fulfillment that students constantly believe is right around the corner.

Youth ministry often strives to pull students out of the snares of sin by telling, teaching, loving, discipling and encouraging, “don’t sin.”  But for some youth, that leaves a huge void: So what else should I do with all this time and energy on my hands?

Do Hard Things has some great suggestions for this. I like their approach and what it means for the broader efforts of youth ministry.

Students are passionate and ready to give themselves to a purpose. Is your youth group giving them something to live for, both in theory and in practice?

Just how young do they start “following the crowd”?

A new study found that children as young as three and four know how to recognize majority opinion, and follow it. They will even remember later who was part of the “in” crowd.

Peer pressure plays a huge role in a students’ life. It’s easy to go with the flow, but it takes a lot of motivation and ambition to go against it.

This is especially important to recognize in a culture and society that can be so blatantly anti-God. Without a firm foundation of knowing Christ, its easier and easier to get washed away in the tide of public opinion.

How has this “follow the crowd” affect impacted your youth group?