In chains

Last night at youth group we talked about being in bondage.

6:30 Gather outdoors with Music

Our church has a beautiful front yard, flat enough to play in, with an outlet nearby. So we can play some games, gather with music and greet everyone as they arrive. It was nice to begin outdoors on such a beautiful night.

6:35 Capture the Flag with Spies

The game worked well. I used a pack of cards and distributed people into teams based on red and black cards. There were two queens in the stack of numbered cards that I used which represented a 'spy'. Once during the game the spy could switch teams. it meant that the defenders of the flag were also a little wary of each other not knowing who was the spy and who was really defending. Game one was great, a spy took the flag and scored. then we redistributed cards and played again. one spy was caught, the other never appeared. we ended the game when it got rowdy. definitely a good twist to a good game. don't forget the jails next time. I forgot to explain them (and they were critical for the night... whoops)

6:50 Snacks and Acolyte Video

on a beautiful night, we bought ice cream and frozen popscicles. when we came inside the snacks were available. it was a good decision. I liked the format. though the game was not as inclusive if someone came late, it was a good opportunity it worked fine.

6:55 Joys and Concerns

lots of good prayer requests. I think students really look forward to the chance to share with each other. the challenge is keeping everyone together and listening in the midst of sad stories that invoke further questions from friends and laughter when we rejoice. it's a good ritual for our group though.

7:05 Dan’s Talk about Prison

Pastor Dan spent a week in a maximum security prison in Louisiana a few weeks ago. He shared what it was  like to enter and engage in that community for a week. He did a great job explaining what normal looked like for them and how life was felt in prison.

7:30 Small Group – as people we often feel imprisoned in different ways. Whether that’s at school, or in life, because of our friends, pressure from parents, or how much money we have. Tonight in small groups we’re going to reflect on Dan’s story about prison and think about how to find hope in our own lives of captivity.

I think the small group conversations were well received. They were serious and interesting. I only caught glimpses, but small group leaders seemed pleased at the end.

8:10 Closing Worship

We closed with a few songs about being in captivity to different things: Blind Man, Messiah, Baby, and In Christ Alone. We always close our evening saying "you are a child of God, holy and dearly loved, Jesus loves you and so do i". It's another ritualistic action and always fits with the theme of the evening. I introduce the ritual each night with different words, last nights was the easiest. I reminded everyone that they are in captivity. we are all enslaved to one thing or another. we're broken, but God calls us to claim one another in love. claimed as God's children, not rejected, but accepted by God and by us. 

   

Bad Things

Last night at youth group we touched on the topic of evil in the world. It was a timely topic because of the recent bombing in Boston and it fit in well with the verse that our high school senior had picked out as well: James 1:2-8.

We began the evening with normal ice breakers and Joys and Concerns, followed by a few group games. We moved to the fellowship hall, stood in a circle and played "My name is ________ and I pass the ball like this..." It's a simple name game but given the variety of kids each week, it's a good reminder of all of our kids' names. Next we tried to play Go Tag... but it flopped badly! it's supposed to be a game of tag where everyone squats in a row, each person facing an opposite direction. As the runner is being chased, the tagger is supposed to be able to tap the shoulder of anyone in the line and take their spot, making a new tagger. But it just didn't work with our kids. We probably had too many students (our numbers were around 40) and the game didn't make sense. We'll try again if we have a smaller group.

Recognizing the flop, we quickly changed games. I told everyone to find a partner and elbow up. Then we played elbow tag and I pumped in some music. hilarious fun. lots of energy, it's a simple and intuitive game and totally redeemed my failed Go Tag.

When we returned to the youth room I introduced our senior, read a short Bible passage and let him speak. He was very good. He told the story of his life in kind of a mediocre faith until a mission trip to Arkansas helped him connect and make church his own. among my favorite quotes: "you don't always notice God unless your looking for him" and "I used to think that religion was all hell, fire and brimstone, but it's really all about you. If you want to connect with God, you can!"

Small groups wrestled with some questions about James 1 and about why bad things happen to us.

Faces of Denial

Last night at youth group we did too many things. actually more specifically I planned two great experiences together that should have been separated. First we gathered, broke the ice with a game called group machines and then spent about 20-25 minutes in the sanctuary filming a lip dub. Then we had a very intense discussion based on Peter's denial as I presented 4 faces of denial that we might wear. Those two events should have been separated - in fact, probably should have been their own night.

Group machines was great. We had smaller numbers probably because of the beautiful weather, but that meant our machines were quick and funny. Here's the list of machines that we had our groups act out:
Train
Helicopter
Submarine
Carousel
Roller Coaster
Excavator
Blender
Newton Ball Machine
Gumball Machine
Ferris Wheel
Coffee Machine
Automatic Doors
Castle Drawbridge
Monster Truck
Garbage Truck
The goal of the game was simply to get our kids moving, brainstorming, and active so that when we went upstairs to dance for the video we would be excited... and it worked. the kids were energized by our game and the video shoot too much longer than I expected.

Now about this lip dub. I watched a video clip of an acolyte training video and thought we could do it too. so I rewrote words to the song That's What Makes You Beautiful and a few weeks ago I sat down with a student and recorded it. Last Wednesday we invited confirmation students to dance in the video, and then we invited high school kids on Sunday. Today I'll be editing, can't say how it will turn out, but it was a lot of fun dancing in acolyte robes!

The faces of Denial was based on John 13:31-38 and John 18 25-27. After our video shoot we went back to the youth room and I spoke about Peter's denial and my own denials. in particular I mentioned 4 faces of denial that I wear: the scarecrow, the clown, the chameleon, and the thief. I remember these faces from when I was a kid, there was a skit about them. While I couldn't find the skit or rewrite it, I did present each of these faces and then kids broke into small groups to discuss them. Great discussions in most groups about different ways that we deny Christ and they also added a few faces to our list.

1. A Scarecrow. I puff myself up and pretend that I know who God is and what’s really going on in my life. I may look like I know what I’m doing, thinking or saying but I’m full of it. Full of straw with a face and smile that claims I’m doing and saying things that I think are right. There are doubts and fears that I don’t want others to know about because then I might not seem as strong. I might look weak. They might take advantage of me or not respect me, or not like me. And when it comes to my relationship with God, I do the same thing. I pretend like the answers make sense. I appear like I know what I’m doing or thinking. I act like I’m a strong Christian. I look like I know how to pray and be close to God. But, in reality, I’m just posing. That’s what a scarecrow does – poses.

2. A Clown. A clown makes his living by being a distraction. A clown makes jokes about things that are serious. A clown craves attention and smiles and laughter from others, and never seems to let serious things enter the conversation. I am a master of deflection. I know how to dance. I know how to avoid the serious tones of others and make light of the situation. I know how to do enough tricks that no one really sees me, the pain that I have, or the scars in my life. They don’t know who I am or what I think. They just see my act. In this way I deny Christ. I don’t let God be in control of my life, because I’m in control. I don’t let God be a serious influence in my life, because I’m not serious. If I’m not serious maybe the bad stuff won’t seem so bad. I’ll just take my mind off of it. After all, a clown is good at distractions.

3. A Chameleon. I blend. I change my appearance. I know how to look the right way and say the right thing so that no one really even sees me. I am in tune with my surroundings and who I surround myself, because I am a master of camouflage. My subtle head nods and my mouth moves: Yes, I think so too. I agree. But I have no idea. I don’t want to stand out. I jump from group to group, friend to friend, stranger to stranger imitating what I see. I don’t want attention, or arguments, or piercing questions. That is too dangerous. Best to blend in. And in this way I deny Christ. I don’t want to ruffle the feathers of others, or sound stupid, or look like I don’t belong. It is best to keep my questions to myself, to live with the choices of my group. I’ll just change groups if I need to anyway. I’m good at that. Because I’m a chameleon, a master of camouflage.

4. A Thief. Because I know that the most important thing in this world is me. Ultimately the choices I make are made for myself. Even when it appears that my intentions are pure, and my actions are right. I know better. I’m stealing. I’m stealing because I’m getting more than I give. I won’t offer my feelings, thoughts, and my ideas. I take them, I keep them all to myself. I’m greedy and selfish. And I do the same to God. I only take. I’m don’t like the hard parts, so I skip them. I like the parts that are all about me, so I use them. I use God for my own benefit. I’m not going out of my way to help someone else, because I am more important. That’s what makes me a thief. 

Kids added the 'D' Student - who only does the bare minimum, the Hypocondriac who always has a list of excuses why they aren't involved, the Insurance Agent who is only involved in case something bad happens, and the Judge who criticizes instead of loves.

This morning I posted a question to our facebook page about denying Christ and posted all 8 faces from last night... the conversations were cut a little short by time, but I think it's deep enough that we can revisit them again.

Stationary Soccer

Last night at youth group we heard another senior faith story. In honor of her faith story and her passion for playing soccer we also opened with a fun game called stationary soccer. The game is played a lot like foosball (everyone is appointed to stand in places on the board like a foosball table, but they must remain stationary the entire time. the ball is actually a blindfolded person who is spun around until dizzy and then asked to walk in a straight line. As the ball person gets close to a stationary person, they were allowed to redirect them with one hand for one second.

The game was great. We played two rounds, changing up where we stood each time, and were definitely done after two rounds. Choosing the right volunteers to be the ball is critical. We needed people who were not shy, and would be okay being a little jostled. it was a confusing few minutes for the ball, but they each had a really good time. I setup the game board ahead of time by putting masking tape on the floor in an offset checkered pattern. next time I would have put just  little more space between the tape spots because it was difficult at times to get the ball from one row to the next. Because we didn't know how many people we would have, I set up the game board all over the room and then arranged people and the goals after everyone was setup. Also - loud fast paced music was critical for the game - it helped confuse the blindfolded person and entertain the kids who were not close to the ball.

Of course safety was a major concern, so I had a team of adult leaders keeping the balls in play, and with our size we had three balls on the court at all times. pretty fun!

The faith story was also wonderful. Our high school student did a great job of relating her story to our teenagers and giving them a lot of hope and confidence. She spoke so positively about our youth group and the relationships there, it made me glad that we shared the story. I chose Proverbs 27:17 for the verse before she spoke because much of her story revolved around the conflict and constant encouragement that she and I shared before she got involved in our youth ministry. as Iron sharpens Iron...

We used her story to branch into a discussion about friendship and encouragement for each other, using a handful of verses to guide our discussion: Proverbs 27:17, Genesis 2:18, Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, and Philippians 2:19-21.