Children’s Ministry and Culture

There’s an excellent article at Kidscreen.com on how Echo Boomers (Millenials) view their role as parents and relate to marketing. This is a worthy read for anyone developing a way to pitch their children or family ministry to parents.

 Here are some highlights:

1) Echo Boomers value self-expression and encourage their children to do the same. They look to reveal thier personality w/ personal fashion, iphones, facebook.com, myspace.com.

– 39% of Echo Boomers agree with the statement “I follow the rules” as opposed to 57% of Xer’s.

– Echo Boomer parents challenge parenting “experts” and tend to see themselves as the source of sage advice.

2) Echo Boomers tend to live in the moment and not plan.

– Saving for retirement/college is a lower priority

– Xer parents valued edutainment toys. Echo Boomers seem to just want their toys to be fun.

3) Both Echo Boomers and Xers place a high premium of spending time with family.

4) Both groups are concerned about the volume and quality of advertising their children are exposed to.

5)  Both Echo Boomers and Xers believe that with proper supervision that they can use media to reinforce their values.

2)

http://www.philvischer.com/?p=103

Scoot over to www.philvischer.com and read up on his pulling “Pulling Back the Curtain” posts. Phil has announced the upcoming launch of a new website that will allow children to experience Christian media online. We’ve posted about the digital shift and how educationally the church is stuck in the “digital flannelgraph” stage of using tech in the church.

This new iniative has the potential to be a another step in the right direction on reaching media saturated children.

Also of value in Phil’s posts…his contention that Christian video for children is taking a step backward. (Wal-marts will only carry the tested and true. Its not a market that invites upstarts.)

K! has an excellent article by Rex Miller, the author of the Millennium Matrix, entitled “What would Luther Do?”(March/April 200
Miller writes:

“The basic educational model (secular or religious) including the classroom arrangement, subject classifications, and teacher/student relationship has not significantly changed since the 15th Century. The locus is learning subject content with some memorization, and some form of testing to see if anything stuck. Churches have also learned that if they want to keep the kids attention that htey have to play games, hand out rewards like candy or tokens to redeem, sing some energetic songs, and perform “edutainment.”

“Think about that scenario for a moment. Compare it to how children relate to and experience their current world. Their online world is far more sophisticated and interactive…

“Our kids’ world functions in a multi-disciplinary, highly customized, real time, interconnected, convergent, on-demand, interactive, “ain’t nothing the way you think it is”, hands-on, multi-sensory laboratory of the mind. Learning has moved from static content to highly contextual real world applications.”

Miller also writes, “We’re still using old mindsets even though some are trying to use new tools.”

I’m prepping for my talks at Willowcreek in April and I did some research on the falling prices of video editing software. I’m convinced that the falling price of non-linear video editing software has absolutely changed the game of how we teach. From my notes:

a.      In 1990, the first affordable video editing software/hardware solution, the Video Toaster, was offered for the Commodore Amiga 2000 for the shockingly low price of $1499. (In the  eighties only  studios  like  Lucas-film had this  stuff!

b. Today a consumer version of Adobe Premiere Elements sells for $79, Avid’s Pinnacle Studio Plus 11 sells for $99

c.      Microsoft offers a simplified version of Movie Maker for free on certain versions of Windows.

 The affordable video editing software has led to the proliferation of high quality curriculums that center around DVD pieces. A few months ago I wrote a piece of Children’s Ministry magazine about the dangers of the DVD pieces crowding out the relational strength of our ministry. But on the flip side, we had the opportunity to become more visual in our presentations, faster-paced, and edgy. That’s a good thing.

Borrowing a line from the book Principles of Interactive Excellence we should evaluate this next-gen curriculum not on it’s production value, but by its ability to spark conversation.

Ben Stein, the actor and comedian, has a new documentary coming out this Spring which deals with the issue of academic bias against scientists who espouse Intelligent Design.

Check out www.expelledthemovie.com. Which Stein decked out like the AC-DC front man (think of the song “Who Made Who”) and you get the impression that this movie would be anti-ID.

Athiest Richard Dawkins made the same mistake. In this NYT’s article, Dawkins reports feeling misled– that he believed he was contributing to a movie which defamed ID.

The article goes on to state that Stein doesn’t disavow evolution–however he believes that it isn’t alone enough to explain the origins of life. Stein is also concerned with social Darwinism. He is quoted as saying that if he were to have titled the film he would have called it “From Darwin to Hitler.”

probably the smartest news program on right now is Frontline, the PBS show which illustrates in measured detail everything it covers. Tonight is a great show for those in Children’s Ministry about “Kids Growing Up Online” which gives you a sense of what I (as a parent) live with constantly and what you (as a minister) will come to understand among your kids. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/kidsonline/ for more and it’s terrific!

One great (and sad) quote from one teacher, “This is not for me, this is not the environment I signed up for!” WOW I was stunned to see a teacher who was loathe to learn and who resisted the new media through which her students turned!

Check out this very up-to-date professor from UC Berkeley (http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~cjpascoe/) who is really up to date on the sociology of kids!!!!! Also look at the estimable http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/home/

Final quote: “It’s been said that the internet has created the greatest generation gap in history!” ?????

David Wakerly is one of the brilliant children’s pastors at Hillsongs, in Australia. He recently offered an excellent list of survival skills for the children’s pastor in our ever changing culture.

http://www.davidwakerley.com/2008/01/06/survival-strategies/

Wakerly says he doesn’t “get it.” This is a sign that he does.

Check out the #1 and #2 bestselling book properties the week  of Christmas.

The Golden Compass might have flopped on the big screen but might find new life in children’s reading.

http://www.kidscreen.com/articles/daily/20080102/bestsellers.html

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22349329/

Does art imitate life? Or was  it “life imitates art? Ask Tolstoy. But now art and life seem to be walking arm in arm. In both the hit film Juno and in the life of Jaymie Lynn Spears (Brittney’s younger sister) two sixteen-year-old girls become pregnant, consider abortion, but opt to keep the baby.

According to MSNBC.COM, “Juno” is the latest in a series of recent movies in which the heroine, faced with an unexpected pregnancy, chooses not to have an abortion. Others include “Knocked Up,” “Waitress” and “Bella.”

Conservative groups offer concerns that Hollywood is offering up role models from teenage or adult unwed pregnancies.

MSNBC.com continues:

“Dr. Vanessa Cullins, vice president for medical affairs at the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said these story lines — generally with upbeat endings — oversimplify the tough choices facing real-life girls and women.”

and

“Demie Kurz, a sociologist who co-directs the University of Pennsylvania’s women’s studies program, noted that the “Juno” heroine and Jamie Lynn Spears come from well-off families and do not represent the many girls from low-income backgrounds who get pregnant.”

Kurz goes to suggest that the recent movies rejecting abortion are indicative of the US political climate.

…

This story leaves me with a few thoughts. The first is so obvious that I’ll barely mention it: Sex, outside of it’s God given context, is complicated.

But secondly, this story makes me wonder about how our society has come to relate to narrative. We seem consumed with the idea of “role models.” We want our stories to have neat moral endings.

When you look at our scriptures, particularly the OT, and especially when you consider sexual behavior, the Bible contains precious few “role models.” What we get are tales of rape, incest, polygamy, and adultery. Seldom does the narrator’s voice label the behavior as wrong (in Genesis anyway, moreso during the Monarchy).

I wonder if there isn’t room to appreciate these films (and I admit I haven’t seen one of them) for their ability to generate conversation, and to get teens and parents discussing sexuality, parenthood, and the sanctity of life.

I rented Amazing Grace last night and was caught off guard. I’m generally not a big fan of Christian movies due to what I percieve to be a gap in quality (poor script, poor acting, low budget, and dubious theology). But Amazing Grace delivered.If you aren’t familiar with the movie, Amazing Grace tells the story of William Wilberforce’s abolitionist efforts to crush the slave trade in England.

There are so many leadership lessons in this movie: William’s perserverance, creating emotional experiences that promote learning, using personal testimonies to change minds, the art of brokering deals, the art of properly framing a problem.

Definately view this movie for your own benefit. And consider viewing the entire film, or key clips with your leadership team.

I don’t want to give spoilers, but here’s one scene that you could use with your teams:

Show Chapter 12: “Smell of Death.” Wilberforce uses the pretext of a volunteer appreciation cruise, complete with orchestra and fine dining, to get a group of aristrocrats to witness what a slave ship is actually like.

Debriefing Questions:

1) What senses were involved in this learning experience?

2) How did this experience overcome the objections that England’s economy would crumble if slave trade were abolished?

3) When did Jesus use experiential learnng to train his followers?

4) What leadership challenges does our children’s ministry leadership team face? How can we use experiential learning to lead our team?