Children’s Ministry and Culture

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.

Early in your career or later? Well, rather than doing a “pros & cons” list, two professors at Duke propose using formal decision making science to this emotional choice. (hint, they suggest early in your career is best). For some fun, go to their report and even look at their video explaining the science of decision making!

http://www.fuqua.duke.edu/news/biologicalclock-1107.html

Last week J.K. Rowlings “outed” one of her characters, Dumbledore as being “gay.” Both Keith and I had celebrated her final installment of the Harry Potter series for the Christian themes of suffering, death, and resurrection.

But what do we make of this revelation? How do Christians who embraced the series react?

Rowlings described her books as an ongoing conversation about tolerance. Her descriptions of bigotry between Muggles and magical people and house elves and wizards, giants vs. humans, are rich in every book. So it should come as no surprise that Rowlings looked at our non-magical world and noticed bigotry against the homosexual community. She created a sympathetic character, a self-sacrifical hero, one capable of protecting and nurturing children.

Perhaps the Christian response would be to acknowledge that homosexuals are not completely corrupted individuals, that in spite of behavior they bear the image of God, that they are worth of respect, honor, and friendship.

Traditional Christian forbids homosexual expression; it doesn’t pretend that the homosexual is a worthless person.

So a Christian parent, whose child discovers that Dumbledore was written as a homosexual, might use the moment to first reaffirm God’s opposition to homosexual expression, but them to affirm that God expects us to extend God’s love to everyone.

Connie Neal’s book asked “What’s a Christian to Do with Harry Potter?” I supposed it’s time to ask “What’s a Christian to do with Rowlings?”

A few things must be noted. First, Rowlings has not given her position on the moral of homosexuality. She simply described a homosexual character (and to the dismay of parts of the homosexual community she never “outed” him in the books). Secondly, Christianity is larger than evangelicalism; Denominational paroxysms over the question of homosexuality.

I hold a traditional Christian view on the subject. But this doesn’t give me permision to judge Rowlings faith or status in the kingdom. I may consider what I speculate to be her position as wrong. But I may not dismiss her as a fellow believer.

In Divine Intention: How God’s Work in the Early Church Empowers Us Today (David C. Cook/ Victor), I write about the challenge of loving believers across theological lines in Chapter Four: “At Least We Aren’t…”  Eric Bryant’s “Peppermint Filled Pinatas” also offers clues on how to love across theological lines as well.

Doctrine matters. So does love.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,301370,00.html

Here are some key quotes from the article:

“The study also found that, on average, 90 percent of women worldwide will have an abortion before the age of 45, based on 2003 data. However, many women will have had multiple abortions and many none at all to come to this average.

Although the statistics may seem startling, worldwide rates of induced abortion actually fell 17 percent from 46 million to 42 million between 1995 and 2003.”

 

and

“Of the 41.6 million abortions worldwide, 35 million were in the developing countries, and 6.6 million in developed countries.

The worldwide induced abortion rate fell from 35 per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44 in 1995 to 29 per 1,000 in 2003.

That same year, 48 percent of all abortions worldwide were unsafe (up from 44 percent in 1995), and 97 percent of unsafe abortions were in developing countries. In developed countries, 92 percent of abortions were safe

Globally, there were 31 abortions for every 100 live births in 2003, while in Eastern Europe there were more abortions than live births, 105 abortions for every 100 live births, more than double the level of the next highest world region, Eastern Asia (51 abortions for every 100 livebirths).

Eastern Europe also saw the biggest decrease in abortion rates between 1995 and 2003, down 50 percent. The authors attribute this decline to an increased use of modern contraception methods.”

The study goes on to suggest that there is no corrolation between the restrictiveness of abortion laws and the abortion rates. The authors’ of the study believe the the availability of contraceptives is a strong predictor of the abortion rate.

Last night I held a class for parents on how to discuss sex and sexuality with their children. This was the most attended evening parent meeting I’ve experienced in 10 years of pastoring. What was gratifying was the fact that most of the parents who attended had young children. They weren’t waiting until their child was a teen to begin the dialogue about sexuality.

Think about how silly that approach is. During adolscence brain development slows down and hormonal development speeds up. Why wait until your child’s brain is flooded with biochemical “static” and choose that moment to begin helping him or her understand their bodies and God’s intention for sex.

Here are my presenters notes. How to Talk to Your Children About Sex

I relied heavily upon “How and When to Tell your Kids About Sex” by Stanton and Brenna B. Jones in my research. And I highly, highly recommend the “God’s Design for Sex” series by Nav  Press as tools to get into your parents hands so they can talk about sex.

A couple of tactical notes for children’s pastors considering empowering parents to take the lead on this issues: I don’t think I could have gotten away with this class my first few years at Grace. To was too young, too newly married, and not a seasoned parent. In short, I hadn’t earned my congregation’s trust. If you are young, or single, or too whatever, but you know that parents need to be equipped on the subject, consider enlisting a doctor or psychologist from within your church to be the presenter.

And here is the hard part. You have to model for your parents how it is that they need to talk to their children about sex. So if you want them to use the proper names for body parts with their, you need to be able to discuss penises and vaginas in Christian mixed company without turning seven shades of pink. It’s what it is.

Here’s a freebie: visit www.funchristiansex.com to download a free podcast. Dr. Steve Simpson and Dr. Ryan Howes do a great job with their podcast, it’s funny and informative. It’s a great resource for you and the parents you serve.