Youthblog : Christian Youth Work & Ministry

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January 31, 2006

Count your blessings

Christian Aid have produced a Lent resource called Count your blessings, In their words ...

'Giving up something for Lent? Chocolate? Alcohol? Take a radical approach this year with our free Lent resources for adults and children – give up giving up and give instead! There’s something to get you thinking each day, counting your blessings and making a difference for some of the world’s poorest people'

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Posted by ian at 5:07 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

January 30, 2006

An uplifting Hymn

We had a blog and share a few days ago about unfortunate lines from Hymns BUT how's this for a line? Encountered and sung by Steve Tilley :-) Had the youth group been present I suspect it would have been some months before they stopped sniggering.

Posted by ian at 4:20 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Monday Splurgestuff

Is Monday a terrible way to spend one seventh of your life? Or is it a day full of opportunity and possibility, exisiting as it does, near the start of the week? Well good morning to you whichever of these camps you fall in to. I'm feeling a lot less whelmed than I was and have enjoyed a 24 hour break away with Jo (my wife), our first night without kids in years! (A lie-in until 8am was such bliss)

Anyway here's the weekly splurge:

I visited a Church on Friday where the youth team have contact with 300 young people a week through the clubs, open groups, football initiatives and detached project! BUT even they have members of the congregation who question what they are doing as it doesn't translate to bums on seats for the Sunday morning service! (Thought you'd be encouraged that it's not just you!).

Jam no. 10 is out and is looking good, really great youth friendly mag' that I've plugged before (and am plugging again). VERTIGO is happening next weekend, come along .... it'd be great to see you! If you are going to SOULNET at Centre Parcs then I wish you a FABULOUS time (I may write some stuff about this in the week having been before twice). I'm going to the CONNECT conference tomorrow! It brings together all the key people who are involved in training volunteers involved in Christian Youthwork. If you've got rants, questions, suggestions or queries ... then punt them this way!

Thought for the week:

Sometimes the way things have always been done is worth challenging and a much better, more useful model emerges!

And sometimes you find out the old way actually was much better for all sorts of reasons!

.......... Finally, a huge thank you to Daniel! Out of the blue he sent me a present, an important text book on the emerging shed movement that I enjoyed hugely :-)

Posted by ian at 12:58 AM | Comments (7)

January 27, 2006

Party Pooper Warning Light

I was visiting a great youth club last night, awesome bunch of teens and a superb team! I had a lot of fun even if I did get beaten at Table Tennis by Chris and Chris(Bob). Anyway here's the blogworthy funny story:

There was a bit of a group time and the end of which there was a prayer. As the prayer ended everyone shouted 'AMEN' really loud and looked up at the ceiling. As the 'Amen' resounded around the hall a light fitted to the rafters came on, lit up then went off. Everyone then went back to chatting, dancing to 80's music (true), table tennis, making cookies and the like!

"What was that?" I asked

Anyway, it turns out the "God Light" as the group call it is intended more as a 'party pooper' light! It's a system fitted by the residents association (from the houses by the hall). If the noise reaches a certain volume the light comes on as a visual warning. If the warning is not heeded and the volume continues then ALL (I mean ALL) the electricity to the hall is cut off!

All credit to the group for redeeming he most officious piece of electronics I HAVE EVER ENCOUNTERED!

Posted by ian at 10:10 AM | Comments (4)

January 26, 2006

Consistently Whelmed

There's a lot going on at the moment and I am in a constant state of being whelmed! That is I can't really claim to be over-whelmed, but the mix of family, work, college and placement currently equates to a constant state of whelm! It's not a state I function very well in as it squeezes out the creativity and fun. HOWEVER I am going to keep this blog short, stay at my desk through to my meeting this evening and work de-whelmingly hard. Shalom :-)

"It's at times like this I wish I'd listened to what my mother said!"

"Why, what did she say?"

"I don't know ..... I wasn't listening"

Posted by ian at 2:59 PM | Comments (4)

Youth group Tuck Shop

To have Coke or Pepsi, that is the question!

Posted by ian at 8:49 AM | Comments (12)

January 24, 2006

Unfortunate Lines from Chorus & Hymns

A bunch of us were having a discussion yesterday about lines from Hymns/Choruses that had reduced the youth group to hysterics. One youth worker's group had totally "lost it" during a chorus that called for "a tongue to be put into our mouths!"
Given the capacity of teenagers (and come to think of it youth workers) to spot innuendo ANYWHERE, there must be some good stories out there? Do share a moment via the comments and know that youth workers on three continents will be howling with laughter shortly too.

My favourite story that is one that I've never been able to verify but is worth telling anyway. The narrative broadly is that two of the lads from a Church met up regularly on a Sunday afternoon with others to play football. The game didn't allow much time for getting home, changed and to the evening service. One of the lads had dashed home and being in a rush to shower had slipped, falling out of the shower and bashed his head on the toilet.
Arriving at Church his friend had asked about the obvious bump/mark on his head and heard the details of the mishap. This is where the story would have ended if the First hymn had not contained the line,

"Gone throught the curtain, held onto the throne!"

at which point they both errupted into uncontrollable laughter. Nice!

Posted by ian at 11:07 AM | Comments (15)

Couple of dates for the diary

10th May 2006 FYT are hosting a day in Birmingham for youth workers to share experience and reflect on working with young people in multi faith settings. Details from Nigel Pimlott.

17th March 2006 World Visions 24 hour famine weekend. For a free fundraising pack call 01908 84 12 12

Posted by ian at 9:42 AM | Comments (0)

January 23, 2006

Evangelism day

Had a really cool discussion day on Evangelism, Bishop Stephen was hosting the discussion and was absolutely top notch. Lots of stuff to digest.
Talking of digestion, dining in the Great Hall at Christ Church was fab AND NOT because of the Harry Potter connection, just 'cos it was fab!

Quote of the day was when Bishop Stephen was telling us about him being challenged on, when all this 'new' (implication = wishy washy/un-Biblical) talk about 'our christian journey' became a feature of evangelism?

His reply,

"Well ........ it is difficult to put an exact time on it, but probably ... around Tea Time on the FIRST Easter day!"

Posted by ian at 4:33 PM | Comments (2)

Contextless splurging

I was on duty at Drop-in at the Youth Club on Friday and it went brilliantly! Some of you know that it's been quite tough, but this week we had great conversations, real engagement and the teenagers taking some responsibility. HUGELY encouraging AND I've got funding for the residential I want to run with this group. Frustratingly though two of the key girls won't even entertain the idea as they have never/will never stay away from home!

It's a slow news week in youthworkdom so I have little for the Monday round up so far. Was really impressed with this idea from Andy though, he ran a Church crawl with his group. Well impressed!

I'm at Christ Church Cathedral all day today (or at least somewhere in Tom Quad) as our department are having an away day to consider 'evangelism' within our mission, vision and practice!

Weird moment of the weekend was writing to a friend and signing off with the line, "I have to go and Hoover now" but MS Word auto changed in to "I have to go and hover now!" My friend will think I have strange mystical levitational powers ..... And I thought It was nature that abhorred a vacuum, not Microsoft?
Oh and my favourite time waster at the moment is trying to break through the 3000 barrier on Nev's Jam Buster!

Auf wiederblog and Shalom

Posted by ian at 12:36 AM | Comments (0)

January 20, 2006

De-lurking continues

De-lurking continues here: A chance to say Hi, without being traced, type amnsety.

Big Hi to everyone who has said Hi, so far, it's been great to learn a bit more about who visits and I've loved the quotes especially the "ski through a revolving door" and the "Second mouse gets the cheese" ones :-)

Posted by ian at 9:48 AM | Comments (2)

What does a youth worker do?

A 'few' years ago when I was a full time Salesman and a volunteer youth leader I was often presented with the question,
"What do you do?"
Being (maybe) somewhat of an extrovert and quite vocal, I guess there was a certain amount of pre-judging of me that had already occurred. It was, however, still slightly frustrating that when I said, "I'm a Salesman!" people generally rolled their eyes and said "I should have guessed!" This happened so many times that for fun, variation and so not to be pigeon-holed, I adopted an imaginary profession!
The Story: I'd met a girl at a party in Bristol who was a 'Cellular Molecular Pathologist' and thought this was quite cool. With the facts that I gleaned from our conversation, as well as bits 'n bobs about Histology that I'd picked up from med' students I became quite adept at describing my adopted role. So here's the confession, to various people (especially that I met on holidays) I was a Cellular Molecular Pathologist!
The reason I mention all this is that I am ocassionally tempted to resurect my fictional career as I'm tired of people asking, "er ... what exactly does a youthworker do?" after revealing my profession.

So in order that I am not tempted to Lie, anyone got a good answer? I'm hoping for a pithy paragraph that encapsulates the ability to build relationship/trust with young people, mentions theology, management, sociology, psychology, understanding of adolescent development. Doesn't over look skills in mentoring, discipleship, intervention, negotiation, mediation and group work. Takes in health and safety, communication, organisation, fund raising etc. That kind of thing, over to you :-)

Mind you, some people don't think we need to know anything!

Posted by ian at 9:21 AM | Comments (5)

January 19, 2006

Snakes and Ladders

The statutory youth work that I am involved in continues to be a game of 'Snakes and Ladders' without, in fact, any ladders! They are the most challenging bunch of young people I've ever worked with and despite comitted work from the team we continue to move only a couple of 'spaces' forward before hitting another snake and things sliding downwards. There have been encouragements but despite positive relationships with the young people they 'kick-off' at a moments notice! This week I really felt we were making progress only to see an attempt to break down the fire doors, a fire extinguisher let off and stuff thrown at me. I am trying to work with some of the young people to put together a residential for Easter. I really believe this could be fantastic IF we can pull it off, a chance to be out of the usual situtaion and to experience community. So watch this space, failure is not an option :-) Faith, prayer, youth work and patience!

"There is no such thing as a difficult person -
just difficult behaviour" Pip Wilson

On a lighter note I'm really enjoying the comments and e-mails as a result of de-lurking week. Do continue to add to this.

Posted by ian at 7:49 AM | Comments (0)

January 17, 2006

Lurkers Entirely Welcome

Who actually reads Youthblog? It's an interesting question as I'm not entirely sure. BRAVENET gives me a bit of an idea but only a bit and I'd love more of an idea of who virtually drops in on a regular or semi-regular basis! WELCOME!

I was thrilled to discover via Tall Skinny Kiwi that Paper Napkin had announced a delurking week! A kind of ammnesty opportunity to just say, Hi

Now, 'Lurking' in this context is entirely positive, it refers to all the lovely people who turn up, read the blog and silently disappear without a word or a comment.

You are extremely welcome to continue doing this however here is an invitation to leave a comment. You only have to click on "comments" then type in a name/nickname, Put a quote/lyric/thought into the box (no need for e-mail or URL) and press publish! You cannot be traced but I'll know a name, enjoy your quote and smile! Thank you :-)

oh and If you're from a different country you could include that too .... eg 'Jeremy from Iceland'

Posted by ian at 3:29 PM | Comments (28)

Zen and the art of youth services

Had an e-mail from a guy named Ben I met at a youth service last year. He poses a how do you start? stylee question about youth services. Thought it'd be really cool if worshippers from across Blogdonia could chip in with their experiences and insights ..... and critical questions Ben should be thinking about.

"I'm currently looking into getting some kind of youth service going at my church and was wondering if you have any tips on the best way of doing this like ways of getting speakers, organising a band and the kind of things to actually include in the service"

Posted by ian at 12:14 AM | Comments (6)

January 16, 2006

10 pin bowling record

For years I seemed to go ten pin bowling twice a year, once with the youth group, once at a camp. I never really improved and only ever got scores of between 100 and 130 :-( The local bowling alley though has a January sale at £1 a game so if I'm passing I pop in for a practice. I had a gap between appointments today so I grabbed a lane. Now I've often been told before that I bowl entirely the wrong way AND use the wrong weight of ball (all true), but check this out ....

Filed under "Feeling just a little bit smug!" Don't be surprised if the next Youth Work network day is a bowling trip! It's an Antlers thing :-)

Posted by ian at 4:18 PM | Comments (4)

First Splurge of '06

Hey this is the first Monday Splurge of '06 as I completely forgot about the tradition. So what's what and what's not in the world of youth work?

I had a really encouraging meeting on Friday night. I was in a distant corner of the Diocese meeting a group of six churches. They've built some great youth work up from nothing and have a committed team and a vibrant programme which the Area Dean is not only supportive of but involved in, cool huh! And there's more, they've raised funding for a youth worker to take the work forward AND have developed such a good relationship with a local Convent that they are being given a wing of the building to use as a Youth Centre.

RESPECT! (no not George Galloways' party which he has so succesfully enhanced via Big Brother?!) the government idea. You'll find details here and I reckon it's worth keeping a copy so that we can make sure this is the level of respect that young people can expect to be given as well as to give! Meanwhile the Conservative party have launched the Real Respect programme, I'll bring you details of Labours 'Really Real Respect' programme as soon as they counter back :-)
Crusaders have been reaching out to young people for 100 years this year and if like me you've had any connections with the organisation you may want to get yourself down to the Albert Hall on May 20th as it should be QUITE a CELEBRATION. Details here.
Nearer to home can I plug a couple of events? Vertigo is coming up again on Feb 4th, it should be a monster event, I need more bods for the Cafe team ... is it you?

Training wise: Feb 7th at Church House in Oxford I'm running some training called, "How to do sex with your youth group?" If you are wondering how to cover the Bible, Birds 'n Bees then e-mail me for more details.

And finally, here's todays fun challenge:

Posted by ian at 12:08 AM | Comments (1)

January 13, 2006

Health and Safety slip ups

Posted by ian at 10:25 AM | Comments (0)

Friday Fun

As a comment to the previous entry Mark linked to one of Jonny Bakers worship tricks that combined (UK) advert tag lines into a liturgy. Cool!
It reminded me that I have a long list of adverts from the last 30 years that may amuse you or be the basis of a useful quiz (very UK and some just regional) You'll find them below ....

1 stays sharp to the bottom of the glass:Harp lager
2 hands that do dishes that are soft as your face: Fairy Liquid
3 I'm a secret lemonade drinker: R Whites
4 come one come all to Tommy Balls
5 kills all known germs...dead: Domestos
6 homes for good living: Maunders
7 peanuts 'n' chocolate! Marathon
8 the sweet you can eat between meals: Milky Way
9 it is. are you? The Independent
10 refreshes the parts other beers cannot reach Heineken
11 if you can't beat 'em join 'em Tetley
12 goes down great guns Stones
13 for great lager follow the bear
14 you have the questions we have the Hansas
15 I wish I were in Greenall Whitley land
16 the cream of Manchester Boddingtons
17 mine's a pint of Best, gurtcha Courage Best
18 a hazelnut in every bite Topic
19 tell them about the honey mummy Sugar Puffs
20 for men that don't have to try too hard Denim
21 deodorant and aftershave for one all over smell Insignia
22 refreshes your breath, naturally Wrigley's Double Mint
23 melt in your mouth not in your hand Minstrels
24 really satisfies Snickers
25 the longer lasting snack Twix
26 they drink it in the Congo Um Bongo
27 Peanuts!!!!! Jungle Fresh
28 too good to hurry mints Murray Mints
29 is she or isn't she? Harmony Hairspray
30 when a man you've never met before suddenly gives you flowers Impulse
31 it's a miracle but we've made it Quattro
32 I'm fond of strawberry yoghurt and chewy sweets are fun Yogo's
33 It needn't be hell with Nicotinell
34 when you walk through the door you're pound's worth more Williams
35 everything you want from a store and a little bit more Safeway
36 a man's gotta chew what a man's gotta chew Texan Bar
37 avez-vous un cuppa? PG Tips
38 Armley Leeds and Bradford Road Batley Mike's Carpets
39 watch out there's a Humphrey about Unigate Dairies
40 if you see Sid, tell him British Gas privatisation
41 schhh! you know who Schweppes
42 it's what your neighbourhood needs Mace
43 It's the Nova and it's neat; you can take it out to lunch.
44 Think once think twice, think bike
45 Don't mix radials and crossplys
46 Only a fool breaks the five second rule
47 Overtaking at junctions don't do it
48 We won't be there when you cross the road so always use the Green Cross Code
49 Always let the other fella know where you're going
50 The mark of a man Old Spice
51 The better way to start the day Nescafe
52 Hand built by Robots Fiat Strada
53 Get away Lunn Poly
54 Schoene Gebaeude. Rover 800
55 Ja, Britischer Architekt! Rover 800 (again)
56 Strewth! there's a bloke down there with no strides on! Fosters
57 Reassuringly expensive Stella Artois
58 This man put a million on black, and it come up red VW Golf
59 Vorsprung durch technik Audi
60 Your flexible friend Access
61 Accepted in more places than certain charge cards I could mention Barclaycard
62 Full of eastern promise Turkish Delight
63 A taste of paradise Bounty
64 When you're sitting home alone, make new friends on the telephone Chatback
65 Don't just book it Thomas Cook It
66 I wish they all could be Caledonian girls
67 The world's favourite airline British Airways
68 Either get a flip top head, or get a Reach Toothbrush
69 See the face you love light up with Terry's All Gold
70 Polish up your English
71 All you can do is chew Rowntree's Fruit Pastilles
72 The right one Martini
73 The real thing Coca Cola
74 They taste better than they look, look, look KP Discos
75 The pen is mightier than the sword Daily Express
76 The appliance of science Zanussi
77 You can put the dinner on - I'll be home in 20 minutes McCain Oven Chips
78 Will it be chips or jacket spuds? will it be carrots or frozen peas? Bird's Eye Steakhouse Grills
79 If only all places were like Milton Keynes
80 Come to Peterborough and experience the Peterborough effect
81 Life's always better in the Sun
82 If you like a lot of chocolate on your biscuit join our club
83 Ariston and on and on.
84 They're waffly versatile Bird's Eye potato waffles
85 Look for the D C Cook sign
86 If only we knew it how Do It All do it you can bet we'd be doing it as well
87 Monsieur, with these Ferrero Rocher you are really spoiling us
88 A glass and a half of milk in every half pound Cadbury's Dairy Milk
89 Central heating for kids Ready Brek
90 Jim Dunk says, "don't drink it" Molson Canadian Lager
91 Marvin the mountie always gets his man Labatt's
92 it's not all work work work you know National Westminster Bank
93 the bank that likes to say yes TSB
94 the listening bank Midland Bank
95 a big bank for a big world Barclays
96 get a little extra help Halifax
97 the lighter way to enjoy chocolate Maltersers
98 made to make your mouth water Opal Fruits
99 they're tasty tasty very very tasty they're very tasty Kellogg's Bran Flakes
100 sculpt your hair any way you like it Studio Line
101 Bakers born and bred Warburton's
102 No no no no no no no no no! No! No! No! No! Oh all right then, I'll meet you halfway First Direct
103 Bread's better wi' nowt taken out Allinson's
104 Apples hazlenuts bananas, raisins coconuts sultanas Kellogg's Fruit 'n' Fibre
105 The milky bars are on me !
106 Its an Equitable Life , Henry
106a Lovely !! Philadelphia (yes, we did cheat)
107 A drink's too wet without one McVitie's Rich Tea
108 You can't put a better bit of butter of your knife Country Life
109 One too many and you might turn Bertie
110 A newspaper, not a snooze paper Mail On Sunday
111 Let your fingers do the walking Yellow Pages
112 Fresh as the moment when the pod went pop !
113 helps you work, rest and play Mars bar
114 Everyone's a fruit and nut case
115 just enough to give your kids a treat Cadbury's Fudge
116 Every bubble's passed its fizzical ! Corona
117 Devon knows how they make it so creamy Ambrosia Creamed Rice
118 They're grrreat !! Kellogg's Frosties
119 I'd rather have a bowl of Coco Pops
120 My mate Marmite
121 Bet you can't eat three Shredded Wheat
122 Only Smarties have the answer
123 Ho ho ho, Green Giant
124 it's gotta lotta bottle Milk
125 Mmmmm ! Matteson's
126 You can be sure of Shell
127 Tap it, unwrap it Terry's chocolate orange
128 Come on ! Be a super shaker ! Nesquik
129 It's slightly rippled with a flat underside Cadbury's Boost
130 Put a tiger in your tank Esso
131 Rah rah rah !! Butterkist popcorn
132 Let the juice loose ! Maynard's Wine Gums
133 8 out of 10 owners who expressed a preference said their cats preferred it. Whiskas
134 Make room for the mushrooms
135 They'll be around forever Hula Hoops
136 Shake 'em Daisy McDonald's
137 This dirt says hot, the label says not Aerial
138 Encrusted with honey, nuts and brown sugar Kellogg's crunchy nut cornflakes
139 Break the sound barrier Maxell
140 When your carpet smells fresh your room does too Shake 'n' vac
141 The totally tropical taste Lilt
142 Open, pour, be yourself once more Oasis
143 Made in Scotland from girders Irn Bru
144 Ask for freephone 2361 OK? Kays (mail order catalogue)
145 Where people come first - and come back again Mitchell Self Drive
146 They're Yummy for Your Tummy! Milky Way Magic Stars
147 How do you eat yours? Cadbury's Creme Eggs
148 We want to be Smiths crisps
149 More reasons to shop at Morrison's
150 Every little helps Tesco
151 Good food costs less at Sainsbury's
152 Britain at its best BP
153 A company from over here that is also doing rather well over there Hanson Trust
154 A tough act to follow John Smiths
155 Aaaah! Bisto
156 The best a man can get Gillette
157 Splash it all over Brut
158 Looking good for your future Scottish Widows
159 To be this good takes ages Sega
160 specially brewed for the can Long Life
161 loves the jobs you hate Mr Muscle
162 won't let you down Sure
163 exceedingly good cakes Mr Kipling's
164 probably the best lager in the world Carlsberg
165 Taste the rainbow of fruit flavours Skittles
166 Everything we do is driven by you Ford
167 They fizzibly melt Skips
168 Get busy with the fizzy Soda Stream
169 They're chewy, not chalky Rennies
170 Tense, nervous headache? Anadin
171 Plink plink fizz Alka Seltzer
172 Oh Clifford! Listerine mouthwash
173 3-in-1 protection for your family Colgate toothpaste
174 I want a toy, chocolate and a surprise! Kinder egg
175 It's tingling fresh Gibbs SR
176 Fresh from the captain's table Bird's Eye Fish Fingers
177 The mild cigar Hamlet
178 You're never alone with a Strand
179 Still working Colgate Actibrush
180 Beware of expensive imitations Sekonda
181 Call Eileen Bilton Warrington - Runcorn Development Agency
182 Champion of the north Sunday Sun
183 Cheaper than you think
184 The lion goes from strength to strength Peugeot
185 Do yourself a favour be a liquor saver
186 Mints are meant to be like they've always been...rock hard! Minties
187 Chocolate heaven since 1911Thorntons
188 Mellow Birds will make you smile
189 Bring on the Black Tower
190 Bring out the Branston
191 Be the best Territorial Army
192 Fit the best Everest
193 Rollin' Rollin' Rollin' Wagon Wheels
194 Number one in DIY Marley Homecare
195 Take two bottles into the shower? Wash 'n' Go
196 It's frothy, man Cresta
197 Clunk click Every Trip
198 Lipsmackinthirstquenchinacetastingmotivatingoodbuzzincooltalkinhighwalkinfastlivin... Pepsi
199 Go get 'em, Floyd Toffo
200 The biggest snack pennies can buy Monster Munch

Posted by ian at 9:36 AM | Comments (2)

January 12, 2006

Rhidian Brook

I mentioned a superb thought for the day a while back on Hoodies that was done by Rhidian Brook. I hadn't realised that he's a regular contributor to Radio 4 and I'm grateful to Charlotte for the link. I was especially impressed with this one that uses only song lyrics to express that 'we cry out'

" ...Dry your eyes mate. We can be heroes just for one day.
Today is gonna to be the day that they're gonna throw it back to you.
by now you should have found out you realise what you gotta do.
Time to make the change, come on you rock and rollers.
Look at the stars see how they shine for you
With the boys from the Mersey and the Thames and the Tyne...
All the people, so many people, and they all go hand in hand, hand in hand
Nothing to say but what a day
It's going to be a glorious day.
A beautiful day
I can feel it coming in the air tonight, O Lord...
Won't you help to sing these songs of freedom ..."

I reckon this would be great to use as a Youth session and/or to get young people to compose their feelings purely from lyrics.

Posted by ian at 12:09 AM | Comments (3)

January 11, 2006

Aslan vs Hobbes: A tale of two Kitties

Picked this up via the legendary Dave Walker, well written piece on the commercializing of Aslan in comparison to Watterson's Calvin! A cautionary exploration of what happens to the exploited character, how its potency is diminished, As the author puts it, "Garfield meet Aslan!"

"Which cat do you like better," I asked my friend, "Aslan or Hobbes?" He hemmed and hawed for a bit, then replied, "Probably Hobbes." He explained that Aslan inspires his faith, but Hobbes—he paused, finding it hard to articulate his appreciation—"I mean, I love who he is to Calvin. He's just, you know; he's just awesome."

If you're a fan of Narnia, comparing Aslan to Hobbes may seem incongruous, if not sacrilegious. After all, Aslan is the Creator and ruler of Narnia, an obvious Christ-figure who sacrifices his life to save the undeserving Edmund. Hobbes is a stuffed tiger with a weakness for tummy rubs. As feline characters go, Aslan is far more serious than Hobbes.

Or so you would think" .. more

E.J Parks

Posted by ian at 12:03 AM | Comments (2)

January 10, 2006

The Island

I watched The Island last night on DVD. It's a film about a facility that bio-engineers clones for spare part surgery when their "sponsor" requires them. The Clones are kept in isolation and believe they are the only survivors of a world wide and lethal contamination. But "Lincoln Six Echo" (Ewan McGregor) realises that, not all is as it seems! The film becomes a quasi Sci-fi high action escape chase that on the way calls in at ethics, human values and some truly unsubtle product placement. Ewan McGregor is great and when you see him acting his clone self and his client self subtely differently it brings home his acting ability. The stunts are nuts and lots of stuff gets destroyed, Sean Bean is suitably creepy and Scarlet Johanssen is suitably lovely!
On one level it's a great no-brain high octane sci-fi thriller romp! On another level it's quite a horrific and disturbing film. I seriously do not think this should have a '12' rating in the UK with the casual violence and qualmless executions it contains. (In fact I wonder whether it actually has? IMDB say it's a UK 12A and Amazon reckon it's a '15' but I see that BBFC have rated two different cuts, one at 12 and one at 12A. In the US it carries this tag, "Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action").
In terms of usability for discussions in youth group/ministry setting though it has shed loads of mileage, there's issues of hope, meaning, purpose, ethics, human value, greed and consumerism.

Anyway, using my usual evaluation methods I'll put my highly subjective rating below.

Watchability for a Youth weekend (providing it's for 14's and older)

Useability for teaching and discussion

Posted by ian at 8:48 AM | Comments (0)

God Slot 2

Thanks for the comments about the 'God Slot' it was good to read through the stories, musings and examples. I wasn't dismissing the God Slot (I nearly wrote 'dissing,' then realised that I sounded a bit trying-to-be-pseudo-cool *laughing*) but wanted to throw it into discussion, it was good to have some positive stories of God Slotiness!
I guess one of the difficulties I have with the SLOT approach is when it's communication firmly and heavily aimed AT young people without the possibility of dialogue. How 'bout some stories today about stuff that's really allowed young people to share their thoughts and experiences .... a kind of 'God Listening' thing!
What and why has stuff worked? Reflections appreciated ....

Posted by ian at 12:21 AM | Comments (7)

January 9, 2006

The God Slot

Sometimes I've pretty much worked out what I'm going so say before I start, this is not one of those ocassions! However I do want to throw open a debate to the combined might of the elect-blog-intellect on the subject of ..........

The God Slot?

First of all let's define terms. By the 'God Slot' I mean the moment at the end of a youth evening, of some description, where the group HAVE to be quiet and a leader tries to pitch some aspect of the christian faith, in a relevent(ish) way at/to the group!
(If I visit a group this is often the privilige/ordeal inflicted on me)

The debatey bit is this. On one level I'm not a huge fan of the 'God Slot' as it kind of grates with me, to have a whole evening of stuff which is not different to any other 'secular' group but to then attempt to redeem it with a God Slot seems a bit odd.
But at another level at least the young people are clear that there is something distinctive in the reason the leaders commit to and run the group, their faith is explicit (although in danger of being compartmentalised).
I guess I'd rather a 'God Slot' than groups that just have an ethereal hope that something of their Christianity (however vague) will make some lasting impression. The ideal though is a group where faith/spirituality are at the core of what the group is and does.

The "God Slot" though is handed down as the traditional way that Christian youth work is done and many group's have not come across any alternatives.

So ..... what do you make of the 'God Slot' and what alternative models do you have that I can present to busy and over stretched volunteers?

Posted by ian at 10:28 AM | Comments (9)

January 8, 2006

Scooby Doo and the Loch Ness Monster

We had a family DVD session on Friday night and watched a Feature length Scooby Doo! It varied a little from the 'usual' plot as there was a pretend monster AND a real monster. All good fun apart from the truly truly bad scottish accents!!!! The fascinating thing is watching the effect of the film on my 3 children:

My eldest boy (11) merely enjoyed the film, the slapstick and chase scenes are right where his sense of humour is and his laughter is contagious.

My youngest son (5) always runs everywhere but for the rest of the weekend has attempted to replicate the shaggy/scooby technique of running furiously without moving for a few seconds AND then zooming off (I'm sure he'd love to have the accompanying percussion noises too).

My daughter (8) was much taken with the 3D computer sonar image of the loch that Fred, Velma, and Daphne were watching when they were trying to find Nessie. Last night she took herself off to the computer and produced on 'Paint' a picture of a 3D looking cross section of the loch complete with monster. I find 'Paint' a bit clunky so I wasn't sure how she'd managed to pull it off and asked the "How?" question! Turns out she'd opened up Excel and made up some data that would then produce a 'chart' that looked like a cross section of the loch, she'd then copied that across to Paint and drawn in the monster! (Call me Soppy Dad but I was sooooo impressed)

The film has had no noticeable effect on me .... apart from a tendency to say "Zoiks!" in stressful situations :-)

Posted by ian at 11:20 AM | Comments (1)

January 6, 2006

Blob Tree Posters

I have long been a huge fan of the Blob Tree as an awesome tool for group work. I've just been told that you can get them as posters. Nice!

Posted by ian at 1:01 PM | Comments (0)

Oxfordshire: VERTIGO

Feb 4th, it's back. VERTIGO 2 a youth service, a call to action, a bunch of fun, a time of worship and the funkiest Cafe in the glalaxy (Ok may have exagerated that last bit 'cos that's my team). Details below:

VERTIGO

It's on SATURDAY 4th FEBRUARY 2006! Please make sure it's in your diary and everybody knows about it.

Remember, it all kicks off at 7pm at the Kings Centre (Oxford) and the main session will start soon after doors open - the café will mainly run after the main session this time, so you and your friends can stay and chill out, chat, eat, drink and meet new people, or slip away if you've got a long drive home.

The colour flyers were delivered today, so please email us at info@vertigo-ox.com if you'd like us to send you a pile to help you advertise it at your church, school, youth group etc. You can also show them the video from the last vertigo - click here to view!

Here's a reminder of what we've got in store for you:

A challenging talk from special guest speaker STEVE HOLLOWAY (East2West).
Worship from MARTYN LAYZELL and band (Survivor Records)
Special Guests, UK rockers QUENCH , will be playing a couple of their songs as a taster for their upcoming gig at Oxford's prestigious Zodiac Club in March.
The chance to win a top of the range Apple IPod!
All the usual VERTIGO attractions - café, music, inflatable sumo wrestling, videos, games etc, etc!
So here are the main details again:

When and Where? Saturday 4th February 2005 @ The Kings Centre, Oxford

What time and how much?! 7:00pm – 9:30pm. Vertigo is FREE ADMISSION. However, please remind your young people to bring money for the café and also if they want to give to an offering which will be taken on the night to cover the costs of the event.
Who can come? 13-18 year olds + youth leaders.
What’s happening? Our young people can expect relevant biblical teaching to encourage and equip them for life at school on a Monday morning, passionate, high octane worship, fellowship with hundreds of other Christians their own age and a whole lot of fun!
See you there...and remember: "DON'T LOOK DOWN!"

Posted by ian at 12:33 PM | Comments (1)

The cheque book is a theological document

UK Christians give 9 times more away: Cool!
UK Christians less likely to be in debt: Cool!
UK Christians have 3 times more savings: er?

Source: The Times

"The cheque book is a theological document, it shows who or what you worship" Billy Graham

Posted by ian at 9:24 AM | Comments (2)

January 5, 2006

Hong Kong Phooey

A blog, I'm told, is a place to record and express some of the stuff you are thinking about. This is probably great when you are having deep insightful and profound thoughts! I on the other hand am thinking about Hong Kong Phooey ........ don't know why, just am! Still you can only go with what you've got and as this is the sum limit of my cognitive ouput today here's some absolute phooey:

"Who is this super hero?

Sarge?
No.

Rosemary, the telephone operator?
No.

Penry, the mild-mannered janitor?
Could be!"

Hong Kong Phooey, number one super guy.
Hong Kong Phooey, quicker than the human eye.

He’s got style, a groovy smile, and a bod that just won’t stop.
When the going gets rough, he’s super tough,
With a Hong Kong Phooey chop (Hi-Ya!)

Hong Kong Phooey, number one super guy.
Hong Kong Phooey, quicker than the human eye.
Hong Kong Phooey, he’s fan-riffic"

What's this got to do with youth ministry? er, absolutely nothing! I guess for veteran youth workers (no names) though ....... pure nostalgia.

Posted by ian at 11:08 AM | Comments (6)

wots da fish for then?

I used to have one of those little 'Christian' fish on the back of my car (that feels like a major confession). It was in for a service (the car not the fish) at the Garage and the mechanic asked,

"What's the fish for ... I've seen some of them on cars, does it mean you're a Mason or something?"

Mind you I suspect that a lot of people think it's the logo of a fishing club!
Anyway if you feel that a little fish isn't sufficient witness to your faith then maybe you can take a cue from this driver!

How much would the youth group LOVE riding in this eh?

Posted by ian at 9:15 AM | Comments (1)

January 3, 2006

Goodbye Blockbuster, Hello Easy Cinema

I was dealing with one of our regular letters from the TV licensing people today who constantly register surprise that we don't have a TV Licence! I regularly respond politely explaining that the lack of license is entirely unsusprising given that we don't have a TV. This exchange always gets me reflecting (again) on whether not having a TV has some negatives, I'm still convinced however we are better off without a goggle-box (especially our children). My only concern is missing out on some cultural reference points BUT I tend to know a lot about TV from reading about it in the newspaper AND with so many channels now I'm convinced that FILMS are more of a unifying cultural experience than MOST TV programmes! ...... woaaaa we've finally got to the point, this whole pre-amble was supposed to be a brief link into DVD rental!

So, DVD rental, What about it?
Well I've decided to abandon Blockbusters! Their local branch was the primary source for my film viewing BUT have abandoned ship for the following reasons:

1. Price rise to ?3.95 a film
2. Often don't have much in stock AND they no-longer give it you free if they didn't have it :-(
3. They put pornographic/titillating films on the regular shelves.
4. You can't get films out of a different Blockbuster
5. We've had damaged films recently
6. Very limited range of kids films

Oh, that's all a bit negative for me! But I'm switching to Easy-Cinema where they post you the film and it only costs ?2 per film (including postage) AND you can have more than 1 film at once, for as long as you like! I'll let you know if the service lives up to expectations. If it does it'll be FAB for youth group and residentials et al 'cos being able to have the film for longer will make life so much easier! Nice!

Having written this piece I discovered that Blockbuster also do postal rental now at ?14.99 a month and Amazons' service starts from ?5.99

 

Posted by ian at 6:30 PM | Comments (3)

January 1, 2006

Firmly resolved

oh so this is what 2006 looks like? strange, very strange! Anyway thus beginneth the year .....

HAPPY NEW YEAR

and the big question is, What are we going to do with it? What is the cunning plan? last year I published a handy self-selection list of New years resolution for Youth Ministry! The option being to adopt two or three of them as your own. They looked more or less this but now I've added some more. If it's anyway useful or makes you laugh then I'll be more than chuffed, if not ignore it!

Over here at Diocesan Youth Desk my cunning plan is to invest much more prayer in my ministry, take some faith risks and drink less coffee :-)

Wishing you every blessing and an adventure of a year!

Posted by ian at 12:11 AM | Comments (0)