The Secret Life of the American Teenager

So I saw the advertisement for this show, and as a youth leader, was kind of intrigued. I decided to check it out by watching an episode online. It kinda caught my attention so I watched some more. Although it was kind of entertaining, I am still debating about how I felt about the show. The show is from the same creators as 7th Heaven, and this is not hard to see after watching for a couple minutes!

The main character in the show is Amy, a 15-year-old supposed "band geek" who finds out she's pregnant in the pilot episode. The father of the baby is a stereotypical "player" (as high school "players" go) who Amy had a one night "fling" with (their word, not mine).

More than the pregnant 15-year-old or the many sex-obsessed high school students, however, the portrayal of Christianity in the show is what really held my attention.

One of the other main characters is an outwardly Christian cheerleader whose boyfriend (also a "Christian") cheats on her with the "bad girl". Yet the openly Christian cheerleader devotes her time to convincing her parents to let her get back together with him. The cheerleader goes through the halls in school openly discussing her faith and the benefits of abstinence, all wonderful messages, but I can't help but cringe in the portrayal of these messages. It almost seems like the show is poking fun at Christianity, while at the same time promoting the message of abstinence. (That probably doesn't make sense to anyone but me...sorry).

Anyways, it got me thinking about how Christianity is portrayed and stereotyped in our culture. For some people, Mandy Moore in a Walk to Remember is the closest thing to a Christian that they have seen. I can't help but wonder why there aren't realistic, loving, or dare I say "normal" portrayals of Christians. More than wondering why these don't exist, I've been wondering how to make people see who Jesus is....for real. Not the American-ized Jesus, or the Jesus who hates abortions, or the Jesus who has to wear a tie every Sunday. This isn't intended to sound sarcastic, but I think Christians, myself included, need to face the fact that we don't always represent Christ how we should not matter how hard we try. I know this is inevitable, but I want to work on getting better.

I didn't come to any earth-shattering conclusions on this topic, but I am reminded of something I heard once and never forgot "you may be the only Bible that someone reads, or the only Jesus that someone meets".

So I guess what I am getting at here is a desire to represent Christ better, and the only way to do it is to know him better. In order to know him better we have to read his word, we have to talk to him, and we have to look for his face in the faces of others.

Sorry if I rambled...just some stuff I've been thinking about.

2 Years!

As of today, Nolan and I have been together for 2 years! In some ways, these two years have gone by so quickly, but on the other hand it's like I can't remember what my life was like before he was in it! As I look back on the past two years, it's so encouraging to see the way we have grown together while becoming best friends. It's so great to have someone who knows me so well that I don't even need to explain things, he just knows!
I am really missing Nolan today and wish we could spend it together, but only a few short weeks and he will be home!! We have both been blessed with so many people to make this journey a wonderful one and I can't wait to see what else God has in store for us over the years to come!!

Mamma Mia!

Ever since I saw the Broadway show Mamma Mia 6 years ago, it has been my favorite musical of all time (and I have seen A LOT of musicals!) I have been anticipating the movie for months and it finally came out this past weekend!

This afternoon, 8 of my youth group girls and I went to see it, and it lived up to all my expectations. It was awesome!! The only bad part about seeing this movie was fighting the temptation to sing along to all the songs in the theater! I guess I will just have to wait until the DVD comes out!

I would recommend this movie to anyone who just wants to see a fun movie and laugh a lot. It's impossible to leave the theater in a bad mood after watching this movie! Enjoy!

Jesus for President by Shane Claiborne

I've been meaning for a while now to blog about this book. After taking a class in Political Science and one in Church History this past semester, I actually came at this book with an informed perspective.
Although many of the arguments in this book were rather controversial and the book touched on many issues which the church often avoids. The whole book focuses on the political scene during Jesus' day and what these concepts could look like today.
The first section goes through the Old Testament and explains in understandable language the political culture of the time. There were many times while reading the book that I thought, this interpretation seems so simple, so why did I never think of that before? Whether I completely agree with the interpretations or not, the book certainly caused me to think these things over and think about what it does mean to take the perspective of Christ in a world where people will do anything for money and where wars are raging around the world.
My favorite section of the book, however, was the final one entitled "A Peculiar Party". This section goes beyond pointng out the shortcomings of the church, and all the ways that the world has strayed from the path God intended for it. It talks about the practical ways to apply the "politics" of Jesus in the world: "The idea that the church is to be the body of Christ is not just to something to read about in theology books and leave for the scholars...we are literally to be the body of Jesus in the world. Christians are to be little Christs in the world...You are the only Jesus some people will ever see" (page 228).
The best part of this chapter is a story he shares about a bishop whose church was being robbed, and the robber demanded the "treasures of the church". So what did the bishop do? He went into the church and gathered all the poor staying there and he said to the robbers "These are the treasures of the church". I don't think I will ever forget this story.
The great part about this book is the "postmodern" way its set up, each page is scattered with doodles or quotes.
Overall, this book really made me look at the world in a different way than ever before and challenged what I've always thought. I would recommend this book to anyone seeking to be the body of Christ, but I encourage you to come open-minded and be ready to say "Amen!" to some things, while maybe questioning others, but you will undoubtedly be challenged!

Youth Group Service Day

One of the members from Mt. Carmel (and one of our youth leader's wife) recently bought a new building to start her catering business. The building has a lot of potential, but also needs a lot of work!! Some of our youth and I went over on Monday and helped tear out the carpet, clean the kitchen and bar area, and clear out the patio area. I was very proud of our youth and the way they were servants! This has been a great way to continue some of the things that we learned on the mission trip here at home! I look forward to watching our youth serve at home in the future!

Weekend in Philly

This past weekend, my friends Megan and CC and I drove out to Philadelphia to visit the Maravalli girls. It was a really great getaway after the youth group mission trip and a good chance to catch up with Abbie, who I hardly ever see! Kelli started at her new church while we were there so we got to visit there on Sunday. We also did a lot of shopping and I ate my first official Philly Cheesesteak at Geno's (which I guess is pretty famous). At first I was rather skeptical and intimidated by the whole experience. The guy at the window had a shirt that said "Speak English!" and was rather annoyed at any questions pertaining to the sandwiches. Overall, however, it was a good time and I enjoyed the cheesesteak! With five women in an apartment for three days, there was a lot of laughs! What a good weekend! :-)

Cincinnati Week of Hope 1

This past week, 17 youth and 4 leaders from Mt. Carmel Church travelled to Cincinnati for a Week of Hope mission trip. This experience was so amazing for us as a youth group. I was so blessed to get to know some of the students in a much deeper way this week, and I am eternally grateful for the way in which so many of them opened up and shared their lives with me.

The theme of the week was "Love Out Loud" based on the verse John 3:18: "Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." All week, we reflected on the way in which God loves us and the way in which he calls us to genuinely love as servants. The way God moved in the lives of students was, in many cases, truly life-changing! I cannot wait to see the impact this trip will have on our youth group.

Each student was put into a work crew with people from all over the country (and Canada!) and sent out to various ministry sites in the Cincinnati area. My group went to a nature center and made a hiking trail by putting down gravel and mulch. This was a huge and physically demanding task, but I am proud to say we finished the job (and with time to stop at Sonic on our last work day!) Some of the other groups did similar outside work while others served at food pantries, a center for disabled children, an elderly home and a day camp for inner-city kids. It was so neat to come together at the end of each day and hear about the ways God worked at the various sites!

Here are a few photos from the week. More to come!!