Summer 101: Movie Marathons

Only 2 more weeks left in my Summer 101 series, as I continue to hope to inspire youth pastors and others who work with student ministries to make the most of the absolute best time of the year in youth ministry- SUMMER!

A fun and simple fellowship event that can be done most anytime during the summer is a Movie Marathon.  There are a million different ways to do an event like this, but here's how I usually did it.  I would pick a date and a location (generally the youth room or fellowship hall at the church) and announce we would be watching 3 movies back-to-back-to-back.  I liked to do it during the day because that is when the most students are bored out of their minds.  We would start around lunch time and  provide pizza,  then make popcorn later on for a snack- and provide plenty of beverages.  All the youth had to do was show up, no reservations required.  It was free (although you could charge if you need to cover the cost of snacks).  And we saw some AWESOME movies!


Movie selection is key.  You know your kids and your church, and I would never tell you how to go about choosing which DVDs to view.  But I would suggest that they be somehow related so that you have a theme.  We did a Star Wars trilogy day (back when there were only 3); we did a Pixar movie day; we did a Sports Movie day (featuring Cool Runnings, Angels in the Outfield and Remembering the Titans); and we did a Goofball Comedy day with Wayne's World, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and Monty Python's Holy Grail.  We even did a Tom Hanks day, but I don't remember what movies we used. If I was doing one right now I might do Harry Potter, Marvel Superheroes, Toy Story, or a Bill Murray collection.  That's just me.  You have to choose based on the taste of your group and what you feel is appropriate.


Whenever possible we also did things to make the event special.  For instance, the day we did Star Wars one of our parents (who was a sound engineer for the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular @ Disney's Hollywood Studios) brought in some huge speakers and hooked them up so that the bass from the films would shake the youth room.  It did- just ask the rest of the church staff who had offices one floor below us! :)  Another year we used a video projector and a giant screen to make it feel more like a movie theater experience.  Or invite the students to dress as a favorite character or bring related toys.  Be creative, and the youth will love it!


One other thought- a movie does not have to be The Passion of the Christ to contain significant moments that can open a discussion about faith.  There is theology in most everything. Perhaps the most theological movie I have ever seen is Pleasantville. You could do 3 baseball movies and include Bang the Drum Slowly, Moneyball and Field of Dreams and have some wonderfully deep follow-up discussions.  So if you want the films to lead to deeper discussions, just choose wisely.


So there you go- another low preparation, low cost, high fellowship value event that will have your students buzzing and get them off their couches and into your youth room- which means more "face time" for you!  As for me, I think I'm going to have my own Movie Marathon this summer.  Lord of the Rings trilogy, here I come- AGAIN!  It's almost time for The Hobbit!!!  Be blessed my friends!


Because of Jesus,

Hall of Fame: Dr. Jill

The Good Doctor!

One of the problems I knew I would face when I started the Youth Group Hall of Fame section of this blog nearly two and one half years ago was thinking I would leave people out who should be included.  I realized then- and know now- that this would probably bother me a lot more that it does those whom I may slight.  But it does perturb me when I realize someone has been left out of this most prestigious and quite fictitious institution.  This past Saturday as I wrote the post Sometimes People Die, I realized just such an omission.  Dr. Jill Painter Watson is not yet in the HOF.  It is easy to see how I missed it.  Jill is featured in many of my Kissimmee posts, including such classics as Speeding For Jesus, July 10, 1997 (the Geoff Moore concert) and The Best Worst Week Ever!  Fortunately, since I am still alive, well and writing, this is a problem easily fixed.

Chip Lips!

Jill was already active as a Youth Counselor when I arrived in Kissimmee in 1994, and she was every youth pastor's dream volunteer.  First of all, she was a pediatrician, an actual medical doctor.  If you are in student ministry long enough, you will see your share of bumps, bruises and fake angina attacks (bless you, Scott B.), and it is ALWAYS nice to have an M.D. on the scene.  Jill was single at the time, and was always open to hosting youth in her home and parties at her pool.  I have no idea how much of her food those youth consumed over the years, but I suspect small towns could have survived quite nicely.  Marilyn and I were welcomed to FUMC-K with a pool party at her home.  It also meant she had time to travel with us- and she did.  Jill was part of many memorable ski trips, mission trips, NYC trips and weekend getaways.  She took the leadership reigns for the 1995 mission trip to Spanish Wells when I could not go because Will was due to be born, and along with Cathy Thacker led a team to Memphis to work in the summer of 1996.  She was part of our team on Sunday nights, Wednesday nights and just about any other time we opened the doors to the youth room. She was always willing to share her faith journey with the youth and with the team.  I could always count on Jill.


Our relationship was a joy right from the start.  I had not been in Kissimmee long at all when Jill informed me that there were two things that let her know she was going to like me.  First of all (and this was crucial) I was older than her.  She had not been happy that the previous youth pastor made her feel old.  And secondly (and this was weird!) I had bought new ink pens for the youth room.  Apparently this had not been done in a very long time, and venturing out to make such an important purchase made me a hero in her eyes.  You take what you can get, right?  She was special to me for many reasons, not the least of which included her love for the students we served and the fact that she came to the delivery room around 11 PM the night Will was born even though she was taking our youth to the Bahamas on a mission trip at 6 AM the next morning.  That is friendship.  

Marilyn & Dr. Jill in NYC!

We shared so many great times together.  I remember one particular Youth Ministry Team retreat when I sent her grocery shopping with way too much money, and she and her co-conspirators came back with one of everything!  I remember almost choking to death on the bus while she laughed hysterically, and then having Vern Watson teach us the international symbol for choking. :)  I remember praying with her at a couple of important moments in her life.  I remember going to NYC with a group of adults from FUMC-K that included Jill and her Aunt Gerry (spelling?), and that it was her aunt that first introduced us to Carmine's.  And most of all I remember bribing her with chocolate cobble at Cracker Barrel so she would keep going on trips with us. I still try to use that bribe today, and I think I owe her 3 at this point!


Jill still lives in the Orlando area with her husband (and fellow HOF member) Brian Watson.  They have adopted two beautiful boys from Russia.  I look forward to the day we can get together again, hang out a Cracker Barrel, laugh hysterically, and eat a whole bunch of chocolate cobbler.  But until then, Jill- welcome to my Hall of Fame.  Overdue, but much deserved!  We love you guys!


Because of Jesus,

The All Day Song

John Fischer

When you are a guitar player and were in youth ministry as long as I was, there are certain songs that just become a part of your life.  I was at a Young Life club meeting during high school the first time I ever sang John Fischer's The All Day Song.  It was a short, peppy little praise song, and I liked it.  The lyrics were simple, but carried great meaning.  If I had known at the time that I would be playing and singing it literally hundreds of times over the course of my life, I might have run screaming from the building.  But I didn't.  And The All Day Song became a huge part of my ministry.  If you were at Quaker Lake Camp in the 70s and 80s, or around any of my youth groups, then you know this song.  We sang it so often (usually at the request of the campers) during summers at camp that it became known at The EVERY Day Song.  Even after all of that, I still taught it to youth groups, and they loved it too.  When I would go back to QLC as a camp pastor, I would have to teach that song to the current music leaders.  The song became legend; and I had still never actually heard John Fischer sing it!  Here are the lyrics:

The All Day Song

Verse

When you think you've got to worry

Because it seems the thing to do

Remember He ain't in a hurry

He's always got the time for you, so . . .

Chorus

Love Him in the morning when you see the sun arisin’

Love Him in the evening ‘cuz He took you through the day

And in the in between time when you feel the pressure comin’

Remember that He loves you and He promises to stay

© 1973 Bud John Songs, Inc.

The song was (and still is for me) a great reminder that Jesus is with me from sun-up until sundown.  He is with me when things are tough. He is with me today, yesterday and forever.  And as many times as we sang it over the years, I cannot help but believe that it has been an assurance to many of the campers and youth I sang it with as well.  But there is one singing on this sweet little song that will always stand out above all others in my mind.  Several of the male counselors at QLC were returning to our cabins one afternoon and we passed by the bath house and rest rooms.  As we walked by the toilets, we heard the unmistakable voice of Lindley Osborne, one of our favorite campers, coming from the toilet side of the little concrete block building.  As we passed, we heard very clearly that he was singing The All Day Song.  And the line we heard was, "And in the in-between time when you feel the pressure coming..."  I think we laughed for an hour!


Songs can conjur up memories of specific places and times like nothing else.  The All Day Song always takes me back to QLC and the youth rooms at Springfield Friends Meeting and FUMC-Kissimmee.  Thank you, John Fischer, for giving us a song that we can sing every day- and remember the love of God as we do.  If you do not know the song, I have posted a version of John singing it below.  It's a strangely long version, and for those who learned it from Martha Ratledge Farlow or myself it will seem very different.  But the idea is still the same.  Remember Jesus loves you and will never forsake you.  And that deserves an AMEN!

Frog Kissin'

My Dad was a little league football coach for many years in the 1970's and 80's.  Before many of the games he coached he would deliver the following pep talk to his 8-11 year old players:  Football is supposed to be fun.  And the best way to have fun on a football field is to hit somebody.  So get out there- and HIT somebody!!!"

Jesus gave similar pep talks.  He told his disciples and followers over and over again that God is love, and that our main task is to help people connect to that love. He wanted the lost and the lonely- the ragamuffins- to know that the grace and forgiveness of God was meant for them.   He left little doubt as to the best way for us to do that-  get out there and LOVE somebody!!!  But too often we try to make God's love and power an intellectual exercise.  It is much easier to talk about than to demonstrate.  Witness the following account from Lois Cheney's classic 1969 devotional book God Is No Fool:

A woman came from seeing a religious movie.  She was moved by it.  She thought of the technicolor wonders of God.  She mused on the stereophonic destruction of evil.  All the way home she thought and thought.  Before she fell asleep she told her husband about the movie, and said, "It really made you think."

A young man went to church after a long, too long absence.  The minister spoke of the Love of God and the Grace of God.  The young man was troubled and he was stirred.  That evening, as he kissed his girlfriend good-night, he told her about the sermon and said, "It really made you think."

A grown man read his Bible everyday.  He read of the Love of God, the Need for God, the Hope of God and the Promises of God.  He would read late into the night.  At breakfast he would tell his wife why he had stayed up so late.  He would tell her about the wonders of scripture, and he would say, "It really makes you think."

Could it be that the loneliest book in the Bible

is the book called "ACTS?"

Jesus told us to take care of one another, to love one another, to feed the hungry, to give hope to the hopeless and offer grace and forgiveness to our neighbors.  When asked, "Who is my neighbor?" he told the parable of The Good Samaritan, which illustrated that everyone is our neighbor.  To do these things, we have to "get out there and hit someone!"  We have to SHOW people God's love, not just tell them about it.  Now I don't know about you, but it seems to me like there are a lot of folks in this world who are not easy to love.  They are not yet princes; they are still frogs.  Yet Jesus calls on us to love them as they are, not as we wish they were- the same way he loves us!  We are all frogs until we experience the love and grace that Jesus brings us. 

So what is our task as Christians?  It's simple.  We are called to kiss frogs!  Now get out there and KISS someone!  

Becasue of Jesus,

Mother's Day Prayers

Happy Mother's Day to all of you Moms out there, and especially to my mom, Anne Jones, my wife Marilyn Jones and her mom Marie Steele.  These special ladies are a huge part of my life, and I hope they all have blessed and happy days today.  I wish the same for all of the Moms who read this blog and touch my life in so many ways, especially the young moms who may be celebrating their first Mother's Day.  Yours is a valued and treasured role in the lives of your children, and I shall be praying each of you today.   You carry such a burden.  As Bill Cosby once said, "I may be listed as the head of household on the tax form, but that is a lie.  My wife is the head of this household.  Not only that, but I have seen her job- and I don't want it!"

But today is a special Mother's Day for a completely different reason, and I want to ask for your prayers as well.  When I was in Jr. High and High School back in the Guilford College community just outside of Greensboro, NC, my best friend was a guy named Steve Semmler. His older brother Carl became one of my best buddies as well.  I spent many hours and many nights in their house.  I ate many meals at their family table.  And their parents, Hank & Gene Semmler, always welcomed me.  They were a second set of parents for me during those very important years of my life.  I had actually known Mrs. Semmler the longest of any of them, having had her as a teacher for part of 4th grade, and she was never anything but kind to me.  My own parents were loving and wonderful, but it was still great to have a surrogate family that loved me too.

I have not seen any of the Semmler family in 6 years now, since my Dad's memorial service in May of 2006.  I talk to Steve on occasion and communicate with Carl through email, and I know that they both keep up with this blog.  I heard from Carl this week that Gene, who has been battling cancer for a while now, has taken a turn towards the end.  Hospice has been called in.  I tried to call Steve yesterday to see how she was doing at this time,  but didn't get him.  Regardless of her current status, I would be remiss if I let this Mother's Day pass without a public acknowledgement of how much she and her family meant to me, and how much impact their influence still has on my life.  My prayers are with the entire Semmler family, and I hope yours will be too.

May the love and grace of Jesus Christ be with all mothers everywhere today, offering them the strength and courage they need to carry out the awesome responsibility they have as the backbones of our families.  May God's love for mothers shine through each of us, today and every day.  

Because of Jesus,

Remember- Sometimes People Die

Earlier this week I was reorganizing some of the pages here on the blog, and I was reading a few of the old posts I have listed as favorites under the tab FUMC-K.  I came across this classic post from June 12, 2010 that retells one of my favorite stories from a ski trip we took from Kissimmee to Boone, NC.  It is not only a really good story, but it is about a whole bunch of my very favorite people.  So enjoy this vintage post, shared again here with a few updates.  The Saturday Shout Outs! will return next week.

One of my favorite memories of my Kissimmee days is from a Ski Trip to Boone, NC.  We were blessed over the years to never have anyone seriously injured on the slopes (we did have one major fake injury, but that is another story).  But on this particular adventure we had to take Jennifer (Bob) Minnigan (pictured) to the emergency room  This is the story of that night.

One evening we had returned from skiing and dinner to our chalet-style motel on the outskirts of Boone, and there was time to kill while we waited for our scheduled time in the group room.  We were planning a time of worship together.  At some point during the down time, a small but violent wrestling match broke out between Connor Lewis (also pictured) and Jennifer. The details of the event have always been a bit sketchy, but it is my belief that at some point Connor picked Bob up and body slammed her with a move known as the Flying Yolanda (or something like that)!  In any case, Jennifer's arm was hurt badly enough that they came and got me.  We went to see Dr. Jill Painter, one of my fabulous adult volunteers, and together we decided that Jen needed to got to the hospital.  I got directions while Jill grabbed our fearless bus drivers, David Johns and Vern Watson.  Even though only three of us actually needed to go, the bus was our only means of transportation.  I have often wondered what the emergency room staff thought when they saw a 60 passenger bus pull up to the front door that night...

We went inside and begin to check Jennifer in, and things continued to be interesting.  I pulled out the notarized medical release form that all youth pastors have had students/parents fill out since the dawn of time and presented it to the lady at the desk, proving to her that I had the right to secure medical attention for Jen.  She looked at it, laughed at me, and proceeded to explain that those release forms are not worth the paper they are printed on.  So we moved on to the next thing, calling Jennifer's mom to let her give the doctors permission.  From my end, hearing only Bob, the conversation sounded something like this:  "Mom, we are at the emergency room...No, the skiing was great...I got hurt at the motel....horseplay."  She failed to mention the body slam.  In any case, with Jen now signed in, it was time to wait.  There were several people there, mostly with skiing injuries.  There was a rack of pamphlets on dealing with tragedy in the waiting area, and we picked a few up to read.  Dave and Vern had joined us by this time, and as we all settled in for the wait we began to look at a pamphlet entitled What To Say To Your Children When Their Friends Are Sick.  We opened to the first page and read the words of wisdom that I have quoted so many times since.  It read, "You should prepare your children for the worst.  When their friends are sick, inform them that sometimes people die."  And right there, in the middle of sick and injured people, the five of us began to laugh uncontrollably.  We couldn't stop.  We kept thinking of scenarios in which a child had their tonsils out or broke a nail and their friends were told "Sometimes people die."  After Jennifer left us and went back for x-rays we continued to laugh and make fun of this booklet.  They gave her a clean bill of health (it turned out her arm was actually fractured, but no one in Boone ever told us that) and we hopped back on our bus and headed back to our waiting group.

On our way back we (OK, I) devised a plan to shake Connor up a little bit.  They group was waiting in the group room, but Connor was out waiting for the bus.  He was truly concerned for Jennifer's welfare.  As we pulled up we had Jen hide, and I got off the bus and went to Connor.  With my most serious look, I told him that it was pretty bad.  I told him Bob had not done well.  And then, without a trace of a smile, I told him "Connor- sometimes people die!"  For just an instant, his face and body language told me he was buying it.  That was more than we could take, and we all started laughing and Jennifer came out and gave him a hug.  Yes, I know it was cruel; I also know it was hilarious!  We then went in and had a time of worship together, full of a new knowledge of how much we cared about each other.  It was a great night.

Jennifer,  Connor, Vern and Dave are already in my Hall of Fame, and Dr. Jill will join them soon.  I have been telling this story for years, and in fact, one of the last time I told it I was with Jennifer as we told her husband.  I am so glad I was there that night, so that I have the skills to deal with my son Will when his friends have the common cold.  I put my hand on his shoulder, look him in the eyes and say, "Will...sometimes people die."  Feel free to use this in your own life, but don't be surprised when people laugh!

Because of Jesus,

Summer 101: The Great Race

Summer is almost here- the best and most important time of the year for youth ministry!  Here's another idea for anyone still looking to fill holes in your summer student ministry calendar! For even more suggestions, click the Summer Ministries tab at the top of this blog. 

If you are looking for a summer event that will draw a crowd and put a quick end to those old "church is boring" rumors, then The Great Race is for you!  It's simple to put together and loads of fun.  It works for any size group.  And it's time tested.  We did them when I was in high school- you know, before electricity!  :)  It's a great entry point event for new students and friends of your current youth.  It just screams COME AND SEE US!!!

Here's how it works.  You put together a relay race featuring 10 to 12 events, and divide your youth into at least 2 teams.  The larger your ministry, the more teams.  Each team then decides on a team member to complete each leg of the race.  Pretty standard stuff, right?

Here's what make it interesting- diversity.  You can have a couple of events that require athletic ability, such as a distance run or a free-throw shoot.  But then, you just need to go crazy.  Use the old "eat crackers and whistle" routine.  Maybe break out the classic Chubby Bunny.  Have someone sing one of your favorite youth group songs from memory while being blasted with a water hose.  Use brain-teasers and math problems.  Have someone chug a Coke and belch.  Have someone improv a dance to a song you know your youth really can't stand.  Ask youth group trivia questions.  Get one of your adult volunteers who can do a "stone face" and have one of the tasks be to make them laugh.  Be as creative as possible- and as inclusive.  Try to have events everyone can be comfortable doing.

And then have a big finish.  Make each team gather at the finish line and accomplish some things together as a team.  I usually gave each team a bucket of water, a tiny paper cup and a 2-liter bottle and made them fill the bottle by passing the cup back (always touching EVERY team member) to the bottle.  I always had them make up a team cheer (with movements); and the finale was for each team to build a pyramid using all team members.  Great moments, great memories and great photo opps!

So there you have it.  Many of you are far more creative than I, so add your own twists and have a Great Race this summer.  Here's my guarantee- have this event once and your students will make certain it becomes an annual event! 

Because of Jesus,