Tag: youth ministry

Movies, entertainment, celebrity culture, video games, digital media and social networks are often used to escape from reality. The goal of this 4-part series is to consider how to escape to the reality that comes in knowing Jesus.

Part 3 of #EscapeToReality

EVERYONE FIGHTS FOR SOMETHING

Without wanting to unhelpfully stereotype, there are substitute battles that many dudes are commonly fighting; there are substitute battles that many ladies are commonly fighting.

Dudes fight in fantasy world adventures. First-person shooter games like WOW and COD. Guys will devote hours and hours to this fight. Some will become guild masters and clan leaders devoting a lifetime to digital fighting.

Ladies fight to be unique, recognised and accepted. This will often involve a significant focus on external beauty, appearance, self-image and relationships status.

“…everyone fights for something. The desire to fight isn’t masculine or feminine; it is human. Deep down we all want to be noticed, for our lives to count for something. We want to be beautiful or noble. The problem is that we direct our fighting desires toward the wrong things. We work hard at being noticed of entertained. We fall short of beauty and nobility. What would happen if, instead of spending hours in front of the video screen or mirror, we spent hours in front of the gospel? What if we fought for a more noble cause, a more beautiful image?” (JONATHAN DODSON)

WHAT WILL YOU FIGHT FOR?

Continue reading “THE FIGHT // #ESCAPETOREALITY”

Movies, entertainment, celebrity culture, video games, digital media and social networks are often used to escape from reality. The goal of this 4-part series is to consider how to escape to the reality that comes in knowing Jesus.

Part 1 of #EscapeToReality

#YOU + #SELFIE

In 2006 Time Magazine declared “You.” to be the ‘Person of the Year’. This annual award that normally belongs to World Leaders and other notable figures was given to YOU… “Yes, you. You control the Information Age. Welcome to your world.”

It’s easy to think that I am at the centre of the universe when Time Magazine and a whole swag of advertising strategies tell me that I am.

Fast forward to 2013. The Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year is… SELFIE. A word that has its roots firmly planted in Australian slang; a selfie is “a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website.”

This makes sense. 7 years of being told that “You” are at the centre of the universe + a rapidly increasing number of camera-enabled smart phones + universal access to social media platforms = #SELFIE

When your school photos are made available or a collection of photos from an event you attended are uploaded to Facebook, who is the first person you look for? Yep, me too.

How do you think about self in a #selfie world? How are we supposed to think about our identity? WHO ARE YOU?

Continue reading “#SELFIES // #ESCAPETOREALITY”