It’s November already? Does anyone else feel as if the year just got put in fast-forward? I know that for those of you in ministry, things are about to get even busier than usual due to the holidays’ rapid approach. That’s why this post is here: to give you a quick look at what’s going on in the world of teen culture so that you don’t have to spend hours trolling the Internet or listening to the radio to figure out what your students are up to.
Here are the movies they’re probably watching:
1. Saw 3D [R] (Will they ever stop making these?!)
2. Paranormal Activity 2 [R]
3. Red [PG-13] See last week’s post for my take on this one.
4. Jacka$$ 3D [R]
5. Hereafter [PG-13] (This one intrigues me. Has anyone seen it already who can comment on it?)
6. Secretariat [PG]
7. The Social Network [PG-13]
8. Life as We Know It [PG-13]
9. The Town [R]
10. Conviction [R] (Although I haven’t seen it yet, I did hear from a Christian media PR firm that this was a good film. They haven’t steered me wrong yet, so I’m thinking this one is worth a watch as well. The R rating comes from violence and language.)
Digital downloads
This week, the top songs downloaded were:
1. “We R Who We R” by Ke$ha
2. “Like a G6” by Far East Movement
3. “Only Girl (In The World)” by Rihanna
4. “Whip My Hair” by Willow
5. “Just a Dream” by Nelly
6. “Bottoms Up” by Trey Songz
7. “Just the Way You Are” by Bruno Mars
8. “Sparks Fly” by Taylor Swift
9. “Raise Your Glass” by P!nk
10. “Monster” by Kanye West
Radio Play
This week on the radio, the top songs were:
1. “Just the Way You Are” by Bruno Mars
2. “DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love” by Usher
3. “Just a Dream” by Nelly
4. “Like a G6” by Far East Movement
5. “Only Girl (In The World)” by Rihanna
6. “Teenage Dream” by Katy Perry
7. “Dynamite” by Taio Cruz
8. “Bottoms Up” by Trey Songz
9. “Mine” by Taylor Swift
10. “I Like It” by Enrique Iglesias
No make-up Tuesdays: Redefining Beautiful
Two Saturdays ago, I was watching The Today Show and caught a segment on a group of high school girls in Colleyville, Texas, who don’t wear makeup on Tuesdays. The girls are taking a stand on being confident in their own skin and have formed a group, Redefining Beautiful, with the hopes that it will catch on elsewhere. Even the guys at their school are excited about it. I think this whole concept is awesome! Check out what this group is about here.
Empowered prayers
I have an incredible group of senior girls that I meet with each Wednesday. I was blown away several weeks ago when they expressed to me how they’d like to spend more time in prayer during our group meetings. So I thought that it would be fun if a different girl each week took the initiative to plan a group prayer activity. I love the ideas they’ve come up with so far: we’ve held hands and prayed for the person on our left; we’ve swapped written prayer requests and prayed for the person on our card all week; we’ve been given directed prayers for each day of the week; we’ve spent time in silence. I don’t know why I was surprised, but the fact that high school girls understand the power of prayer and actually want to spend more time in it together blows my mind. There’s nothing like being encouraged and motivated by people who are younger than you to do better in a spiritual discipline!
So if your group discipleship times are feeling a little dry, maybe you could empower your girls to be responsible for a part of the lesson. Whether it’s coming up with a new prayer activity, helping you with an illustration, or bringing food for the week, girls love to feel needed. Let me know how you’ve empowered your girls in the past: what worked, what didn’t, and any other ideas you may have!
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