The cultural context of children and teens is changing at breakneck speed, especially when it comes to technology. These changes leave kids facing a host of unprecedented problems, challenges, and choices. Because parents, youth workers, educators and other adults are by and large ignorant to these changes, their ability to influence, guide and direct teens in this new world is oftentimes forfeited. The Center for Parent/Youth Understanding (CPYU) has launched the Digital Kids Initiative in response to these needs. This site is designed to offer information and tools that will help you lead the kids you know and love into living safely, wisely and to the glory of God on the emerging digital frontier. Learn more about the Digital Kids Initiative.

SHIFT:
Series Overview
Over 2,000 years ago, people were looking for a change. They wanted their lives to look different. They wanted freedom, they wanted a shift. Many thought that would come through a political takeover. Some thought it would come through personal gain. But in the last days leading up to and following Jesus’ death, there was a significant shift that happened. A shift that forever changed the way you and I connect to God. A shift that redefined who we are. A shift that brought freedom and change—even if it looked completely different than what we expected.

Session One: The Triumphal Entry
Have you ever noticed how sometimes things don’t turn out the way you expect them to? Okay, for some of us, that happens a lot. Sometimes our expectations are really big—we think one person, one event, one word will change everything in our lives. And while that may make things different for a while, it never seems to last, does it? And when it doesn’t end up lasting, it’s easy to be really disappointed in that person, that event, those words. But what if the problem isn’t with any of those things? Consider this—what if God, who sees and knows everything, has a bigger picture than you or I can see? And the things that we think will either fulfill or advance our lives aren’t even close to what we need in order to become who we were intended to be. If so, maybe it’s time for a shift in what you and I are expecting from life—and from God.
Session One Parent Cue: Have you ever experienced a time when your expectations weren’t met, but later you saw that what you were focused on really wasn’t that big of a deal? What caused you to come to that realization?

Session Two: The Last Supper
How do you celebrate Easter? Do you get a new outfit? Do you wake up on Easter morning to a basket full of marshmallow chicks and chocolate bunnies? (Don’t laugh–you know you still want the basket of goodies.) There are certain events in our lives that happen every year, things that come along without fail, like clockwork—holidays, family gatherings, special ceremonies. And after a while, we just go through the motions when they come along. We do what we normally do, and don’t think about the significance of the event or the original intent of the celebration. In the back of our minds, we know it’s important, but we don’t feel connected to it. In what is referred to as “The Last Supper,” Jesus celebrated the Passover tradition with His disciples. But in the course of the evening, a huge shift happened. What was once a ritual, with some historical meaning, began to become more personal. It was no longer about an event, it was about the relationship between God and us.
Session Two Parent Cue: Who are some of the people you enjoying being around? What makes those times different?

Session Three: The Empty Tomb
People who die don’t get up. The grave is usually the end of someone’s story. That’s what people thought about Jesus—that His story was over. He died a brutal death and was placed in a tomb. Those close to Him were in shock, others were glad that He was gone. But things were about to shift. The tomb would not keep Jesus, and because of that the grave is no longer the end of our stories. The place of death became a place of life—not only for Jesus, but for each one of us as well. And what once seemed hopeless now shifts to become hopeful.
Session Three Parent Cue: Have you ever thought something was over, only to find out that there was still “life” to the situation or dream?

Here’s a look at what our Elementary Kids will be learning about at SCC’s KidZone on Sunday Mornings!

This video was produced and created by the reThink Group.

Here is a sneak peak at April’s lessons for our Preschool Kids at SCC’s KidZone Sunday Morning Ministry!

This video was produced and created by the reThink Group.

Evan (the children’s pastor) and I (Jason, the youth pastor) are working with Fuller Seminary on a project called “Sticky Faith”.  The goal is to help students develop a faith that lasts beyond high school graduation, into college and adult life.  The Fuller Youth Institute, who are the creators of the program, have released a curriculum for parents, which we HIGHLY recommend.  Below is a sample of it, for free, because we love you that much!

We’re continuing our small group series looking at what Scripture says about the topic of healthy dating. We’re using various passages from the Bible to discuss God’s design for romantic relationships. Our goal is to help our teenagers get a clearer idea of God’s intentions in our relationships and what a Christ-like dating relationship or marriage looks like.

This week, we’re using Proverbs 18:22 and talking about how God wants to see us experience healthy relationships—including our dating relationships. Unfortunately, our culture sends mixed messages about the purpose of dating, which can confuse young people and make it easier to pursue unhealthy dating relationships. Our groups will discuss the value of learning to be patient when it comes to dating, learning to listen to wisdom from God and others, and learning to be satisfied with God’s plan for their lives.

I’d encourage you to take a few minutes this week to talk with your teenager about ways to keep pursuing healthy dating relationships. Here are some questions you could include during your conversation:

• How does patience create long-term satisfaction in a relationship?
• How do you decide how to set boundaries in your dating relationships? Besides reading the Bible, how and where might you find this wisdom?
• How does your relationship with God affect and form your approach to all your other relationships? If your relationship with God is weak, how might that impact all your other relationships?

Take a few moments and pray with your teenager, asking God to help protect your child’s mind and heart from things that might steer your student from God’s incredible plans. Have a blessed week!

When I look at Pokemon, I see a magical game that kids play through role-playing.  The cards, the DS game, whatever medium they use, they are definitely devoted to it.  That word devotion is key here.  How much are our kids not only playing Pokemon, but any game that takes their focus off of God?  Are they devoted to God or Pokemon or Gears of War or Modern Warfare?  If we really want to strip it all away, anything that comes before God is destructive, right?  So, watching movies, drinking too much, spending too much money…all of these things have the potential to destroy.  I mean, come on, I still remember standing in long lines with costume clad followers, clamouring at the chance to get a ticket to watch a dark figure, who was empowered by a very dark force, say, “Luke, I am your father!”

Its our responsibility as parents to teach our kids limits and boundaries, not to isolate them.  Deuteronomy 6 says, “TRAIN a child in the way they should go…”, not keep the child from ever having to make decisions of boundaries and limits for themselves.  Training insinuates that it is ongoing.  That we are supposed to grab every opportunity that presents itself, and help point our kids back to God.  So, lets use this time to really research and ask the hard questions.  Our kids will be better for it.

So, here is the practical part.  You are the parent.  You get to make the decision.  Here are some points, after having played the game, that should be considered.  (The information below was provided by “gallowsCalibrator”, an anonymous participant in a forum I found talking about Pokemon.  I have modified the responses, but the points of contention totally are his/hers):

Pokemon is short for Pocket Monsters. It can be taken as that you have the little critters in your pocket in the form of a game – or that when you “catch” a Pokemon, you keep them in small pocket-size balls. These are known as Pokeballs. According to the show, they are smaller than the palm of your hand (think tiny clementine orange) until you go to release them – at which point the ball becomes a little bigger than a standard sized hand (about the size of a large navel orange).

In the world of Pokemon Games, there are no cats and dogs, rats or fish as we know them. Instead, you have creatures that look like God’s creations. For instance: Meowth (cat), Growlithe (dog), rat (Rattata), and fish (Goldine).

So, here we go…
1) The idea of catching and battling nature’s creatures.   Some complaints may arise about how the nature of the game is to capture wild animals (Pokemon) and raise them by pitting them into battle with other captures animals. With everything surrounding the Michael Vick dogfighting scandal, we now understand that animals are exploited everyday.  However, in the make-believe world of Pokemon, most of the Pokemon are actually happy battling. For instance, in the game Pokemon Yellow – one of the Pokemon (Pikachu) actually follows behind you as a partner. At first, Pikachu doesn’t like you. However, the more you use him in battle, the happier he becomes.

2) Evolution.  There have been concerns with the idea of evolution. While the English translation is indeed called evolution, it has no correlation to the Theory of Evolution. Here is an evolution chart from the original 150 Pokemon. By clicking on the names, you can see pictures of what each little critter looks like – which in most cases, the “Evolution” is just age development.

A great example is Growlithe who is a puppy. This cute little guy “evolves” into Arcanine who resembles a grown-up version of Growlithe. Meowth is a cute little cat who is playful and mischievous (sounds like a kitten…) who evolves into the sophisticated and ‘stuck-up’ Persian.

3) Cultural References.  There are themes of Buddhist belief in the game, but only very minimal. Examples of this are that most ghost Pokemon do not have feet, the dead are remembered in Towers, and there are seers and psychics – as such are believed in Japanese culture.  Most, if not all, kids wouldn’t even pick up on these themes.  If you have a very inquisitive child, make sure you emphasize question #3 below and talk often about it.

4) The use of Magic.  While the things the imaginary creatures do are extraordinary, really they are all a natural part of what that creature does.  Its much like saying that the frog’s tongue is magic because it can extend to over 5x its total body length to catch its dinner.  It simply is what that creature does, and the trainer merely helps the creature develop its skills.

Here are some questions to ask about your child that may help determine if Pokemon, or any game for that matter, is appropriate for them to play:

1) How old is my child?  The average age of the Pokemon player is 8.  Cognitively speaking, an 8-year-old is very much a concrete thinker.  That means concepts like the Trinity, God’s omnipresence, and the stock market are foreign to them.  They think like this: God created Adam – God created Eve – Adam and Eve sinned – God kicked them out – etc, etc.  They are linear, one thought thinkers.  So, when the concept of Ghosts and battling come up, will your child be able to differentiate between reality and fantasy or will they have some difficulty distinguishing between the two?

2) Does my child have boundaries already in place?  This is very important because when they come to you with those big, brown eyes and ask to play 3 more hours, after they have already been playing all day, are you going to allow it or are you going to teach them about boundaries and time limits?  Its much easier if they are already in place.

3) Does my child have a solid, and age-appropriate understanding of who God is?  If you have a typical 8-year-old, they should be able to tell you that God loves them because he sent Jesus to die for our sins.  Will they get all the nuances that surrounds that statement?  Maybe not yet, but that foundational truth has been set for you to build upon.  Then would be a great opportunity to talk about the fact that God is the ultimate authority and has power over everything.

So what does all this mean?  It means that we, as parents, have been given a tough choice.  We have to constantly decide how much of our kids’ culture we allow them to be exposed to.  Remember, Jesus asks us to, “go into all the world and make disciples of all men,…”  I do recognize that we have a responsibility to keep our kids safe, but if we use whatever our kids are into to point them to Jesus, then we don’t have to worry about Charmander or Jynx leading our kids astray.  If we are involved in our kids’ lives, then there should be nothing to fear, because Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”  You can do this thing called parenting, and you have been equipped to do it well.  Seize your opportunity!

Here is a list of what your kids need to bring as well as a consent form:

1) Nintendo DS

2) DS charger

3) Black or White version of Pokemon

4) A good attitude!

Please have 6 different pokemon picked out to play with during tournament.  You will give a list of your 6 pokemon upon registration.  You may not change your pokemon once the games begin.  You may not use the following Pokemon: RESHIRAM, ZEKROM, VICTINI, KYREM, SKY DROP or DARK VOID.  We are going to allow you  to have 2 (two) Legendary pokemon as part of your 6.

We will be using the IRR  for battle, ALL pokemon will have HP levels dropped to 50.  All moves learned however will be kept.

NO EXTERNAL DEVICES ARE ALLOWED DURING TOURNAMENT PLAY

PARENTS !!!!  It is important that your child understands the above mentioned rules, also, once your child has lost their round they will be free to battle others who are out as well.  That way they still get to play.  PLEASE NOTE:  There will be some who will want to “TRADE” pokemon.  Please talk with your child about this and then sign and select whether allowed or not allowed to trade.  We don’t want a child to go home and be upset because they participated in a trade and then wished they hadn’t.

_______________________________ is  ALLOWED  /   NOT ALLOWED to trade Pokemon during the SCC tournament.

(Participant)

____________________________________________

Parent signature

If you have any questions please call/email me

Joni Kay Shaw

317-364-7232  jonishaw@att.net

Here are 10 things that I know my kids have observed from us over the years:

5. Time: our kids know that we like to spend time together. When they see us steal time away to sit in the backyard and talk, or go in the hot tub, or go on a date night, or sneak away for the weekend…that’s a good message I want them to see.

You can read the whole article here.  Check it out, it’s worth it.

When: Friday April 20th and Saturday April 21st

Where: Anderson University, Anderson IN

Who: All guys 6th – 8th grades

Cost: $55 if paid by March 7th, or $65 by March 28th.

Sign up here.

What is it?

(From www.ciy.com/believe)

One of the most important things we can do is to point kids to God’s Word. Daily feeding all the kids in our ministries isn’t feasible. They eventually must become people of the Word themselves.  The 2012 Believe tour is going to take a full weekend to point kids to the awesome power of God’s Word.  Even as our staff has discussed elements to involve kids we found ourselves struck with the triteness used to simply say, “God’s Word”. These are, in fact, the very WORDS OF GOD. These words should be said slowly and with great awe!  Many questions remain in the hearts of our kids: how do we know this IS God’s word; how did we get an English version & how do we KNOW it’s a correct translation? Did the places and people recorded in the Bible ever really exist?

Join the Believe team as JP and Eric take your kids on an epic journey discovering the very places where Moses heard from God or where Jesus taught the five thousand. Ultimately, kids will be challenged to respond to the Word of God and begin hiding it in their hearts.

Many kids have seen pictures of the promise land or biblically historic places in Rome. While at Believe, JP will be a peer to peer bridge, connecting kids to the reality of God’s Kingdom in historical places around the world.  The videos will serve as educational pieces that also build JP’s credibility when speaking live on stage at Believe.  Every talk JP gives live will be launched from the video content and will also include an archeological artifact (recreated model or actual artifact from the Vankampen collection) that supports the authenticity of God’s Word.

JP has a personal interest and connection to Biblical archeology that is evident as she speaks authoritatively on the subject.  Her grandfather worked the last 20 years of his life preserving rare Bible manuscripts from around the world in an effort to increase Biblical literacy and appreciation for those who’ve died defending it.

In a culture where truth is relevant and kids accept computer generated images as reality, Believe will go to the places where God became flesh and dwelt among us. Through eyewitness accounts we will point to actual places and people God used to bring us His Word.