Jonathan McKee, Author at Jonathan's Blog From The Source

Sex and Screens

Posted on: 04/21/15 5:45 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Last Friday night I spoke to a group of middle school kids in Cincinnati about sex and screens… here’s a glimpse of how we got the conversation started.

The format was fun. I spoke to them first, letting them know Sex Matters, even in a world that thinks it’s no big deal (DYM actually published a version of this talk HERE). Then I gave them four tools to become smarter than their smartphone, fleeing some of the temptations that can be distractions today (something I also addressed in this week’s Parenting Help article, Preventing the Permeation of Porn).

After a break, the students met with an adult leader in small groups and dialogued about what they heard. Here are the discussion questions I provided Continue reading “Sex and Screens”

Posted in Entertainment Media, Parenting, Sexuality, Smartphones/Cell Phones, Speaking/Training | | Leave A Comment

Binging… not Bonding

Posted on: 04/6/15 5:45 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Conventional wisdom would tell us that the more time we hang with our kids, the better, right?

Not so fast.

Our new Parenting Help article on TheSource4Parents.com this week reveals some very surprising research that will make parents rethink “quantity time.”

Think about it. What does your “quantity time” with your own kids look like?

Here’s a funny, but sobering little YouTube video from Continue reading “Binging… not Bonding”

Posted in Entertainment Media, Humor, Parenting, TV | | Leave A Comment

Favorite Easter Clips

Posted on: 04/1/15 5:45 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Year after year I encounter powerful movie, TV and YouTube clips that provoke meaningful discussions about Easter and Christ’s sacrifice for us (we even saw one last season that we highlighted on our The Gospel According to The Walking Dead blog).

Out of all the clips I encounter year after year and highlight on our Holiday Ideas page… these THREE CLIPS stick out as some of my favorites for Easter Continue reading “Favorite Easter Clips”

Posted in Evangelism, Faith, Movies | | Leave A Comment

Getting her to interact for the first time

Posted on: 03/30/15 5:45 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Do you ever encounter a kid who just won’t seem to engage in spiritual conversations?

I just received the following encouraging note from “Josh,” a youth worker who happens to also be a foster dad:

I wanted to share with you that our family just began your Zombie Apocalypse Survival Guide for Teenagers last night. I have a 16-year-old foster daughter who has been with us for 5 months now, and she hasn’t responded much to spiritual things. We only went through the first few opening pages of the book – setting the stage, so to speak, for future family devotionals with this – but she interacted with those pages more than she has with any other family devo we’ve done. Her reactions ranged from laughter to, “Does it really say that?” It was fun to Continue reading “Getting her to interact for the first time”

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Engaging Today’s Teens in Meaningful Conversation

Posted on: 03/24/15 11:59 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Canadian TV show My New Day just posted three of their shows online where the hosts Bob and Audrey interviewed me about engaging today’s teenagers in meaningful conversation. (You’ll see Part 1, 2, and 3 all linked on this page. Part 1 really gets started at about 8:45 into it, the rest dive in right away.)

These videos are great clips to show to parents about how to use everyday real-world occurrences to get our kids talking about stuff that matters.

Here’s an excerpt from part 3 Continue reading “Engaging Today’s Teens in Meaningful Conversation”

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What youth ministry should look like

Posted on: 03/19/15 5:45 AM | by Jonathan McKee

I walked into the small church Fellowship Hall in Richmond, VA and it was busting at the seams. 300-plus teenagers and about 70 leaders—better than a 1-to-5 ratio of adult to teen.

Don’t be intimidated by the numbers… be challenged by the ratio.

This was a church of less than 1,000… no building (they were borrowing the Fellowship Hall from a neighboring church). Normally, they met spread out in living rooms all over the city.

It was fun to see the energy in the room. Each table had six to eight kids and one or two adults all laughing, talking, and eating pizza together (there’s that ratio again). It was the beginning of their D-Now weekend (D-Now stands for Disciple Now, a weekend retreat of sorts focusing on the spiritual growth of teenagers). I was the speaker, but it wasn’t me who would be making the big impact that weekend… it was the 70 adult leaders who were spread throughout the room connecting with kids. God was using these caring mentors to make a huge difference in the lives of these teens.

What was their secret? Continue reading “What youth ministry should look like”

Posted in Youth Ministry Philosophy, Youth Ministry Planning | | Leave A Comment

Today is the day… and a freebie for you

Posted on: 03/17/15 5:45 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Last spring Bethany House Publishing set the release for both of my new books about sex for March 17, 2015, a date that seemed so far away… and it’s finally here!

In a world so full of explicit lies, I’m excited about these two resources helping us communicate the explicit Biblical truth to young people.

Please help me spread the word about these two brand new resources! Read them, and if they are a help, then tell someone else about them. Tweet about them, post a pic on Instagram when you receive them. Post a blog or a review.

I appreciate your help… in fact… here’s a little sum-something for ya… Continue reading “Today is the day… and a freebie for you”

Posted in Books, Parenting, Sexuality | | Leave A Comment

Canadian Parents Forced to Talk about Sex

Posted on: 03/9/15 5:45 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Ontario just updated their sex education curriculum for the first time in 17 years, and parents across the country are a little upset with some of the content. Students will learn about masturbation, oral sex, anal sex (hold on to your hats… I’ll be writing about this taboo subject in our next Parenting Help article), and gender identity theory. In fact, students will be learning six gender identities instead of just two.

Last week I flew to Toronto for a timely interview about my new book More Than Just the Talk on the Canadian TV show 100 Huntley Street (airing late March). This new book asserts “parents need to create a comfortable climate of continual conversations about sex” … a sore subject for Canadian parents right now Continue reading “Canadian Parents Forced to Talk about Sex”

Posted in Books, News, Parenting, Sexuality, Youth Culture | | Leave A Comment