Jonathan's Rant Archives - Page 3 of 21 - Jonathan's Blog From The Source

I want the truth… kind of

Posted on: 06/2/16 5:45 AM | by Jonathan McKee

In 1992 Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson gave incredible performances in the riveting movie, A Few Good Men. In their memorable exchange, Nicholson’s character Col. Nathan Jessup barked out a line so profound that it made it into the AFI’s list of the 100 best movie quotes:

Col. Jessep: You want answers?

Kaffee: I think I’m entitled to.

Col. Jessep: You want answers?

Kaffee: I want the truth!

Col. Jessep: You can’t handle the truth!

Truth.

That word has metamorphosized quite a bit over the last two decades. Continue reading “I want the truth… kind of”

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Do Carl’s Jr.’s Sexy Ads Sell?

Posted on: 03/10/16 9:43 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Does sex sell?

Carl’s Jr./Hardee’s is known for their over-the-top sexy ads. From Paris Hilton sensually washing a Bentley while eating a burger, to two girls getting in a scuffle at the BBQ grill and seductively intertwining to eat the Memphis BBQ burger.

The question is… do these ads actually sell burgers?
Continue reading “Do Carl’s Jr.’s Sexy Ads Sell?”

Posted in Jonathan's Rant, Parenting, Self Image, Sexuality, TV | | Leave A Comment

Poor Leadership 101

Posted on: 11/23/15 6:54 AM | by Jonathan McKee

The youth ministry was fizzling out and no one knew why.

It was as simple as this: kids weren’t meeting Jesus, and the ones that already knew Jesus weren’t growing. As a result the group had sputtered and was on the verge of dying.

If it were a horse it would have been put down.

This past year I have had the opportunity to spend time with Continue reading “Poor Leadership 101”

Posted in Church, Evangelism, Jonathan's Rant, Leadership, Youth Ministry Philosophy | | Leave A Comment

MTV Helps Kids Make Sense of the World?

Posted on: 09/1/15 5:45 AM | by Jonathan McKee

“No art form in the world captures moments like this more powerfully than music. Music helps us make sense of the world. A song can elevate a movement.”
–Jussie Smollett of Fox’s Empire, in his speech at the MTV VMA’s, 8/30/2015

Jussie is right. It was probably one of the few noteworthy statements from Sunday night’s MTV Video Music Awards (The VMAs).

Music is powerful. It always has been. In the Old Testament we even read about David soothing King Saul with his music. Perhaps today David would send Saul his newest Spotify playlist (at a safe distance from any spears being hurled his way).

MTV is happy to talk about music’s influence… for good. How come we never see them owning up to the contrary?

After observing the effects of music on young people for two decades, I’ve noticed two observations Continue reading “MTV Helps Kids Make Sense of the World?”

Posted in Entertainment Media, Jonathan's Rant, Music, Parenting, Youth Culture | | Leave A Comment

Miley’s VMA Reprise

Posted on: 08/24/15 7:35 AM | by Jonathan McKee

This coming Sunday night MTV will be exhausting all means necessary to garner one thing: ratings.

MTV has a history of stooping to new lows for ratings for their Video Music Awards show. This year’s new low will be Miley Cyrus hosting the show.

Yes, MTV exploiting Miley is nothing new. But this year they’ve been already pushing the envelope, utilizing Miley’s desperation for attention in their TV ads for the upcoming awards show. Maybe you’ve seen them: the topless ad (with little greenscreen dots covering the essentials), the “giving us the finger” ad, or the cloud of smoke ad… Continue reading “Miley’s VMA Reprise”

Posted in Entertainment Media, Jonathan's Rant, Music, TV, Youth Culture | | Leave A Comment

PG Porn

Posted on: 08/4/15 10:23 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Last week as I prepped to talk with parents about their kids’ phones, I browsed through the music video charts and noticed some interesting trends, especially from some of the “child actresses” our daughters grew up recently watching on TV—Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez. Their two music videos at the top of the charts are what I call PG Porn—extremely sensual visuals, with scantily clad girls writhing in pleasure… but with no official nudity driving the rating up. It’s the kind of video that drives a junior high boy to either click on something more severe… or to take a cold shower.

And what are these videos teaching our daughters? Continue reading “PG Porn”

Posted in Entertainment Media, Internet, Jonathan's Rant, Music, Parenting, Self Image, Sexuality, Smartphones/Cell Phones, Youth Culture | | Leave A Comment

Was the Pei Wei Hostess Right?

Posted on: 04/27/15 8:39 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Last night when I finished teaching my More Than Just the Talk parenting workshop in Albuquerque, NM, a bunch of us went out to catch a late night dinner together.

About 15 of us walked into Pei Wei (the poor man’s PF Changs) at 8:38 p.m. A young employee walks up to us and said, “Oh, wow. Yeah, I just wanted to tell you that we close at nine o’clock.”

One of the guys in our group, a police officer, looked at his watch confused and said, “Well… it’s 8:38.”

She said, Continue reading “Was the Pei Wei Hostess Right?”

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The Need for Super Bowl Conversations

Posted on: 02/1/15 8:44 PM | by Jonathan McKee

After spending an entire weekend with a couple thousand teenagers in South Carolina, my attention was immediately turned to the most watched television broadcast of the year in the United States: the Super Bowl. It was an intriguing transition.

The Super bowl is a distinctive television event. It’s not unique to adults, and it’s not exclusive to teenagers (a la MTV Video Music Awards). It’s an event truly watched by the entire family (the commercials alone are a huge draw for all ages- did you notice the ad for the new SpongeBob movie? And the new Ted 2 movie… wait… is that for kids?).

So what did I take away from this year’s Super Bowl?

One conclusion Continue reading “The Need for Super Bowl Conversations”

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Content with My Sin

Posted on: 01/23/15 5:45 AM | by Jonathan McKee

I Just finished watching a movie on my flight, This is Where I Leave You. The film was extremely well written, with powerful performances and real-to-life characters. There was just one problem… I walked away content with my own sin.

Life sucks. So do what feels good at the moment.

Here lies the struggle: touching film… bleak perspective

One of the main reasons I enjoyed the movie was the authentic characters with genuine problems. They were blemished, just like me and just like the people sitting in the pews with me every week. But the reason I actually sit in the pew every week is because I desperately need Continue reading “Content with My Sin”

Posted in Entertainment Media, Faith, Jonathan's Rant, Movies | | Leave A Comment