RECENT BLOG POSTS

Katy Perry the Host

Posted on: 06/13/10 3:32 PM | by Jonathan McKee

You know Katy Perry as the girl who Kissed a Girl and Liked It, or most recently, the girl with the naughty hand gestures at the MTV Movie Awards when singing about how the California Girls are so hot that they “will melt your popsicle.” Who better to host the next Teen Choice Awards on August 9th.

The Teen Choice Awards is Fox’s chance to both reflect and currupt our culture annually. Last year the Awards was where Miley did her little pole dance.

This year, with Katy at the Helm, we can probably expect a lot more sexual humor. Her few minutes of screen time before and after the MTV Awards last weekend gave us just a glimpse of that.

The Hollywood Reporter says that Perry will “both host and perform at the show” this year.

Hmmmmm.

Posted in Entertainment Media, Music, Sexuality, TV, Youth Culture | | Leave A Comment

This October

Posted on: 06/10/10 8:29 AM | by Jonathan McKee

For those of you in the youth ministry world (I realize that my blog goes out to both parents and youth workers), most of you are familiar with Youth Specialties’ National Youth Workers Convention… or as as lazy folks call it, the NYWC.

This year I’ll be teaching again at the NYWC in San Diego. They have a brand new promo video for it. Interesting approach. Check it out.

Here’s the link to the video.

I’ll be teaching two workshops at the NYWC this year:

– Seminar Series 4 – Sunday, Oct. 3 – 2:00pm-3:30pm– Using 10-Minute Talks: Speaking to Generations with Short Attention Spans

Wouldn’t it be nice if all of us could communicate the Scriptures like Francis Chan or speak with the clarity of Andy Stanley? Francis goes about 45 minutes… Andy averages about 40 minutes… I should do the same, right? Newsflash: We aren’t them! So stop trying to talk as long as them! That coupled with the fact that students’ attention spans are growing shorter brings up a critical question: How can we communicate truth in a way that teenagers will truly remember? In this seminar you’ll learn the power and effectiveness of the 10-Minute Talk, a method of storytelling that’s laser focused and impactful.

– Seminar Series 5 – Sunday, Oct. 3 – 4:00pm-5:30pm– Ministry by Teenagers: Developing Leaders from Within

You may be sitting on an untapped gold mine of leadership for your youth group—the teenagers! Millions of teenagers are apathetic about their faith, and their indifference greatly reveals itself each year when many teenagers graduate high school…and exit their faith altogether. It’s a problem that every youth worker in every denomination acknowledges. Could it be that today’s youth ministries are too focused on offering ministry TO teenagers instead of leading ministry BY teenagers? Teenagers must get opportunities to serve and use their gifts in ministry prior to high school graduation, taking full ownership of their faith development. This seminar will highlight key strategies for developing spiritual growth in students and giving them opportunities to serve in their ministries.

Here’s the link. Hope to see some of you there!

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

Christina’s Woohoo

Posted on: 06/8/10 12:49 PM | by Jonathan McKee

By now many of you have heard the buzz about Christina Aguilera’s performance at the MTV Movie Awards on Sunday night where she debuted her brand new song Woohoo. It’s difficult to miss when an “artist” sings a song basically asking someone to lick her vagina. MTV not only allowed Christina to peform this song live Sunday night, but they also zoomed in for a close up of her crotch at the end of the performance with a lit up heart on her… should we call it her “woohoo?”

As a parent who researches youth culture for a living, it takes a lot to surprise me. But I confess, I was truly shocked with how far MTV was allowed to go on Sunday night. (You can catch my detailed synopsis of this popular event watched by literally millions of our teens and tweens in this week’s Youth Culture Window article.)

As for Christina’s new album Bionic, released today… I guess I’m not surprised at all by its racy content. Christina has always trumped Britney on the road to skankville. Bionic features the song, Not Myself Tonight, a song and video that I already blogged about a few weeks ago. That particular video was number one in iTunes for a few days– it’s the 5th most downloaded video today. If you’re a parent, you might want to take a peek at what your kids have access to only a click away.

As for the third song on the album, Woohoo… there’s not much to say. Here’s a glimpse at the lyrics:

You know you really wanna (hey)
Wanna taste my (woohoo)
You know you wanna get a peak
Wanna see my (woohoo)
You know you wanna put your lips
Where my hips are (woohoo)
Kiss all my (woohoo)
All over my (woohoo)

All the boys think it’s cake
When they taste my (woohoo)
You don’t even need a plate
Just your face, ha (woohoo)
Licky, licky, yum yum (woohoo)
What a great guy (woohoo)…

One of the sad elements of this song if you listen to the entire thing is that it is so casual about drinking and hooking up, with, of course, no mention of the numerous consequences to this physically, emotionally and spiritually. I’m not the only one upset by this kind of irresponsibility.

Another interesting thing about these lyrics– notice how Christina never uses any cuss words or says anything outright. (I mean… yes… HELLO! It’s as blatant as ever… but I can hear kids now, “What are you talking about mom! The song is clean!”) Interesting enough, iTunes still has labeled the song explicit. I say “interesting,” because they and many others didn’t label the “clean version” of Lil Wayne’s Lollipop (also about oral sex) explicit. They just edited out the cusswords, but left all references to licking the lollipop… and poof… it was “clean.”

Parents… listen up.

It’s a simple tool called Google. When your kids want to download a song, just pop on Google, type the artist, the song name, and then type the word “lyrics,” and hit search. In this case, you would type: Christina Aguilera Woohoo lyrics.

Read the lyrics and then have a conversation with your kids. Don’t tell them it’s wrong. Have them read the lyrics out loud to you. Then ask them. “What’s this song about?”

I’ve written an entire article about this process here: Dad, Can I Download this Song?

Keep having these conversations. Because as long as the Christinas, Britneys… and even Mileys of the world are out there, we need to teach our kids discernment with their media choices.

Posted in Entertainment Media, Internet, Jonathan's Rant, Music, Sexuality | | Leave A Comment

The Truth about West Virginia

Posted on: 06/7/10 8:38 AM | by Jonathan McKee

I’m going on the record: West Virginia is the friendliest state in the U.S.

This past weekend I did my second visit to West Virginia in the past six months. I’ve probably been there once or twice a year in the last ten years, and my experience is always the same: beautiful scenery, incredibly nice people, and a few chuckling moments.

You see, if you visit any state near West Virginia, you’ll hear them make fun of the state. “They’re backwoods hicks!” “Watch out for those banjo players!” You get the idea.

Yes, West Virginia has it’s share of ‘good ol’ boys,’ and even a handful of folks who seem to be a few fries short of a Happy Meal… but they are the nicest bunch of people you’ll ever encounter.

Allow me to summarize my observations:

1. Plenty of good ol’ boys: There’s a big difference between a ‘good ol’ boy’ and a ‘backwoods hick’ with three teeth! I’ve met plenty of good ol’ boys in West Virginia. I’ve met more backwoods hicks in Rio Linda (about 20 minutes from my house in California). This weekend I was hanging out with a youth worker named Chris. Chris was definitely a ‘good ol’ boy.’ We were starting to unpack some boxes and I asked him, “Isn’t this where a good ol’ boy would have a knife in his pocket to open up these boxes?” He smiled, pulled out a pocket knife and began cutting open the boxes. I laughted and told him, “I knew it! I knew you’d have a knife!” He smirked and said, “You know what we call a man without a knife around here?” I shrugged my shoulders and nodded– no idea. He folded his knife and put it back into his pocket, flashing another smile at me. “A woman!”

2. They know their reputation, and aren’t all bent up about it: I spoke at a conference in Pennsylvania a while back and someone on stage made a comment about “Even some people from West Virginia are here!” The West Viriginia group whooped and hollered. They were West Virginian and proud. People made West Virginian jokes all weekend and no one got worked up about it. Most of them would simply retort, “We’re hicks, and we’re proud of it.” I remember even joking about ‘road-kill’ at the conference. One guy at that conference came up and told me, “You know, they just passed a new law in West Virginia that if you hit a deer with your truck, you can take it home and cook it!” I told him that it had never been a temptation for me.

3. They actually have manners: In California if you bump into someone in a store (particularly this younger generation), they will probably give you a hard look, maybe even flip you off and bark obscenities. In WV, they say, “Excuse me sir.” and smile. I was in Charleston, WV a while back and I was lost. I pulled up to a sidewalk and asked a guy for directions. This guy was ready to hop in my car and show me how to get there! Nicest people you ever will meet. I stopped by an Arby’s to grab a quick bite on the run this past weekend. Let’s be honest. Arby’s isn’t exactly a fine dining establishment. A teenager was walking in the door just before me. He stopped, held the door, then chatted with me about the weather when I walked in. Then the person working the counter smiled, called me sir, thanked me… it was amazing! In California there is only one place that treats you like that: In and Out Burger (They are trained that way). In West Virginia, everyone is like an “In and Out” employee.

If you haven’t been to WV… give it a try.

Don’t believe the hype. They’re not inbred, backwoods hicks. They’re incredibly friendly, they’ve got pocket knives, and they’re ready to cook you up fresh venison at any moment (just don’t ask them where they got it!)

Posted in Humor, Personal, Travel | | Leave A Comment

Wow… just $7

Posted on: 06/3/10 2:15 PM | by Jonathan McKee

Okay… and I thought I had a good price.

Youth Specialties just pumped one of my books this week, DO THEY RUN WHEN THEY SEE YOU COMING?, on sale for just $7 bucks!

That’s an awesome deal. (I love it when YS runs those slammin’ deals!)

The sale is only through Monday, so I encourage you to grab a few of them.

If you haven’t read this book, it’s my second book, a book about reaching out to the rapidly growing number of “unchurched teenagers” in this younger generation. This book actually won an award in 2006 for “Best Outreach Resource” by Outreach Magazine. I have tons of youth leaders who take their leaders through this book as a training tool.

Good deal.

Posted in Books | | Leave A Comment

The PG-13 Epidemic

Posted on: 06/2/10 1:02 PM | by Jonathan McKee

I am growing to hate PG-13 movies.

Just give me straight R… at least you’re being honest with me about what I should expect. Don’t give me this false expectation that this content is okay for 13-year-olds somewhere.

Last night my wife and I rented the fairly new to DVD/Blu Ray movie, Valentine’s Day... rated PG-13. The preview for this film looked pretty good. It’s a Gary Marshall film and it has an all star cast. Seriously… you’ll be surprised how many stars are in this.

So we gave it a try– just me and Lori, no kids.

I got a sour taste in my mouth about 12 minutes into it. Name it: hooking up, talk of threesomes, phone sex…

Now, I realize that not all “date flicks” are totally clean. I really like The Notebook… and that’s got some pretty steamy moments. I like Big Fat Greek Wedding, and that has premarital sex. I like Say Anything… again… premarital sex. But Valentine’s Day was in another league. I guess they are targeting all these women that love Sex and the City.

I guess that’s why I wrote the article years ago: Why I Allowed my 12-year-old to See Rater R… but Not PG-13!

You can catch my official review of Valentine’s Day on our movie review page here.

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

World Cup Unites the Globe

Posted on: 06/1/10 3:58 PM | by Jonathan McKee

Last week a youth worker from South Africa emailed me letting me know that the last lot of World Cup tickets were going on sale… hoping she’d get some. That would be so cool! (Hoping you get them Laura!)

I’m so jealous! 🙂

If you haven’t seen the Nike commercial for it…be careful… if you watch it, fan or not, you might actually fall in love with the sport.

My local Sacramento Bee chimed in on this spectacular event coming just around the corner. The opening line of that article: “Most Germans prefer watching their World Cup soccer team to having sex.”

LOL (Sorry, I’m not that dedicated to soccer.)

A snippet from that article, World Cup Unites the Globe:

Thursday, the South Wales Argus reported that Welsh police are girding for spikes in domestic violence between June 11 and July 11 – when a global audience will be riveted by the World Cup.

Last December, the New York Times ran a story with the headline: “A Nation’s Shaken Ego Seen in a Soccer Loss.” It told of a national malaise in Egypt after its team failed to qualify for the World Cup, which starts in two weeks in South Africa. Some Egyptians compared the indignity to the 1967 military rout of Arab armies by Israel.

And if past World Cups are any indication, somebody will commit suicide when his team is eliminated next month.

It happens every four years. Some Americans wonder why, but it’s very simple: With soccer, the most desperate kids from Sudan share the same passion as affluent kids in the United States.

So cool! I can’t wait!

(ht to my mom for that article)

Posted in News, Personal | | Leave A Comment

Today’s College Students Lack Empathy

Posted on: 05/29/10 8:32 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Interesting little piece by Yahoo News yesterday, with some research to back up something I’ve definitely noticed. College students today are less likely to ‘get’ the emotions of others than their parents were.

This new study from Michigan’s Institute for Social Research reviewed 72 studies of 14,000 American college students and found a huge empathy drop after the year 2,000.

“Generation Me” is earning their name.

The article proposes all kind of theories as to why, including increased exposure to media, social media, and today’s hypercompetitive focus on success. But another theory is simply how busy people are and the fact that they don’t have time to sit down and just listen to others. A graduate student interviewed in the article suggested, “College students today may be so busy worrying about themselves and their own issues that they don’t have time to spend empathizing with others…”

Interesting stuff.

My two cents: Get our kids involved in mission work. The more we expose our kids to the compassion of Christ and put them in situation where they can serve the needs of others, even just listening… the more our kids get out of their little “me” bubble.

Talk with any kid after a mission trip (even local trips feeding the homeless) and you’ll see a slightly different worldview.

Posted in Youth Culture | | Leave A Comment

What Connecting Looks Like

Posted on: 05/27/10 9:39 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Jason’s adult leaders didn’t realize how “stagnant” many of their kids were… until they saw it on a giant whiteboard right in front of their face!

It’s fun to get emails from youth workers and adult mentors who are connecting with kids. I’ve been getting a lot of these lately– people who have read my book, CONNECT, or have seen our free CONNECT video, and are using the principles to not only start conversations with teenagers, but using the principles out of chapter 14 to do the sticky notes exercise, taking a spiritual inventory of their group.

Jason, a youth worker from New York just took his entire adult leadership team through the sticky notes exercise using a giant whiteboard. Here’s his results (I blurred the names for anonymity). Notice the “trends” of where the names landed.

Does that look like your group? (I’ve done a lot of these trainings- and a TON of them look just like this!)

A lot of stagnant kids, huh? Jason noticed this and sees how connecting might really make a difference. Here’s what Jason wrote me this morning:

I should’ve emailed you sooner to let you know how much that book has meant to this ministry so far. I did the sticky note exercise last month and it has really shook up the leader’s view of their roles. I have a great group of adults that really love serving the teens, but I do not think they totally understood what kind of an impact they have, or could have, until they saw that board. I attached the picture of it for you to see. As you will see, we have a pretty stagnant group. The leaders have responded in force to change that! They realize now more than ever how important it is to be creating one on one relationships that will give them the ability to help a teen take that next step towards Christ and a more devoted relationship with Him.

I also changed our team expectations. I have now added that they need to be having a one on one with a teen at least once a month. For the ones that still didn’t get it I broke it down like this: We have 14 leaders and 50 teens attending regularly on Sunday nights. If each leader took a different teen out once a month that equals 168 teens a year. This means each teen will be able to have a one on one conversation with an adult 3 times a year! So if we look at it like that it also impacts us to realize that even twice a month isn’t a stretch. That doubles the amount of one on ones and infinitely multiplies the amount of influence an adult can have on a teen!

Thanks again for all you do for youth ministries!

Jason

It’s fun to see how Jason is making sure that no kid is missed! Wouldn’t you love it if you knew that your own son or daughter had a place where they were loved and cared for… a place where everyone knew their name, and where a positive adult role model actually hung out with them and mentored them?!

Thanks for CONNECTING Jason!

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

My Dear Blog Fans

Posted on: 05/26/10 2:19 PM | by Jonathan McKee

I wanted to apologize to you for my blog lately. I won’t bore you with the details, I’ll just tell you that it’s Google’s fault! (seriously, it is!)

All you know is that you haven’t heard from me in a while. But I have been blogging… they just weren’t sent out. The quick explanation is that my blog feed is sent by Google (who took over Feedburner) and they made some switch sometime after the blog about my son, and then you guys experienced silence until this morning (Wednesday).

My faithful web guy Troy went in last night and retweaked it and we THINK that it is working now.

If you’re inbox is like mine, you received the last THREE blogs this morning (Wed). (And now you know all the dark secrets about me and Lori! Those who read the last of those three blogs know what I’m talking about. We had a great time by the way. Good wings!) So hopefully this blog I’m writing now will send out to my email subscribers Thurs.

Anyway… if that works, we’re over the hump and I’ll try to continue to send you good youth culture highlights, media insight, parenting tips, youth worker helps, and just plain fun stuff!

Hey… here’s an idea (speaking of fun stuff). First five people to reply (just hit reply- it goes to me) to my EMAIL FEED of this blog (which should send out the same time as my feed Wed morning), I’ll send them a copy of my most recent book CONNECT (actually… any one of my books in print. Name it.). In other words… when this blog sends out Thursday morning, I’m rewarding the first 5 people that reply to this blog in their email’s inbox (hoping that it indeed works again!)

How’s that for a test! 🙂 (a test to see who’s still reading at this point in this very boring blog!) 🙂

I’ll post the winner in the comments.

Posted in Contests, News, Personal | | Leave A Comment