RECENT BLOG POSTS

Back in Cali

Posted on: 02/23/09 12:58 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Well… it’s just past midnight here in Cali, which means that it’s 3-something in PA. Luckily, I don’t think my body ever switched to East Coast time. I just got done with my 13 hour journey home (including layovers and drive time). My weekend speaking went well… a couple quick things to share, then I’m OFF TO BED!

First… by God’s grace a dozen kids accepted Christ. I’m always jazzed when kids put their trust in Him. This was a much smaller camp that I was speaking at, but I’m excited when just one kid makes a decision for Christ.

It was cool hearing the different leaders tell me the stories of the kids that made decisions. One of the groups had four girls stand up and make a decision. Three of them were first time decisions. The other girl said that she had only been believing in “word,” not in “action.” (Hey… she listened! Cool!) She made a commitment to make some changes and get rid of some “junk” in her life.

So praise God for those kids.

Secondly, I want to brag on a band for a moment. This is my fourth time working with this band. They are an East Coast band. Not only are they talented musically, they are humble and team players. That’s huge for me.

I spoke another camp recently where the band was VERY talented… great musicians… but they were loose cannons. They didn’t listen to a word that the camp director or I said. (Funny, when a band leader asks me, “What can I do to make the transition to you smooth?” I assume that he really wants to know! 🙂 Funny… this guy asked me the question, pretended to listen, and then did exactly what the heck he wanted!)

The band I worked with this weekend was a joy to work with. They are called Saline and here’s their web site: www.SalineMusic.com

I’m tired. I’m going to bed!

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Pennsylvania

Posted on: 02/19/09 11:39 AM | by Jonathan McKee

It’s time for me to go to the great state of Pennsylvania once again (yes, speaking in PA for the second time this month). Tomorrow I fly through Chicago to Scranton, PA, where I’ll grab a car and drive to a small town called Dallas, PA and speak at a camp for the weekend.

I’ll be speaking to a few hundred middle school kids Friday night, Saturday morning and evening… and closing off Sunday morning. For those of you who’d be willing to pray… If I can ask, please pray as I’ll be presenting the Gospel on Friday night, then spending time talking about living a “real faith” the rest of the weekend. I love middle schoolers.

The weather doesn’t look half bad for PA at this time… in the teens. Still cold for this California boy! But I always appreciate prayer for my travels. It basically will take me about 12 to 13 hours just to get from my front door to the camp’s front door… then another 12 to 13 back home Sunday.

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More Loyal to Toothpaste Brand Than Church?

Posted on: 02/18/09 3:22 PM | by Jonathan McKee

Another example of “what the world thinks of us.”

USA Today puts it like this:

Some Americans are more loyal to their toothpaste or toilet paper than to their religious denomination, making those consumers more choosy about Charmin or Colgate than they are about church, according to a new survey.

According to a Phoenix-based research firm, 16% of Protestants say they would consider only one denomination, while 22% of them would use only one brand of toothpaste and 19% would use just one brand of bathroom tissue.

Sigh. I don’t think I’ll even comment.

(ht to Jamie L.)

Posted in Church, Faith, News | | Leave A Comment

Hip Hop Livin’ Large

Posted on: 02/17/09 10:39 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Eminem, Kanye West, T-Pain, Beyonce, Flo Rida, T.I., Lil Wayne… these artist all know what #1 tastes like, and they all continue to dominate the top of the charts.

In my youth culture section of my seminars some youth workers seem surprised when I report the fact that Hip Hop and R&B are the most popular music choice of today’s generation over all. In my Getting Students to Show Up book, I revealed the results of a 2005 Kaiser study (among 7th to 12th graders who listen to recorded music in a typical day) where Hip Hop/Rap was not only the #1 music category (65 %), but it attracted more than twice the number of the second place category, Alternative rock (32 percent)(Kaiser report, page 29).

I was looking at the music charts today and we still see that trend, despite the speckles of rock and alternative that have maintained a strong second (with country hanging in there, thanks especially to youngins like Taylor Swift who often have a song in the top 10).

Today the #1 downloaded iTunes song is from Flo Rida, the rapper who had the number one dowloaded song of last year, also Billboard’s Hot 100 #1 song of last year. His new #1 song is Right Round (with a chorus that many of us who grew up in the 80’s will recognize).

Seven of the ten top 10 songs on iTunes right now would be in the Hip Hop/rap/R&B category.

Billboard’s Top 100 tells a similar story, with Eminem, Dr. Dre & 50 Cent riding #1 with their explicit song Crack a Bottle (#2 on iTunes right now). Sadly, when kids go to download this one on iTunes they’ll be downloading not only curse words, but the typical foul raunch that Eminem usually offers (along with some of the greatest beats ever made- thank you Dr. Dre. If we could only get this guy to lay down some beats for some clean music).

Billboard’s Hot 100 only has five of their top 10 songs in the in the Hip Hop/rap/R&B category (granted, it’s the #1, 2, 3, 5 and 9 slot), with the other five divided from different genres, from pop (Kelly Clarkson’s My Life Would Suck Without You), Alternative (The All-American Rejects’ song Gives You Hell), Country’s Taylor Swift, as well as the very melodic sound of Jason Mraz and The Fray.

A click at Billboard’s entire Hot 100 list reveals a majority of the top 11-50 in the in the Hip Hop/rap/R&B category.

The grammys gave us a glimpse of this, with Lil Wayne not only nominated for the most awards, but taking home four awards for his “art.” (sigh)

A lot of us might be concerned about the explicit and highly sexualized content in most of Hip Hop/rap/R&B music (we’ve talked about this in past Youth Culture Window articles). I agree. But that doesn’t mean denying the facts. I’ve literally had youth workers angry at me for reporting these facts. “My kids listen to rock! I don’t care what those stats say!”

Sigh.

Yes, classic rock is definitely coming back thanks to the number one video game at the moment, Guitar Hero. But rock, alternative and country are still just riding the coat tails of the hip hop industry. Like it or not… the genre is still dominating.

Posted in Music, Sexuality, Youth Culture | | Leave A Comment

Romance This Weekend

Posted on: 02/13/09 11:14 AM | by Jonathan McKee

I’m excited… this weekend is Valentines Day, and I’m actually home with my wife and family (don’t even ask how many times I’ve been traveling speaking on this weekend! It’s good to be home.)

Tonight i’m going out to the movies with my li’l lady and some good friends of ours. We’re going to grab dinner and a quick movie (the Kevin James mall cop flick… looks funny. Plus, I need to preview it because my kids want to see it- I don’t trust PG-13). Then tomorrow night we’re just hanging at home. Probably hang with the kids for a while, then break out a box of Kleenex and watch Nights in Rodanthe (with Richard Gere and Diane Lane- it’s based on the book by Nicholas Sparks- the guy who wrote The Notebook, A Walk to Remember and Message in a Bottle). I actually saw the film on the plane a couple weeks ago. I wasn’t planning on watching the whole thing… but I got sucked in. I knew Lori would like it… so i just rented it for V-day. 🙂 (Definitely a snuggle on the couch together movie)

That’s my big plans for the weekend… nothing much… but it’s always fun to have an excuse for even more romance. I hope the rest of you married folks have something special planned!

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The New Place Where Kids Will Find Porn

Posted on: 02/12/09 10:16 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Just when you thought there couldn’t be any more porn…

The problem of porn is only growing. Parents already have to put safeguards on their TVs and computers… but that doesn’t cover what could be the largest provider of porn in the next couple of years. Take it from author, speaker, radio show host, Jim Burns:

“By the year 2011… the cell phone will be the greatest provider of internet pornography.” -Jim Burns, HomeWord.com

Those of you who are EZINE subscribers or on our web site regularly probably already saw our new Four Minutes Video this week. Jim Burns addresses the problem of cellular porn.

(if you receive this blog via email and can’t see the video above, CLICK HERE to see Jim address this issue.)

In addition, CLICK HERE to Download Jim’s FREE Curriculum THE PURITY CODE.

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

18 Foot Python Attacks Three Year Old

Posted on: 02/11/09 10:22 AM | by Jonathan McKee

18 Foot Python + Child = lunch?

I’m not great at math… but I’ve read enough Far Side Tales to easily see this formula come to fruition. A family decided to take care of their friends’ 18 foot reticulated python. The snake get’s loose (well… yeah!), and it attacks the kid and his mother.

This is crazy… check out just a snippet from this article:

“It took all six of us to get that snake into custody. It made just a little loop on my hand while we were wrestling with it, and it felt like a vice. I’ve never felt anything like that,” says Metro Sergeant, Steve Custer.

Custer and officer, Jerry Ybarra, have almost half a century of law enforcement experience between them, but even that could not prepare them for the snake attack they rushed to Tuesday.

“We go into bars after bad guys all the time, guns, never blink an eye, but we looked at that snake, and there was a lot of dancing and screaming going on,” says Custer.

“Once animal control got there, we’d try to grasp him with her little tool that she has, and he would just hiss at us, and that was pretty terrifying,” adds Ybarra.

The Reticulated Python was about eighteen feet long, far bigger than the three-year-old boy it had wrapped itself around.

Hmmmm. Keeping a snake near a toddler. I’ll put this right next to “buy Lil Wayne album” in my parenting “to do” list.

The parents are now being charged- the video here.

Posted in Family, Humor, News | | Leave A Comment

No Wonder Our Kids Listen to It

Posted on: 02/9/09 12:34 PM | by Jonathan McKee

Why are adults surprised that kids listen to raunchy music?

Kids are only following their example.

Last night the Grammys gave us a true glimpse of what adults value in this world. The Grammys has a long history of being THE music awards show. Unlike the Teen Choice Awards, or many of the MTV awards shows, The Grammys are chosen by adults. Then why was Lil Wayne nominated for more than anyone else, 8 Grammys?

Do these adults even know what this guy is singing about? (you can take a little peek at his content in this article) Maybe Lil Wayne should take this opportunity to ask their daughter on a date?

Maybe the same could be said about Kid Rock, Robert Plant and others at the show last night. But I think most adults are probably a little more comfortable with the messages coming from the albums of U2 and Coldplay than the young Mr. Wayne. Or maybe, in today’s world lyrical content just doesn’t matter. Because last night we awarded Wayne with trophies for the explicit album Tha Carter III, and three other songs, including the song Lollipop, an explicit song about oral sex.

“You’re a foul mouthed pervert. Here’s your trophy.” (pause) “But kids, you watch your mouths!”

David wrote about the blurring of the line between music for adults and teens last week in our Youth Culture Window article, The 2009 Grammys: Do Adults Like the Same Music as Teens?

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

Subtle PG-13 Lies

Posted on: 02/7/09 2:21 PM | by Jonathan McKee

It’s always interesting to see what films draw teenagers. A year ago, Juno was the hottest thing. Last fall it was Twilight. So what film has their attention now?

Last Tuesday a film was released that I predict will be one of the next cult classics of this generation. The film is Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Like Juno and Twilight, the film has a PG-13 rating. But this is one PG-13 film that has me wondering what the MPAA is smoking.

Let me be clear. I’m not a big fan of the MPAA rating system anyway. I’ve never been one to let a secular rating system tell me which movies are “good” and “bad” for my kids. I’ve seen plenty of R-rated films that I have no problem with (The Passion, Saving Private Ryan, The Last Samurai…). And I’ve seen plenty of PG films that are full of subtle lies. That’s a sore spot for me. I don’t like it when the media lies to us, especially to our kids. It’s completely irresponsible to consistently show actions without consequences. That’s just not the way life works.

Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist is a clever movie with strong characters and creative dialogue… kids are loving it. But not only is it full of graphic sexual talk, hookups and crude humor, it’s also a distortion of reality. There are drastic consequences emotionally and physically to most of the casual behaviors portrayed in Nick & Norah. Are these destructive behaviors true to life? Yes. But they are most often linked to consequences, consequences that the people behind the story of Nick and Norah chose to ignore.

Yes, Cinderella might also be a distortion of reality. Mice and birds don’t make dresses. And maybe there is no Prince Charming for most girls. But I’ve never met a teenage girl who bought into the lie that a mouse named Gus-Gus would be her best friend and a guy on a horse would take her away into the sunset. On the contrary, I’ve worked with plenty of teenager girls that found out the hard way that the casual actions in Nick & Norah have devastating consequences.

Can’t we be real with our kids? Nick & Norah is a nice fairy tale, based on realistic characters and authentic feelings. But we’re fools if we don’t understand how influential this kind of media is on our kids. The imitatable behaviors in this film aren’t just entertainment, they are telling our kids how to live in the real world.

Don’t let your kids construct their ethics from films like this.

This week I devoted our entire Youth Culture Window article to the content behind Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist. In that article I give you a glimpse of what our kids will be seeing in that film. I encourage you to take a peek at the article. Todd also posted a movie review on the film.

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

Youth Mentor Prevents Suicide Across Country

Posted on: 02/6/09 8:02 AM | by Jonathan McKee

This hits home for me, this was just down the freeway from me in Sacramento… and all the way across the country.

An 18-year-old Sacramento kid jumped on MySpace looking for someone to talk to. A 21-year-old youth mentor from Jersey befriends him… a friendship that just might have saved his life.

MSNBC reports:

“I felt … he reached out to me for guidance and help,” New Jersey resident Jesse Coltrane said as he recalled the discussion he had via webcam with the Sacramento youth. “That’s what he said. He said, ‘I need someone to talk to. You’re the only one I feel as though I can talk to.'”

But Monday evening, things got a little more intense. My local Sacramento Bee tells the story:

About a month ago, the California teen asked to become Coltrane’s friend on the social-networking Web site MySpace. Such requests from strangers are not unusual for the 21-year-old Coltrane, who runs a modeling and entertainment agency and has more than 500 friends listed on the Web site.

The two got to know each other with a few phone calls and talked mostly about music, Coltrane said.

But the instant message Monday evening was unexpected. It read: “im thinkin abt commitn smtn dat wll hurt alota ppl.”

Coltrane’s response, according to his computer’s archives: “What is that.”

“I dnt really wana say but just know its not good.”

Coltrane: “Suicide.”

When the younger man answered yes, Coltrane dropped out of his online business meeting and communicated with him for about seven hours by telephone, instant message and webcam.

This is one of those stories where each article offers an additional insights. MSNBC reports that Coltrane contacted the police and told them that the boy was starting to cut his wrists. It’s a fascinating little article. Another snippet:

Officers went to the teen’s home at about 3:20 a.m., found the injured youth and took him to a county mental health clinic for a 72-hour evaluation.

Leong said the youth is expected to live.

Coltrane said he’s glad the teen is getting medical help.

Coltrane added he may have helped save the teen’s life, but said that he had little choice. He recalled how the teen told him that the suicide attempt was nobody’s else’s business.

“I said, ‘Well, it’s my business now, because you brung me into it,'” Coltrane added.

An expert on suicide prevention praised Coltrane for calling police.

I guess something good has come from MySpace.

Hmmmmm.

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