Love it, hate it, ignore it, tolerate it: it won’t go away. More than ever before, movies, music, computer games and magazines are the cultural language of this generation. A missionary knows they have to know the language, culture, and religion of their mission field or none of their messages will get through. One might argue that music is the language of youth. Do you know what they are listening to? Further, movie stars and rock stars may be the priests of this day. Games like Final Fantasy actually have shrines online. www.ffshrine.org Tabloids, teen magazines, and websites are the sacred scriptures. Websites, blogs and instant messaging are the communal gathering sites. I could give you a list of must-see movies, must-hear albums and must-experience bands, but the truth of the matter is, many of them would be out of grace and favor by the time this article is printed. If you are going to understand the media and languages of your contextualized culture, you’ve got to ask your own kids to tell you what they listen to, what they watch, who they buy (or pirate), and why they like them. Better yet, have them bring the DVDs and CDs to you for a listen. Have them print out the lyrics or recite the movie dialogue and tell you what messages they accept and don’t accept and why. Have them teach you the video games they play. Have them take you to the websites they visit and show you how they can be in 12 instant message conversations at any given moment. If you want a real education, spend an hour or two as a student of your students and let them take you into their world.
The Best Continuing
Education
Wayne Gretsky was once asked how he became such a great hockey player. He answered, “I don’t go to where the puck is, I go to where the puck is going to be.”
If you want to study the future of youth ministry, you are out of luck. You can’t study the future. You can only study the inhabitants of the future. Make yourself a student of these living books and you might finally get yourself a real education.
(PS: I may go back to Rollie in ten years, buy him a steak and ask him if I should get my doctorate again. Or maybe not. Somehow I already know what the answer will be.)
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