Depending on His Grace--Need for Prayer

This week, I feel like I'm learning more than ever what it means to depend upon God's grace. This has been a difficult week on a personal level. Some people very close to me are going through difficulty, and I am burdened for them, trying to lift them in constant prayer. In the midst of this, I am fighting discouragement over support raising. I have been in approximately 40 churches/camps over the past ten months sharing about New Zealand, and I am only 47% funded--but I know God is good. I know God is faithful. I KNOW HIS GRACE IS SUFFICIENT. So right now, I am leaning on that knowledge.

Since my last blog update, I have shared at New Life Wesleyan Church in Columbia Station, OH, as well as having another hometown fundraiser. The church at New Life was a blessing, and I am looking forward to the role they may play on the team! Also, the hometown fundraiser was such a gift of generosity from people who both donated items to be sold and put in work to make it happen. This fundraiser provided another opportunity to connect with people in my home community about the work God has called me to do in New Zealand. I am so thankful for the opportunity. Also, I was able to substitute for over a week for the same teacher, a huge financial blessing and an enjoyable opportunity to spend time with the same students for several days in a row!

More speaking engagements kick off again this weekend. Also, I am preparing to take three weeks of support raising training starting the end of this month followed by weekly coaching sessions. This training will be specifically focused on approaching individuals for support rather than churches. Please pray that I will be teachable and put into practice what I learn. Please pray God will send supporters and give me the vision to see them and know how to approach them. While I am discouraged in support raising, I cannot fail to give God praise for the ways He has already provided. He is working, but I just need to continue to trust Him and do my part in the process. Please pray FOR God's provision and direction. Please pray AGAINST discouragement.

Rant About Literature Continued

Rant About Literature Continued

Review of Burned by Ellen Hopkins

In my previous blog about adolescent literature, I mentioned a series that begins with the book Crank by Ellen Hopkins. I mentioned that my opinion of this series was only based on discussions with teenagers who had read it. I decided that I needed to gain an educated opinion on this New York Times Bestseller series. I went to my local public library and asked the librarian about these books. She informed me that they are “hot items” right now among young people--in fact, I had to put the first book on hold because it was already checked out. I did, however, check out Burned.

On a literary level, Ellen Hopkins certainly has a gift for poetry. She switches back and forth between different poetic styles with ease. I understand the praise of her writing on this level. Beyond this, however, I highly recommend that students not read this book. On a preliminary note, the language in the book is terrible. I don’t now that it would be possible to keep a running tally of how many times the “f-bomb” occurs. Of even more significance, the book deals rather graphically and continuously with sexual content. Finally, the over-arching plot contains nothing of redemptive value.

Here is a basic plot summary. Pattyn is a teenage girl who has grown up in an abusive and hypocritical Mormon home. Mormonism throughout the book is depicted in a terrible light, and while I would certainly not advocate for Mormonism, tearing down any form of organized religion seems to be a trend in Hopkins’ books. (I have already started her book Tricks which begins by making a mockery of an Assembly of God congregation and its pastor.) Organized religion is blamed for the oppression and devaluation of women. Pattyn’s mom has only one purpose in life--to bear sons. Her father breaks about every Mormon rule of lifestyle as an alcoholic who beats his wife and children. The leaders at Pattyn’s Mormon congregation refuse to address the abuse in Pattyn’s home when they are clearly aware of it. Also, they refuse to answer any of Pattyn’s questions about God and life which sends her spiraling further away from religion.

The book is HIGHLY sexualized, beginning with stories of Pattyn’s “sex dreams” on account of which she fears God’s judgment. When Mormonism fails her, Pattyn dives full force into a “worldly” lifestyle, including in her physical relationship with a boy from school. Barely escaping the relationship with her virginity, Pattyn is “shipped off” to her aunt’s house in Nevada so her family can dismiss her problems for a summer while her mother carries a baby boy to term.

Pattyn’s aunt is cast as the only person in her life (other than her sister) who cares genuinely about her. However, her aunt is also jaded by religion and has developed her own religious worldview that generally proposes “God” as anything that feels good and brings happiness. Thus, Pattyn’s aunt has no problem with the relationship that quickly develops between Pattyn and Ethan, a college-aged guy who lives near the aunt’s homestead. This relationship could be viewed as statutory rape in a court of law. The book describes the illegal couple’s sex life in great detail.

After the summer ends, Pattyn must return home. The abuse at home continues to elevate, and Pattyn anticipates its climax when word gets out that she is pregnant. In a desperate attempt to escape, she asks Ethan to come kidnap her from school. Their plan is to run away together and marry after Pattyn turns eighteen. However, someone turns in the license plate on Ethan’s truck after he picks up Pattyn. In an attempt to run from the cops, Ethan crashes. Pattyn awakes in the hospital to the news that both Ethan and her unborn child are dead.

The book’s end left me in utter shock. The last three pages insinuate that Pattyn used the gun Ethan had given her to protect her from her father to kill everyone and anyone who had ever hurt her at whatever level during a Mormon church service. Then, she prepares to jump off a bridge and kill herself. The end.

Can anyone tell me how this book could be helpful in promoting life and health among our impressionable young people? Am I crazy for thinking maybe we should have a rating system for books just like we have one for movies and video games? I really wish I could do something to set that in motion--any ideas? Why is it not okay for a fifteen year old to watch porn videos but it is okay for them to read pornographic literature that encourages depression and suicide? Anyone disagree? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Missions Conferences and More!

I am currently at 46% Faith Promise and anticipating much higher numbers soon! Weekend before last, I spoke at Flintwood Wesleyan Church's FIRST EVER Missions Banquet! It was exciting to be part of history in the making. I enjoyed the church a lot (and the yummy food)! It was great to catch up with some old friends and make lots of new ones! I am so privileged to have the church on the team. That Sunday, I spoke at Kingswood Wesleyan Church in Kentucky. This church has already been on my support team, sight unseen! It was awesome to build a relationship with this group of people who were already on the team. Last week, I was with the people of Faith Wesleyan Church for their Missions Conference in Terre Haute, IN. I cannot express how much of a blessing the congregation at Faith was to me. Their conference is just beautiful. The church pours out in tremendous ways, and the Spirit moved in a reviving way like I haven't experienced in a long time. Finally, Sunday morning I spoke at Blue River Wesleyan Church on the north-eastern corner of the Indiana South District. This church blessed me with their warm hearts and excitement to get on board with God's work in New Zealand.

This week, I am playing catch up on life (like cleaning my house) as well as getting back in the saddle of substitute teaching. This weekend, I will travel to Ohio to speak in another church. Please keep praying God will send funding! I have been fighting discouragement over the slow pace at which my percentage is increasing. Pray God will lift my spirits and give me discernment about who to ask to join the team and how to make connections.

Rant About Literature Geared Toward Teens

I should be asleep right now since I have to leave early in the morning to speak at a church. However, I have a rant in my head that I need to type out before I can sleep. Tonight, I got together with some Christian girl friends, and we watched a movie. As usual, Hollywood sent some subtle yet dangerous theological messages through the film. This led to a discussion about the messages in books and media, a discussion that got me pretty worked up.

I get really angry when I think about the way so much literature is designed to attract teens by enabling them to wallow in depression and addiction. There has been a lot of controversy in the church over literature in the fantasy category (i.e., Harry Potter or Twilight) targeting young people. I will not rehash this discussion, though I have read all of these books in order to have an educated opinion when parents ask me about them. I found them all highly entertaining and well-written, though many aspects of the books were inappropriate for younger readers. Fantasy in itself, of course, brings a unique problem to criticism since it is presented as entirely fictional while still communicating messages about truth and life. Then there are the specific issues regarding dark themes that run in both of these book series along with the question of--at what point can readers distinguish truth from reality, real witchcraft versus the re-creation of "witchcraft" in Harry Potter, etc.? All of that aside, I think there is a much more fatal type of literature being geared toward our students than either of these that has managed to keep below the church's radar.

I am thinking of a type of literature which is really popular now, one that deals with teenagers facing "real life" situations. One of these books has been on the best seller list lately, called Thirteen Reasons Why. I actually first heard of the book from a fellow youth worker who read it after a student recommended it to him. He said it had opened his eyes to what teenagers face in life. I bought the book, curious to see what it was advocating. I was thoroughly disturbed. The book's basic plot can be grabbed from its back cover: a teenage girl has committed suicide, but before her death, she recorded tapes directed at thirteen different people who in some way contributed toward her decision to end her own life. She then started the chain of mailing these tapes to the first person, and each of the thirteen are blackmailed into listening to the tapes and passing them on to the next person. As I read the book, I kept looking for redemptive value, for a point. I never found either. The book takes the reader through the hellish experiences of this young girl in excruciating detail, even in regard to her sexual molestation. The journey is sickening and cause for inappropriate thought patterns. It is just depressing. The conclusion of the book is hardly redemptive--only a couple pages of the message, "Be nice to people so they don't kill themselves because of you."

If you are a parent reading this, I would encourage you to censor this book out of your child's reading list for the following reasons:

• It's graphic descriptions of sexual events can be scarring and steal innocence.
• It affirms the lie that many teenagers buy into leading to suicide--that no one is really there for them in the way they need them to be.
• It may place an incredible amount of false guilt on any teenager who has lost a friend to suicide. As someone who has experienced such loss, there is enough false guilt that comes from this situation without increasing it with this book.
• The "point" of the book, which is to discourage bullying and carelessness toward others, is hardly emphasized to the point of being edifying. The girl who commits suicide is cleared of any responsibility for her actions and a blame-placing philosophy is encouraged.
  
• The author of the book, Jay Asher, does not have a history in counseling or youth work that I can find. He is a writer who has found a topic that is "compelling" to young people--a highly sexualized story of ostracism and the desire to end your life. I am leery of someone without a background in youth work dealing with these topics.

Another concern I have is with a series of books that starts with a book called Crank. I have not read this series, but it deals with a teenager who is spiraling into drugs and depression. It is a remake of the same kind of theme in a book I was required to read in high school called Go Ask Alice. I remember being disgusted by this book as a Christian teenager because of its harsh language and dark themes, and I'm sure Crank and it's consecutive books are only worse. Why are we encouraging teenagers to read this stuff? A teenage boy recently initiated a discussion with me about this very question. I saw him reading the series and asked him if it was good. He said it was interesting to him, but that he didn't understand why any adult would want him to be reading it. He said that for teenagers like him who already struggled with depression, this was just fuel for the fire.

I feel like this teenager is saying out loud what we should all be thinking: "The emperor has no clothes!" I realize that we need to provide young people with literature that engages them, but as someone on the front lines of trying to bring hope to teens who feel lost and depressed, I am concerned about the kind of literature we are putting in their hands. We need to take responsibility for offering young people stories that will address the reality of their situation, including the negative things they might face, but that also provide hope for overcoming and dealing with those negative influences in healthy ways. The future of our society depends on their well-being.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am not the "censoring" type when it comes to books. I want to engage in educated conversations with kids about what they are reading, helping them to learn how to think critically. Still, I think we, as adults who influence students, whether as writers, teachers, youth pastors, whoever--should be taking our responsibility seriously to point students toward LIFE and not death. Maybe that means more of us should start writing, offering alternatives to teens. Maybe it means we pay more attention to what they are reading, read along with them, and help point out dangerous messages that are being communicated. Maybe it means saying, "Hey, let's find a different book." At least let us start thinking through this issue.

Home Town Fundraiser Huge Success!

My home church hosted a fundraiser this weekend for me for New Zealand. It was overwhelming to see how every one pitched in and made it such a success! Women from the church had been organizing and pricing items for the yard sale for weeks. The church's education wing was STUFFED to the brim with all kinds of donations in the days leading up to the fundraiser. Practically the whole church showed up early in the morning to set up. Many people brought donations for the bake sale. It took us HOURS to get everything set up in the parking lot. We even had burgers, hot dogs, and drinks for sale around lunch time. Many of the students from The Grounds came to help and hang out. People from the community showed up like I've never seen at a yard sale. It even rained for a while and threatened to do so all day, yet this didn't turn people away. God blessed like we never could have expected, and we raised $1,390.98! Praise God!

A kitten we were attempting to give away at the fundraiser escaped into the underneath of my car. Some of the youth struggled for hours to get it out.

Some of the students from the Grounds waiting to start cleaning up.

Percentage Thermometer!

For those of you who are visual people, check out how close I am to reaching my Faith Promise goal!!! You can help push the magma up by claiming a monthly financial piece of this ministry! Just click on the link on the right side bar to sign up today! Remember, I have Faith Promise partners from $5 all the way to $500 per month. If God would call you to take a piece, whether small or large, it will put us one piece closer to 100%.

Fun Story

So, I had one of my favorite interactions ever on the humorous side with students while I was substitute teaching today. The conversation went something like this in front of a whole room of sixth graders at the beginning of a class.

Student #1: "Are you a teenager?"

Me: "No, but thanks for thinking so!"

Student #2: "Are you strict?"

Me: "Probably."