• 4 Emerging Apps for High School Students

    4 Emerging Apps for High School Students

    I’m often asked: “What’s the big social media thing with teenagers right now?”

    That’s a really hard question right now because of a fractured landscape. Unlike in 2010, when Facebook dominated, it’s hard to point to a single application and say it’s the big thing.

    The only thing I’d describe as dominant right now is texting. According to Amanda Lenhart of Pew Internet Research 95% of teenagers use the internet regularly, 78% have a cell phone, and 75% of all teens text.

    Three Overarching Behavioral Trends

    Instead of dominant applications I’d like to point to dominant behavioral trends among teenagers which help us old people understand the behavior more than just get excited about what’s cool.

    Here’s three:

    1. Teenagers/young adults go where their parents aren’t – In some sense this is a no brainer yet needs to be called out. For the most part teenagers isn’t going to make a social media app their go-to if it’s the same application their (overbearing, over-involved) parents use. Now that Facebook is the #1 network for 35-49 year olds, many teenagers don’t use it as often. Likewise if their parents are on Instagram, they become less interested, if mom is on Twitter, they tend to shy away or have multiple accounts.
    2. Teenagers Hide in Plain Sight with Coded language – Dana Boyd’s book, It’s Complicated, does a great job documented how teenagers code language and behavior so that their friends know what they are talking about while adults are kept clueless. I find this especially true on popular social media apps like Twitter & Instagram. Often times an adult will skip right over a post because it doesn’t make sense (or is overly emotive) when in fact it’s a coded message their friends totally understand. (For example: An image with a quote from a song or a meme can communicate meaning beyond the lyrics. Sometimes you’ll see emoji responses from friend or a bunch of likes on a post from friends to show support.)
    3. Perceived anonymity is enough – When I talk to teenagers about the reality that there’s no such thing as anonymity online, only perceived anonymity… they really do care and understand that what they do online can be traced back to them. So they fully realize if they post a threat that police or an investigator could find out that they did it. But they also know that perceived anonymity is good enough for most of what they want to do because 99.99% adults in their lives don’t truly care what they do online, as a result perceived anonymity is just as good as real anonymity for what they are doing.

    4 Emerging Apps for Teenagers

    Preamble: I’m pointing these apps out, specifically, not because I think they are dangerous or adults need to freak out about them. I am mentioning them because I’m seeing/hearing/observing a high amount of teenage activity on them. (Mostly anecdotally, the research tends to trail behind a bit.)

    Tinder

    Tinder is pretty simple. The app displays images, you swipe to the right if you like the person’s picture and left if you don’t. If the corresponding person also swipe’s right on your picture… the app connects you as a match. It’s basically a slightly more grown up version of Hot or Not.

    Tinder is targeted at young adults. But, like is so perfectly demonstrated in the promotional video above, Tinder is attractive to teenagers because it’s promoting the idea that this is how young adults are meeting new people right now. Watch the video with the eyes of a 15 year old… young adults know that this isn’t how life really works, but if you’re 15… that looks/feels grown up and that’s the life I want. (Who doesn’t want to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge with a friend, snapping selfies, then play in Central Park flirtatiously?

    Yik Yak

    yik-yak-logo

    The Yak burst onto the teenage seen in the worst way possible, negative publicity in the mainstream media. Early 2014 saw tons of news articles about bullying and bad behavior on high school campuses. These stories have persisted with more and more high school and college campuses banning the app, which of course just makes it more popular with high school students!

    But, as Lora Kolodny reported in the Wall Street Journal, Yik Yak pivoted their approach over the summer. They geofenced their app from every middle and high school in the United States [meaning that you can’t post or view the app while at school] and refocused their efforts on college campuses.

    I live very close to San Diego State University, where the “Yik Yak game” is pretty active. I’ve been keeping tabs on campus usage for about a month now and I have to be honest in saying that I see Yik Yak as mostly harmless. It’s college students whining about early classes, talking up their fraternity, and bragging about their drug/sexual exploits.

    I’m mentioning this as an emerging app for teenagers because, like Tinder, teenagers have a natural tendency to look up to college students and replicate their behavior. If Yik Yak establishes a foothold on campus it’ll trickle back down to high school students. The big challenge I see for Yik Yak, behaviorally, is “Will it establish it’s own vernacular?” [Like Twitter has done] Right now, that hasn’t happened. I think it can overcome basically being pointless… but only if it establishes a reason why it’s pointless via a vernacular.

    Twitch

    twitch-logo

    I should be clear, Twitch isn’t an emerging application for teenagers, it emerged a year ago. But it’s about time it’s recognized as such. What is Twitch? Twitch is a video game streaming service used by gamers.

    The premise is simple… login to Twitch and watch your favorite gamer play your favorite game live. (Usually with commentary by the gamer along the way.) In our house, it’s pretty normal for our kids to watch streaming gameplay while they are playing. It’s one of the reasons they don’t watch TV… ever.

    Unlike Tinder and Yik Yak I think Twitch is going to move up to high school as younger, more game-addicted, teenagers move up from middle school.

    WhatsApp

    whatsapp-logo

    WhatsApp is one that hasn’t exactly emerged for American teenagers yet, but I’d put it on the watch list because of a couple specific reasons.

    1. It’s where parents aren’t. Lots of teenagers use non-text-messaging services because their parents monitor their texts. Whatsapp is like Kik, but better.
    2. It’s owned by Facebook. Just this week, Facebook officially closed on a $19 billion deal on Whatsapp. Facebook currently owns a giant repository of more than 1 billion people’s social data. When the largest holder of social data makes their biggest investment in a messaging app, you know messaging is about to become the biggest pivot in Facebook’s history since they dropped “The” from their name nearly 10 years ago.

    So while Whatsapp might not be a thing among American teenagers right now, I think we’ll see it emerge as a player in the next 6 months. (Full disclosure: I have a Whatsapp account with exactly zero connections! I’m struggling to get started.)

    Wrap-Up

    Over the next few months I’ll be presenting to a number of students and parent groups. Between the feedback I get there, the observations I make among teenagers as I travel, and forthcoming research it’ll be interesting to see which of these, if any, can become dominant.

    My prediction is that the age of pseudo-anonymity is fading and teenagers will once again flock to a new place, en masse, where everyone somehow has a verified identity. (ala Facebook) And I wouldn’t be surprised to see it be… a reinvented Facebook.

  • d5Q

    d5Q

    Over the past few months I’ve been piecing together everything I’d need to take my kayak out lobster fishing.

    For those who don’t live in Southern California, the spiny lobster is a local treat that grows along coastal waters. And while it’s not fished extensively for commercial purposes it is one of the most popular (read delicious) seasons for Southern California fisherman.

    The Danger Zone

    Lobster fishing is also the most dangerous fishing season in San Diego. It’s popular, which means it brings out lots of boats and lots of inexperienced fisherman. It’s cheap, basically you can only use a hoopnet baited with something nasty like fish guts or raw chicken. It’s easy, a rookie has basically the same odds as someone who has been out 1000 times. And it’s dark, lobster are most active at night.

    Last weekend’s opening saw a diver in San Diego drown. And then there was a close call last weekend with one of San Diego’s most experienced kayak fisherman. He got flipped by an unexpected wave, and despite having experience and all the right gear, this video of a local diver helping him shows just how close he was to complete disaster out there.

    Watching that video raised my blood pressure big time. Being dark and on the water makes everything more dangerous.

    And Saturday, north of Santa Barbara, a kayak fisherman was attacked by a great white shark who mistook his boat for a seal.

    Go Time

    My fall schedule is tight. With 6 Cartel events going between September and November amidst the normal day-to-day stuff, I’ve got to jump on opportunities to get stuff done.

    So the schedule was just right for me to try to get out on the water last night and catch some lobster. The problem was that I didn’t have anyone to go with me. I even posted on a couple local fishing forums trying to get someone to go with me… nothing worked out.

    So a quick trip to Wal-Mart to grab some chicken livers and I pulled into the lot at about 6:30 just as the sun was going down. There were two things I hadn’t anticipated. First, the parking lots were packed. I’d been to that spot several times, even at night, and never seen more than a few cars. But for some reason every family in Point Loma was having a party down by the water last night. Second, I didn’t anticipate the amount of boat traffic. It seemed everyone with a boat was out Saturday night, which meant that the water was very choppy with tons of waves crashing on shore. (A Navy ship was headed out to sea, as well. So there were people there to watch that.)

    The Tipping Point

    After about 20 minutes of relaying my kayak and all the gear through the parties to the shoreline, sweat was pouring off of me and I got ready to launch. With the waves piling in one after another I put my kayak in the water and waded out a little bit into the darkness of the bay. This wasn’t a surf launch but the amount of boat traffic sure made it feel like one.

    As I swung my legs into the boat I finally was seated and ready to go. Just then it became evident that I had more weight on deck than I was used to, making me top heavy. And as I unleashed my paddle to get going I got slapped with a big wave. Literally, a minute after launching, the kayak leaned hard to the right, I couldn’t counter it enough, and I went over the side.

    Cuss words.

    Really… I was in no danger. My rule is that everyone always wears a life jacket. Plus, I was like 20 feet from shore in a sandy spot. I stood up in the waste deep water, did a quick gear check to realize everything was still in place, shoved the hoop nets back in position, and hopped right back on no worse for wear… just wet!

    But, as I started to paddle out towards some sail boats anchored in the harbor, with adrenaline going full blast, I took a little timeout to drink some water and get my bearings.

    I desperately needed to calm down. My heart rate. My breathing. My mind. Everything was moving too fast. 

    My d5Q Moment

    After a few minutes of slowly paddling around things began to fall back into focus. To my right, sailboats bobbed in the wakes of passing boats. To my left, partygoers sipped cocktails under tents while kids ran up and down the beach. To my right, bells, wind chimes, and ropes slapped against sleepy boats. To my left, chatter and laughter

    All the momentum in the world was pushing me out to continue with the plan, into the darkness:

    • I’d spent money on gear for this moment.
    • I’d waited for the season to start.
    • I’d run around to get all the last minute stuff.
    • I’d practiced for this.
    • I’d driven all the way there and spent all the time to get my gear set up.
    • I’d even told people I was going out, so surely they’d ask how it went.

    But in that same moment I had what I’d call my “Don’t die doing something dumb and dangerous moment“:

    • I didn’t have a buddy.
    • Lobster season just opened but it lasts until March.
    • While I’m an experienced kayaker, I’m not experienced at kayaking at night.
    • The ocean is really, really scary at night. It’s disorienting and even though I don’t have a fear of the dark, well… it’s scary out there.
    • While I have all the right gear, this is still really, really dangerous.

    I like risk, almost to a fault, but I have learned to trust my instincts.

    I turned around. The conditions weren’t right. With conditions like that I needed at least one other person with me. At a minimum, the hoop nets I’d brought along were just too heavy for the amount of chop in the water.

    By my calculation there was a 95% or greater chance that everything would be fine. Yet there was a legitimate 5% chance that I’d end up tipping again. And, of that, there was a very tiny chance that I’d get into serious trouble. Like if I tipped over and in the course of trying to get back into my boat got exhausted. Or if I tipped over in shallow water I could get stuck on the rocks.

    The d5Q

    I’m not a super fancy social scientist like Dave Livermore. I’ll never be able to prove that you can measure a cultural intelligence quotient (CQ) like you can measure intelligence. (IQ)

    But I do believe some people have high d5Q while others don’t, the “Don’t die doing something dumb or dangerous quotient” is a real thing!

    I can think back to specific instances where I calculated a risk and decided it wasn’t worth it. Whereas, I can think of other times where I’ve calculated that risk… a real risk… and everything was just fine.

    And I can think of tons of times in my lifetime where I’ve heard of someone dying doing something dumb.

    Having high d5Q isn’t the absence of taking risk. In fact, you could have low d5Q if you are overly cautious. (cough, suburban American parenting today celebrates debilitating, very low d5Q.)

    High d5Q isn’t about age, it isn’t about experience, it’s something in certain people who look at something and go: “Yeah, that’s not worth it to me.”

    The difference between high d5Q isn’t just about one between life and death. It’s just about on-time risk management.

    How has high d5Q kept you out of trouble? 

  • Help! My Teenager is Addicted to Reading

    Help! My Teenager is Addicted to Reading

    I heard giggles coming from her bedroom. It was nearly midnight. She’d gone to bed hours before. I stared down the hallway expecting to see darkness but I saw a streak of light peaking under her door. Inching near her door I heard it. It’s a sound every parent fears coming from their teenagers room. I took a deep breathe and opened the door unsure of exactly what I might discover.

    I’d caught her reading. Again.

    My heart sank because this isn’t the teenage life I’d dreamt of for her. It’s not supposed to be this way.

    Like millions of parents of teenagers I struggle with a teenager who is addicted to reading. Over coffee I explain the symptoms to my friends, their eyes swell sympathetically.

    • Excessive sleepiness
    • Good grades
    • Growing vocabulary
    • The occasional late fee at the library
    • Excessive ideation and imagination
    • Exposure to life outside of San Diego

    I know I’m not alone. Other parents suffer through this hellish reality, we are silently united– bonded over the sorrow of a lost teenage experience.

    Action Plan to Cope With Teenage Reading Addiction

    Though there is no known cure for teenage reading addiction, there are some things you can do which might help your teenager find their way out of the rabbit hole.

    Alice-in-Wonderland-Alice-Looks-Down-The-Rabbit-Hole-24-2-10-kc

    1. Introduce YouTube – They say free time is the devil’s playground. Well, I suggest trying to keep your teenager distracted from reading by occupying their time with something more healthy… viral video. With millions of videos in every genre known to mankind, encouraging your teenager to access YouTube on their phone or tablet seems to distract their mind from the itch they feel to pick up a book.
    2. A Boyfriend – It’s nearly impossible to read books while kissing and/or holding hands. A boyfriend is an excellent remedy for a reading addiction. Just make sure to check his wallet. If he has a library card he is bad news, kick him to the curb.
    3. Bullying – Many teenagers who bully also have a low literacy rate. This can be an excellent alternative for teenagers with a high literacy rate. While introducing bullying to your teenagers life may be a tough sell, they may discover that being the villain in their story is more interesting than reading about the villain in a book.

    Fellow parents: What are other ways you are helping your teenager overcome a reading addiction? 

    Photo credit: Pile of Books by Texas State Library Archives via Flickr (Creative Commons)
  • College Football Thoughts – Week 6

    College Football Thoughts – Week 6

    Let’s start by offering a tip of the cap to Charlie Weis. Charlie is still getting paid by Notre Dame about $5 million per year through 2015 and after getting fired; on Sunday he got fired from Kansas with 2 years left on his $2 million per year deal. In other words, he’s getting paid about $7 million not to coach college football right now. By contrast, all Mountain West Conference head coaches will make a total of about $8 million in 2014.

    Ain’t nobody mad at you, Charlie.

    Hoke Watch hits week six. I’ve got to admit that I’m surprised he’s still employed in Ann Arbor. The second half of last week’s game against Minnesota was highlighted by two things: Chants loud enough to be heard on TV of “Fire Hoke. Fire Brandon.” And “Shane Morris Brain Gate” which was so bad that Michigan AD David Brandon issued a press release at 1:15 AM last night. Will Hoke get fired before seasons end? I am starting to think that he won’t… that they will Charlie Weis him instead of Lane Kiffin him. (See what I did there?)

    Last week was another week of almost upsets among the top 25 with only South Carolina succumbing. But there were some scares which made the week interesting. But mostly, things played out as you’d expect.

    San Diego State

    I didn’t get to see any of the game because I was traveling. But I like that Donnel Pumphrey gathered 4 TDs before halftime. The key into this weekends game with Fresno State is going to be at QB. Fortunately for us, even though we’ll have a rookie signal caller, the plays will most likely involve handing it off to the left or handing it off to the right with the occasional screen pass. The Aztecs aren’t very good this year, but let’s face it… neither is the Mountain West.

    Notre Dame

    Haters gonna hate. Despite having the countries toughest schedule we’re already starting to hear that the Irish haven’t played anyone. They beat up on Syracuse last weekend and fell in the polls. With Stanford, Florida State, Arizona State, and USC left on their schedule… the bottom line is simple: An undefeated Notre Dame team would be #1 in the country come January and a 1-loss Notre Dame team would probably get a spot in the playoff. So then there’s that. Heading into this weekend I think we’re going to see  a tough game on the defensive side of things and the Irish just go over and around Stanford. (Who struggled mightily with Washington and couldn’t move the ball at all against a USC team who gave up 37 points to Boston College… and Boston College then got beat by the 4th best team in the MWC.)

    Results

    Week 5: 8-5

    Overall: 26-26

    Week Six Predictions

    Stanford at Notre Dame – Irish

    Aztecs at Fresno – Fresno

    Utah State at BYwho – Holy Rollers

    Texas A&M at Miss State – MSU

    Florida at Tennessee – Florida

    Bama at Ole Miss – Bama

    Oklahoma at TCU – Okies

    Baylor at Texas – Baptists

    Navy at Air Force – Falcons

    LSU at Auburn – Tigers (of LSU)

    Michigan at Rutgers – Rutgers

    ASU at USC – Arizona State

    Nebraska at Michigan State – MSU doesn’t lose at night

  • Get a Life! How much is too much church?

    Get a Life! How much is too much church?

    Several weeks back, Jason Raitz posted this on his Facebook wall:

    So, I’m curious and need your help. Quite a few people have asked me this question in the past 2 weeks. ‘Is attending church consistently really all that important’? What do you think? I’ve been writing a blog post on this for awhile now, but would love your help!

    Read the post & comments here

    My very first thought when seeing this question was this, “Is that a rhetorical question?” It’s impossible to imagine that he’d really think that anyone would post on his wall and say no to him. I mean… dude is a pastor of a church plant. His Facebook wall is 99% mentions of his church. His Facebook profile picture is the logo to his church. I know Jason, he’s a great guy, and he’s 120% about his church.

    So obviously, Jason thinks everyone on the planet should be consistent about church attendance.

    He and I agree on that point, 100%. I believe consistent church attendance is part of walking with Jesus. But when I see a church leader say stuff like that I have to read between the lines because I’m willing to bet that his definition of “consistently” is different than mine.

    Here’s what I replied:

    I guess I’ll be the voice of decent. (Shocker, I know) I used to think it was a big deal… when I worked at a church. And now we make church a priority, we go a lot, but more like 35-40 weeks a year instead of 50-52 when I worked at a church. But I would say that nothing happens there that is magical and makes me OK with Jesus any more than not going. Plenty of times I go to church and leave completely unsure of why we went. So is going to church consistently “really all that important?” I think there are a lot of other things more important. The flip side question is also really important, “Is there such a thing as going to church too often?”

    The Right Question

    Ultimately, I think Jason’s heart was, “What level of church involvement is healthy and good for a believer?”

    And, as a dude who used to work at a church but is now trying to figure out life in ministry without being on staff at a church, it’s one I think about.

    I used to be Jason. My life used to revolve wholly around the life of my church. And I remember dealing with the frustration of seemingly never having enough volunteers or money or consistency from people who were part of my church. I was wondering “how do I get the most out of people” and it ripped my heart out to have people pull me aside and ask, “What’s the minimum level of involvement I can have here and be OK in your eyes?”

    But I’m not in Jason’s seat anymore. My life has changed. Things are different and as much as I empathize with it and understand it, I long for Jason (and people like him) to really see things from the perspective of people in the community.

    On the one hand I want to be part of my church, I want to find community there, and I love investing in the guys in my high school small group. On the other, I almost see getting involved at church as a trap: Attending ANYTHING includes ovations and invitations to attend more stuff at church. (We’ve been part of 2 churches in San Diego since making this transition, while they are both wildly different in size, this one aspect is exactly the same. Being a part of one thing almost always includes invitations to more things.)

    Addressing the Elephant in the Room

    “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

    Jesus in John 10:10

    When you drive around in many places in Europe you’ll begin to notice that the church is the tallest building in town. Quite literally, the church in many Europeans was designed to be the central focal point of a community.

    In America, churches are rarely the high point of a city. Instead, churches try to make themselves the high point of congregants lives.

    And in the same way you or I would drive into a small Bavarian town and laughingly think… “Did they really think that if they made the church the biggest building in town it’d become the most important thing in people’s lives?” The same is true when we wrap our whole lives around the day-to-day activities of being a part of a church.

    It works and doesn’t work at the same time.

    I think wrapping every free minute and thought up in the life of our church misses the point of John 10:10. It’s not living life to the full. It’s living life full-of-something-less.

    I have many friends who work in churches and I think, “Do they have a life outside of their jobs?” Because addiction to a church job is just as unsexy and unhealthy as addiction to teaching or being a CPA or any other job. Being a workaholic as a church leader is incredibly dangerous (it impacts EVERYONE in your life) but also somehow seen as incredibly normative. (Which is why so many people don’t want to be involved in churches, they see it as unhealthy!) I find myself lovingly telling friends, “You need hobbies, you need a life, you need adult friends.” But at the same time you’d think a pastor wouldn’t need to be told that. You’d think they’d be modeling health to me instead of the other way around?

    Newsflash: There are not “non-church-y people” walking around your neighborhood right now thinking, “Know what I need? I need to get involved in something that keeps me really, really busy!”

    We, as a society, are busy enough. We need rest. We need less. We need Sabbath.

    Desperate for Good News

    Think about it like this. I believe humans are hardwired to inately seek out good news. (Both the Good News of Jesus and good news, more generally. General revelation means all things that are good come from God, right?)

    Is how you live, as a church leader, good news in your neighborhood? Do you have a life? Do you have hobbies? Do you practice Sabbath? Are you present with your children? Do you date your spouse? Do you manage your house? Are your weeds pulled?

    Because that’s the stuff your neighbors notice about you. Do they look at your life and go… “Dang, I want that!” Or are they looking at your life and going, “I don’t know what that dude does… but I don’t want to be like that.”

    If the answer to that question is… “Um, crap. Probably not” and you want your community to hear the Good News of Jesus you’re going to have to figure out how to live a life that’s good news. You are going to have to make some changes.

    No one walks into a church building thinking “How can I get more busy?”

    If you could preach to me, the sermon I long to hear, the good news I need in my life– is for someone to stand up and help me discover less church life and more life of being the light of Jesus in my community. Someone, anyone, please tell me what’s enough church involvement instead of inviting me to more. If you can do that it’d be the best news I’ve heard all year.

    A fully devoted life to Jesus simply cannot be a fully devoted life to church life.

    I’d love to hear thoughts, comments, call for my head below in the comments. People who work in churches… does what I just said make any sense at all? People who go to churches… does what I said resonate with you? Why or why not?

    Photo credit: German Village Steeple by a_peabody via Flickr (Creative Commons)
  • New video from Praying Pelican Missions

    New video from Praying Pelican Missions

    People ask me what makes Praying Pelican Missions different and why I’m a bit of a fanboy? This brand spanking new video helps explain it.

    Disclosure: Sometimes I do blog for PPM and they are a partner of ours. But, in this case, I’m posting the video because it’s new and does a great job of explaining who they are, putting stuff into words/images that I’ve tried to explain here many times.

  • College Football Thoughts – Week 5

    College Football Thoughts – Week 5

    Last weekend was the “big upset that wasn’t” weekend. Auburn, Alabama, Florida State, and Oregon all had near misses. In fairness, the Alabama game wasn’t that close at the end but Florida sure had them nervous in parts of that game. And let’s all admit that every non-Alabama fan wants to see them drop 4 games this season just because they are due.

    Meanwhile, the Big 10 finally realized the college football season was underway, with everyone but Michigan beating a non-conference opponent. Raise your hand if you thought you’d ever hear: “Indiana with the conference leading upset of the day.” referring to Hoosier football? Yeah, no one outside of the delusional in Bloomington has ever uttered a phrase.

    Finally, I don’t want to think about the college football playoff too soon. And while ESPN is desperate to get their $7.3 billion investment back by talking about the playoff at every stop in the season I want to take the time to enjoy the ups and downs of the season before making predictions about who is in and who isn’t. Flat out, while some teams are legitimately out of contention there are probably 20 teams with realistic scenarios to get in… it’s simply too early to think about it.

    San Diego State

    The Aztecs made of game of Oregon State in 2013. That wasn’t to be in 2014. We were simply overmatched by a Beaver team that was bigger on defense and run by a true NFL-ready QB in Sean Mannion. He was laser-like and we struggled to disrupt his passing lanes all day. He had plenty of time and just flat-out picked us apart. That said, at 1-2 the season is hardly over. We were in the same spot in 2013 and ended up winning 8 games in a row including a bowl game. I look forward to the Aztecs heading into conference play… I think we’ll walk all over UNLV on Saturday.

    Notre Dame

    The Irish had a bye last week. So they got a little healthier and the pressure came off of them a bit for a week. This week, they get back 2 key starters on defense, and play in their second Shamrock Series game of the year, this time in MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. (For those keeping track the Irish haven’t had a true road game yet. They are just relocating some home games to neutral sites for recruiting purposes… because they can fill any stadium, any where.) I think that Syracuse will play the Irish tough this week but ultimately Golson’s legs will remind the Orange that this is football and not basketball. (The Irish get 5-star recruits in football while the Orange get 3-4 star recruits.)

    Results

    Week 4: 7-6 (Another Michigan reference!)

    2014 total: 18-21

    Week Five Predictions

    Syracuse at Notre Dame – Irish

    UNLV at SDSU – Aztecs

    Fresno State at New Mexico – Bulldogs

    UCLA at ASU – UCLA

    Tennessee at Georgia – UGa

    Northwestern at Penn State – PSU

    Arkansas vs. Texas A&M – A&M

    Minnesota at Michigan – Gophers

    Stanford at Washington – Cardinal

    Cincinnati at Ohio State – Cincy

    Missouri at South Carolina – Gamecocks

    Boise State at Air Force – Broncos

    Oregon State at USC – Beavers

     

  • Immigration and Youth Ministry

    Immigration and Youth Ministry

    The Problem

    U.S. Customs and Border Protection estimates that since October 2013, 66,000 children and teenagers have crossed the U.S. border without their parents, most of them from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. They’re escaping gangs, street violence, and extreme poverty in their countries and usually coming to meet family members who live here.

    source

    A Reasonable Response

    Mark Lane told KGTV that he was moved to help a family fleeing violence in Guatemala after his 5-year-old son asked why residents in Murrieta were blocking buses of refugees from entering their town.

    “He asked me why the people were mad at the buses and I was like, it’s 2014 … why do I have to explain to my 5-year-old why people are mad at the buses when really they’re mad at the people inside of the buses ’cause they’re brown,” Lane explained.

    Through Border Angels, Lane found a mother, teenage sons, and a 23-year-old daughter who fled violence in Guatemala when gangs threatened to kill one of the sons for not joining.

    source

    The Question

    How is it that youth ministry is not engaged with what’s going on around issues of immigration impacting teenagers in their community?

    An owner of a fish market is engaged… but youth pastors aren’t.

    Let that sink in.

    It’s not a San Diego thing.

    It’s not a big city thing.

    It’s a people thing.

    It’s an everywhere thing. 

    The greatest growth opportunity for youth ministry right now is for youth workers to become advocates for teenagers in their community– regardless of social status, legal status, church affiliation, gender preference, political affiliation.

    Want to impact your community? Want the Gospel to flow through your church body and into the veins of your neighborhood?

    In a post-Christian society people need to experience good news before they can hear the Good News of Jesus.

    I long for the day when it’s normative for youth ministries to meet the relevant needs of teenagers in their community. I long to see youth ministry truly become Good News in the Neighborhood.

    I don’t think youth ministries struggle to engage teenagers because Jesus is irrelevant or some other cultural excuse. I think youth ministries struggle when they aren’t good news to teenagers in their midst.

    Good news is electric. It’s magnetic. It’s viral.

    Good news is unstoppable.

  • Sabbath So Hard

    Sabbath So Hard

    I talk about the sabbath and I think people freak out because its sounds so hard or is somehow not for you, maybe even some sort of “affluence” thing. But I think one thing that holds people back is the idea that making the Sabbath a personal priority is boring.

    So here’s a practical look at what Sabbath looked like for me today. (And how I closed out a 68 hour work week.)

    5:00 AM – Alarm
    5:30 AM – Drive to Bayside Park in Chula Vista
    6 – 9 AM – Paddled 2.5 miles and fished, completely alone almost a mile offshore in the bay, glassy water, so crazy peaceful.
    10:00 AM – Arrive back home
    10:30 AM – Leave for church
    11-12:30 PM – Everybody at the church getting church-y
    1:00 PM – Lunch
    1:45 – 2:15 – Nap!
    2:30 – Leave for bay play day with the Reams
    3 – 7ish – Splashing, kayaking, picnicing, and otherwise playing with the Reams.
    7:30 – Arrive back home, wash down all the fishing & boat gear

    I watched sun rise by myself as a paddled in San Diego Bay. I watched the sun set with friends in Mission Bay. A perfect start. A perfect finish.

    Remember… the Sabbath isn’t just about not working– Sabbath is practically trusting the Lord to provide 7 days of provisions for you and your family in only 6 days of work. Sabbath is something you do to express your faith in a Provider. 

  • College Football Thoughts – Week 4

    College Football Thoughts – Week 4

    It’s hard to believe that the first quarter of the college football season is already in the books! It’s a reminder that the senior league (aka NFL) drags on ad nausaem whereas every game counts in college.

    San Diego State

    Last week was their bye. This Saturday they play their toughest opponent of the year, Oregon State.

    Notre Dame

    I’ll confess that I didn’t get to see the game and I only saw a short package of highlights on ESPN. As I suspected, the Purdue game was way closer than it needed to be. That’s what happens when you play teams like Purdue… it’s their bowl game, it’s their best shot at recruiting for the year, and it’s their only time on National TV. Watching a team like Purdue hang around is one reason I wish Notre Dame would get out of their NBC deal. But who turns down $15 million per year to have their own network? No one. 

    The Irish take the week off to heal up and get ready for Syracuse. Sitting at #9 and an easy match-up with Syracuse, they are posed to be ranked in the top 6-7 when they take on Stanford, at home, on October 4th.

    Results

    Week 3: 8-5 (Speaking of 8-5… this would be a dream record for Michigan this year)

    Season total: 11-15

    Picks

    San Diego State at Oregon State — OSU

    Auburn at K-State – Roll Tigers

    Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech – Hokies

    Hawaii at Colorado – Guy on a Buffalo

    North Carolina at East Carolina – UNC

    Florida at Alabama – Bama

    Virginia at BYU – Virginia

    Utah at Michigan – Michigan

    Miss State at LSU – LSU

    Clemson at Florida State – Noles

    Miami at Nebraska – Huskers

    New Mexico at NMSU – New Mexico State

    Oregon at Washington State – Ducks