Unsettling News: High School Graduation Rates

Only 1 of 2 students graduate high school in US cities: study
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Three out of 10 US public school students do not graduate from high school, and major city school districts only graduate one out of two students, according to a study released Tuesday.

According to many news sources-like this one- (and not like the Y! article that I mentioned above) and a study cited in the articles done by EPE Research Center and the America Promise Alliance, US HS graduation rates are often over-inflated. When you hear many schools around the nation say that they have 80% or high graduation rate, the number could be misleading. There are several various ways schools measure the "graduation rate." Law-makers are pushing to unify the definition and measurements devices used to determine graduation rates nationwide.
The study showed that in larger city schools graduation rate is close to and sometimes right below 50% while in sub-urban schools it is closer to 70% and in the rural areas closer to 75%.
Here is a full extensive report/ PDF if you are interested.

This is concerning and startling. It surprises me too because on one end of the spectrum, in America, we have high competition and stress about which college/university students should be going to to get the best education and a mindset that High School is just a brief stepping stone (of course "you are GOING to graduate High School, you are going to college!!") I have spent a lot of my life a part of and around this group of people. I was apart of it. I am grateful of my parents and their financial help to get me through to receive my BA. They have left me to get my MA, on my own, which is okay. But now I am starting to feel the pressure. And I am starting to relate to the other end of the spectrum. But I am no where near he point where I can self-righteously say I can relate to not having a High School Diploma. That would be tough especially in today's economy and the job competition I was talking about earlier. Some times as very fortunate people, living in and around other fortunate people, we often forget about the other guys who are not as fortunate. So I am calling for prayers and support for people who have tough situations and do not finish High School. The cities are tough places. So let's support Urban Youth Ministries.

1. URBNET - The Urban Youth Workers Network

2. Urban Youth Ministries

3. Urban Youth Ministries - Denver, Colorado

Freebie Friday: The Blur

Here is a teaching series called THE BLUR I used it to teach my teens about themselves- it is great for yourself to learn more about Generation Y, culture today, and post modernism.
My Generation One - Statistics
My Generation Two - Cultural info and thought
Postmodern Blur - Post modernism in today's youth
The Blur - Life is hard and confusing but there is an answer

(If links do not work go to this site.)
okay, if you want the videos that i used in the powerpointe comment me or email me and I will send them to you.

Alex

Random Thursday: Man Law!

Today's random thought/resource is a blog I came across this weekend. I really liked the blog and some the videos on it as well.
The Blog is called MANSPEAK - I am not sure completely what the idea or the start of this blog is because their ABOUT page is not completed but according to the BIOS page, there are 6 young men who contribute to the blog regularly. As I have investigated the blog, the posts are focused on being godly men. They are reformed, believe in evangelism, and offer some great links and resources.
Some of my favorite things about the blog, besides the great posts, are the "Manly men of history" links to other websites ( Charles Spurgeon, Herman Bavinck, John Owen, Jonathan Edwards, Martyn Lloyd-Jones,Thomas Watson)
Edwards, and their comedy page called MAN LAWS.

The Man Laws page is great. These bloggers sit around a table and talk about the most important Manly topics - coffee, tight pants, hugs, leg crossing, diets, and emoticons. I have posted a few videos at the bottom of this post, but go to the MAN LAWS. site to see them all. And subscribe to their blog for manly updates.

many ways to Share the Gospel

http://www.thejournalofstudentministries.com/articles/90/1/Tossing-Aside-the-Tract/Page1.html

I read an interesting article online today from Journal of Student Ministries Magazine/EMagazine I want to bring up a few points, summarize the article, add my own commentary, and ask you what you think.
Grant English brings up some great points but I think it is important to keep in mind that this issue does not have to be a false dichotomy. The issue: using tracks in evangelism.
The more I think about this article, the more think it more about evangelism theory and relational sharing vs initiative sharing.( although it is not what the author intended).
Grant says that "Most of our evangelism methods are filled with assumptions about our culture that are no longer true. Further exacerbating the problem is the manner in which these dated assumptions are trotted out. "

I agree that our culture is changing rapidly and the assumptions that cannot be applied the same way to the culture today, say like the language, questions, and style of tracks. But the tracks present the gospel message, and that message of The Word of God is always the same no matter what the culture thinks.
To every culture, any time, any place, the "assumptions" within the Gospel presentations are truth. All men are sinners, looking for true fulfillment. And the relationship with Jesus Christ, because of His sacrifice for our sins, is the answer for the void.
I will agree with Grant again, that our culture is desiring more authentic relational experiences. And as Christians we should engage the culture for Christ's sake and share the Gospel.
I'll go back to what I started with, "I think the article is more about the difference between relationship vs. initiative evangelism. "
I think that both of these types of evangelism are important. I really admire Campus Crusade for Christ and their emphasis on both and the balance between the two types of evangelism in their ministry. But I could talk about this a lot more. A great resource for this topic is a book called Witnessing Without Fear by Bill Bright.

Studying the Bible and Theology

Kudos and Props again to Reclaiming The Mind Ministries and their Parchment and Pen Theology Blog. This website and blog has continually provided solid material and great theology training. Today's blog. I am going to explain this chart above in my own words but first I want to send you to a free video from RTM Ministries website that helps explain this chart (Introduction to Theology workbook PDF File).
"...the process of how we go about "doing"theology... learning this process was the most valuable thing in all of seminary" says Reclaiming the Mind President Michael Patton.


I love this chart!

Technology and teenagers (part 2)

Gen Y and younger have live in an advanced society, too advanced - in technology and in lifestyle. Understanding the teenagers use of technology requires us to take a look at the world view of today's teen, because if we take a snapshot of how today's teenagers see society, we can better understand why and how they use technology.
With that said, the Technology and Teenager series will be an ongoing series. Today is just an introduction and brief synopsis. I will continue to refer back to this and feature more material that builds on today's post in the future:
The World view
I would be fooling, only myself, if I thought I could write a quick paragraph or two to briefly cover everything throughly I wanted to here about Generation Y world view. I encourage you to do some more research after you read my blurb here, check out future resources I will provide as well as others to get a more complete picture. And read books like Youth Culture 101, Engaging The Soul of of Youth Culture (both by Walt Muller) and check out his Youth Culture website.
For the youth of Gen Y, technology of the internet and personal computer advanced right to them. Adults older do not understand how all of the technology works, have not experienced them as much and to the same effect as the youth of today, and are not required to be apart of the technological pop culture as Gen Y is all allowed and welcomed to.
For Gen Y, technology is almost like a second life or second personality, not only do most students have profiles on social networks, personal pages, blogs, and or other community with other Gen Ys (or anyone), but Gen Y is collaborating and connecting more online than any other generation has ever tried or had opportunity to.
Gen Y teenagers might share/cry out their deepest hurts and pains on IM, on blog, on an online journal, or in a social network. They do not feel like they can share these ideas with older adults/parents in real life. This is their safe haven, or so they think.
The youth culture of today does not feel like they can connect with their parents and talk to them as they really can/should and parents want them to (but they do not). Parents are struggling today to keep up with and connect to their children. It is an awkward state.
Teenagers are getting all of these messages from so many people. They can relate to their friends online (other Gen Ys) who also are not connecting with their parents. In some ways,they are the blind leading the blind.


Technology Usage
Technology gives them the freedom to connect with some one. They can share their problems to one another, IM each other, complain about each of their own respective parents, they are learning this technology together. They are being marketed to. They make plans online. They have access to the world in seconds, it is a whole 'nother world out here online.
But like I said this is a very brief introduction. I have a lot of ways I want to run with this. But this is the beginning of more (hopefully) meaningful, meaty posts where my heart, ministry, and prayers are often.

Here is the first resources I want to provide, It is a teaching series called THE BLUR I used it to teach my teens about themselves- it is great for yourself or a big group:
My Generation One
My Generation Two
Postmodern Blur
The Blur

(If links do not work go to this site.)

P.S. - vacation in FL is awesome. I was at SeaWorld yesterday! :)

Thoughts on Persuasion

I have been thinking a lot recently about Persuasion in our Faith.

I have to reference a podcast I listened to from Apologetics.com on this topic
But I have been thinking a lot on the topic from reading Speaking to Teenagers, oddly enough.
The same ideas about persuasion are followed in both instances, going back to the Greek philosopher Aristotle's ideas of Ethos, Pathos, and Logos. I have been trained on this a lot recently in my Communications and Philosophy classes that I took this quarter at Ohio University.

A very brief overview of these three things is explained well here:

Ethos (Credibility), or ethical appeal, means convincing by the character of the author.

Pathos (Emotional) means persuading by appealing to the reader's emotions.

Logos (Logical) means persuading by the use of reasoning.

One thing that is difficult for intellectual Christians, like myself, is finding the balance between showing love and doing real evangelism verses studying theology and talking about it. We can get so caught up in learning and studying theology, for a number of reasons: Ranging from us wanting to know the Lord better to wanting to be able to make a strong argument for our faith, or desiring the knowledge in hopes of receiving a Doctorate degree. Let's focus on using this knowledge to help us make a strong case for our faith.
Studying theology to win intellectual arguments can be a great thing, but it can also be dangerous and a waste of time. Knowing knock-out winning arguments is not true evangelism. God can and will use these on His own time but in our own prideful ways these arguments can be in vain.


1 Cor. 13: 13
So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
My rant :
Showing Christ's Genuine Love in your life, is the best way to persuade other's for Christ. Yes, having knowledge about theology can help and I am not saying that you are completely wasting your time by studying theology and "always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope" (1 peter 3 :15) . There is a balance.
Studying theology and knowing these knock-out arguments becomes dangerous when we put them above love and above Christ working through us. It is a problem when we put more trust in ourselves, our arguments in this theology rather than truly loving our friends (and enemies) - or anyone we are explaining this theology to- and depending on Christ and his love.

I am still thinking about this idea of persuasion in our faith. Love and reason.

Favorite Apologetic/theology websites of late

http://www.alwaysbeready.com/ -This is a neat "field guide" that might help you get information about other faiths and cults. It also could help you share your Christian faith better to people you know who believe in another world view.

Everystudent.com

This one is one of my favorites. It is geared toward High school and college-aged students. There is infomation from topics ranging from 'Who is Jesus' to college life issues and life questions.

Godsaidmansaid.com

This site is highly recognized for tackling all kinds of hot issues in both the political and scientific realms. The site originally was created for the historical and scientifically minded and those who challenged the evidence of Christ's existence and Christ's life. Today the site is easy to understand for people of all education levels and branched out to tackle many more
issues including social issues of divorce and homosexuality.

Ex-atheist.com

You might be able to figure out what this site is about judging by the title. "Debate, argument, and apologetics contending earnestly for the faith." It was created by an ex-atheist turned Christian and others helping him!!! There are some pretty good knock-out arguments in here!

Godandscience.org

This site is also an excellent site to send your atheistic friends and friends who say "I want to believe but there just is not enough or any evidence..." Because the truth is there is tons of
evidence proving God's existence. They are just not looking for it, they may not want to believe it, and/or they have been hidden from the truth. Today's media and society do not
want us to beieve in just one way solutions, but this is the only way- The Word of God is the absolute truth.

Answersingenesis.org
This site is fulled with tons of answers to crazy questions ranging from UFOs to Creation to Abortion to Moral Issues to Mutations and more !!!

Probe.org
This one is one of my favorites! So many resources can be found from this site. Not just apologetic truths but so much! There are articles from tons of professors and experts about how our faith relates to our culture, science, politics, sexuality. This site also helps explore different
world religions, cults, theology, philosophy, and even psychology. It probes both historical things along with current day issues.A must go to site for any intellectual mind.

Monergism.com

This site I highly recommend for you Bible stomppers who really love and appreciate theology and always want to be right about how the Word is viewed and understood. This site is
excellent resource for someone researching theology and want to know
what the Word of God says and all sides of the issue!

Veritas.org

Veritas means Truth. The Veritas Forum is an opportunity for entire university communities to explore and discuss life’s hardest questions. The Veritas Forum is an effort to engage Universities in its most fundamental purpose: the pursuit of knowledge. The Veritas website offers years and years worth of free material in helping you and deal with those most difficult questions. Evidence for the answers of these questions comes from both Scripture and the pursuit of knowledge.

http://www.gotquestions.org/
This website I have found interesting. Some issues it is great, but on other issues i have found this website biased and/or lacking to in the way they answer certain questions.

I do have a shout-out for my friends in my apartment desiringgod.org - Anything reformed and John Piper related is usually a good choice.

The Bridge

Jesus is the propitiation for our sins.

This is such a beautiful illustration. I've always heard the story but seeing it in video form is intense.

Technology and teenagers (part 1)

Many teens spend 30 hours a week on 'screen time' during high school
Generation Y and younger, are around media and screens (TV, computer, phones, etc) much more than any other generation.
There are a lot of reasons for this
and there is a lot to say about this. Today I am not going to mention a lot of commentary, because I am on my way to FL for vacation, but I want to post and supply you with articles and resources relating to this. I will post more information about this later.


For parents - guide to help parents understand internet

Recommended reading - Youth Culture 101, Walt Mueller

A lot of research related to the Internet and Youth.

Have a great day,
Alex