THE RUNDOWN
Weekly Information for CBC YOUTH Leadership
Last week of October
- Youth membership meeting schedule for this upcoming Sunday
- CBC ACCESS hosting FBCC
- Baptism Scheduled for Nov. 24 joint service
- Kayne drops new album
Youth membership meeting this sunday for students 1-2:30 in chapel
- discussing evals from last month
- winter retreat/java jam planning
- focusing on a season of thanks for Nov.
- Hosting FBCC nov. 1
CBC ACCESS hosting FBCC (Nov. 1)
Structure:
- Large Group Game
- Breakout with icebreakers
- Q&A with Churches
- Worship (Joint CBC & FBCC team)
*will need extra help if you're free that night as well as extra snacks.
Baptism
Baptism is scheduled for Nov. 24 joint service - follow up with DG leaders and youth parents of potential baptismal candidates. If a students "desires" to be baptized here's the order
- Speak with DG leader and get confirmation that the student is ready for baptism
- they are a genuine Christian (articulate and show signs of conversion)
- they want to be a witness and a follower of Jesus
- they desire & understand what it means to become part of the CBC community
- DG leader then lets Justin know and i'll follow up with student & parents
- Student & parents will contact diana wong and let her know that they will be baptized
- Justin to confirm with pastoral staff and membership committee
Kanye drops a New Album
Kanye West Announces New Album 'Jesus Is King' Will Be Released This Week // Early Monday (Oct. 21), Kanye West tweeted for the first time since Jan. 1 to announce that his new album, Jesus Is King, will be released on Friday, Oct. 25.
Kanye has made gospel music and religion a focal point through Jesus Is King and his Sunday Service series. During his Jesus Is King: A Kanye West Experience event in Chicago last month, he reportedly announced he would no longer be making secular music. According to Kanye's pastor, Adam Tyson, the Chicago artist even considered quitting rapping. "One time, he told me that he wasn't going to rap," Tyson said in a recent interview. "I said, 'Why not?' He said, 'That's the devil's music.' I said, 'Hey, man. Rap is a genre. You can rap for God.' I think he was already thinking about it a little bit, but I definitely said, 'Hey, bro. I think you need to use your talents that God's given you and use that platform for God.'" (Source below)
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Initial Thoughts & Direction:
Alright, so what do we make of this? First off many of you are going "what in the world does this have to do with me? what should I care about what Kanye does and what Kanye doesn't do?' I'm posting this hear and to bring to your attention because we are in the world of students and even if our students aren't explicitly talking about this, we are sure their world is. Secondly, this applies simply because we are living in this world where celebrities (unfortunately) drive a lot of the worldview and become the voice of moral authority for the world in which we now live.
It's easy to camp out on the poles when it comes to hearing something like this. Many are quick to become skeptical and chalk this up to commercialism, abuse of power, or even manipulation. Some will call this outright heresy and denounce anything that has to do with Kanye or his music. The other side might see and place all our hope in trust in Kanye. Ok, maybe not all our hope in Kanye but absolutely see him as the next spokesmen for Christianity and follow Him to glory.
I think this is a ok, let's be grateful for this first and foremost. Let's at least give this man the benefit of the doubt and trust that he did have a genuine conversion experience and is and will change. But even if we rejoice in certain changes, our hope isn't in that person rather it is in the gospel that changes them. And so the direction I take is, let's just wait and see. But in the meantime there are some things we as youth workers need to do:
- Understand the story. Study the nuances behind the story so you're intellectually honest when you talk to students about this.
- When you talk to the students about this, you may need to educate them on it but in doing so, expose where the Christian worldview comes in. Why is this such a big deal? What does this say about truth and the Gospel and people's need for meaning?
- Pray for Kanye and Kim. Right? Whether you believe this to be pure or not, that doesn't change the fact that you ought to pray for them. And pray for them because he does have a public platform. Pray for good, gospel-teachers, to surround him with the Word of God in order to disciple him and then pray for a humble heart for Kanye and his crew.
WHY WE DO WINTER RETREAT
So the emphasis will be more of community and relationship building and "less" on hardcore studying and less camp-feel. There are still elements of bible study and I think we are still talking about groups but that's contingent on the student/leader ratio. All in all, we want to design winter retreat for our youth ministry - all the youth and the leaders to build off of the Fall and build towards the Spring.
You interested in going? I hope so cuz it's awesome! So you get dibs on coming. Reminder: spaces are limited!
***Secret registration link (for adults only): https://forms.gle/Uu1WyqmKktYW6wpT6