My Epic Journey

We are starting a new PARENT ministry at EPIC this January, called P.A.T.H.

Basic definitions of the word Path are as follows:

• a way beaten, formed, or trodden by the feet of persons or animals.
• a narrow walk or way: a path through a garden; a bicycle path.
• a route, course, or track along which something moves: the path of a hurricane.
• a course of action, conduct, or procedure: the path of righteousness.

For the sake of this ministry, P.A.T.H. stands for Parents Applying Truth and Heart.

PATH is a forum designed to bring parents together to discuss difficult topics teenagers are facing today. It is often difficult for parents to realize that they are not alone in the struggles they deal with. We want to bring light to your situation and allow you to see that there are other parents in the same “boat” as you.

So what will we be discussing?

With trends and teenage culture changing at lightning speed, it is important to know what is truly going on in the adolescent world. Topics planned for discussion are, communication, media and Myspace/Facebook, cell phones and texting, dating, self-mutilation (cutting), eating disorders and more.

Experts with both knowledge and passion will be brought in on various topics to give parents a better understanding of what they are up against but more importantly, give them tools as well to help them bring about Christ-centered conversation with their children.

Who’s invited to attend?

Any parent with a child from pre-teen through teen. Invite your friends and the parents of your child’s friends.

When are we meeting?

First meeting, Sunday, January 18th from 3:00-5:00 pm

This Month’s topic?

Unraveling Media.  Take a good hard look at the Internet, Cell Phones, Sexting, etc.  How can you help your teens?  What safeguards can you put into place?

A recent post by our Pastor of Discipleship, Tom Houser, and recent conversations with students, got me thinking about SOUND BARRIERS in our culture today.  Instead of the NOISE of VERBAL communication there is the NOISE (or lack of) because students today have traded in their vocal cords for there cell phone keypad.

Walk into the EPIC Room (the student ministry room at Grace Point Community Church, Lewis Center, OH) on a Sunday morning at 11:00 am and instead of seeing 40-50 Middle School students screaming and being loud, you will see students sitting quietly next to each other engrossed in texting their friends.  What amazes me most is when students, who are sitting RIGHT NEXT to each other are texting each other.  I recently asked two girls why they were texting and not talking to each other while sitting on the same couch elbow to elbow.  Their response:  it was easier to text!!!

Our society is developing a non-verbal communication which we have seen for the past few years but it is only getting worse.

Here are ways we can began changing this in the lives of our teenagers:

1.  Schedule regular MEDIA time outs.  It can be for only an hour or an entire evening.  I even knew a family that would go MEDIA-FREE for one whole Saturday a month.

2.  Sit down and have family game nights.  Use some of the classics like Sorry or MY favorite, Candy Land.  Better yet, play games that focus on being verbal (Scattergories, Taboo, etc.).

3.  Take time, either at dinner or in the car running your student to an event, to ask your teen questions.  Alternate from SILLY questions (what is your favorite TV character and why?) to some pretty DEEP questions (If you could change one thing about you what would it be?).  A great resource to help with this is Table Topics Cubes.

What ever you can do to get your student to drop the cell phone and actually speak is worth writing down and redoing over again.

I’m not sure how many of you have seen this video but it just came across my desktop thanks to our Children’s Pastor–Steve Ogle.

This video is quite disturbing in many ways:

I will be showing this video at an upcoming leadership training event, asking the question the video does at the end, “What does all of this mean?”