Today I just set up a system for parents to get up-to-date status of youth events. This will be used when we are going on trips, like next week when we go to YEC. Let me give you the reasons why this will be beneficial.

1. This will eliminate the question: What time will they be home? It is very hard to know or plan when we are going to be home, especially with large conferences. They always provide a start time, but not an end time. We usually have each youth call their parents to let them know the time. Now I can send one text message and alert all parents.
2. This will allow you to get a glimpse of what we are doing. If something cool is going on, I can let you know via text message as it is happening.
   

All of this is powered through twitter which is a new social media that will become the norm like MySpace and Facebook within the next year. It has already grown from 900,000 users last year to 35, 500,000 users as of today. This will put you on the forefront of social media before your kids are...you'll thank me later.

So how do you receive these update? Two ways

1. Text 'follow rscignite' to 40404
   
2. You can set up a twitter account and choose to follow us on there.

If you have questions about this, please email me or contact me.

I'm not sure if many of you have heard of Tim Hawkins, but he is one of the funniest men that I know with clean humor. I remember a clip from him about a year ago and thought I would post here for you to enjoy (Click Here if you are getting this by email). If you get a chance, support his ministry and rent or buy his DVD's.

Warning: Some language may be offense to some readers. The below content is not intended for kids to read. Viewer discretion is advised.

Two normal teenagers thrust together for one sleepless night of club-hopping in New York City. Hookups, drinking, crude sexual jokes… teenagers are loving Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, starring voluptuous Kat Dennings and Juno's Michael Cera. It's the modern day Fast Times at Ridgemont High… but with only a PG-13 rating.

My dad had American Grafitti- clean by today's standards, but pretty edgy for its time. In the 80's my generation had the R-rated Risky Business and Fast Times. Teenagers in the 90's had Dazed and Confused, also R. The new millennium must have ushered in a new standard, because Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist is the same ol' thing, but somehow it squeaked through with a PG-13.

Sure, Nick & Norah's doesn't have nudity. It just has orgasms, implied sex, non-stop sensuality, plenty of sexual references and crude humor. It seems as if the MPAA rating just doesn't spell it out clear enough. Nick & Norah's rating is: Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material including teen drinking, sexuality, language and crude behavior. Do you think that particular rating prepares parents for this?

• A gay band brainstorming band names: The Jerk Offs, Sh** Sandwich, D**k Ache, and Fistful of A**holes.
• Songs like "I'm Going to Screw the Man" or "Balls Deep."
• Comments from girls like, "You're practically blowing him with your eyes."
• Gay and lesbian references throughout
• A discussion about orgasms ("Word on the street was, you never had an orgasm." "I've probably had a million! How am I supposed to know?" "Oh, you'd know.")
• A couple have sex (out of sight) in the back of the car, resulting in the lead character breaking out cleaning supplies, commenting about having to "clean up the mess."
• A scene where we hear the "play by play" of two other people having sex ("your bra… I can't undo this button on your pants… your hands are cold…") and then we watch the studio's sound meter as it records the girl's orgasm.

If you're offended by the above list… good! So am I. Just realize that many of our youth group kids will be watching this film in the next few weeks. After all, public high schools are even allowed to show PG-13 films without parents' permission. Consider that on your kids' next slow school day where the teacher pops in a movie.

I guess I shouldn't expect anything less. For those of us who put our faith in God and His Word, we know that these are the world's morals, not ours. In 1 Peter 1:15-16, Peter writes:

As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."

In Ephesians 4:17-24 Paul writes:

17 With the Lord's authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused.18 Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him.19 They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.20 But that isn't what you learned about Christ.21 Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him,22 throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.

In God's word, we are consistently reminded that we are different than the world. The world lives for temporary pleasure and impurity. We, however, aren't supposed to live that way. Both Peter and Paul (above) remind us, "But you aren't like that!"

It's really a shame. Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist is a very creative film, cleverly written and well directed. Many audiences love the heart and the artistic expression of the lead character Nick through his "mix CDs" (much like John Cusack's "mix tapes" in High Fidelity). Michael Cera's boyish charm delivers once again. No doubt, this movie tells a charming story… sprinkled in manure.

The film also offers parents and youth workers a glimpse of real-world morals and teenage perception of real-world hurt. The characters are genuine and the dialogue is authentic. But unfortunately, Nick & Norah's doesn't reveal real-world consequences. Even though characters seem to experience some loneliness and pain, we never see evidence of "regret." In Nick & Norah's world, apparently casual sex doesn't have any consequences. At least Cameron Crowe's Fast Time's at Ridgemont High showed consequences both physical and emotional.

Be prepared for polar reactions to this film. Despite the concerns voiced by some critics, pro-gay groups love the movie because of its lack of proverbial gay stereotypes. Some parent groups are calling it clean compared to other mainstream films released to DVD the same month (The bar was pretty low: Sex Drive, and Zack and Miri Make a Porno). I've even read some positive reviews from Christians.

So am I being too hard on this piece of "art?"

The film certainly has cinematic merit- it will probably become a cult classic. But I just can't bring myself to praise such an irresponsible film. My concern lies in its abundance of immitatable behavior and its seeming lack of real world consequences. We have enough media lying to our kids right now. This is one piece of art that doesn't need to fill their heads with..

It's always interesting to see what films draw teenagers. A year ago, Juno was the hottest thing. Last fall it was Twilight. So what film has their attention now?

Last Tuesday a film was released that I predict will be one of the next cult classics of this generation. The film is Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist. Like Juno and Twilight, the film has a PG-13 rating. But this is one PG-13 film that has me wondering what the MPAA is smoking.

Let me be clear. I'm not a big fan of the MPAA rating system anyway. I've never been one to let a secular rating system tell me which movies are "good" and "bad" for my kids. I've seen plenty of R-rated films that I have no problem with (The Passion, Saving Private Ryan, The Last Samurai...). And I've seen plenty of PG films that are full of subtle lies. That's a sore spot for me. I don't like it when the media lies to us, especially to our kids. It's completely irresponsible to consistently show actions without consequences. That's just not the way life works.

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist is a clever movie with strong characters and creative dialogue... kids are loving it. But not only is it full of graphic sexual talk, hookups and crude humor, it's also a distortion of reality. There are drastic consequences emotionally and physically to most of the casual behaviors portrayed in Nick & Norah. Are these destructive behaviors true to life? Yes. But they are most often linked to consequences, consequences that the people behind the story of Nick and Norah chose to ignore.

Yes, Cinderella might also be a distortion of reality. Mice and birds don't make dresses. And maybe there is no Prince Charming for most girls. But I've never met a teenage girl who bought into the lie that a mouse named Gus-Gus would be her best friend and a guy on a horse would take her away into the sunset. On the contrary, I've worked with plenty of teenager girls that found out the hard way that the casual actions in Nick & Norah have devastating consequences.

Can't we be real with our kids? Nick & Norah is a nice fairy tale, based on realistic characters and authentic feelings. But we're fools if we don't understand how influential this kind of media is on our kids. The imitatable behaviors in this film aren't just entertainment, they are telling our kids how to live in the real world.

Don't let your kids construct their ethics from films like this.

Tomorrow I will devote an article to the content behind Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist. In that article I will give you a glimpse of what our kids will be seeing in that film

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