pt1

I know I already published it here, but in case you want to read it again, my article pollinate got put up at ymexchange.com, so head over and register (it's only $5) and participate in the forums.


Andrew+Seely article published ymexchange.com

BIG NEWS coming soon.

Keep watching the blog for more details.


Andrew+Seely personal news

What's better than getting a sweet pair of new pants?

Getting them for 10% of the orginal price.

I paid more for lunch than I did for my new pants.

too cool...5 dollar pants...


Andrew+Seely new+pants

I've started work on a new project.

It will have a blog that I will try and keep updated as I work on it. It's already got an address but I'm not ready to unveil it just yet.

I need to do a bit more work on the project before I start to allow you folk in on it.

Let's just say for now, that it's about a passion of mine and hopefully will lead to some amazing possibilities.

Look for updates in the next week or two.


Andrew+Seely personal project new

A while ago I met Will Penner at the NYWC, see posts starting here, and he approached me and asked if I would like to write for the magazine that he edits which was The Journal of Student Ministries.

Of course I said yes. So I wrote something up, sent it in and then waited for a reply.

And I waited, and waited, and finally got to the point where I thought that they'd just passed on my article.

Oh well, can't do everything.

Fast forward to today. I got an email from a youth pastor which included the line: "I just finished reading your article and I wanted to express my appreciation."

Huh?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

What article? My blog? Something that was posted on the Youth Ministry Exchange site? (which one old and one new article will be published soon)

Then I realized what he was talking about.

I did some digging, pretty much by going to the journal's site and saw my name under an article title, and that was it...me...published. Sweet.

The next question was as to if I actually made the print edition of the journal or the online version.

I'm online...which maybe doesn't have quite the readership of the print version but it's a start. If you want to take a read of the article (which I can't post myself for a few different reasons) you can go HERE. (it's in PDF form)(download reader here)

Hope you enjoy it.


Andrew+Seely article published the+journal+of+student+ministries

The birds and the bees. And no I'm not talking about the great music of The Bird and the Bee. It seems like everyone I knew was super curious, yet dreaded that moment of confrontation, that led to "THE TALK".

You know which TALK I'm talking about. Not a DTR (define the relationship)(that's a different article) but the SEX TALK.

Or maybe you don't. Some of us clearly and not so pleasantly remember that talk, and some of us may begin to think about whether or not we actually had our parent sit us down and spell out love, life and relationships.

Or maybe you heard it from church at youth group or some camp or retreat.

Which leads me to the reason that I'm writing.

Last week I was listening to NPR as I try to do, and during the program Morning Edition a story (windows media) caught my ear (air date 3/8/07). Not only because it was about sex, but mostly because it was from a teenager's perspective. Youth radio, has some talented students and this for sure was a prime example of tackling a relatively obscure yet highly relevant subject.

Basically to sum up the radio piece if you didn't listen to it (if you want to here's the link again (real player)), is that parents seem to be dropping the ball on giving students the sex talk. More and more it seems that students are learning and gaining information from friends and other sources like the internet.

Which leads me to ask why is it so hard for parents to engage students with such an important subject. Not only about the sex aspect, but about how to engage oneself in a relationship.

Ladies and gentlemen, I think what I'm getting at here is far more about sex.

So if parents aren't doing the job, is it the church's job? Youth ministry's job?

Or maybe even, what role does the church/youth ministry need to take in light of this information (or lack thereof)?

Let's not boil this down to "abstinence" and "black and white", I think the deeper issue here as the story states that parents still have a large bank of influence into their children's lives when it comes to what a student will learn and take away when it comes to sex and sexual behavior. In short they crave (as awkward as it may be) to hear what their parents think.

Should we as youth ministers do more to connect students with their parents, especially when it comes to sex and relationships?

When I think about this situation, what it boils down to for me, is that in a lot of ways parents have dropped the ball in imparting how to live in relationship with others, especially when it comes to romantic relationships.

In some ways (and please don't get me wrong, I do not mean ALL parents) parents, leave it too much up to others, they expect the schools to teach the nuts and the bolts of sex and in our cases they hope that the church/youth group will teach the morality of relationships (ie. no sex before marriage), but what about learning about how to be in romantic relationships? Is that just meant to be learned by experience or are we missing a key piece in the equation? Not to mention the lessons learned during divorces and broken homes, but that's another post (in case you're counting that's 2 other posts).

And in some ways we as the church miss the opportunity to connect students with the ideas and values of relationships. In someways (and yes I know this does not apply to all) we seem to leave relationships and connection out of our "sex talks" or sex series. Maybe it's just because no one has ever really taught us in the first place.

If you look back on your relationship learning and you come from a home where your parents are still married, then consider yourself lucky. And consider yourself even luckier if you have ever had lengthy conversations about what it means to live in relationship with others. And you might be one of the luckiest people (go play the lotto) if you've ever heard some good preaching on the subject of how to deal with other people, more specifically how to deal with other people who you are romantically involved with (and I don't mean marriage seminars).

Maybe I've rambled on too long here. But it's something to think about. Students are lacking communication with their parents when it comes to sex. We as the church might be doing as much good, if 1 we aren't connecting students to their parents when it come to sex and relationships, and 2 if we aren't actively having conversations with the parents about a Godly understanding of what it means to teach students about relationships (as well about the bird and the bees).

As one of my favorite Simpsons moments goes:
Homer: (trying to remember about love is in his flashback) Zoo Keeper! Zoo Keeper! Those two monkeys are killing each other!
Zoo Keeper: (whispering) They're having sex.

We don't want this for our students. So maybe it's time that the birds and the bees become more than just something that both student and parents see as a dreaded moment that they both need to make it through. And it becomes somethng that has lasting impact to the health and decisions of students.

PS
Go and pick up Sex God by Rob Bell.


youth+ministry sex sex+talk

New Ghetto Blog


Andrew+Seely ghetto+blog blog humor

ANOTHER NEW GHETTO BLOG

Now slightly* less ghetto.












*Slightly less ghetto means that because of John and Val, I've now retired the orginal ghetto camera that I picked up during thanksgiving of 04 for $10 at radioshack. I now have a "real" camera, which made a guest apparence on the ghetto blog for ghetto blogs 47-50. So really you can think of this as Ghetto Blog 2.0, kinda like web 2.0

And yes I do plan on updating much, much more frequently.


Andrew+Seely ghetto+blog blog humor

Finally a NEW GHETTO BLOG


Andrew+Seely ghetto+blog blog humor

pt 1

Just a reminder the Sex God Tour is this thursday. Where Rob Bell is talking about his new book and showing off a new Nooma.

See pt 1 for all the links and info.

If you are planning on going the seating is limited to around 550 and the doors open at 7 and close when the theatre is full, so be there PLENTY early.


Rob+Bell sex+god book nooma

Well here's my public message of accountability...

I'm going to the gym tonight. The shuffle is all charged up and I'm willing to go. Please check back later to see if
1) I went
and
2) to make sure I'm still alive.

---------
update 3/7 7:15a
I went. Did 2 miles on the treadmill. Some sit-ups and some weights. My legs are killing me, too bad I get to stand all day at work. It may be nap time when I get home tonight.


Andrew+Seely personal gym

Tonight I'll be at Alexi Murdoch's show at the El Ray. Should be a great time. There might even be a few tickets left, maybe I'll see you there.

He was also on Morning Becomes Eclectic on KCRW, they have the archive up, so watch/listen here.


Alexi+Murdoch show KCRW

from my bedroom window at about 6pm today




Andrew+Seely room sunset pictures