Legacy Youth Ministry Resources

Illustration texts

David Bowie and Drugs

David Bowie, one of the most famous rock stars of our time, said, ?I'm very shy. That's probably one of the reasons I got so heavily into drugs.? ?I was really picked on when I was quite little about being lefthanded . . . I remember very distinctly kids laughing at me because I would draw and write with my left hand, something like, ?Ooh, you?re the devil.?? - Singer David Bowie quoted from Rolling Stone?s daily e-mail, July 16, 2002 and the August 8, 2002 issue of Rolling Stone, p. 30.

Dilbert Cartoonist Fails

Scott Adams created "Dilbert" one of the most successful comic strips in history. It appears in 2000 newspapers in 65 countries. But he wasn't so successful when he started out. He sent his portfolio to one cartoon editor after another, only to receive rejection after rejection. A real slap in the face came from an editor who called to suggest he take art classes. Then, Sarah Gillespie, an expert in the field, phoned to offer him a contract. According to Adams, "At first, I didn't believe her. I asked if I'd have to change my style, get a partner -- or learn how to draw. But she believed I was already good enough to be a nationally syndicated cartoonist. Her confidence in me completely changed my frame of reference and altered how I thought about my own abilities. This may sound bizarre, but from the minute I got off the phone with her, I could draw better. You can see a marked improvement in the quality of the cartoons I drew after that conversation." Source: James M. Kouzes and Barry Posner, Encouraging The Heart (Jossey-Bass, 1999)

Real men encourage and show love

Real men encourage and show love Encouragement, Relationships MARINE COMBAT HEADQUARTERS, Central Iraq (April 15, 2003) -- "On a tip from an Iraqi official, Marines with D Company, 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, dashed through sniper fire on the streets of Samarra, Iraq." In a daring rescue, they found seven American P.O.W.'s and brought them out to safety. "After maneuvering through still photographers and a CNN crew, they climbed into military ambulances headed for a C-130 cargo plane." It was no doubt a breathtaking rescue, executed swiftly and courageously. But what I'd like to focus in on is what happened afterwards. "Scores of Marines jumped from their vehicles as the ambulances passed by. They clapped and shouted encouragement. Once the ambulances stopped, most of the soldiers literally bound out the ambulances' back doors and up the airplane's ramp. Those not capable of moving as fast limped up the ramp with help from their personal guards." "The inside of the plane turned into a spontaneous party. Hands were thrown in the air. Those capable jumped up and down. A few of the soldiers wrapped Marines in bear hugs. The Marines hugged right back. One shouted out, 'I love you, man!'" Think about it. These are Marines, one of those special operations groups that represent the toughest of the tough. Yet, they know how to celebrate their victories. They're not embarrassed to give bear hugs and shout their affection for one another. They clap for one another and shout encouraging comments. Isn't that the way we're supposed to be in our Christian warfare? Who have you complimented today? Is there someone you need to write today to tell them how much they mean to you? Do you have someone close enough that, when you share with them your spiritual victories, they just might give you a high five? (See Hebrews 10:24,25) (Written by Steve Miller. Source: Marines recount POW rescue operation; Submitted by: I Marine Expeditionary Force, Story by Sgt. Joseph R. Chenelly From U.S. Marine site: http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/97CE25D155D1D05985256D09003C0977?opendocument

Hot Seat Activity for Encouragement

Urban, Hal, in his book, Life?s Greatest Lessons or 20 Things I Want My Kids to Know, mentions an activity which he does in his psychology courses, which he considers ?one of the most effective teaching techniques I?ve ever used.? Here?s how it goes: Each student takes her turn in the ?hot seat,? with all the other students seated in a semicircle facing her. First, she tells the class ?what?s good about me,? what she likes about herself. Although this isn?t easy for most people, Urban notes that it?s important for students to ?acknowledge their positive characteristics and habits.? Second, the rest of the students tell her what they like about her. Oh, and there?s one rule: no comments about looks or clothing. Suggestion: This type activity works only when students have gotten to know each other somewhat during the year. Make sure to have ?get to know you? activities each week so that the students know each other. The last think you want is for a student to get in the ?hot seat? that nobody even knows enough to say anything good about!

Any Fool Can Criticize

?Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain ? and most fools do.?

The Power of a Positive Push

Few things in the world are more powerful than a positive push. A smile. A word of optimism and hope. A ?you can do it? when things are tough. (Richard M. DeVos)

A Hundred Thousand Put Downs

??by the time a person reaches the age of eighteen, he or she has been put down more than a hundred thousand times.? (Heard from a Psychologist at the California Conference on Self-Esteem Urban, Hal, Life?s Greatest Lessons or 20 Things I Want My Kids to Know, Great Lessons Press, Redwood City, CA, 1997, pp. xv-xvi)

Skit: Power of Encouragement

The Power of Encouragement Caring, Respect, Kindness Purpose To help students realize the power of their words - to heal or to harm. Setting Lunch Room Table Drama Scene 1 Ted (Sitting at the lunch table by himself, with his meal to the side, doodling on a paper) Sean (walking up to the table with a couple of girls and guys): ?So Ted, got your head in the clouds, drawing your crappy pictures? What do you think? (grabbing the papers and passing them to his friends) Are these Picasso?s or DaVinci?s?? (All laugh and throw them back, some papers landing on the floor.) Tina (walking over with her lunch, helping him pick up his papers): So, got a friendly visit from the ?Loser League?? Ted (trying to keep her from seeing the drawings): ?They?re probably right, you know. Everybody who?s anybody plays soccer or baseball. For some reason, all I want to do is draw. At least I?m good for a laugh...? Tina (keeping one of the drawings to herself, laughing out loud): ?You?re right!? Ted: ?That I?m a Geek?? Tina: ?No, that these drawings are hilarious! They?re as good as any comics I?ve read. Let me see some more!? Ted: (Reluctantly handing them over.) Tina: (Laughing at each one): ?These are great! Have you thought of entering them in the art competition next week?? Ted: I was afraid people would just laugh at me again. Tina: ?You?ve got to enter the contest!? Sign that reads: One month later. Scene Two Setting Ted sits at a table with Tina, where a sign on the front of the table reads, ?Signed Prints of Ted?s Award-Winning Comics.? Drama Sean (walking sheepishly up to the table, with his gang, stammering): Hey ya...Ted...I was wondering...ya know...I hope you never took any of that kidding seriously...(gang shaking their heads)...but...seeing that your comics are pretty famous now...we were wondering if we could buy a copy and have you sign it...(gang nodding heads hopefully)? Ted: (hesitating) Why not? (Tina hands Ted a copy. Ted speaks as he signs it). And sorry to hear you got cut from the baseball team. I know how stuff like that hurts. Sean: ?Maybe you could give me a drawing lesson sometime?? Ted: ?Why not?? Narrator Sean?s words in the lunchroom hurt, even if he was just kidding. Tina?s words changed Ted?s life, because she encouraged him. Words can hurt; words can heal. Today, rather than catching someone doing something dumb and laughing at him for it, let?s catch someone doing something right and encourage him for it. We just might change someone?s life. Discussion 1) Why do you think Sean laughed at Ted? 2) How do you think this made Ted feel? 3) Why do you think Ted didn?t want Tina to see his drawings? 4) Do you think it took courage for Tina to talk to Ted? 5) How did Tina?s words change Ted?s life? 6) How can we change people?s lives with our words?

Who Could Tame George Foreman?

Who Could Tame George Foreman? (Or, Security Guards, Hippies, Lunch Room Ladies and Other Life-Changers) Younger people may know his name from advertisements for the George Foreman Grill. Older folks remember him as one of the greatest boxers of all time. In his remarkable lifetime record, he fought 81 times, winning 76 times, 68 of them by a knock out.(1) At age 19, he fought his way to an Olympic gold medal. In his early 20's, he defeated the seemingly invincible Joe Frazier, knocking him down six times in four rounds to become the heavyweight champion of the world. In his first fight to defend his title, he knocked out his opponent in under a minute, the fastest-ever knockout for a heavyweight championship bout. Later in life, he needed to raise money for his youth center and decided to show everyone that middle-aged men weren't over the hill. Few believed that he could fight seriously against younger fighters, but he stunned the world by winning fight after fight and finally knocking out the reigning champ at age 45. Yet, his incredible career may have never gotten off the ground had a few people not believed in him. You see, it wasn't easy to believe in George as a youth. He grew up in a poor home in a poor neighborhood and lived by the law of the jungle, constantly getting into fights to try to prove himself. To get money, he'd mug people on the streets. His friends were so bad that he thought of himself as one of the good boys. After all, he never knifed any of his victims. But anyone who looked at him wrong had better run away fast, or they'd get a taste of the Foreman fist. He was was a big bully with a terrible temper.(2) Fortunately, George ran across people who cared. As a teenager, he moved from Texas to Oregon with the Job Corps, a government program to give young people a chance to work and learn a trade. While he was there, Doc Broadus, who worked with security, saw potential in him as a boxer and helped him to begin training. A fellow Job Corp worker, a hippie from Washington state, shared his Bob Dylan music with George, encouraging him to think about the lyrics, exercise his mind with reading, and to learn to engage people with his words rather than his fists. For the first time, George fell in love with reading, opening his mind to new worlds.(3) Then there was Mrs. Moon, the lunchroom lady. You might think, "What kind of influence could a lunch-room lady have on a mean, tough bully? Surely only a tough coach could get through to a person like him." But you see, George had grown up hungry. His mother was so poor that she couldn't afford to give her children enough food. He was too embarrassed to tell anyone and ask for a handout. So back during his school days, he would often blow air into his brown paper sack so that other students would think he had something to eat. If the sack held anything, it might be a mayonnaise sandwich. So you can see why food was important to George. And the lunch lady controlled the food. So when she told him to straighten up, he listened. She noticed what foods George liked and scooped out a bit extra into his plate. She smiled at him and talked to him. She even invited George home to eat with her family, once a month, every month for six months.How did this make him feel? According to George, "Mrs. Moon just made me feel that I was special. She liked me for me. ... Her words echoed in my ears: 'You watch that temper.' The way she said it, smiling and cheerful, I believed she knew something I didn't. And I wanted to do as she said. Most of all, I wanted to please her." (4) In the final paragraphs of his autobiography, after his huge early success in boxing, establishing a youth center to help young people, and regaining his title late in life, he looked back to remember Mrs. Moon: "As vividly as if it happened the day before, I remembered the look on Mrs. Moon's face that first time I passed through the lunch line at the Oregon Job Corps center. She smiled at me. That was the moment I decided I was special."(5) So never say, "I'm just a science nerd" or "Nobody cares what I think of them." You never know who's waiting for someone, anyone, to show that they care. A few caring students or staff could be inspiring the next George Foreman or Albert Einstein or Martin Luther King. Never underestimate the power of kindness. Discussion Questions 1) Why do you think George was always getting into fights in school? 2) What would you have thought of George had you been in school with him? 3) Why do we often see people like George as total losers? 4) Do you think the people who cared about George knew what an impact they were having? 5) How would we relate to people differently if we saw their potential more than their rough spots? 6) In your mind, think of some people you could be nice to today. Sources 1) Wikipedia on George Foreman. 2) George Foreman and Joel Engel, By George: The Autobiography of George Foreman (Villard Books, New York: 1995) pp. 3-24. 3) Ibid., pp. 25-41. 4) Ibid., pp. 27-29. 5) Ibid., p. 262. (Copyright September, 2007. Written by Steve Miller.)

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