Hey Guys,

I had a great time at the Lockout didn't you?  It was a great time to hang out and sharpen your broomball/laser tag/ video gaming/ bowling/ gravity course...skillz.  I loved doing all of those things but one of my favorite parts about the evening was hanging out with you guys and seeing you guys hang out with one another and having a blast doing it.

Community is great isn't it?  It is so cool to see you guys connecting with one another and growing to be like Christ in the process.  That is exactly what we talked about last night.  The big idea for the evening was that "True community happens in person." It isn't that online community is bad its just that it should be a supplement not a substitute for face to face community.  We targeted three things that a true community of Christ followers should be like.

1. A Place of Second Chances

If we are disciples of Christ, we should reflect His forgiveness in our group.  People should be forgiving one another left and right.  We should be accepting of others and love people that are coming to our group for the first time.  That is what the early church was like (Acts 2:38-47) as we studied last night.

2. A Band of Revolutionaries

Jesus followers should also stand against injustice.  We should not be happy with the presence of evil, in fact we should fight against it.  We should hate it when people go hungry and despise those who take advantage of the weak and make slaves out of them.  In addition to that we should have each others backs and lay down our lives for one another (1 John 3:16-17).

3. A Group that Does Life Together

We should also be excited about being around one another.  We should "break bread" together as it said the first church did in Acts 2.  We should laugh together and cry together (Romans 12:15) when necessary.  If someone makes the basketball team and you didn't, you should still be happy for them.  If someone just lost a family member we should be quick to put our arm around them and cry along side them.

These are all great things right?  Some of these things we can do online but definitely not all of them.  You see community loses its sting, its effectiveness, when it is done online.  True community is done in person right?  Come join us at Dgroups, Vibe and our other Events to be a part of this community.  Love you guys.  Check ya later.

Matt

iiNeed

Hey Tribe!

Last night was some heavy stuff right?  Just to recap, we talked about the epidemic problem of pornography online.  After researching this topic, here's some things I found.  The average age that people are beginning to view pornography is 11.  Pretty scary right?  The bulk of people online that view pornographic material are between the ages 12-17.  The industry itself is over a $13 BILLION industry.  So the question from last week still stands...Does God care about our life online?

We already know that God does care.  Because your life online and offline are the same because they are both YOUR life.  We took a look at Luke 11:34-36 last night where we learned that "What you watch affects your soul."  Jesus talks about your eyes being receivers of light.  Since Christ calls Himself "the light of the world" we know that the light that He is talking about in this passage is Him and the truth about the gospel.  The darkness that Jesus refers to could be anything that takes your eyes off of Him.

Since pornography is proven by many psychologists to be highly addictive, it frequently enslaves those who view it.  In an article that I read recently, a Christian counselor (Robert Ellis) said that these images are as addictive as cocaine!  That being said, it is easy, after frequent use, for pornography to become master over you.  Since Jesus really wants us to follow Him with our entire life, this is a problem.  

If you are struggling with this right now, let me encourage you to "FLEE" sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 6:18).  

Fill your life with Christ (Galatians 5:22-23).

Let Someone know about your problem.

Eliminate Gateways - If there are things that get you thinking about pornography or looking at it, stop doing those things.  It could be listening to certain songs, it could be playing a video game with images that are less than pure, it could be going online and posting things on Facebook that you shouldn't.  

Extreme Measures - Take your computer out of your room, don't go online unless someone else is present. Maybe even stay away from going online for awhile.  

I hope that last night was helpful for you guys.  Please know that if you need to talk about this issue that we are available to talk to you at any time.  See you next week.

Matt

iidentity - Being the same person on and offline.

Hola Tribe!

Last night we began our discussion about your life online.  Let's face it.  A lot of us think that there are different rules online than there are in real life.  After all you can create an Avatar, which is an imaginary person anyway and live in an imaginary world filled with imaginary people.   You can create a Myspace page where you can have an alias and fake name, you can play Xbox online with an alter ego, create an email address with a different name and if you wanted to you could live in a virtual world non stop everyday of the week if you wanted to.  So certainly there are different rules right?

One of the stats that I threw at you last night, thankfully some of you ducked, was that people ages 13-24 can spend an average of 16.7 hours a week online.  This doesn't count the amount of time that you spend checking email by the way.  Nor does it account for the time that you spend plugged into your ipod.  It also doesn't count for TV watching, radio or talking on the phone.  When you add all of those things, you guys spend an average of 50 hours a week plugged into something.  50 hours!!!  That's not even a full time job, that's a full time job that is working overtime!

So the question that was asked again was, "Does God care about your life online?"  The answer is "yes", He does because on or offline, it is still YOUR life.  Last night we talked about your iidentity (yes I know I misspelled identity).  I gave you guys some action points to work on during the week.  Here are those points.

1. PONDER YOUR PICS - There are quite a number of you that are posting pics that are completely inappropriate and way too revealing.  You need to know 2 things.  #1 is that once it is out there, it is out there.  Anyone can take that pic and use it however they want to.  #2 is that pic, communicates something about you whether you want it to or not.  So be careful what you show everyone online even if it is "just your friends". (Phil 4:8)

2. PAUSE BEFORE YOU POST - Don't use Facebook or Myspace or any online media, as a place to rant about someone.  One comment could completely devastate someone.  Be mature and talk to that person one on one if you have a problem with them.  Also, be careful what thoughts you put down on a blog or any other post.  You would be surprised what some people will change their status to, not realizing that everyone and their Basset Hound is reading it. (Psalm 15:1-3)

3. PLAY/ GAME WITH INTEGRITY - Guys, just like you can play basketball, soccer, football, table tennis and even thumb wars with integrity you can do the same with the online community.  Don't tear someone apart with your words even if the scenario is imaginary.  Your words aren't imaginary, they are real and have real consequences.  (1 Cor. 10:31)

Guys...girls...God has a plan for your life.  It is a plan that is specific to you and only you.  But if you continue to pretend to be someone that you are not, even if it is online, you derail that plan.  Actions, words and pictures have consequences.  Get on board with God's plan for your life and be an influence online toward bringing people into the light and God's kingdom.  Peace.

Matt

RESET - DATING

Hey Guys,

Thanks for joining us last night.  A BIG thanks to Austin for filling in for Ian again.  Give a shout out to Ian when you get a moment to let him know we hope he gets better.  Another BIG BIG thanks to Tracy for giving us a female perspective on dating!  

I think we can all relate to the message last night on some level.  I was a text book example of how not to date when I was in middle school and high school.  Tracy made a great point about getting confused in the dating process.  I was really guilty of becoming someone I wasn't just to impress the person I was dating at the time.  I was so convinced that those people wouldn't like me if they really knew what I was like.  The problem is, that they never got to know the real me, who was pretty awesome if I do say so myself!  

Maybe you are there right now.  Maybe you are in a relationship and you are pretending to be someone that you aren't.  Let me just say that if someone rejects you for who you really are, they don't deserve to be with you!  God has made you the person He wants you to be for a reason.  When we pretend we are someone else, it works counter purpose to God's plans for you (Jeremiah 29:11).  God is molding you into the person that you will become.  Don't derail or cheapen that plan by becoming something that you aren't.

Tracy also reminded us that having a plan, ie road map, when we get into a relationship is a really good idea. You may be thinking, "Man, I'm not even thinking about dating so I don't need to think about those things." If this sounds like you, you couldn't be further from the truth.  This is the perfect time to think about the type of person you should be looking for, physical boundaries, and even if you should be dating at this stage in life.  What better time to make a plan!?  When I was dating my wife, I earned a nickname that I am pretty fond of to this day.  The name..."Man of Steel".  Not bad right?  You can totally call me that if you feel like it by the way.  I was called that because I had a plan for dating that I absolutely would not deviate from.  (I was also called "turtle slow" but I would much rather the first nickname).  

Even though Jenn and I still laugh about that name, she appreciated how much care I took to preserve a good relationship that wouldn't be ruined by going too far physically or even emotionally.  Back to you!  Take great care in your dating relationships.  You may not think it but they will effect your future relationships.  How great would it be if each person that you ever dated could look your future spouse in the eye and say, "Wow, you are a lucky person to be marrying ________!"  It can happen if you do relationships God's way.  

One last thing, if you didn't get a leather bracelet last night, come next week and we'll have more.  Don't forget, that bracelet is a reminder to live a life that is "Reset".  It is reset because you have given it to Jesus and that means a new start.  It isn't an excuse to make mistakes on purpose, but it does allow you to start over when you've messed things up.  God is in the second chance business.  How are you going to honor His sacrifice for you?  What will your life look like as a result of encountering amazing grace?