As a parent, I'm intrigued how culture shapes the thinking of our teenagers so fast.  Back in the good old days, pastors and youth leaders warned kids of the dangers of listening to certain music and watching certain films.  I was a young student when I first heard these warning shots, and I laughed them off.  "PLEASE...it's just a movie," I would declare.  Everyone knows the difference between what is real and what's not real.  

But it isn't that easy, is it?

When the Hunger Games took center stage a few months ago, I went to see the film with my son.  I hadn't read the book or known anything about the story line, but I was intrigued because of the movie FRENZY!

I wrote an article on the hunger games, and found out pretty quickly I wasn't alone wondering why a book about teenage violence was so popular.  A KIVU parent wrote me,

"Thanks Andy for the analysis of THE HUNGER GAMES.  I did not read the book, but found it confusing as to both the student and adult interest in it after seeing the movie--not something that grabs me.  My family, including my husband, read the book except me.  I heard the stories they elaborated on in discussing the book.  It did not draw me to read it through their discussions.  I have girls....thought the "violence" stuff was more afar since we had no video games of such nature.  I do believe our world has begun to accept violence against other humans as intriguing.  I find it sad that publicists, writers, game makers, movie makers are capitalizing on this BRAIN  FIGHT OR FLIGHT complexity.  I am glad to see your information pointing to the development and function of the brain as a reason and comparison to drawing interest in the movie.  It makes more sense to me now!  I wish we could place more POSITIVE strengths on these complex brain systems training along a deeper, positive sense.  When I say we - I mean us wonderful beings, humans."

I'm not one to hide under the rock of culture and act as a visa vi protectionist.  There's much we can learn about the state of our current union by understanding what makes waves in our cultural thinking.  But there comes a time when we need a place to process the ideas we're reading and watching to make sense of moral compass choices we'll make in the future.  

There's a lot of good in the Hunger Games.  Character qualities like honor, trust, loyalty, and in the end the fight for life is an important cultural issue going on in every corner of the world.  But we've got to continue pushing to challenge the way we think rather than just letting a good story begin to shape our moral direction. 

The Bible states it like this, "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." (2 Corinthians 10:5)

If we're going to be a people who follow Jesus, we need to learn how to think like Jesus.  We need to understand the place of violence in our lives.  We need to learn how to care like Jesus cared, live like Jesus lived, and not merely follow every wind blowing through cultural popularity.  

AGAIN..I'm not saying we don't watch movies, but like this parent acknowledged, we need to be suspect and give students the ability to process ideas in relation to the real world.  

Often I find students actually don't know the different between reality and movie.  If you want to give them a place where they can learn to reason, come join us at KIVU this summer, and I'll be sure to help give them the tools they need to process these ideas against their faith.  

Before the holiday weekend, I was writing about sin and the issues we deal with when we don't understand the impact sin has on our lives and the lives of those around us.  

Well, our summer experiment has begun again.  Here at Camp KIVU, we have 100 staff members training to be the best mentors for High School students coming out for a two week Colorado Experience.  They're learning how to Raft, Climb, Bike, and handle issues High School students will be dealing with as they become the backbone to our program.  

I decided to set up times during the day where they could come and meet with me privately, and we could talk about the pressures of college life, anything going on with family back home, or general things they are working through on their own Spiritual Journey.  WOW!  The response has been amazing.  

I've started to see the inner workings of what University Students are dealing with, and I'm more convinced than ever, when we try and hide the sin in our hearts, the darkness of guilt and shame overwhelm our ability to go forward and see reality for what it is.  

Some of these students are literally paralyzed in their daily pursuit of God because they have dark spots shadowing over their own potential.  They feel useless.  They feel inadequate.  They feel like they've been put on the earth to endure, rather than to experience a life more abundantly as Jesus talks about in the Gospel.  

And believe me, I can bear witness to this darkness.  

I've been reading quite a bit on the justification process the Apostle Paul talks about in Romans 3, and I'm moved by the importance of sin and righteous living.  I think many Evangelical Christians tend to look at the Old Testament as "those laws" people had to follow before Jesus, and they don't understand the depth at which sin can invade and keep us from understanding God in a more intimate way.  

The faith exhibited through the adherence of God's law is not something to simply turn a blind eye toward as we cling to the idea of justification through faith.  Rather; as we walk through life on this spiritual journey we have to recognize the seriousness of living under God's umbrella or venturing out on our own to face the consequences of living in darkness.

I'm astounded at the therapy going on when University Students are willing to talk openly and honestly about the issues they deal with in their own lives.  It not only frees them up to focus on God's abundant love toward them, it gives our community ways to connect and pray for one another as we build a place where good work can thrive.  

It's another season beginning, and I'm optimistic about the beauty that is emerging already.  

In my early counseling classes, we had a chance to work with injured soldiers.  It was an interesting look at what goes on in a war behind the eyes of what you see on television.  Most of us think about war and military as big bombs, airplanes, submarines, and ships sailing all over the world; but the real battle is happening once all that stuff is over.  

On this Memorial Day, I just wanted to take a second and remember those who are dealing with issues that are silent.  They are working through the tragic horrors of war, whether they be hurting another human, living in the stress of defending, or even working through the death of a friend.  There are many who come back from war who need special attention we can't necessarily see on the outside.  

After all, what kind of soldier wants to admit to not being able to sleep well at night? Or, who wants to be THAT guy who can endure traveling the world to protect the country, but suffers from a silent nightmare called PTSD?   Or what about the soldiers who come back to re-integrate into our social/economic structure with high level skills, but are unable to find meaningful employment?  

Depression.
Post Traumatic Stress.
Injuries both physical and mental.

War isn't something we can mess with, and think everything will be o.k.  There are thousands of Men and Women who put their lives on hold to make sure the freedom of America could continue, and we have a moral obligation to help.  

The Bible says it like this, 

 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.  Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.  Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.  Be joyful in hope,patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.  Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.  Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.  Live in harmony with one another.

Romans 12:9-16

May we love those who commit so much. 
May we see others like God sees them.
May we reach out and notice people who are struggling, so we can help be solutions, rather than casual bystanders.  
May we make this Memorial Day Count! 

Every year for the last 15 years, I've been working with college students from all over America.  They've come to Colorado to enjoy the summer adventures we have out here at KIVU.  

As we assembled yesterday for our annual picture at Andrew's Lake outside of Silverton, Colorado; I kept seeing flashbacks of stories gone by.  

I'll never forget the first time Brandon Lee, Adam Hawk, and I rode up the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic the first year we opened KIVU.  Brandon and Adam were two of our best staff guys ever to step foot out here.  
I'll never forget the Missionary Ridge Fire of 2002.  We evacuated camp and thought the whole property was destroyed, only to come back to find every facility in place PERFECT!
I'll never forget Jordan Wilson, Johnny Gulich, Jim Brett, and the crew who walked around camp calling people to "ZIP IT" and then run away laughing.  
I'll never forget the first time Michael Jones started as a programs guy, and it was AWFUL.  But he turned out to be one of the best ever! 
I'll never forget the day Adam Martin walked into camp.  We didn't think he was going to make it, but he turned out to be one of the GREATEST STAFF GUYS OF ALL TIME!
I'll never forget Josh Lantz, Seth Woodward, Jip Hubbard, Sam Duregger, Nate Friend, Peter Cunningham and the countless guys staff who became the heartbeat behind what we do here.  
I'll never forget the guys who make this possible, Jarod Sickler, Brad Ray, Clayton Shultz, and the man Luke Parrott.  

I know for most of you, reading through this list is like reading through the geneology pages of the Bible.  But each name here represents a story.  Each member contributed to something greater in the lives of teenagers around the country.  And each one lived a way we can look back and say, "Well done..."  

There are countless more I could add to the list.  So many people made KIVU possible.   I could go back to the beginning and list hundreds, but for the sake of length, I just want to say Thanks to the old guys, and thanks to the new.  

It's that time of year again, where we begin building into the lives of college students who will make a HUGE difference in the lives of teenagers.  They'll be the one's to facilitate the incredible Colorado Adventures.  They'll be the one's listening well to the hearts of the kids who come out here this summer.  But most of all, they'll be the one's helping to shape a Worldview teenagers will use to filter life from this point forward.  

So as we forge ahead to train, we look forward with anxious anticipation to see what God will do this summer.  It's gonna be one to go down in the history books.  

After a few days of getting KIVU up and going, it's time to get back on track concerning our conversation about sin.  I know, I know, it's not the conversation many of us enjoy talking about.  I mean, really, how many of us want to sit around and talk about how bad we are?  It's kind of a depressing subject all the way around.  But truth is truth, and we need to analyze why things continue breaking down, instead of getting better.  

Unless you've been hiding under a rock over the last two weeks, you've probably heard the story of J.P. Morgan Chase, and the $2-$4 Billion dollar blunder that happened with some irresponsible trading.  

When I first heard the news I thought, "Man, that's a lot of money."  But the more I think about it, I'm inclined to think, "HOLY COW, THATS A TON OF CASH!!"  How can someone mishandle that amount of money?  

I get it.  I know when people deal with numbers in the stratosphere, a billion here and a billion there doesn't seem like a lot.  But I did some calculations on what the difference is between a million bucks and a billion bucks.  

A million bucks can fit on a normal sized kitchen table stacked up pretty high.  
A billion bucks stacks up as high as the WASHINGTON MONUMENT!!

So as I was thinking about the loss of cash equivalent to 4 Washington Monuments, I once again was moved to think Economy is never going to solve anything.  

Politics doesn't work.
Sociology doesn't work.
Science doesn't work.
And certainly the love of money is causing all kinds of trouble across the world.

Don't get me wrong, those areas of study are important to understand how humanity functions, but when are we going to address the REAL issues of Greed, Lust, Lewdness, or Envy?  

The Bible says, “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder,  adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.  All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”        -Jesus-

When are we going to begin addressing the real problems humanity is facing?

How do we learn how to deal with worldly possession without hurting other people?
How do we learn what it means to care about each other, and not just our own pocket book?
When are we going to stand up and say, enough is enough.

I believe the answers are out there...we just have to be brave enough to find them.