Are you excited for the new Superman movie? I know I am, and I came across a pastor’s resource website for the movie. It has free talk outlines, downloadable clips and images. Everything you need to plan a fun summer lesson based on what will likely be one of the biggest movies of the summer. It would also make a great father’s day lesson.
Archives For Media
I confess, I saw Star Trek Into Darkness this weekend, and I loved it. Sure it wasn’t perfect, but it was a fun, space adventure — everything I want in a summer movie. (As a side note, it made me super excited for what JJ will do with Star Wars). To celebrate the number one movie this weekend. Here’s a funny little video I saw this weekend:
I think I may have to make a starship Enterprise costume like this to wear at Comic Con this summer.
In the latest episode of the new YS web show, YS Idea Lab, they interview Bob Goff. I also enjoy an opportunity to listen to him, if you’ve never heard him before this is worth 5 minutes of your time.
YS Idea Lab – Bob Goff: Loving People Inefficiently from Youth Specialties on Vimeo.
I’m really excited that Bob will be at the National Youth Worker Convention this fall, I hope to see you there.
Each week at our Sunday morning worship service we have slides that scroll during pre-service. Here are a few examples for you to use. In our ministry we constantly rip others off. I am not a graphic designer by any stretch so I have learned to imitate others. You will notice hat tips to YS! and Simply both. And on that topic, feel free to rip us off as well. This is about Jesus and his love for teens!
A welcome slide of some sort is always in the mix. I recommend checking out Saddleback HSM’s facebook page regularly for ideas.
Everyone Has A Story is the title that Doug Fields used years ago to represent student testimonies. In our youth ministry we have developed a handbook/DVD combo that is free to students that helps them write out their own testimony and prepare to share it in our services. This is the slide we use when they are on stage.
Among the slides that we have scrolling is usually a slide that tells students what the current sermon series is.
The 15 minutes before a service when students are milling around is a great time to promote things like small groups and special events.
Well I hope this gave you all some sweet ideas!
Some slides are just for fun. Our recent Youth Ministry Magazine was dubbed the “Stache Issue” so we have been exploring all things stache.
I loved the movie Avengers, I think it might be my favorite super hero movie of all time. So I was pretty excited to find this great discussion guide over on The Source for Youth Ministry. The main point of the lesson is about team work to be a force for God’s kingdom.
Here’s the background about the movie and the summary of the clip used to kick off the discussion:
The Movie Clip: The Avengers, one of 2012’s biggest films, assembles Marvel’s most beloved gang of superheroes against a threat from another world. Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) must band together in order to protect Earth from Loki, Thor’s adopted brother from Asgard, who has intentions of conquering our planet using the infinite power of the Tesseract. Unless The Avengers can put aside their pride and learn to work together, the mighty Loki will conquer Earth and subject it to his tyrannical rule.
Directed by Joss Whedon, the movie was clean, free of sexual innuendo, imitatible behavior, and gratuitous language. It was rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-if violence and action throughout, and a mild drug reference.
Introducing the Clip: There were so many great scenes in The Avengers, and some of them, like this one, actually provide us with a powerful lesson about our own lives. In this clip, you’re going to see what happened when all of the Avengers come together for the first time on board the flying boat. They’re discussing the best way to defeat the powerful Loki and prevent him from taking over Earth, but each of them have a different idea about what would work best. Take a look at what happens to the mighty team – and how they treat each other – as the conversation wears on.
Scene Script:
BEGIN CLIP AT 1 HOUR 07 MINUTES AND 14 SECONDS
This clip is over 5 minutes long, and there’s a lot of dialogue, so a “script” won’t be provided. Instead, what follows is a synopsis. Also, this clip uses the word “damn” one time.
This scene begins as Nick Fury walks in and asks, “What are you doing Mr. Stark?” A conversation ensues about S.H.I.E.L.D.’s production of weapons. Nobody seems to like that, and trust is clearly broken. But on top of the disagreement, the Avengers begin to insult and accuse one another.
Meanwhile, Loki’s henchmen approach the floating boat on a stolen aircraft. Hawkeye – under the spell of Loki – shoots an explosive arrow at the ship. They are preparing to board the ship, rescue Loki, and re-steal the spectrometer they originally stole from scientists in Germany.
The clip returns to the discussion being had by the Avengers and Nick Fury. They’ve gone from talking about a game plan to purely insulting one another. The dialogue clearly shows that the Avengers are not functioning as a team, and in fact, want to fight each other.
The clip ends as Hawkeye detonates his explosive arrow, throwing the superheroes into action.
END CLIP AT 1 HOUR 12 MINUTES AND 47 SECONDS
Click HERE to read the entire lesson.
Movie clip discussions like this are right for every group, but I’ve had great success using them in my teaching.
If you want an easy was to use this clip, consider downloading the movie on iTunes.
Or pick up the Blu-Ray with the digital copy from Amazon
Eons ago fellow youth ministry geek Matt McGill wrote a blog post called EVANGAtweets. This weekend our student ministry is discussing evangelism in our weekend worship service. In honor of Matt I quickly whipped up a few EVANGAtweet slides to cycle through pre-service. Here they are for your pleasure and use. And just to make sure I’m legit- “all EVANGAtweets are copyrighted by a ministry of matt mcgill interstate/international/internet/interdimensional evangelism ministries.”
I’m a big fan of TED and what they do online with their videos from their events. They just released a new tool that allows anyone to build an online lesson using web video. You can select a video and video and create questions, quizes or give links for people to dig deeper.
Here’s a diagram to show the parts of the lesson:
I could see using this as a quick training to send out to volunteers, student leaders, or even to get kids thinking about a topic before they come to small group, sunday school, Wednesday night, or what ever other gatherings you have. I know a lot of educators are big fans of having the lecture portion of teaching done independently before a student comes to class so that class can be about discussion and unpacking the material. This is a tool that allows you to do that.
To learn more, visit Ed.TED.com. Also did I mention the service is FREE?
Today and tomorrow 3 of Francis Chan’s bestselling books free in ebook form, they are great books and I highly recommend them:
Happy Easter!
Everyone hates the spinning beach ball of death. Imagine if it took over your presentation while speaking to a group of people. Watch as Improv Everywhere brings this to life. Have you ever thought about doing something unexpected like this during a talk? Could be a great memory maker for your students.
Back in January, Chris Davis and I were at YS! Palooza together, and we were talking about shooting video. Chris was lugging around a giant HD camcorder and tripod that he used to shoot this video. We began having a chat about the video function on most new DSLR cameras. Now, my wife is a professional photographer who shoots with a very expensive Nikon D700 (Here is a shameless plug for her business). But, there are plenty of entry level and semi-pro DSLRs available that shoot tremendous video! After that chat with Chris Davis I was sold. Our student ministry has a handful of Flip cameras, but we have been ready to push through that barrier for a while. This past week I broke down and bought the Canon 60D with the 18-135mm kit lens. I have a friend who manages a big box retail store who sold me the camera (regularly $1300) for $1000 flat. Here is my initial observation of the camera. I will follow this up later with a more detailed review and video samples.
Things I love:
1. Articulated Screen- Up until the past year or so most DSLRs had stationary screens for reviewing pictures. Now with the advent of HD video capable cameras the need for articulating screens is very real.
2. LP-E6 Battery- The 60D uses the same large battery that Canon employs in their professional cameras like the 7D and 5D. This battery lasts close to twice as long as the battery in the cheaper T3i. And since batteries cost around $100 apiece, I felt this was a huge plus for the 60D.
3. 1080p at 30, 25, and 24fps- Unlike the Nikon D7000, the 60D supports 1080p at the 3 most popular frame rates. (Not to mention that the D7000 does not have an articulated screen)
4. Body Size- The Canon 60D has a larger, and larger aluminum frame than the cheaper T3i (steel), and this is one case where I believe that heavier is better. The weight and size allow you to grip the camera with confidence, whereas the T3i feels more like a toy. To boot, the 60D is weatherized better.
5. Manual Controls- If you want to produce the highest quality video, you have to control your exposure manually. The exposure controls on the 60D are easy to operate and accessible without going through menus. The white balance can be controlled easily enough without going through tiers of menus.
All in all I feel that the 60D is the way to go for getting into DSLR video. The price point is right for the features you get. If you want some more info on DSLR video here are a few sites I recommend highly:
DSLR Video Shooter- Caleb Pike runs one of the cleanest and most helpful DSLR Video sites around. Great info in his newsletter.
Philip Bloom- Philip is one of the top DSLR videographers around. He actually shot parts of the latest George Lucas film Red Tails. Philip’s site has an interactive community and he regularly reviews DSLR gear.
