Halo 3 Used to "Recruit" Youth

[sierra21]

The trouble is that parents (and I am one) allow kids to spend hours on end playing video games. Call me old fashion, but what ever happened to rock climbing, hiking, camping, biking, boating, fishing, playing ball and the likes? Getting kids to enjoy something outside of the tube should be a goal, don't you think? Enjoy and experience what God has given us with each other ... only He knows how long we will be here.

I totally agree with you, my kids did all that, they went rafting, rock climbing, they even went to this uhmm event every summer where groups of teens went and helped those less fortunate in cities around the country. uhm can't remember waht it is called.

But theres nothing wrong with playing video games either.

I have given this quite a bit of thought since to the OP and it deserves such.

Firstly, and I mean no offence. I think the idea of video games at church is a weakening of the foundation of any church and as 4given1 so aptly put it we should not be trying to "lure" our youth to go to church. I am not saying there's anything wrong with video games, if they aren't too violent, but there are six other days of the week to watch them. Parents should be attempting to get their kids off their backsides indoors and get out for some excercise and fresh air.

Why is it that people can't go five minutes without having to be entertained by secular rubbish. There's a time and place for everything and to me, at any rate, playing video games of any sort at church to fill the pews is no more or less than bribery. I don't know anything about halo 1, 2, or 3, but they are man made gimmicks to make $$$ for some company. I know you can't force kids to go to church and it's no good begging them, but they have to be encouraged without coercement or bribery. The post modern preachers are doing enough to erode the true meaning of Christ and Him crucified, by diluting the real message of the christian church.

When Jesus said to His disciples, come with me and I'll make you fishers of men, He didn't add, and I'll jack up a nice bbq for you afterwards. You want your kids to go to church? Then lead by example. Bribing them by silly video games is defeating the purpose of attending church. It's giving in to them.

Okay come out guns ablazing, That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

cheers.

eric

p/s and there is more where that came from as well. So let the Holy Spirit do His job, without enticement.

Eric, (and I know you already know this but I'm gonna say it again) I always admire your ability to express the common sense approach to Christianity that you've become known for. Everytime I see you posting (and it doesn't happen often, for those of you who don't know- Eric rarely posts but when he does its good) I get excited because I know that we're all going to get exactly what we need.

Thanks again Eric.

Sierra

[damo1]

yeh, well, its just another one of those "we need to be relevent." things. you know, the whole..., compromise the word to be seeker friendly? we know that much. it makes me upset. and i am a young person myself. I am a youth leader and i have played halo 3, when over one of the youth's houses. i can say from playing it, that i would never play it again, but what they do at home is none of my business. but as far as bringing it into the church goes?!?! why dont we just ask Britney Spears to lead worship on sunday, why, after all, it will attract so many unsaved teeny boppers! honestly...

the fact that this game is being used as an outreach tool is disgraceful. Jesus didnt think "okay, the woman at the well is a whore, so if i sleep with her, ill be relevant, and it might get her saved."....

Paul didnt say "okay, these people love money, so if i give them money, they might listen to me preach"

John the Baptist didnt say "okay, these people listen to cultured men, who dress very well, and act a certain way, and hold there meetings in a gorgeous church/temple, so ill go get some nice outfits, shave my beard, and not listen to God who told me to preach in the wilderness, instead, ill go and hire that temple in the town square and get some musicians to play loud to attract attention, thats what the world does to get there attention and i want to be relevant"....

all of these statements seem ridiculous, outrageous infact, and an insult to the character of Jesus. Paul and John the baptist.

......

....YET WERE DOING THE EXACT SAME THING WHEN WE DO THINGS LIKE THIS HALO THING!!!!!

my goodness get your head out of the clouds youth leaders!!!

I am a youth leader and i have NEVER EVER used something that to "grow my youth group" or "Get kids saved"....

if you need to be relevent, you dont know God.

the word says we are not to be relevent to the world at ALL!!!!

we are to be different, set apart...

since when did Jesus stop being enough??? if you really have God within you, you wont need some popular worldly game to convince kids that Christianity is cool enough for them. Or to bring them into the church.

We should be on fire for God!

we should be so on fire that youth and all people alike will flock to watch us burn!!!!

if you need worldly gimmicks to get people to listen to the gospel, then you dont know the gospel, and you dont know how to preach. They will come, when you offer them something DIFFERENT. offering them video games and then an evangelistic talk afterwards is so stupid. its like,

come, play this game where we will anihilate, kill off each other for fun, and then hear about the God who hates what we just did!

my goodness are you insane?!

GOSPEL REDUCTIONISM for the sake of being seeker friendly....

BEING "RELEVANT" and "keeping up with culture" and sacrificing obeying the word through it,

is an abomination.

makes me sick.

these kids dont need to feel comfortable and familiar... they need JESUS.

these kids dont need to be entertained... they need JESUS...

these kids dont need to be babysat... they need JESUS

these kids dont need more of the same thing that the world offers.. THEY NEED JESUS CHRIST!!!!

HE IS ENOUGH!

get to know Him, ask Him how to show people the truth, and you wont need to compromise what God's word says, to "reach people".

from damo1

hay bluebird i am not sure wear you are in your walk or what you said was to be sort of like a joke but i wonder you said you are a youth leader your self do you go wear young people hang out today i mean i am our churches out reach worker and i walk the streets in my town i live in until 4 am i start at 9pm yet i pray for 2 hours before i hit the streets and see what going on with the troubled youth i know i grew up as a wild boy my self i was living on the streets at one stage and with in the youth groups i found my self in i can honestly say i wanted to smack a few leaders around to the way they behaved not only toward young men like my self but some of the rubish i heard from the female leaders this one poor girl was taken out side behind the church and smacked so hard by the female leader and told never to step foot back into a church in the youth group i found my self in the church youth wear rude to any new kid and so wear the leaders but this was done when the youth pastor was not their and the leaders wear left in charge i grabbed one leader that tried this on a troubled young boy who i new and i took him out side and i had a good word with him then i also rebuked him with the youth pastor and the pastor their and let me tell you with the kids parents and me wittnesing what i saw he was never able to lead in that youth group i had to hold my self back as i wanted to deck him and then i would have asked god to forgive me but i prayed and god gave me the strength to confront in love which i did but at the same time i had a little bit of fun and i put him to shame not just in front of the younger males but the females this guy was trying to impress and not one person said a thing

the young kids i meet with at 3 am in the park have all been hurt like this by some of the traditional churches hear wear i live and most wear told we do not want your kind so when i read what you said it sort of made me think to what or who has been teaching you if you wear in my church and i saw this attitude i would not alow you no wear near our youth our leaders are bought up to respect all youth and also they are told to deal with their attitudes as when in the front line and being a leader we get attacked and its our attitude that most watch if your going to preach jesus than make sure no swearing or what ever you do in your own home is evidance when trying to reach out the youth i know are not stupid and will spot some one who is not real and avoide them

just be very care full how you try to post and share as it seemed very strange for a leader to say something like this

i am moving to a country wear there are youth and gangs who show no respect to the law and i wil be running programs for my new partner and the police to show them how to be more effective i did this hear to wear the young troubled youth wear able to see a diffrent side to the police officers and now instead of arresting these youth they take them home or i am called

this is what it means by being jesus to the lost

i am not attaking you hear but to what you posted as i respect you as a person

from your brother in the lord damo1 damien

[eric]

Thank you Sierra 21, It takes me a long time to type out a post, because I have to think over what I am to print and I'm a stickler for the truth, but sometimes I may come down too hard on other peoples posts. I like to be up front and cut to the chase, because, that's the way I am, I suppose.

We have on this board the best team of mods, watchmen and chat room admins on the net and we all do our best to conform to the TOS and SOF and not be offensive or rude or dogmatic and don't say anything before we have researched the topic, if only briefly, and can back our words with scripture. I'm too old now for church and outreach ministries, but have done my best in the past.

I only know there's a time to speak, and a time to be silent.

Sierra, you have a cool day in Jesus.

eric

[Axxman]

I'd like to know where most of you get the indication that because a person plays video games that they don't ever go outside??? Now I don't "hike" because I find it incredibly BORING...but I love going out with my kids and seeing the zoo, or a plantarium, or a football game. Why can't I play videogames AND do other things? There is always this negative assumption.

I also like how you can use inflammatory words like "lure"...as if the churches are predators. They are playing a FUN videogame...thats it! Remember when you were kids and you'd play tag, or dodgeball, or volleyball, (or whatever they did back then)....now they play videogames and listen to christian rock music (*gasp*) before the bible study. My church has a RAD skate park and MANY of the kids in our youth groups started coming to our church to skate...most of you would probably be appalled at the number of kids with skateboards at our church on Sunday mornings.

Its a fun, harmless video game that kids enjoy. Most kids need a safe, fun, positive environment to hang out in...church should be one of those places without the old folks raining down condemnation.

[Eliyahuw]

Its a fun, harmless video game that kids enjoy. Most kids need a safe, fun, positive environment to hang out in...church should be one of those places without the old folks raining down condemnation.

DOn't ya know axeman, church is supposed to be solem, no one cracks a smile, you must be in suffering to be good enough. kids are to be seen and NOT heard. i can't count the number of times i was told that as a kid in church by church people.

I'll tell ya, if you can't get the kids into church your church is dead. It cannot grow and is useless.

[sierra21]

I'd like to know where most of you get the indication that because a person plays video games that they don't ever go outside??? Now I don't "hike" because I find it incredibly BORING...but I love going out with my kids and seeing the zoo, or a plantarium, or a football game. Why can't I play videogames AND do other things? There is always this negative assumption.

I also like how you can use inflammatory words like "lure"...as if the churches are predators. They are playing a FUN videogame...thats it! Remember when you were kids and you'd play tag, or dodgeball, or volleyball, (or whatever they did back then)....now they play videogames and listen to christian rock music (*gasp*) before the bible study. My church has a RAD skate park and MANY of the kids in our youth groups started coming to our church to skate...most of you would probably be appalled at the number of kids with skateboards at our church on Sunday mornings.

Its a fun, harmless video game that kids enjoy. Most kids need a safe, fun, positive environment to hang out in...church should be one of those places without the old folks raining down condemnation.

I think you should go up and re-read Eric's original comment. What he says makes complete sense- I'm not even going to try and re-phrase it because he says it as frank as it gets.

[sierra21]

Its a fun, harmless video game that kids enjoy. Most kids need a safe, fun, positive environment to hang out in...church should be one of those places without the old folks raining down condemnation.

DOn't ya know axeman, church is supposed to be solem, no one cracks a smile, you must be in suffering to be good enough. kids are to be seen and NOT heard. i can't count the number of times i was told that as a kid in church by church people.

I'll tell ya, if you can't get the kids into church your church is dead. It cannot grow and is useless.

The thing is, church isn't an arcade, a movie theatre, or a gym. Church is a place to connect with God, fellowship with others, and grow in Christ. I am not an "old person" and I still think church is a place that we should respect God, and those who are there to worship. Kids can learn a lot with the self discipline sometimes required within the church. That does not mean that church has to be boring, but there are times when its appropriate to have fun and be wild (for example, most churches encourage this during their musical worship), and there are also times to be silent so that you and others are able to fully hear and feel the word of God.

I'm sorry, but if we as parents cannot get our children into church without the use of bribery (ie video games) then we have a serious problem. Back when I was a kid, when our parents told us to get dressed for church and be apropriate during the service, we listened. And *gasp* they didn't have to use any type of entertainment to get us to do it. Would I say that I'm a better christian for it- Absolutely. Church is a time for praying, learning the word of God, and respecting those around us. Call me old fashioned, but Church shouldn't have to be a spectacle in order to get people to come. That wasn't how it worked in the bible, and that shouldn't be how it works now.

[Axxman]

I think you should go up and re-read Eric's original comment. What he says makes complete sense- I'm not even going to try and re-phrase it because he says it as frank as it gets.

I addressed what eric said and it doesn't make any sense ...let alone 'complete' sense. How is a videogame "weakening the foundation of any church?" Thats as ludicrous a statement on this topic as there is. I submit that if a videogame is weakening your church's foundation...your church didn't have much of a foundation to begin with. He's also the one who introduced the word "lure" into the convo as if churches are child predators. He's also one of the ones who miistakenly assumes that people who play videogames don't "get off their backsides indoors and get out for some excercise and fresh air."

I think I've addressed his misconceptions fairly well.

[KeilanS]

I think the only problem with the videogame in this case is the videogame chosen. Halo 3 isn't the best choice. I think they should get something fun for the Nintendo Wii with no blood and violence and play that. Now that would be a blast to play with friends at church.

[sierra21]

I think you should go up and re-read Eric's original comment. What he says makes complete sense- I'm not even going to try and re-phrase it because he says it as frank as it gets.

I addressed what eric said and it doesn't make any sense ...let alone 'complete' sense. How is a videogame "weakening the foundation of any church?" Thats as ludicrous a statement on this topic as there is. I submit that if a videogame is weakening your church's foundation...your church didn't have much of a foundation to begin with. He's also the one who introduced the word "lure" into the convo as if churches are child predators. He's also one of the ones who miistakenly assumes that people who play videogames don't "get off their backsides indoors and get out for some excercise and fresh air."

I think I've addressed his misconceptions fairly well.

Actually 4given1 is the person who presented the idea of video games as a "lure". I think you've taken that statement out of context as she is clearly meaning that we shouldn't have to employ the use of entertainment as a way to get kids to come to church.

Furthermore, the idea that a church should need a video game to get people to come DOES weaken the foundation of your church because you are no longer utilizing the bible as an evangelical tool, but a secular game that was never meant as such. If a church can't get people to come without a videogame there is clearly something wrong with your worship team because you are not able to clearly defend and exemplify the meaning of Christianity. Besides that, I really don't believe that a kid who has no curiousity about Christ and does not want to learn is going to magically become enticed through the use of a videogame. I think those kids are gonna come to church, play the games, sit through the mandatory 20 minutes (or however long) of the "church talk" and then skip all the way home having enjoyed an evening of video games. Let's remember that good old saying "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink".

Somebody who is interested in Christ and becoming a Christian is not coming to church for the video games, theyre coming to learn about God. Somebody who is interested in video games is coming to church to play video games.

'nuff said.

And there is statistical evidence between kids who play video games and obesity. I don't want to stir the pot, but perhaps that is because they aren't "getting off their butts and enjoying the great outdoors".