To Save a Life: Week 3 Review

Say Something…Do Something

Group Stats:
12 students

• 1 new
• 11 returning

We had a very good class last night. More and more students are participating in the discussion and I love to hear their point of view on these topics. And, several of the students are taking what we discuss out into the world and reaching out to their peers. All credit to God for using this time to talk to each and every student that joins us week in and week out.

We opened with a review of last week’s lesson. We were reminded of Roger’s monologue in the movie and that we are all just pennies.

I was exhausted going into class. I felt like it was difficult to focus and despite writing out the message, I still didn’t feel like I was 100% confident in covering the topic for the week. I don’t know if it was lack of preparation or had just been a long day, but part of me did not want to be there. Hmmm…who could have been behind that kind of attack??

I explained to the class how I was feeling tired and not fully with it and then we prayed for the evening. Just taking that few moments to focus on God; to invite him into our class and be a part of our journey was enough to help center me. Anyways, the more we have to rely on God, the more He can do. So, if I am exhausted and out of focus, then I have to give it all over to Him which makes for a much better situation.

This week we watched a clip from the movie where the youth pastor discusses judgment. He asks the youth group to take a moment to think about who they have judged. Jake, the main character, tries to focus on the task, but is interrupted by all the talking in the room. He observes that no one is doing what Chris asked and is genuinely distraught by the situation. He jumps to his feet and grabs the attention of the youth group. He explains how his girlfriend just left the group because she felt judged (it was her first night there). He poses a question to the group; what is the point of all this if you aren’t going to let it change you? Meaning, what’s the point of going to youth group, and listening to the pastor speak God’s truths, if you aren’t going to let His word have an impact on your life? Chris asks what the other students should be doing. The group (most of them) decides that they should meet up for lunch together at school.

This scene kicked off a discussion about judgment. I hadn’t really planned on this conversation, but I figured it was something we could all relate to. I asked who in the room had every felt judged and everyone raised their hand. We began to share stories about different situations we had all faced; how we had been judged by our age, or our appearance, being in the wrong place at the wrong time or just around people where we didn’t fit their mold. Likewise, we all agreed that we had judged others. And we shared stories about that.

One of the things we concluded was that it was near impossible not to judge people in some way. We all have our ideas of how people should be and when someone doesn’t fit into that picture, then we tend to judge. That judgment may not be a condemning judgment, nor would it even affect the way we treated another human. But, it is judgment none the less and something we need to be aware that we do.

We probably could have talked for another 2 hours on the topic. They all had a lot to share. But, I was feeling like we were moving off topic and there was quite a bit of people talking over people. We were losing focus on respect for each other. So, I brought it to a close and we moved into small group.

In their ‘family groups’ I asked them to discuss the scene from the movie and talk about how they would have reacted if they had been sitting in that room. I also asked them to discuss what things they could do to “let this change them.”

While sitting back and listening to the two groups talk, I could tell they were still very much interested in discussing judgment; how they had been judged, and how they had judged others. Some of the people tried to stay on task and discuss how they would have reacted in that room. They discussed an actual situation we had happen a couple weeks ago in the main high school youth group where a student stood up and spoke out. He challenged the group to stop being such cowards about their faith (like he said he had been). It was a moment most of those kids will not soon forget, and the student received very positive feedback from his peers about being so brave.

Another thing I was able to observe was that the group has bonded over the past few weeks. This was the first night where we really felt like a group. Part of me feels that’s a great thing, especially since everyone is sharing now and everyone feels comfortable, but another part of me feels like perhaps we need to stay in that uncomfortable place and reach out and bring in some new faces. Pray on that one for me.

After 10 minutes of discussion I pulled the students back into one group and gave the message for the week.

I wanted to challenge their faith. I want them to be conscious of their responsibility as believers and followers of Christ. And so I talked about what it means to follow Christ and what responsibilities go along with that. I asked them if they truly did believe what they say they believe and challenged them to really think about that a various times in their everyday life. It’s easy to be a believer amongst believers. But how willing are we to stand up for what we believe when we are surrounded by the world?

They closed in prayer in groups of 2-3 and I was amazed at how quickly they jumped into prayer. They are being real with each other and I think that’s so great. Pray that God continues His good work in our group. Pray that he protects all of us over the next week from evil. And, as always, pray that His will be done not just in our group, but all over the world.