Fast Forward

This from Scott Santee as he completes the iPod Evangelism field test:

One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions.

YAWNS (Young And Wealthy, but Normal) are the new movers and shakers.  They drive hybrid cars, live below their means, shop at local stores, and pay off their credit cards every month.  These are the environmentally conscious young men and women who want to save the world and change the planet.

To learn more, read the USA Today article about YAWNS at: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-05-04-growing-smaller_N.htm

Tom Krattenmaker is a member of USA Today’s board of contributer’s.  His article “Is God Silenced on College Campuses?” appeared in the Opinion section of USA Today March 31st, 2008.  He looks into the view that God has been silenced on campus, and finds that this idea is probably not true.  His article contains a link to the UCLA study, “Spirituality in Higher Education: Students’ Search for Meaning and Purpose.”

To read his USA Today article, go to:  http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2008/03/post-7.html

Frontline has produced a 7-part series entitled “Growing Up Online.”  Some of the topics include “Living Their Lives Essentially Online,” “A Revolution in Classrooms and Social Life,” and “Self Expression, Trying On New Identities.”  To explore these episodes, go to: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/kidsonline/view/main.html

Ivy Jungle sends out a monthly Campus Ministry Update – compiling a variety of campus related news and research briefs. Here is one from the April 2008 letter, regarding Donna Freitas research (see earlier post on Sex Education):

Sex and the Soul:   A new book by Donna Freitas of Boston University explores the link between student sexual behavior and spirituality.  Her results, published in Sex and the Soul:  Juggling Sexuality, Spirituality, Romance and Religion on America’s College Campuses (Oxford University Press), show that students generally fall into two categories, the “spiritual” and the “evangelical.”   While evangelicals predominantly pursue purity, those who consider themselves “spiritual” are much more immersed in the college “hook up” culture.   Freitas found no difference between private secular, public, and Catholic schools, and was surprised to see that for most who considered themselves “spiritual”,” their spirituality had little impact on their choices and behavior related to love and sex.  Many students did express regret over their choices.  By contrast, Freitas found that students at evangelical institutions had a more integrated view of their spirituality which made a difference not only in their behavioral choices, but also allowed them to articulate a more complete view of sexuality in general.   (Inside Higher Ed April 15, 2008)

Donna Freitas has written a helpful article about the sexual attitudes and behavior of college students.  She discusses these topics in the context of a social environment where students can attend parties with themes like “CEOs & Office Hos,” “Golf Pros & Tennis Hos” and “Millionaires & Maids.”

To read the article, visit The Wall Street Journal online at the following link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120728447818789307.html

A recent Leadership Link newsletter from Tim Elmore of Growing Leaders list seven paradoxes of Generation Y.  While the article as a whole is not yet available at their website (you could probably receive it by request), the seven paradoxes are intriguing to consider:

Here is the report from Big Break. We’ll have to do some year-to-year comparisons later and see what can be learned.

Week One
1. 3319 conversations initiated
2. 1352 gospel presentations
3. 145 people accepted Christ
4. 227 people went thru satisfied
5. 17 rededications
 
Week Two
1. 4570 conversations initiated
2. 1840 gospel presentations
3. 172 people accepted Christ
4. 621 people went thru satisfied
5. 38 rededications

Week Three
1. 6401 conversations initiated
2. 2856 gospel presentations
3. 410 people accepted Christ
4. 393 people went thru satisfied
5. 30 rededications

Week Four
1. 2385 conversations initiated
2. 1254 gospel presentations
3. 276 people accepted Christ
4. 194 people went thru satisfied
5. 20 rededications

All four weeks combined
1. 16,675 conversations initiated
2. 7302 gospel presentations
3. 1003 people accepted Christ
4. 1435 people went thru satisfied
5. 105 rededications

David Pezzoli sent me this link re: Facebook. If you want to understand the Facebook phenomenon and contemplate how to make the most of this TREND, watch this:

http://developers.facebook.com/videos.php

Keith