OVERVIEW

Teenagers love watching movies and television. Popular movies and videos can facilitate discussion on any range of topics. This method of discussion shows how a youth worker can develop a meeting to talk about spiritual issues by showing a group of teens relevant media clips. Discussion questions are also important for challenging youth to explore their own beliefs.

LEADER PREPARATION

• First, evaluate yourself. What do you personally believe about God, heaven, and hell? What do you want your teenagers to learn from the discussion? By being prepared, youth workers will be able to consider the issues with the group participants.
• Write down your thoughts about movies that you have learned from or have personally enjoyed.
• Find relevant movie or video clips which include references to God, religion, New Age, heaven, hell, and spirituality (i.e., "Star Wars," "Contact," "Seven Years In Tibet," "Leap of Faith"), and edit for showing in a group setting.
• Prepare questions based on the video clips. Ask general "like/dislike" questions first. Next, ask "thematic questions" relating to the clips.
• Create fun "movie-bills" for the evening, tickets (with survey questions on the back), and make popcorn!
• If possible, creatively set up the equipment and the room with a "Hollywood-like" atmosphere (posters, lighting, cameras, etc.).

GROUP BUILDING

• Open the meeting with a "grand entrance." Keep the group in an area separate from where you will show the clips and then lavishly usher them in.
• Have a teenager act as host, if appropriate, and invite everyone to take their places. The "host" can then introduce the evening’s agenda creatively. (Have several teenagers help to pass out "ticket-surveys," popcorn, etc.).
• Finally, begin with a fun, relevant music video.
• After the video, build group participation by playing "Charades." Ask teens to act out favorite movie or television personalities. (Do this for 7-10 minutes.) For extra excitement, have the group videotape the "Charades" game—for future viewing fun!

GROUP PRESENTATION

• Show 2 or 3 previously selected secular movie clips. Ask the group to look for messages about God, faith, and spirituality as they watch.
• Ask the group participants to act as "movie critics" on these themes. Tell them to look for messages in the story, to see how God is presented to the public in each clip.
• After playing the video clips, ask the group to individually answer the questions on the back of their "tickets." (The questions should be relevant to the video clip.)
• Discuss with your "movie critics" what they found (helpful questions are in the following section). How did they see God or spiritual things portrayed in each movie? As a group, discuss the questions on the survey.
• Finally, play one or two more relevant and powerful movie clips which demonstrate strong principles. Use these clips to discuss what can be learned from watching such movies. Themes including faith (i.e., "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade"), grace (i.e., "The Mission"), and others (truth, mercy, love, hope, trust, and forgiveness) can often be found in secular movies. Such visual aids which are already accepted within the youth culture can be used to help teens see deeper meaning and truth in what they are watching.

GROUP DISCUSSION

Discuss any of the following questions:

• In what movie did you see God most truthfully portrayed? Explain.
• How do you think American society views religion? Also discuss American views of specific religions, i.e., Christianity, Buddism, Muslim, New Age.
• How important is it to tell the difference between truth and lies? How can we discern between the two?
• What do you think the "Force" is in "Star Wars"? (Use this to discuss spiritual discernment, spiritual guidance, etc. Note: This can be a powerful subject and a large part of the evening could be spent solely discussing this issue. Teens are very interested in "power" and the future.)
• What movie showed a theme of forgiveness?
• Did any of the movies bother you in any way? Why or why not?
• Without appearing judgmental of others, what are some ways to say "no" to watching movies you feel are not pleasing to God?
• What do you think Hollywood wants you to believe about hell? Heaven? Do you think everyone goes to heaven? Why or why not? (Refer to movies like "Sleepless in Seattle," "All Dogs Go To Heaven," or "Touched By An Angel." Openly discuss these with the group.)
• How do you think a person gets to heaven?
• What does it mean to "please God?" Why might it be important to "practice what you preach?"

WRAP-UP

Reinforce these issues from the discussion.

• Truth is important. Teens need to see the importance of discerning what is godly and true between the world’s ideas and lies.
• No matter how young someone is, or how much pressure there is to do or to believe something, holding onto one’s values and their relationship with God is worthwhile.
• Movies and television can be powerful tools for influencing people, and society. Encourage them to believe that God wants to use them, too, and can use them powerfully for sharing His love.
• Help them see that what they watch consciously and often subconsciously influences their own ideas. It is important to make wise decisions about one’s personal life and choices in all areas, with movies and television, as well.

EVALUATION AND FOLLOW-UP

• Ask the group, over the next week, to think about what they watch (i.e., tv shows and movies). At the next session, encourage a follow-up discussion on the content of what they saw.
• Have a second meeting covering the issues raised in this discussion time. Discuss hell, heaven, salvation, forgiveness, world religions, cults, beliefs, and morals.

IMPLICATION

This method of discussion can really promote excitement about learning. Visual media can impact kids and help them to become "critics." Because spiritual issues are often raised in movies and television, it is important for teenagers to know what they learn from the media. Young people need to know what to do with what they see and hear. They need tools to properly process the information they receive from the electronic media. It is vitally important to teach teens values, standards, and instruction in how to be "in the world but not of it." They need to learn how to stand strong within the culture. If prominent aspects of the youth culture—such as movies and music—are not studies and used positively, a whole generation may be deceived by subtle lies. We can use what they watch and enjoy, and we can encourage teens to understand that God’s ways are genuinely the very best ways.

Suzanne Carter cCYS