I came across two interesting articles last week on this theme. One was about a magazine called virtuous teen which aims to spread the word to teenage girls that God loves them just as they are, and the other was about former super model Cindy Crawford and her recent decision to restrict the amount of modelling work that she lets her ten year old daughter get involved in.

The issue of self image and the stereotype image that society tells teenagers is desirable is something that's got a lot of attention in youth ministry over the years, though it's probably waned a little bit in recent years. It's still an important topic.

I've always felt that the issue was a little too narrow if anything. The pressure from the media focuses on girls and on how they look. But it's wider than just physical appearance, and it's certainly wider than just girls.

We live in a world which tells people that the way to get ahead is to be mean (X-Factor, Big Brother), we live in a world that tells people that you only get ahead by beating others (Weakest Link), we live in a world which tells people that being famous for next to nothing is better than being anonymous and amazing (Jordan!), and, yes, it's a world which also tells people how to look, what to wear, how to act.

In contrast to that, we have a gospel which tells people that they're loved for who they are. 

How do we show people that as youth workers? How do we show them that to be themselves and to be amazing as they are is more than enough?

Stuff you might find interesting that isn't quite worth a whole article...

MoreThanDodgeball.com reviews a book called Up, Down or Sideways.

ChurcLeaders.com has an interesting piece on youth ministers and ADHD!

ym360.com gives you two creative methods to liven up your sessions

ChristianPost.com explores the mission field that is public schools. (N.B. In the US, public actually means public.)

The Catholic Youth Ministry blog gives us another chance to look at Scott's awesome 'Rebuild my Church' video.

A Project called Catholic Comment has been established in Ireland, in response to our own Catholic Voices.

LifeTeen has some Marian Wallpaper.

The (US) National Catholic Register have an interesting piece about why the whole 2012 Mayan end of the world prophecy is nothing to get overly excited about!

And finally... the awesome youthmin.org also has a weekly roundup!

[image hotlinked from Flickr user NS Newsflash]

I suddenly remembered how awesome this was and thought I'd post it again. Heart's Cry was the official song of the Papal Visit in 2010.

CYMFed have announced the addition of some impressive names to it's line up of speakers for Flame Congress which is taking place on March 24th at Wembley Arena.

Olympic Gold Medalist Jason Gardener will be appearing, as well as Paralympic long jump world record holder Stef Reid (currently on bill boards across London!) and the five time world championship Gold Medal rower Debbie Flood. All are committed Christians and are well used to talking about their faith and their life in sport.

The new names add to the already impressive line up which includes Bridget Parker (Equestrian Gold Medalist), Sr. Catherine Holum (Nun and former Olympic speed skater), Archbishop Nichols (Chair of the Bishops' Conference), Timothy Radcliffe (Former Master General of the Dominicans), Abbot Christopher Jamison (the inspiration behind BBC TV series 'the monastery,' and director of the National Office for Vocation), Barry and Margaret Mizen (campaigners against violence), David Wells, Indecisive, Edwin Fawcett and others.

So, are you going then or what...?

I spent a very happy year working with the De La Salle brothers at Kintbury and I still find myself very attached to the work and spirituality of the Lasallian movement. That's why I was pleasantly surprised to find an interview with the superior general, Brother Alvaro - whose picture I passed every day at Kintbury - with the NCR in which he talked about young people, ministry and hope.

You can read it here...

Thinking Faith, the online journal of the British Jesuits, is taking a unique look at the 'Seven Deadly Sins' through the medium of film this Lent.  The series starts today (Monday 20 February) with an article from ethicist, Nicholas Austin SJ.  He starts by considering the 1995 thriller, Seven and a historical take on the seven deadly sins.

The weekly series will continue on Ash Wednesday with seven further articles to follow, each using an iconic film to illustrate how one of the sins is encountered in our world and our experience, if we don't recognise the sin as a theological reality.

The Seven Deadly Sins is a classification of vices that has been used since early Christian times to educate and instruct Christians concerning fallen humanity's tendency to sin.  The sins are usually given as wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony.

Visit www.thinkingfaith.org for these and many more articles and film reviews.

Following the article on disciplining students, it's worth saying a bit about what to do when you have to tell students off. Most problems can often be dealt with by way of a look or a very quick word, but sometimes you need something a little bit more substantive. In coloquial english parlance, sometimes you have to give a bollocking!

One of the best bits of advice I've ever been given is that when you have to tell somebody off you should always be saying 'you can do better' rather than 'you should be ashamed of yourself.' It is a positive restorative thing designed to identify a problem, fix the problem and then get the teen back on track as soon as possible.

When you have to tell somebody off, here are the key things to explain...

1. 'You are valued and loved. But there is a problem, and that's why we're having this chat.' - Remember, it's a positive thing involving somebody you care for and love. They're not bad people, they've just made a mistake which can hopefully be corrected easily.
2. 'This is what you have done wrong...' - Tell them exactly what they did.
3. 'This is why it's wrong...' - Tell them why it is wrong. Try to avoid arbitrary statements ('Rules are rules', 'because we say so') and focus on the fact that rules are put in place so that we can all get as much as possible from the programme and stay safe.
4. 'This is the problem it has caused (or could potentially have caused)...' - Was anybody offended or upset by what happened? Was anything broken? Could it potentially have injured somebody?
5. (if appropriate) 'This is what now needs to happen to fix the problem...' - Does anybody need apologising to? Does anything need fixing or paying for? Or replacing?
6. (if appropriate) 'This is what we are going to do in response...' - Are you going to enforce a sanction of some kind? Or call parents?
7. 'This is what behaviour we expect in the future,' - Clearly, they need to stop doing whatever they've done!
8. 'and this is what will happen if you do the same thing (or another infraction!) again.' - Make clear that a similar infraction in the future will result in a more vigorous response. It is important that young people realise that your response will step up with each infraction.
9. 'Thank you for your understanding. You can go now. Enjoy the rest of the evening.' - This stuff is important and you have to really mean it. Remember, these are people you love and you are only telling them off so that they can get the most from the programme.

Things to avoid at all cost include anger, fear, insults, inconsistency, pettiness...

This stuff can take years of experience to get completely right. Don't stress if you're not getting it straight away either!

[image hotlinked from Flickr user steakpinball]