Toy Story 3: A Platform For Talking About Gods Truths To Students

Source: http://www.movieposter.com/poster/MPW-49351/Toy_Story_3.htm

God has blessed me with wonderful friends whom I have had to pleasure to engage movies through the eyes of Biblical truths with. I believe that movies are meant to draw deeper meanings from than what is just on the surface (not so much the majority American cinema, but that is another blog post for another day). It is a creative platform that allows us to visual see our lives played out, so that we have an opportunity to examine life for what it is. So my group of friends and I would always find God's truths in the movies we watched. I have a friend who told me that "Toy Story 3 is a Biblical allegory for the book of Revelation." Though Lotso does make a good anti-christ, it is a stretch to say that it applies to Revelation directly (it does fit the overall theme, not all the little details). The fact still remains that Toy Story 3 does have some very Biblical truths we can draw from its story.
 
I had the pleasure tonight to watch this almost Oscar winning film with my students tonight for our Wednesday night youth group meeting. First, it was a blast to enjoy such a great movie with a great group of students. For this group in particular, I desire to develop them to have a heart of Gods truths and standards. So what better way to do that is to use something that they already love (confirmed by conversation with them). An important thing that I think we have missed in contemporary youth ministry is how to enjoy the students we are ministring to. I consider them gifts from God that I have the pleasure to get to know and to teach them.

More on topic, Toy Story 3 has some very powerful truths that we can use to show youth today what God is like. Only watching the first half of the movie, here is what I shared tonight:

1. Andy loves and treasures his toys. Even when he is growing up, he still has a heart of his toys. God functions with the same MO. The love that has for us does not change. Therefore Andy's love for his toys is like Gods love for us because it doesn't die in time; it is everlasting.

2. The toys have a deep sense of purpose; they want to be played with. I read the passage of scripture from Genesis 1 that explains that we has humans were not only made by God, but God blessed us and gave us a purpose. I think we can all agree with that we has humans have an overwhelming sense to be loved. Through God creating us in his own image we not only have an overwhelming desire not only  to be loved, but to be loved by God. The toys not only just wanted to be played with; they wanted to have that same play time that they had with Andy. With that being said. much like the toys having a deep urgent need to be loved and to have purpose, we desire that from God (which we receive through is grace).

Source:

loudxsilence.tumblr.com

3. Woody was always faithful to Andy. The other toys were blinded by their current circumstance to see that Andy was really trying to put them in the attic because he still cared. The toys, with the exception of Woody, were convinced that Andy must not care about them now and they have to move on. This is the point where through amazing circumstance are donated to a day care and are now under the authority of Lotso the bear. He seems like a nice guy and it seems that he can fulfill every need that they have. Woody remains faithful to Andy while the other toys trust in someone they hardly knew. Sound famillar? How many people do you know that trust the lip service of others more than they trust in the self sustaining loving father God? God will come through and his is always good, even when we can't see it.

4. There is a part in the story when the toys are locked in there cells for the night (only because the fuzzy Lotso turned out to be a vicious mafia type boss) where Jesse realizes she has made a terrible mistake. She looks down at her boot to see "ANDY" written there. This is a very power visual of what happens when we turn away from God. When we realize that we have forsaken God, however that may have been done, we see that God is written our our hearts. It is at this point we would hopefully fully repent of our ways and run to Jesus for forgiveness. Jesse in this case now knows who truly loved her and that they should have listened to Woody. In our own lives, we have to realized that God is always there and there is no need to find fulfillment from the world. 

From these points the students were actively participating in discussing about these truths and they just enjoyed talking about God in this way. It was inviting, yet it went deep to give the student "meat" to chew on. I highly recommend doing this type of study with students, you will not regret it.

To God be the glory for his creativity and his agape love for us all.

Youth Pastors and The Sterotypes They Have Accrued

I have to laugh at the culture I am getting my self into. I am now in the possition to say that I have aquired a few of these sterotypes already, but thanks to the help of human creativity and YouTube, I can be informed. Enjoy these videos on youth pastor sterotypes.

My New Adventure In Ministry

Well, here I am, working a all most full time job and working at my church as a youth leader. I never thought I would get to this point. You always think that you are going to do something different than the men and women that have come before you. I'm not sure why I thought this, but I do have some theories. Maybe I thought I would be doing something different is because I had big dreams (being a recent college graduate will do that you: be warned). Maybe I was being unrealistic. After all, Rome wasn't built in a day right? My strongest theory is that I didn't want to settle for just any ministry job. I find it is an aspiration for most young ministers that they want to do something that will be simply reveloutionary. God has other plans.

God is changing my heart about my current situation in many ways. I think the biggest is what I know he spoke to me the other day. As I look out my front door, thinking and praying about the youth ministries at church, God spoke to my heart and said, "I want to turn this current youth culture on its head." It made me cry. God wants to transform the youth of my sleepy little suburb. Once again God has empowered me to do extrodinary things in seemingly ordinary circumstances. This blog is devoted to how God is going to change the youth culture of America and how this ambitious youth pastor is going to be a apart of a great journey.

To God be the Glory for the work that is being done by his people.