I'm gonna wear your brother's skin like pajamas!

Trust me this blog post is not at all what it seems like! Yes that it is a quote from Community but it sounds way darker then it really is. Let me prove it to you, this is a picture from that same episode.

......I guess an old guy dressed up as a weed plant doesn't bode a lot of confidence.

This picture and quote are from an episode of Community, where the study group puts on an anti-drug play for high school students.

 My final blog post is going to be about peer pressure and more specifically the peer pressure that happens among Christian teens.

I remember transitioning into a leadership position at my him Youth Group and thinking to myself, "There is no way that these kids or doing that or saying things like that."

It was complete ignorance on my part because I then thought a little bit longer and realized when I was that age, I was totally "doing that" and "saying things like that."

As leaders we need to be aware that all teens in some shape or form deal with peer pressure and more then likely fall to it as well.

I was looking at some different articles, like this one http://www.creationtips.com/peer.html, about peer pressure among church teens and they had some good stuff to say but at other parts it was super out of touch.

For example, these are a few selections from a list of ways to resist peer pressure from the above article.

• Have an excuse that takes the decision away from you personally. “I can't smoke / drink alcohol / take drugs because I get throat infections / asthma / stomach pains.”
• Try humor. “I'd love to do drugs with you, but my family has a history of killing kids who get into drugs, and I'm too young to die.”

Needless to say I think we need to cut the fat away and get down to the nitty gritty of resisting peer pressure. 

I would say that we need to instill in students the sound, biblical truths that we have at our disposal. There is greater way to resist temptation by being fluent in the word and drawing closer to God. It isn't fool-proof due to our natural sinful nature but it is pretty close.

Fat Neil

I'm just going to cut right to the chase; this blog is about self harm and this is Fat Neil.

In Community Fat Neil decides he is sick and tired of being called Fat Neil and decides to kill himself. In an attempt to prevent this from happening the study group comes to Neil's side and plays dungeons and dragons with him in order to show that he has friends and meaning.

Self-harm is becoming more and more prevalent among young teens and it something that needs to be addressed. I was reading about the different statistics and causes of self harm and it is pretty scary. http://www.therefuge-ahealingplace.com/co-occurring/self-injury/effects-symptoms-signs#Statistics

From reading this it almost seems like it is a losing battle but there are a few different things to keep in mind when dealing with a teen who struggles with these issues.

1) Understand that these are real issues that real teens struggle with
            Don't just ignore it and pretend like it doesn't exist!!

2) When dealing with these issues go in with the right mindset and motives
            Don't go into it thinking that YOU are going to change anything or that YOU are going to be
            the hero of the story

3) Present them with genuine love and genuine hope
            The love and hope that is found in Jesus Christ of course!!

4) Don't pity them just love them!!
             Love needed to mentioned twice because it is so important

5) Support them and let them know that you are there for them!!
             PRAY!!

In the episode of community the group gathered around Neil. Unfortunately Jeff wanted to do it because he was the one who started calling him Fat Neil and he felt bad. That is an example of a bad motive but that groups effort to surround him and show him friendship spoke volumes and Neil is still showing up here or there in future episodes!!