Thought Factory Podcast

#807 || Jeff and Jayson's Common Core of Student Behavior

Common Core is a set of standards that the educational system uses for teaching and testing English and mathematics between kindergarten and 12th grade.  This is what teachers not only teach, but what they want students to know by the time they graduate.  If youth ministries had a "common core" of behaviors that we would want our students to have when they graduate from our ministry, what would they be?  What is that standard that we should set or aim for based on the Christian faith?  In this episode, Jeff and Jayson created their own list of 10 behaviors they think an ideal student, hypothetically, should have after they leave the influence of our ministry.

#806 || Student Behavior From Their Point of View

Students have a lot of say in cultural trends.  What they decide to participate in, listen to, watch, wear, or what they choose to do, tend to become a popular aspect of culture.  When students are faced with decisions regarding how they dress, what they listen to or watch, and how they use social media, does their faith influence their behaviors?  How much is faith a factor in the decisions that students make regarding their friendships and romantic relationships?  In this episode, the discussion is centered around whether or not students are making behavioral decisions based on the values of their Christian faith.

#805 || Has Evangelism Become Taboo in Youth Ministry?

Sharing our faith can be challenging, regardless of age.  How do you naturally turn any conversation toward talking about God or following Jesus?  Has it become too taboo to be so focused on evangelism as a youth ministry?  What is more important, simply be a good example of the gospel or share the good news verbally? When it comes to evangelism or sharing our faith, is it necessary to use words or can we avoid them altogether?  In today's episode, Jeff and Jayson discuss the current state of evangelism and how we may be doing it all wrong. They are joined with Dare 2 Share's President Debbie Bresina to discuss this topic further.

 

#804 || A Lesson from Patrick Mahomes About Sharing Your Faith

We know the Kansas City Chiefs not only made it to the Super Bowl, but won the championship game.  Patrick Mahomes can now fulfill a dream of going to Disney World after winning it all.  But, before even getting to that point, they found themselves down 24-0 to the Houston Texans in the game before.  At that moment, Mahomes did something to change things around and exhibited a lesson we can learn from when it comes to evangelism and sharing our faith.

There are many reasons why people don't share their faith, whether it is fear, don't know how, or thinking their life is not perfect.  Hosts Jeff Eckart and Jayson Brewer discuss the one thing that needs to be present to be effective when it comes to sharing our faith, as well as, looking at whether students think it is offensive to share their faith with people of other religions.

#803 || A Campus and a Nation Changed Through Her Commitment to Pray | Jeannine Brabon Shares the Story Behind the Asbury Revival

Revival broke out on the campus of Asbury College on February 3rd, 1970, which went for 185 hours, it spread to other schools, and revival broke out in other areas across the nation.  It has been 50 years since that day and we speak to one former student who was the epicenter of that movement.  Jeannine Carol Brabon committed herself to pray and was pleading to God for 3 years to bring revival on her college campus.  She sensed it was going to happen.  Then God did just that, He showed up.  Jeannine shares her story of what was happening years before and what can happen when we decide to seek to be in a right relationship with God.

#802 || Screen Time | Measuring Digital Nutrition

"Screen time" has become another thing we measure.  We are all spending time on our dopamine-inducing devices, but how much is too much?  We receive the notification, compare our numbers from week to week, and then wonder how we've wasted so much time looking at our phones. In this episode, we discuss whether or not managing screen time is worth the fight with a child, what daily dosage is considered a healthy amount for an adolescent, and what students are spending their screen time on while at school. We've read the data, we've heard the reports, and listened to the experts, is there a case for banning internet-ready devices from the classroom and from the bedroom?  Founder of Protect Young Eyes, Chris McKenna, joins the show to provide insight in the ever changing landscape of the online world.

 

#801 || Legislating the Digital Playground for Adolescents

When society shifted from analog to digital, we were soon introduced to the internet, which allowed our society connect with almost every other one in the world.  Eventually, that birthed the iPhone and every other smart device that followed.  As technology advances at a rapid pace, the laws that regulate them have not kept up the pace.  An iPhone in the hands of a child or an adolescent gives them access to anyone in the world, which can cause safety concerns.  An iPhone in the hands of a young driver can cause significant harm.  What do we do about it? 

Hosts Jeff Eckart and Jayson Brewer speak with Senator John Rodgers from Vermont about his bill proposal to ban cellphones from anyone under the age of 21, as well as, Chris McKenna from protectyoungeyes.com about their legislation to help regulate the ratings process in the App Stores.

#712 || Why Students Don't Read the Bible

There are three primary reasons why students don't read the Bible.  They either don't have time, they don't know where to start, or they don't know how it applies to their life.  In this episode, we continue the discussion on the topic of the Bible with Lindsey Gorveatte, Director of Soul Exercises.  The discussion centers around what the number one reason is why students don't read the Bible.  Where is the trend going for the use of the Bible in our youth ministries?  What can we do as a solution to the challenges we face with students not reading the Bible?

#711 || What Students Say About the Bible

Special guest Lindsey Gorveatte, Director of Bible Engagement, joins the Thought Factory Podcast to discuss what she sees in the landscape of youth ministry in regards to students' interest of the Bible.  We hear from students directly what they say about the Bible and how we could steer our ministries to utilize it more in our weekly programming.  Do we think students are reading the Bible because the adults in their life are telling them to or because of a more significant reason?

#710 || How to Get Students Connected

When it comes to passing down our faith from one generation to the next, how do we go about doing that?  Are students committed to the church as much as the previous generation? Does church commitment mean a faith commitment in a student’s life?  Today, hosts Jeff Eckart and Jayson Brewer discuss the importance of connecting students to church and the youth group and how that can impact their faith later on in life.  How do we connect them now to church and faith and how do we connect them after they graduate?