Pinoy Youth

At age 23, Mark Zuckerberg successfully established Facebook.com, an online social networking website, and eased his way to become one of the world’s youngest millionaires. Just a decade or so before this young man broke into the scene, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs showed that sheer talent even without the confirmation of a college diploma is not absolutely necessary to make it big! Gates founded Microsoft and Steve Jobs, Apple Computers. They were both in their early twenties.

Hundreds of years before these guys, young people also tried to shake the world they were in. Josiah was barely in his twenties when he initiated a nationwide revival that took a nation by storm. With his youthful exuberance and a desire to follow God and rectify the mistakes of his predecessors, he went against the popular practices and led his kingdom back to God. Jeremiah was petulant and complained to God a lot. But he was called to be a prophet at a young age. His job description included being hit by false prophets in the face or elsewhere, imprisonment and proclaiming the bad news after nobody paid attention to the good news.

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If you have any doubt that companies and even governments are targeting young people in their information and communication campaign, you can set those doubts aside now. Even during the Economic recession in the United States, companies are still themselves how to target the youth and young adults so they could continue making these youngsters spend their money. This is a real lesson for teenagers and for young adults in the United States and in the Philippines. Be wary of advertisements telling you to spend your money. These people want you to enjoy the best they have to offer yet at the expense of you and your parents’ financial stability in these difficult times. So be really critical and careful in spending those hard earned bucks.

Twitter and Young People

Nielsen released a report lately claiming that Teens are not very fond of Twitter, the microblogging and social networking Web platform. This has important implications for those who are reaching out to young people. If young people are in Twitter, then it makes sense for these marketers to expand their presence there. Before the emergence of Twitter, Facebook is a very big thing among young people. Now that Twitter is becoming a big marketing and promotional tool, people just want to know if it’s worth establishing presence via Twitter.

According to the Nielsen report:

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After church service yesterday, I met with about ten youth leaders from the Northwest Quezon City District of the QCPACE of the United Methodist Church (don’t we just love abbreviations?). We talked about the upcoming Christmas Institute. This is the annual Christmas camp for United Methodist youth ages 12-24. It’s a big event for most districts and what’s remarkable about it is that it is a program of youth, by youth and for youth.

Amazingly, as early as now, the youth leaders of NWQCD are thinking about what they will be doing in the Christmas Institute. Let me just present a number of observations about the Christmas Institute over the years that I’ve attended it and looked at it from a distance.

Christmas Institute is life-changing! A lot of youth who attend the Christmas Institute get to meet Christ more deeply and decide to embark on a lifetime adventure with him. Some of these youth become Christians. Some of those who are already Christians decide to take their faith to the next level of commitment. If you talk to a lot of Methodist Pastors and deaconesses, they will point out to the Christmas Institute as the turning point for their decision to enter the ministry.

Christmas Institute brings together youth from all walks of life. This variety of youth coming together can create an awareness of diversity among youth. They suddenly begin to open their eyes to a wider reality of the world as they come in contact with youth who are not from their background. As they learn about social issues and the application of the Methodist faith, they also widen their perspective about the world they live in.

I myself have experienced the power of the Christmas Institute. I have come to know our faith better and such knowledge enabled me to commit and serve with the young people of the church. My continuous presence in the church and in youth ministry is a testimony to how powerful the C.I. is.

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About two weeks ago, I received a package from OMF Literature containing the most recent (new) book in my possession-Do Hard Things by twin teenagers Alex and Brett Harris. My first reaction was: “okay, here’s another pep talk for teens.” But as I went past the Introduction by Chuck Norris, the words of these twin teens (I like the sound of that) won me over.

They dissected the idea of youth and adolescence, traced the emergence and history of these terms and criticized its impact on this generation of teenagers. I liked the way they looked at the stories of great leaders and how they accomplished notable things even when they were still in their teens. Too bad, the standards have dropped so low these days that not much is expected from teens except that they do the dishes and make their beds. More than that, the teens who, with minimal effort, rise up against these mediocre expectations are considered “Androids” and extraordinary because of the overall low expectations from teens.

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Hey friends, do you want a free book? Don’t worry, it’s not just any book. It’s from OMF Literature, a good book on making a stand for the calling in your life. Our generation has been known for its postmodern tendencies and its lack of a “center.” But if you ask me, we still have a lot of young people who make a stand for the things that really matter..

Xtreme Calling

You just might be one of the 5 persons who can get a copy of Xtreme Calling: True Stories of Teens with a Sacred Calling. The book contains the stories of 50 young people who chose to believe and follow Jesus Christ in a world that endorses hedonism and senseless pleasures. Christian artists such as Jeremy Camp, Casting Crowns, and Nicole C. Mullen among others shared their own stories in this collection.

If you want to get copy of this book, just answer this question:IF YOU WERE A BOOK, WHAT BOOK WOULD YOU BE? WHY?

Don’t just answer it, you have to put your answer at the Guestbox of the Multiply account of the Edge Radio at www.theedgeradio.multiply.com. You can also send your answers to Joyce@theedgeradio.net

This contest is brought to you by OMF Literature and the Edge Radio.

I wanna join too but I can’t seem to think of a good book right now. heheh