Video Interview with Alex the Atheist at High School Small Group

Last night I invited my friend Alex who is an Atheist to the high school Bible study I teach. We videotaped the event to show other youth workers what we’re up to. I believe this illustrates a missing link to our outreach programs. If we can talk to non-Christians, we’ll have a better idea how to reach them.

The purpose of this interview was to help students understand how Christians are perceived by non-Christians and what we can do about it. The purpose was not to have an in-depth discussion about Atheism, although the topic was addressed by some of the questions from students. For some great videos about Christianity vs Atheism, click here. This link will take you to some lectures taped at Saddleback Church on September 5 & 6, 2009 by leading teachers on the subject.

Click here for a list of questions I asked Alex. The sections are numbered. Each video has a corresponding number next to the video number to indicate which section’s questions that video answers.

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Video #1 (Section 1 questions & first 3 questions of section 2)

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Video #2 (Last 2 questions of section 2 & questions/answer time)

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Video #3 (question/answer time continued)

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Video #4 (Section 3 questions)

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Video #5 (Section 3, continued)

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Video #6 (Section 4 questions 1-6)

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Video #7 (Section 4 questions 7-10)

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Video #8 (Section 4 questions 11 & student questions)

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Video #9 (End of student questions & wrap up/challenge – until the battery died)

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The night was a great eye-opening experience for our students. They were attentive the whole time and asked great questions. We could have easily gone another hour, but were under time constraints.

I highly recommend doing something like this in other ministries. The goal of the night was to help students understand how non-Christians view the Christian world. My hope was to help them become aware of how we can be more sensitive and effective. We do this by being intentional about the Christ-like image we project to our non-Christian friends.

Two things I will do differently for my next interview: 1. Write the questions on cue cards. It was too difficult to read them on my iPhone without glasses, 2. Use a video camera that can plug into a wall. We lost a few great minutes at the end of video 9. The good news is that we got 99% of the interview and wrap-up/challenge.

My friend Josh Pease wrote a blog tonight about this same topic of being sensitive about the approach we take when reaching out to non-Christians. Click here to read it. He has some great food for thought.

PDYM Student Leadership Conference

(Don’t be fooled by the cheesy graphic, it’s a great conference!)

PDYM Student Leadership Conference
Saddleback Church || July 14-17, 2009

Want to take your student leaders to the next level? Want to start student leadership in your youth group? Take a trip to California to the Purpose Driven Youth Ministry Student Leadership conference July 14-17, 2009. This annual conference will change your students lives giving them insight into how they can fulfill God’s calling on their lives. Don’t miss this chance to have your students learn about biblical purpose and support your ministry as well.

General sessions by Doug Fields and other terrific speakers! Get practical ministry exercises and a retreat-like escape to Saddleback Church this July.

Registration now open!

Interview Questions for Ask Alex the Atheist Night

Update: Click here to see the video interview

As I mentioned in a couple of previous posts, tonight’s the night to interview Alex the Atheist in front of 3 of our high school small groups tonight. While I’ve been thinking about this interview for a couple of weeks, today I’m putting the questions on paper. Here’s what I have so far. I’d love your thoughts, especially on the closing challenge.

Section 1: Who is Alex

– What is your family like? (siblings, pets, quirks, Jewish Dad, Christian Mom – neither active in their faith)
– Where did you go to high school? (I know it’s the same school as most of my students – just trying to help them connect with him)
– When did you graduate?
– What did you love/hate about school?
– What makes you happy?
– What do you do for fun?

Section 2: What Does Alex believe about God, life, beginning & end of existence?

– You’ve described yourself as an Atheist, but have also said you’re not sure exactly what to believe. Can you explain for us where you stand on the existence of God?
– What has been your biggest influence that lead to this belief?
– Do you believe Jesus existed? If yes, what do you believe about him?
– What do you believe about the beginning of time & space? (Where did everything come from?)
– What do you believe about death? (What happens when we die?)

— Student questions

Section 3: What’s your take on religions?

– What impression do you have about religions? (all religions)
— You’re friends with Christians and Atheists and maybe people of other religions. How has being in the middle of so many varied beliefs affected your outlook on God and life in general?

Section 4: Christians – The good, the bad & the ugly

– What positive experiences have you had with Christians?
– Were you invited to church when you were in high school?
— How did you/would you have responded?
– What do you believe makes a person a Christian or not a Christian?
– If you were to become a Christian, what are some of the aspects of the Christian life that would draw you in?
– What are some aspects of the Christian life that push you away from wanting to be one?
– Have you ever been hurt, offended or felt excluded by Christians?
– What opinion do you have of Christians overall?
– In G-rated terms, how do your friends look at Christians? (dismissive, with pity, indignation, curiosity…)
– As a non-believer, what advice would you give to a Christian about the image they project to the non-believing world?

— Student questions

Section 5: Wrap up/Challenge

Questions for students:
– What are your thoughts about how we’re perceived among those who don’t believe?
– How can this discussion affect the way you image you project through your day-to-day life/choices?
– Do you understand how Alex could form his impression of Christians?
– What can you do starting right away to change this?
Challenge:
– Make a list of non-believing friends at your school who you can make a positive impact on for Christ this week
– Pastor Rick said in the adult service this week that we bring glory to God by the way we represent him to non-believers. He used two verses to make his point:
— “Always be ready to answer anyone who asks you to explain the hope you have within you, but do it with gentleness and respect.” 1 Peter 3:15-16 (NIV)
— “As God’s grace brings more and more people to Christ, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.” 2 Corinthians 4:15 (NLT)
– We need to be respectful and gentle with non-believers. (In reality, we need to treat everybody this way.) Why is it important that we care about how non-believers perceive Christians?

– I want to help you realize the importance of three things:

1. The way we’re perceived as Christians
2. What affect your life has on the non-Christian world (like wearing a WWJD wristband while cheating off your friend’s homework assignment)
3. The impact we can have by living intentionally in a way that brings others to Christ rather than repelling them.

Testimony: Nathan’s Story of Being Invited To Act

Last night at church, Nathan told me about a new ministry at church he’s been invited to participate in. He was invited by somebody who saw him doing a skit for the High School Ministry. The excitement in Nathan’s eyes showed how much this new venture meant to him. I asked him to write his story so I could post it here. The point is for this to be an example of the importance of an invitation to ministry.

Here’s a video of the skit Nathan mentions in his testimony. It was very well done and had a great impact on our service that week. Nathan’s testimony is below.

Hello my name is Nathan Ochoa. I am a senior at El Toro High school. Recently the church I attended (Saddleback Church) had a weekend in which the local high schools put on a weekend service, with almost every aspect of the service run by high school students.  When El Toro’s weekend came up being one of the known student leaders at my school and our high school ministry (HSM).  As a part of our student produced and run weekend, we wanted to put on the Lifehouse-Everything Skit and I took the lead role as Jesus.  After hours and hours of practice we preformed at all four of our weekend services, and 4people gave their lives to Christ after seeing the skit and relating to the girl with all of her struggles.  Little did I know after putting on this skit for HSM did the head director of the drama department saw the skit and contacted me about auditioning for a lead role in this ministry’s first every play.  I have little to no experience with acting. I was really hesitant about this opportunity. I went to my family and friends asking them for advice on whether to go with the audition and possibly embarrass myself or not respond to the email and go about life like it never happened.  After a couple of days and the audition date was fast approaching I decided to go ahead and run with this God given opportunity!
After the audition I was called back! Turns out I got not the lead role but a smaller role (a lot smaller) which has like 15lines or something, but that didn’t bother me at all.  Just getting a part in this play that I thought I wasn’t good enough to even try-out just showed me that this could of been something I would of missed if I didn’t give it all to God and run with this. I guess to close this please if you are unsure about a opportunity that comes up, to pray about it and run with it.  I would of missed this window that opened for me and I would not like for it to happen to someone else.

www.saddlebacktheatreconnection.com

Thank you for your time and God bless,
Nathan Ochoa

Fun With An Atheist

Update: To see the video of the interview I did with Alex, click here

Yesterday I wrote about my friend Alex, an Atheist, who is going to come to the high school Bible study I teach on Wednesday night. The most popular response I’ve seen to inviting Alex as an Atheist to help me with this Bible study is a cringe. It’s not because nobody wants an Atheist there. Rather, it’s because they’re afraid I’m being insensitive to Alex by bringing him in for that reason. Alex, however, is happy to do it.

I love his sense of humor as illustrated in our e-mail exchange below. We’ve struck up a great relationship. It’s not that I take his spiritual condition lightly. I just know he’s on his way to becoming a Christian. His days as an Atheist are numbered. I’ve told him this often. Because of his impending salvation, and his insistence that it’s not going to happen, we’ve been able to have a little humor over this in the context of an growing friendship.

I Love Encouragement (Even if it’s not directed toward me)

I was at a Catalyst ministry conference last Friday when I saw this 4Runner with a message on the back window. Even though it’s not my car, I was still encouraged by seeing a church caring for their youth pastor. Coincidentally, I happen to have a black 4Runner just like this one, that may have helped me feel the love.

Ask Alex The Atheist

This week my atheist friend is coming to the high school small group I teach. He’s not coming as a participant, but as the focus of the evening. Alex has agreed to come in to allow me to interview him about what he believes and why he believes it.

My goals for this week’s Bible study is to:
1. Expose students to the worldview of a non-Christian who’s not much older than they are
2. Help students understand the perspective of a person who doesn’t believe in God
3. Challenge the thinking of how students interact with the world of non-believers
4. Create a need for them to give a presentation of why they are Christians, complete with biblical references
5. Give Alex another dose of how good it is to be in a community of believers

I’m super excited for Wednesday. It can’t come quickly enough. Today I sent this e-mail to my students to help them prepare:

What Would You Ask An Atheist?

Ever wondered what an atheist is thinking? Kind of curious how a non-believer sees Christians? Do you think knowing how a non-Christian sees life might make you a more effective witness to friends who don’t know Christ?

Great news! This Wednesday at Ladera Ranch small groups you’ll be able to ask Alex the Atheist whatever you want. This will be an incredibly eye-opening week for your Christian faith. You’ll possibly rethink the way you look at and interact with the non-believing world.

Alex is a 21-year-old normal run-of-the-mill guy. He went to Tesoro High School just like many of you, just without knowing Christ. I’ve talked with Alex several times about his stance on spiritual matters. He’s open to your questions and is looking forward to having a great discussion.

DON’T MISS THIS SMALL GROUP THIS WEEK!!!! IT’S GOING TO BE AWESOME!!!!

See you there,

Dennis

This is going to be a great night… or a night when the high school staff starts looking for my replacement.

Happy Birthday on My Iphone? There’s an App For That!

Having a little fun with my iPhone. I love what this thing can do… even if some of it’s goofy.

Catalyst Bullets from Session 7 on Friday

Catalyst Bullets Friday Session 6: Andy Stanley/Rick Warren