Thank you Greg for being such a great spiritual leader. I could have never done this without going to your conference. If you have any suggestions on how i can make my bible study grow please email me at bceichholz_99@hotmail.com

I have a question for you. I’ve been a youth pastor for many years and am 40 years old. Pastoring youth is all I want to do with my life – I really love it. My question is this – am I too old to be a youth pastor? Is it possible, at my age, for me to continue to relate to teenagers? Sometimes I think that they’d be better off with a guy half my age who can better relate to them. What will I do when I’m 50? 60? Yikes!

Right now, I have a thriving youth ministry and am still able to hold my own with the teens. But…am I fooling myself to think that this is the career path that God has for me until I retire? I serioulsy can’t think of doing anything else.

Also…I’m fairly isolated here in NH. Not many youth pastors with my vision for teens. Any way that I could come to the youth pastor meeting you attend once a year?
George gdjustdoit@netzero.net

Thank you, the D2s staff and team, Derwin, Zane, and all involved for Survive ‘08. It is awesome that you all walk side-by-side with us pastors as we minister to our students. I am experiencing the stories of my youth taking the Double Dare Challenge and getting pumped when they share the GOSPEL it is AWESOME! Thanks. If you all get close to Clinton, IA lunch is on me!

Blessings!

~Mary

“im in such a sad mood
i went to joes funeral last night
and it made me realize
he deserved anything but to die
he did nothing wrong for anyone
all he wanted was to put a smile on peoples face
and i treated him like crap
i feel like crap
no i feel 100 times worse
i cant believe i let myself that low
you know
i remember once in english
i was like
shelby does my face look funny
and she just gave me this look
and joe came in and was like no not at all
and wanna know what i freakin did?
i gave him a mean look like
i didnt ask you
im so horrable =[
im not even kidding
i've felt bad before but never like this
all i want to do is say sorry to him
he was always just being nice maybe alittle weird
but always nice
and what he got was
notes in his locker for christmas saying
"merry chrishmas jerk go buy your self a life and monoply money"
and people calling him names like homo joe
or when he talked being like
joe no one asked you
and wondering what was up with his hat or hes bandanas around his wrist and comming out of his pocket
and making fun of him when he wore tight pants
i remember once he was wearing those girls jeans
and shelby yelled nice jeans!
and all he did was turn around and say
i dont know who said that but thanks they're my favorite
and we all laughed
IM SUCH A FREAKING JERK
i really cant believe or stand myself right now
im lower then low right now
i mean god
once a week im sitting here talking about killing myself
and look at him
he put up with so much and yet he was always so freaking happy
wanna know something his mom said
a day or 2 before he died
some ppl were being mean to him
he came home telling his mom how he wanted to just die
[im crying all over my teddy]
i mean yes he did some stupid things
like buy fake drugs from marc and pretend to trip
http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=bCUIPCbjfzs
i keep listening to that song over and over
he really liked it
and they had everyone sing it at his funeral
joe was really religous too
my mom thinks his purpose was to show people to be nice to everyone
but why did god have to do it in such a mean way
i mean idk
i dont even believe in god
well i do but not like most people do
to me hes a thing that watchs over and is someone/something to talk to
but after hearing what his mom and cousin had to say
i think i wanna start going to church again
i just really wish i could wake up right now like this is some horrable dream”

So, I replied to her, and I had nothing to say, but this…

Jenn, don’t worry.
I know you must feel like shit.
I always talked bad about my Grandpa Lynn,
the one who died a few weeks ago.
I really didn’t like him.
He abused my dad,
My Aunt Melisa,
My Uncle Lynn,
My Uncle Brant,
My Uncle Jesse,
My Uncle Craig,
My Uncle Nick,
My Uncle Tom,
My Aunt Sandra,
My Uncle Jared.
He broke my Aunt Melisa’s arm through abuse.
My Uncle Craig, is mentally retarded,
because of abuse of my Grandpa Lynn.
My family was on drugs,
and they’re all alcoholics because of it.
Because of this, I hated my grandpa.
Hated him to death.
But when I found out he was gone,
all I could think of,
is how terrible I treated him.
Jenn, it’s not your fault.
He’s in a better place,
a way better place.
You know the kind of pain you’re feeling now?
Well guess what!?
The place that Joe is in now,
the place that my brother,
and my Grandpa’s are all in right now,
they’re is no pain Jenn.
Jesus Christ died on the cross,
for your sins,
for our sins.
Did you know, that before Jesus did this for us,
the second we sinned,
we would be sent to hell.
God, sent his son Jesus,
to die on the cross.
His very own son!
Don’t you think he felt pain?
I’m sure he did.
Way worse than any of us have felt.
Joe, is in heaven.
He feels no pain,
and he doesn’t care what you said.
He remembers you,
he knows your name.
He’ll never forget you,
or anyone else that ever talked to him.
But he feels no pain,
so obviously he doesn’t care.

Jenn, when I went to Dare to Share,
the confrence for church,
we were dared,
to tell at least one person about Jesus,
in a 48 hour period.
Someone who wasn’t Christian.
The speaker, Greg Stier said these exact words…
“If you don’t tell someone about Jesus Christ within the next 48 hours, chances are, you never will.”
But I am Jenn.
I’m going to right now.
Who cares if it’s over the freaking computer.
Right now is when it’s happening.

Read this closley,
and think hard.
I got this book at Dare 2 Share.
It teaches your how to spread Christ,
to different religions.
You Jenn, are called a Typical.
I don’t like labels,
but that’s what they call you in this book.
If you believe you can get to heaven,
by good deeds,
or being nice.
If you believe god just watches over you,
but doesn’t care, you’re called a “Typical.”
My book is talking about a girl named Tara,
who is a Typical like you.
The guy who wrote the book,
Greg Steir,
is telling about how he showed Christ to get.
This is exactly what it says…

“I met Tara at the mall. She was there with a friend and I just felt compelled to share Christ with her. When I asker her whether or not she was going to heaven or not she was going to heaven when she died, she said that she hoped so, but didn’t know for sure. I asked her if I could share with her how she could know for sure from the Bible. She said yes. Her friend listened along intently.
Over the next few minutes I shared the gospel story with Tara. She had always believed in some kind of god, but thought that if you were generally a good person (no matter which God you believed in) you would make it to heaven someday.
When she heard the gospel, that Jesus was not a a way to get to heaven, but the way, the truth, and the life, she put her faith and trust in Christ right there in the shopping mall. She then looked at her friend with a knowing smile. She said, “I told you so.” Wondering what they were talking about, I asked her what was going on. She shared with me that they had been at the mall earlier in the day and had left to go back to her house. Once there, Tara shared that something was telling her to go back to the mall. At first her friend thought she was weird, but Tara finally convinced her that something was going to happen there. That something was our conversation, and Tara knew it.
This all shows that God is working on the hearts of the Taras out there who believe what the typical person believes. God is preparing the way for your conversation with them whether they be a stranger in the mall, or a friend at your school.”

Basic Description
Tara the Typical is that–A typical combination of massive media expousure, dysfunctional family dynamics, and a basic belief that there is no one way to believe when it comes to God and spirituality. Tara is 17 years old, comes from a broken family, and believed that the vast majority of people go to heaven because most people are basically good. If there is ah ell, only really bad people like Adolph Hitler and other mass murderers go there.
Tara also felt that there are many ways to god because no one religion has the absolute truth. The bottom line is that while tara considered herself “spiritual,” by no means would she have said she was “religious.” Basically, the Bible and church were irrelevant to Tara because they played no significant role in helping her meet her goals of finding significant relationships and making significant money. For Tara, God was like a cosmic Santa Claus, there to answer our prayers when we need him.

Commone Misconceptions
•Tara only cares about herself.
•Tara doesn’t care about spiritual things.
•Tara would never set foot in a church building. (Studies show that mos of the typicals out there would only go if they were invited by a friend!).

Three Fascinating Facts
•The typical teenager spends about 7-10 hours per week on the Internet – primarily on myspace. com, instant messaging, playing games, and/or shopping.
•They see two or three movies a week – either on DVD or in the theaters.
•They are a part of the largest generation in American history.

Thigns We Probably Agree On
•Typical teens believe in a God/supreme being.
•Typical teens believe in an afterlife with a heaven and possibly a hell.
•Typical teens believe in an eternal soul.

THings We Probably Disagree On
•Typical teens do not believe in absolute truth, whereas the Bible claims to be the inspired Word of God and therefore absolute truth (2 Timothy 3:16)
•Typical teens believe in an impersoal karma (i.e., what goes around comes around – both good and bad), where as the Bible claims that there is a living, personal God who is all-poweful and untimately decides what goes around and comes around (Revelation 19:6).
•Typical teens do not believe that Jesus is the only way to heaven, whereas Jesus claims to be just that. (John 14:6)

Interesting Quotes
• ‘I think being a teenager is a time in your life when you gravitate toward a somewhat dark realism, and you want people to stop talking to you as if you were a child. You want people to give it to you straight.” – Rock artist Morrissey.
• “Music is the soundtrack of a person’s life – it’s the sound track of my life.” – Pop singer Shakira.
• “At this point I’ve found a really spiritual path, and that’s helped me a great amount. I used to live in fear of death – fear just overwhelmed my life. Today, there’s a lot of hope for tomorrow in me.” – Max Bemis, leader of emo band Say Anything.

Jenn, at this point, I’ll do anything to make sure that you go to heaven. You’re the best friend that I’ve ever had. I know I’ve never met you in person, and I don’t care. We can have the most amazing convorsations, by talking over the phone, or myspace, it doesn’t matter. All because of Corey accidently adding my friend, then me, then telling you to add me on myspace because he thought I was a girl who looked like Gerard way, then you talking to me, than us becoming amazing friends. Jenn, this all happened for a reason, and I believe the reason is here. So I can meet you someday, weather it’s while we’re still here on earth, or weather it’s here on heaven. Don’t feel bad about Joe any more. I know he was a great kid. I can tell just by the way you talk about him Jenn. But if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be typing this right now. Now, I’m going to try my hardest to explain the gospel to you.

God created us to be with him.
Our sins separated us from God.
Sins cannot be removed by good deeds>
Paying the prise for sin, Jesus died and rose again.
Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life.
Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever.

Every word of that’s true. Don’t believe me? Read the bible. I personally have never read the bible, but I will, trust me. You know, when I got back from Dare 2 Share, I messaged you telling you that it changed my life. These people standing in front of me, explained the gospel in a way that I actually understood it. It really did change my life Jenn. I’m going to heaven. All you have to do to make your way into heaven, is to ask Jesus to be your personal saviour. You probably don’t pray that much, do you? That’s okay Jenn, you don’t have to pray on a regular basis to become Christian. All you have to do, is tell Jesus, yourself, through one prayer. Even if it’s the last prayer that you say, throughout your whole life. Just let Jesus know that you thank him for what he has done for your. You thank him for dying on the cross for your sins. Just ask him through one, simple, short prayer, to stay with you forever. Accept him into your heart, and you have your free ticket to heaven.

I’ve known you for almost a year now Jenn, and I’ve never really talked much about religion. I never usually do, ever. I just hope that I got it to you, that all you have to do is be a Christian. You don’t have to go to church! I mean, I barely ever go to Church! You don’t have to have a Christian background. Your parents dont have to be Christian. You don’t have to pray on a regular basis. Just this once Jenn, and you’ll be free. No matter what mistakes you make. No sin is higher than another. I could slip a cuss word, and I could murder someone. Life isn’t what it seems. There isn’t a difference. I’d still go to heaven, because I know that Jesus is in my heart, through everything.

Greg Stier…You change lives. You save lives.
You’ve saved mine.
I’ve saved Jenns’.
All because of you.

My email is tatercuttinham@yahoo.com
I really hope you have a chance to read this.
If you do…please email me, right away.
I have some things I want to talk about…

xoxoxo,
Taylor Cunningham