I must admit, I used to watch "The Hills", a staple of MTVand a channel frequented by teens and young adults alike. There are two reasons I enjoyed "The Hills", one being Lauren Conrad, the girl next door who lived out the golden rule on a daily basis and my guilty pleasure.....Spencer Pratt. He comes across as one of the most arrogant and cocky people I have ever witnessed come out of the entertainment industry. On "The Hills" he was the master manipulator, convincing his then girlfiend and now wife, to move out of her apartment with Lauren and into a home he bought for them. This is only one of many feats that he accomplished through out the shows numerous seasons. I "had" to watch to see what slimy trick this guy would pull next. So when I saw that Spencer and Heidi were two of the contestants on "I'm A Celebrity: Get me out of here", I once again "had" to watch! The contestants play boys vs girls, playing for the charity of their choice and racking up money for each day they stay out in the jungle. The show is a mix of Survivor and Fear Factor with the viewers deciding who goes home each week.
Faith in Jesus Christ and baptism are brought up by one of the other contestants, Stephen Baldwin, a now born-again Christian who offers to baptize Spencer in a nearby river. The scenario actually reminds me of the story of Peter and the Eunuch from the bible. Heidi believed it to be a great idea and urges Spencer to take Stephen up on his offer. This article isn't about whther or not Spencer has truly accepted Christ as his Savior or anything like that. I am writing because of the manner in which he behaved concerning his baptism. Right after he and Heidi announce for the umpteenth time, that they just aren't cut out for this show and are heading home, Spencer tells Stephen that he wants to be baptized before their departure. Spencer and Heidi had just prior to this, competed against each other in a food competition for their respective teams. The competition was a very nasty one, so nasty that Spencer came out covered in eel goo, mud, and only God knows what else. So naturally, when Spencer wanted to be immediately baptized after this competiton, Stephen told him to go shower off and then they would proceed. Instantly I agrees with Stephen, thinking "here you are about to participate in an outward confession of your faith and you want to do it with sludge all over you!" However, when I heard Spencer reply I immediately thought to myself, "Wow, you are so right dude". Basically Spencer said that he wanted his current state of vileness and subsequent "washing clean" that the baptism was representative of, to make an even more powerful statement than it otherwise would have. Now while Spencer's intentions may not have been so spiritual or reverent of our Lord and Savior, his point was still a powerful reminder of just how disgusting I was before accepting Christ into my own life and how perfectly clean He made me when i trusted my life unto Him.
Whether Spencer has truly accepted Christ or not isn't up to ou and me to debate. What we should be doing is praying that God invade every dark corner of his life and make him a success story that will be seen through out Hollywood. Now to where my concerns lies......Spencer seemed very lackadaisical and unmoved by "his relationship with Christ". It was almost as if it were a joke or that he wasn't taking it all that seriously. I wish that Stephen had taken Spencer aside and did a bit of digging to see where exactly he stood in reference to his relationship with Christ. I believe that before someone is baptized, certain questions are to be asked, such as, "Was there a specific moment in time where you asked Christ to forgive you of your sins and gave your life Him?". Once you feel that they haven't been misguided, they believe the foundations of Christianity, etc., then you move to baptism. Maybe Stephen did ask these questions and they were simply edited out. I am basing my opinions on what they aired.
I do not believe that one need be an "ordained minister", as Janice Dickenson voiced, to baptize someone. Spencer may have kept putting it off and putting it off if Stephen hadn't offered to perform the baptism, we don't know. If you haven't seen the show, catch it on http://www.hulu.com/ or another site and see what you think. I leave you with this question to ponder: What kind of world do we live in when someone being baptized on cable television is out of the norm?
Saturday, June 6, 2009
I must admit, I used to watch "The Hills", a staple of MTVand a channel frequented by teens and young adults alike. There are two reasons I enjoyed "The Hills", one being Lauren Conrad, the girl next door who lived out the golden rule on a daily basis and my guilty pleasure.....Spencer Pratt. He comes across as one of the most arrogant and cocky people I have ever witnessed come out of the entertainment industry. On "The Hills" he was the master manipulator, convincing his then girlfiend and now wife, to move out of her apartment with Lauren and into a home he bought for them. This is only one of many feats that he accomplished through out the shows numerous seasons. I "had" to watch to see what slimy trick this guy would pull next. So when I saw that Spencer and Heidi were two of the contestants on "I'm A Celebrity: Get me out of here", I once again "had" to watch! The contestants play boys vs girls, playing for the charity of their choice and racking up money for each day they stay out in the jungle. The show is a mix of Survivor and Fear Factor with the viewers deciding who goes home each week.
Faith in Jesus Christ and baptism are brought up by one of the other contestants, Stephen Baldwin, a now born-again Christian who offers to baptize Spencer in a nearby river. The scenario actually reminds me of the story of Peter and the Eunuch from the bible. Heidi believed it to be a great idea and urges Spencer to take Stephen up on his offer. This article isn't about whther or not Spencer has truly accepted Christ as his Savior or anything like that. I am writing because of the manner in which he behaved concerning his baptism. Right after he and Heidi announce for the umpteenth time, that they just aren't cut out for this show and are heading home, Spencer tells Stephen that he wants to be baptized before their departure. Spencer and Heidi had just prior to this, competed against each other in a food competition for their respective teams. The competition was a very nasty one, so nasty that Spencer came out covered in eel goo, mud, and only God knows what else. So naturally, when Spencer wanted to be immediately baptized after this competiton, Stephen told him to go shower off and then they would proceed. Instantly I agrees with Stephen, thinking "here you are about to participate in an outward confession of your faith and you want to do it with sludge all over you!" However, when I heard Spencer reply I immediately thought to myself, "Wow, you are so right dude". Basically Spencer said that he wanted his current state of vileness and subsequent "washing clean" that the baptism was representative of, to make an even more powerful statement than it otherwise would have. Now while Spencer's intentions may not have been so spiritual or reverent of our Lord and Savior, his point was still a powerful reminder of just how disgusting I was before accepting Christ into my own life and how perfectly clean He made me when i trusted my life unto Him.
Whether Spencer has truly accepted Christ or not isn't up to ou and me to debate. What we should be doing is praying that God invade every dark corner of his life and make him a success story that will be seen through out Hollywood. Now to where my concerns lies......Spencer seemed very lackadaisical and unmoved by "his relationship with Christ". It was almost as if it were a joke or that he wasn't taking it all that seriously. I wish that Stephen had taken Spencer aside and did a bit of digging to see where exactly he stood in reference to his relationship with Christ. I believe that before someone is baptized, certain questions are to be asked, such as, "Was there a specific moment in time where you asked Christ to forgive you of your sins and gave your life Him?". Once you feel that they haven't been misguided, they believe the foundations of Christianity, etc., then you move to baptism. Maybe Stephen did ask these questions and they were simply edited out. I am basing my opinions on what they aired.
I do not believe that one need be an "ordained minister", as Janice Dickenson voiced, to baptize someone. Spencer may have kept putting it off and putting it off if Stephen hadn't offered to perform the baptism, we don't know. If you haven't seen the show, catch it on www.hulu.com or another site and see what you think. I leave you with this question to ponder: What kind of world do we live in when someone being baptized on cable television is out of the norm?
Faith in Jesus Christ and baptism are brought up by one of the other contestants, Stephen Baldwin, a now born-again Christian who offers to baptize Spencer in a nearby river. The scenario actually reminds me of the story of Peter and the Eunuch from the bible. Heidi believed it to be a great idea and urges Spencer to take Stephen up on his offer. This article isn't about whther or not Spencer has truly accepted Christ as his Savior or anything like that. I am writing because of the manner in which he behaved concerning his baptism. Right after he and Heidi announce for the umpteenth time, that they just aren't cut out for this show and are heading home, Spencer tells Stephen that he wants to be baptized before their departure. Spencer and Heidi had just prior to this, competed against each other in a food competition for their respective teams. The competition was a very nasty one, so nasty that Spencer came out covered in eel goo, mud, and only God knows what else. So naturally, when Spencer wanted to be immediately baptized after this competiton, Stephen told him to go shower off and then they would proceed. Instantly I agrees with Stephen, thinking "here you are about to participate in an outward confession of your faith and you want to do it with sludge all over you!" However, when I heard Spencer reply I immediately thought to myself, "Wow, you are so right dude". Basically Spencer said that he wanted his current state of vileness and subsequent "washing clean" that the baptism was representative of, to make an even more powerful statement than it otherwise would have. Now while Spencer's intentions may not have been so spiritual or reverent of our Lord and Savior, his point was still a powerful reminder of just how disgusting I was before accepting Christ into my own life and how perfectly clean He made me when i trusted my life unto Him.
Whether Spencer has truly accepted Christ or not isn't up to ou and me to debate. What we should be doing is praying that God invade every dark corner of his life and make him a success story that will be seen through out Hollywood. Now to where my concerns lies......Spencer seemed very lackadaisical and unmoved by "his relationship with Christ". It was almost as if it were a joke or that he wasn't taking it all that seriously. I wish that Stephen had taken Spencer aside and did a bit of digging to see where exactly he stood in reference to his relationship with Christ. I believe that before someone is baptized, certain questions are to be asked, such as, "Was there a specific moment in time where you asked Christ to forgive you of your sins and gave your life Him?". Once you feel that they haven't been misguided, they believe the foundations of Christianity, etc., then you move to baptism. Maybe Stephen did ask these questions and they were simply edited out. I am basing my opinions on what they aired.
I do not believe that one need be an "ordained minister", as Janice Dickenson voiced, to baptize someone. Spencer may have kept putting it off and putting it off if Stephen hadn't offered to perform the baptism, we don't know. If you haven't seen the show, catch it on www.hulu.com or another site and see what you think. I leave you with this question to ponder: What kind of world do we live in when someone being baptized on cable television is out of the norm?
Night of "Fun" Turns Into Night of Terror
Watching Headline News after work two days ago, I heard about a 20-yr. old young man, John Hock, who violated a young woman as she lay passed out in a bed. The story doesn't end there though. The young man, who hosts his own Internet show, had the audacity to record himself in the act and then upload it to the same website he uses to stream his show. The young woman had no idea that anything had happened when she awoke the next morning. That is, until one of her friends who had seen the video on www.stickam.com, told her. I was instantly astonished with what I was hearing. I can't imagine what this young lady must be going through with all the various aspects of her story.
How dumb of a criminal do you have to be to not only record yourself committing a crime, but to post it on the Internet for the entire world to see! The young woman called police and let them know what she thought had happened. The police secured the video and called John to come to the station for questioning. He did as asked, but not before cleaning himself up in order to appear like the good ole All-American boy. His appearance was so drastic when he came in to the station from that in the photos on his website, police had to take a good look at him to make sure the right guys was sitting in front of them.
This type of incident is what fuels my desire to get the reality of the dangers of the Internet, drinking, and choosing the right friends, across to the teens in the youth group I teach. I remember what the mentality of the average teen is....."It's not going to happen to me". At that age we believe that we have concocted the most brilliant methods to walk away unscathed from whatever we are into. This incident should push parents to keep a close eye on what their teen is doing, who their friends are, and so forth. One of the best tactics that I have heard of when it comes to teen Internet safety, is putting the compute in the room where the parents will be the majority of the time, which is typically the living room or den. Teens see this checking up on them as an invasion of their privacy but they will eventually get over it when they see you aren't going to budge on the issue. So long as they are living under your roof and you are supporting them financially, it's your rules or nothing. You can't give them the option of anything else. You must take the time to talk with them about why you are making these changes when it comes to the Internet or whatever it is your dealing with at the time. They will act as though it is going to kill them to listen to another word you say, but again....too bad, your house your rules. This isn't a fool proof plan by any means. It is however, a great method to lessen the chances that your teen becomes the young woman or young man from the story above.
As a parent, you can't take the attitude of, "Not my child. They would never do that.". This is a sure fire way for them to prove you wrong. The key is to do it in a loving manner, all the time showing your teens that you will trust them to a certain extinct but you will also take the preventative measures that you see fit. I promise that your teens will one day thank you and isn't that worth all the struggle?
How dumb of a criminal do you have to be to not only record yourself committing a crime, but to post it on the Internet for the entire world to see! The young woman called police and let them know what she thought had happened. The police secured the video and called John to come to the station for questioning. He did as asked, but not before cleaning himself up in order to appear like the good ole All-American boy. His appearance was so drastic when he came in to the station from that in the photos on his website, police had to take a good look at him to make sure the right guys was sitting in front of them.
This type of incident is what fuels my desire to get the reality of the dangers of the Internet, drinking, and choosing the right friends, across to the teens in the youth group I teach. I remember what the mentality of the average teen is....."It's not going to happen to me". At that age we believe that we have concocted the most brilliant methods to walk away unscathed from whatever we are into. This incident should push parents to keep a close eye on what their teen is doing, who their friends are, and so forth. One of the best tactics that I have heard of when it comes to teen Internet safety, is putting the compute in the room where the parents will be the majority of the time, which is typically the living room or den. Teens see this checking up on them as an invasion of their privacy but they will eventually get over it when they see you aren't going to budge on the issue. So long as they are living under your roof and you are supporting them financially, it's your rules or nothing. You can't give them the option of anything else. You must take the time to talk with them about why you are making these changes when it comes to the Internet or whatever it is your dealing with at the time. They will act as though it is going to kill them to listen to another word you say, but again....too bad, your house your rules. This isn't a fool proof plan by any means. It is however, a great method to lessen the chances that your teen becomes the young woman or young man from the story above.
As a parent, you can't take the attitude of, "Not my child. They would never do that.". This is a sure fire way for them to prove you wrong. The key is to do it in a loving manner, all the time showing your teens that you will trust them to a certain extinct but you will also take the preventative measures that you see fit. I promise that your teens will one day thank you and isn't that worth all the struggle?
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