I am a meteorologist and a former youth leader at church…I have a lot to say on both subjects…and then some
What are we teaching our kids?
I stumbled upon this blog, after I friended this person on Facebook. I was puzzled at first, thinking don’t I know this person? The writing style seems oddly familiar. Oh yeah, it’s my dad. He actually started a couple of new blogs recently. This one is his recollection of stories that start when he was a junior in high school. This post was really cool, as he tells how he and Mom met.
The summer of 1961 and how “we” met. « The secret thoughts of a country kid.
Earlier tonight, my wife began posting some videos of our daughter in a school play. In fact, I wanted to create a post of the play list to show here as well. However, someone from the school saw them and asked her if she would take them down so the school doesn’t get into trouble with the Rogers and Hammerstein Organization who licenses the performances. My wife had gone to bed, and since they were on her Facebook account, I couldn’t take them down. However, I thought this would fall under fair use for what we had done? Don’t get me wrong, the school is afraid of being sued and I don’t want to impinge on somebody’s copyright, but can’t I take the excerpts of my daughter and put them somewhere so that my parents can see them (In fact, all I shot were the scenes that she was in, and pretty much only her.)?
I did some digging and Center for Social Media has put together a Code of Best Practices for fair use. The one I think that fits this situation is this:
4.Reproducing, reposting or quoting in order to memorialize, preserve, or rescue an experience, an event, or a cultural phenomenon
Isn’t that what any parent would be doing if their child were in a play and you are just trying to get their scenes? Is this appropriate for fair use? I need some help with this. Anyone have an answer?
Adam McLane over at Youth Specialities posed a question about a “youth ministry gap.” That is a gap between the youth ministry that is run by a paid staffer vs. the volunteer, and the differences between the two. He asks a good question about how do we bridge the gap. I left my two cents in the comments, but it boils down to linking the two leaders so that they help each other, so that they body of Christ comes together for the good of the upcoming generation.
Okay, maybe dread is a little strong, but the way we celebrate Christmas in the U. S. to me is just wrong. What I mean is this, the church fights about the wrong stuff with this “War on Christmas,” stuff, instead of the problem that is more insidious. Consumerism.
Henry Neufeld, a United Methodist blogger, makes the point that I have been feeling for a long time.
While we’re worried about losing the external trappings of Christmas, such as public trees and manger displays, the real war on Christmas is practically won already. Christmas has almost nothing at all to do with Jesus. This has been my opinion for many years. Christmas as celebrated in America, even in most of our churches, is about us and our economic prosperity, not about Jesus and his good news.
This is something that needs to be taken out of the church. It is hard to extract, but I think that if we extract this consumeristic view of Christmas, we may just get a revival in this land. I think that some of this is happening. It will be a slow process.
Read his whole post.
