Tuesday, 06 October 2009
-
When Motivational Speaking and Ministry Collide
During my high school years, I was subjected to many motivational assemblies. My favorite one, which we had maybe twice a year, was a three-screen video presentation that, although it didn't appear to be Christian in theme, generally featured Christian rock music and even talked about the members of these bands as being good role models. These assemblies differed in presentation styles but had common messages, most of which were to “stay in school,” “don't do drugs,” and “be a positive role model.” It never occurred to me that maybe these presentations crossed some sort of ethical boundary that suggested Christian-based motivational presentations should leave the Christ part out, but one Christian ministry is being told just that. The group calls itself You Can Run But You Cannot Hide (YCRBYCH) International. Based out of Minnesota, the Christian-run motivational group has put on assemblies discussing youth-oriented issues in more than 300 schools nationwide. The topics discussed in their assemblies range from drugs and alcohol to sex and even good manners, subjects which any motivational presentation would likely discuss regardless of its religious affiliation. Yet it is the Christian undertones of their message that has gotten the "punk" organization into some pretty hot water. As they gear up for a huge fundraiser this November, those who feel lied to by the group because of their association with Christianity are being more vocal in their dissatisfaction.
A recent article published on the Twin Cities Daily Planet website lists several school administrators who felt the promotional material sent by the group in preparation for the presentation did not adequately represent the organization as a Christian ministry nor did it detail properly the content of the messages they would address to the students:
In 2003, the group came to a Benton, Wis., high school. “They had a captive audience for their message, and that wasn’t right,” Benton Principal Gary Neis told the Dubuque Telegraph Herald. He was reportedly so upset that the ministry strayed from its anti-drug message that he held another assembly to apologize to the students.
“They talked about influencing and brainwashing people. Be wise to the fact that is what they were doing. They were using the same tactics,” Neis told the students at the assembly. Neis said he contacted other schools in the area and found that they had no idea that YCRBYCH was a Christian ministry.
The article also mentions another incident when several students were emotionally distraught after “the group showed graphic images of abortion and told the students that God wanted women to be subservient to men.”
These and all the other schools YCRBYCH attends do receive information pertaining to the assembly and its content before the group arrives. This handout (PDF) describes the group's purpose, which contains no references to God or ministry, as well as a run-down of what can be expected out of a YCRBYCH-led motivational presentation.
Despite the negative experiences some schools have claimed, the YCRBYCH website contains a massive list of references from school administrators, raving that the group was exactly what their schools needed. “There was some controversy in a couple of communities near us as well as some negative press in a couple of newspapers,” wrote one Iowa principal. “However, we did not receive anything like that in Creston. The program is one which I was satisfied with in that it accomplished what I had hoped it would. It approached tough issues that made kids think about their own value systems.”
The below promotional video makes no attempt to hide their Christian stance:
You Can Run But You Cannot Hide appears to have good intentions in their quest to reach high school and elementary school youth with positive messages, but the negative experiences of some administrators suggests that maybe the group has some improving to do.
Do you think that Christian-run motivational presentations should be allowed in public schools, so long as they leave the Christ part out? Is it too risky for public schools to allow a Christian group to run an assembly?
-
recommend
- recs 0
-
share
-
email
- sent 0
Related Posts
Post a Comment
- Back to revelife's Revelife Site!
- Note: your comment will appear in revelife's local time zone: GMT -05:00 (Eastern Standard - US, Canada)
About the Author
-
- From: modernmelody
- Name: Rebecca
- About Me: I'm an ordinary girl with a song to sing -- my modern melody.
-
True 
Premium
Stats: This Week All Time Posts: 1 48 Views: 276 28029 Comments: 26 784 View all posts by modernmelody
Comments (3)
I didn't watch the vid because I don't have my speakers hooked up at the moment but I comment on this...
"...and told the students that God wanted women to be subservient to men."I'm a man and in a way it would be great for me. I mean wouldn't it be great if every time my wife did or said something of which I didn't approve I could simply tie her up and whip her? That would shut her up but even from my vantage point as a male that is simply disgusting and no better than Sharia law. I wouldn't be surprised if this organization was against the President of the United States speaking to our kids about staying in school. The fact that they try to hide their true intention speaks volumes.
Imagine being a girl in that auditorium listening to that "motivational" speech. Worse, imagine a boy taking that mentality seriously, eventually beating his girlfriend because she's insulted him too much by not acting as a subservient as he was told she should by grownups. Next thing he knows he's someone's cute little subservient girl...in prison. Don't we have enough of that in our society without inviting these morons to speak to our children?
If this organization is hiding their Christian based message they obviously have organizational problems/flaws. Christian based youth motivational speaking belongs in churches or christian schools not public schools. They may be about trying to draw a wide base of possible financial supporters/clients. Then it is all abou the money not the message.
As far as the "subsurviant" message- an adult representative from that hosting orgnization should have asked for immediate clarity and then decided if the speaker should continue based on their answer.This is such a dangerous message for young women to hear and stay in possible abusive relationships- shame on them.Subsurvience in the Bible relates to marraige not female - male relationships of the young.
I don't think there's anything wrong with a Christian group relaying a positive, motivational message to students in public schools so long as they (1) make the schools aware of the fact that they are a Christian group and (2) keep preaching and religious messages out of the presentation itself. If students wish to ask the group questions about faith outside of the presentation, I think that would be a much better time to evangelize than to risk being sued by ministering to a captive audience under false pretenses.
As to the "subservient" quote, I've looked into the organization some, and as far as I can tell, that one school is the only one in which the claim that the group told girls to be subservient to boys was made, one school out of three hundred. However, one school is too many when it comes to a message that extreme.