"Kick A#@" is in your youth group

So I finally watched the movie "Kick Ass". Can I say a*# on this blog? Anyway, there was much about the movie I didn't like (it's "r" rating is legitimate) the language was rough and there were some sexual situations that were over the top but beyond that I actually loved the story.

Dave Lizewski is lot like students in our youth groups. He's not extraordinary, in fact he's a little geeky. He's not the kind of student we would typically be drawn too and he definitely doesn't fit the old school, lame strategy of reaching the "popular" student and the rest will follow. But Dave longs for greatness. There's something inside him that wants to do and be more than he is, he wants to be a super hero.

"we see someone in trouble and we wish we could help, but we don't"

Dave Lizewski

A lot of our students feel the same way. They see devastation in Haiti and they want to help. They see friends at school who are rejected and something in them wants to help. The world is broken and they long to be a part of fixing it.

The story really gets going when Dave asks the question, "how come nobody's ever tried to be a super hero?". After being ridiculed by his friends for asking the question he follows through by ordering a ridiculous looking spandex super hero costume. For some reason not only does Dave have the desire to be more, he has the ability to do something about it.

To find out what happens next you'll have to actually watch the movie.

So here's the question.

When's the last time you sat down with a student and shared with them the potential you see in them? Not just the obvious kids who can play the guitar, light up a room with their personality or pray in front of others, but the ones that are kind of out of sight. We can see potential in students they can't see themselves.

God has uniquely wired and gifted students in our youth groups. He has given them "superhuman powers" to accomplish his work and build his Kingdom. Each of our students has a super hero inside of them that needs to be unleashed on the world.

As leaders of students we must help them...

* Discover their gifts

* Develop their gifts

* Utilize their gifts

They already have the desire, we need to coach them in following through on what God has already placed inside them.

Yes, "Kick Ass" is in your youth group, maybe you just don't know it yet. And here's a suggestion, maybe ask him to change his / her name?