How to Use Your Head to Guard Your Heart

This weekend we will be wrapping up a series on media in our middle school ministry. We played a popular music video then took time to engage in dialogue that took students behind the music for a deeper look at the messages being communicated both explicitly and implicitly. We have had some fantastic, lively interactions about pop culture and the biblical worldview.

A few years ago I picked up the How to Use Your Head to Guard Your Heart: A 3(D) Guide to Making Responsible Media Choices by Walt Mueller, founder of the Center for Parent and Youth Understanding. We have been using this resource to help steer our conversation, and it's amazing how engaged our students have been. 3(D) is a sweet little resource that will empower you to help your students in the high-speed, ever-changing world of media. The 3(D) approach stands for Discover, Discern, Decide, and is a practical tool that parents, youth workers, teachers, and other caring adults can use to engage students in discussion about media. Rather than just telling kids they can or cannot watch or listen to or play something, this tool encourages discussion about how to make wise choices in terms of what we should and shouldn't be embracing from the media. Only 12 pages long and small in size, it is a great little booklet to keep handy next to your computer or television. Dirt cheap at only about $1.50 each, youth pastors would do well to purchase them and give them to parents ... Perhaps as a little Christmas gift. (Hint! Hint!) Parents will get involved in their kids lives in a deeper way. What could be better than that?

Ordering Information: Use the 10% Off coupon on my blog to get a discount on this and other great resources from Simply Youth Ministry.