Click. Rejection. 10-10-07
Hey gang, this is John.
I feel a bit unprepared. Usually I am well versed in the topics covered at Elevate. However, I have had to collect stories from people like John Eppel, Chris Moore, and Paddy Carroll about this week’s topic – rejection. Okay, I’m just kidding. All of us have experienced rejection at some point in our lives – and if you’re like me, it was extremely tough and discouraging.
I think this topic is all the more important when talking to students at Elevate because of their age and place in life. When I think about my own life, and a time when I was most likely the worst version of myself, it was middle school. Everyone is trying to etch out his or her identity, and typically for us dudes that means being the tough, funny, cool guy -which is usually done at the expense of others. I know this definitely goes on in high school, but middle school is such a formative and fragile time for these kids. We will talk much more about this during my message and in our small groups.
What we will be talking about the most next week is the undeniable worth of every human being. That as children of God we are royalty, and should treat each other as such. Paul touched on this at the end of his message last week, and we are really going to drive it home again when talking about rejection. For those of you who were around last year you know this is something I am very passionate about!
I know this won’t be a pleasant stroll down memory lane but nonetheless begin thinking of times when you were rejected. Be prepared to share those with your group. How that made you feel, etc…Be open and vulnerable. Again, we all have these stories and the more open you are the more open your group will be.
Be for each other.
1. Share a time when you were rejected. How did that make you feel?
2. Share a time when you rejected another person. Why did you do it? How did that make them feel? How did you feel about it after?
Look beyond ourselves
1. Why do we reject people?
2. What kinds of people usually get rejected?
3. What are the consequences of being rejected and rejecting others?
Follow Jesus
1. As Paul talked about Jesus was the ultimate “accepter” of people. Why do you think that is? If you think about it, he is the only person to walk the earth who actually was “better” than everyone else, yet he took the role of a servant and loved the people that society rejected.
2. Why is it so hard to accept people sometimes? Really, what do we have to loose?
3. How can we become more like Jesus in how we treat others?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
16 comments:
This is really good. The fact is, rejection is a part of life. It cannot be escaped. At some point, we are all rejected. Rejection comes in many forms, whether it be rejection from the opposite sex, or from a sports team. Its great to discuss this, as rejection is a large part of these young kids lives, and our own lives. They need to be taught the ways to deal with such rejection, and to remain strong in Christ during these times, because we do know one thing, and that is that God will not reject you.
I really like the topic for this week! Rejection is extremely tough, especially in middle schoool. Middles school cliques can be harsh. Many of these kids have just started middle school and all the cliques and groups are a big change from elementary school. I'm glad that we are going to talk about this! Even us in high school experience rejection. If we are open with our kids and let them know that they are not alone hopefully they will be more open to us. It's a great lesson for not only the 6th and 7th graders but for us as well!
-Madeline
Rejection is something that comes up every year for everybody. People in middle school especially have expirienced this a lot because they are looking to find out who they are. It is good to talk about this with the church because it wil be easier for kids to reaize that this happens to everybody and teach them not to do it to others.
-Tommy T
I think it's cool that this week's topic is the opposite of last week's topic. I agree with Graves (see above). It seems to me that people deal with rejection more than with acceptance, and it's good that we're discussing it.
hey,
I love this topic of rejecton because really it is something that everyone experiances and it can be hard to admitt it happened to you some times. so this will really help some of the girls feel more comfortable in small group and understand, well... life.
Cauble
The topic of rejection seems to fit in perfect after last weeks talk on cliques because cliques are based on rejection (rejecting others to form your own group). I thought last weeks story on Rusty really impacted the kids and if there is another talk similar to that one but on rejection I think the whole picture would be that much clearer to the kids.
-Chris Moore
Last week's talk about cliques and how the other kids treated Rusty really hit home for a couple girls in my small group, whether it be because they were rejecting others or because they were the one being rejected. This topic really defines middle school life, because rejection is such a big part of what you have to go through. I felt like last week's story really sparked the girls in my group to dig deep into themselves and I felt for the first time that they truly opened up in small group and showed their vulnerability. I hope that this week's lesson will do the same, and that they will continue to get a lot out of the stories and small group discussions that will help them throughout middle school, and highschool as well!
-Holly M.
I really like this topic. Like Graves said rejection is a part of life. The trick is responding to the rejection. How a person responds to rejection shows character. If someone is rejected from a sports team a great way to respond is by working harder to make the next team. But during all times of rejection turning to God is the best answer. Letting the kids know that God will help them through this time is a big deal. This topic should also get the kids talking and set all the groups up for a good week.
I absolutely love the questions for this week. I feel that it will get my group going off of last weeks lesson. I agree with others in saying that everyone has been rejected before whether it is a big deal or not. Being rejected can make a small or big difference in your life. I hope that after we go through this lesson that my girls will be able to realize what it truly feels like to be rejected and how easy it is to reject someone. I want to make sure that they do not reject others like some people have been rejected before.
I agree with what a lot of people had said. Holly M. made some great points that I really like (look somewhere above). Hope everyone has a good group!!
this week will be good because i remember last year when we had this same talk about being "royalty" as children of God, and it really sank into the hearts of the girls in my group in kind of jsut realizing how hurtful that is to others. im also hoping the girls will share when they themselves have been hurt by rejection so that we can undersatnd this topic a little more. i also hink talking more about how jesus lived and never rejected, going off of last week, will help the girls see how they can stay stronger in their faith through trying to live more like Him.
Great talk last week Paul. You deserve credit for using a story that dealt with the issue directly and in a way that the kids could definitely understand. I sat in on Chris Moore's group and they were impacted and discussed it directly. (Chris, nice job, by the way, asking them to state what they will try to do differently this past week.)
As I read John's thoughts for this week, I was reminded of Peter denying Jesus three times after he was arrested. The man who never rejected any one, being rejected by one of his closest friends, in his greatest time of need.
I can see so much of Peter in me and my actions, and it saddens me......
Rejection is something everyone faces in their life at some point or another. I very much agree with graves and his view on rejection. So many times are we rejected and felt dragged down by people putting us down and making us feel bad about ourself that it just becomes some sort of habbit. I feel that the reason most people reject others is to make themselves feel better. In a sick way, by making others feel terrible about themselves people try to make themselves feel and look better. I love the interpretation that if you reject another person, you're rejecting Christ. Christ is so forgiving and welcoming to all people, rejection probably isn't even in His vocabulary. People who do reject others usually have a distant relationship with Christ and haven't encountered His love yet. Its important to pray for and help not only the rejected but the rejectors as well.
LUCIA CARR
I love the topics of all these lessons mainly because I wish someone would have talked to me when I was in 6th & 7th grade about some of these topics. Rejection, being a matter that I have regrets about in my life, is a good thing to look at with this age group. I definately think that looking at it from both sides, from a person being rejected and in rejecting other people. Looks like a good lesson tonight! Have fun groups :)
I really like this topic! I think this message will be a great one to be mentioned~ middle school years for me, was very much a time when i think rejection was at its highest! and to have a talk about this at church i think will be great! a reminder for all my kids that jesus can help you through with all of that!
I think that rejection is a really great topic for this week, but it'll be really hard for our small groups to open up about it, it'll be really hard for me to open up about it! I think that this topic is perfect for this age group because middle school is such a rough year, it was tough for me and I know that some of my girls are struggle through it socially too. I hope that everyone can be open and nonjudgmental tonight! -Amanda
Post a Comment