a mosaic expression for emerging teens
The children are not our future. They are part of our present, we are becoming the past, and our kids are already behind.
What does an empowered teen look like?
In ancient culture, Rabbis had followers called talmidins [or disciples]. These life-students were usually 15 to 20 years old [Matthew was probably in his lower 20s]. But one in particular was unusually special. This one disciple would have had a special name. They would have had special proximity to the Rabbi. There would have been a sort of fatherly relationship between the disciple and the Rabbi.
We see this with John. John called himself the disciple Jesus loved. He was one of the “inner three”– the talmidin who Jesus surrounded himself with most frequently. He had proximity. At the last supper, John leans up against Jesus’ chest to ask him questions, like a son might do with his dad.
Which leads us to the last characteristic that made this disciple different than the others.
He would have been around 10 to 12-years-old.
John, “the disciple Jesus loved,” was a 10-year-old kid.
This explains why he lived longer than the others [aside from the fact that the others were killed]. This explains why Jesus left John to Mary’s care while Jesus was dying. He wasn’t telling John to take care of Mary. He was telling Mary to take care of John.
Jesus had the nerve to tell 12-year-olds that they could be influencers of men and women.
Jesus thought emerging teens could change the world.
So must we.
We play a lot of Frisbee. Toss the football around. Make pretty girlie things. Play the occasional video game.
You know, things emerging teens enjoy.
We also do improv comedy sketches, competitions, and other games that help point to experiencing God and living meaningful lives. We often break into groups where our trained volunteer staff and emerging teens come together to talk about what it means to live a life connected to God.
It’s a beautiful thing, really.
Our trained volunteer staff is an eclectic group - ranging from parents, public school teachers to actors and nurses - with everything in between. One thing they have in common: a desire to see emerging teens live by faith, be known by love and to be a voice of hope in their world.
They are the lives that carry our mission to emerging teens.
Step one: We start at 9:45 at Pasadena and 11:00AM at Beverly Hills High School. It’s okay to be a little early– our volunteer staff will be there to meet you.
Step two: Take a minute to meet our volunteers and other parents. Life change happens best in the context of community. There are people from all walks of life to meet at Mosaic. Some of the best are with EXP.
Step three: Follow up on what your child learned. We try really hard to make the scriptures accessible to emerging teens. We’ve done studies like “The Gospel According to PIXAR” and “JUMP! A Life With God is Like Skydiving!” We also try to teach the kids a slogan that goes with a scripture every week.
