Three video game stations are at my chur…

Jul 13 2010

Three video game stations are at my church, ready to be installed into the walls of our youth hall. An internal debate rages inside my head. What do you think?

8 responses so far

  1. michael
    on 13 Jul 2010 at 10:17 pm

    I think … road trip.

  2. Chad
    on 14 Jul 2010 at 12:02 pm

    I think Video Games are as valid a form of media as any other. If you’re gonna teetotal, that’s cool, but I think to single out music / video and other forms of consumption as ok, and video games as not… is inconsistent. Just my $.02

  3. michael
    on 14 Jul 2010 at 1:57 pm

    In fact, video games probably have more of a social/interactive component than those other media types mentioned.

  4. sharolyn
    on 14 Jul 2010 at 3:10 pm

    Question: Would you be okay if you sent Josiah and Zion to youth group and they came home and told you about Rated M games? (I am asking honestly, not trying to corner you.)

  5. sharolyn
    on 14 Jul 2010 at 3:11 pm

    Follow-up… and does the boy’s age matter? “Youth group” implies grades 6-12, a large range.

  6. michael
    on 14 Jul 2010 at 3:39 pm

    I would expect the leaders to use the same discretion with video games that they would use with videos and music. No, “M” games wouldn’t be appropriate for youth group, no matter the age, just like playing a CD with sexual innuendo or foul language wouldn’t be appropriate.

    “Video Games” includes many titles, many genres. Should kids be blowing each other up in Half-Life before hearing about Paul’s letter to the Romans? No, probably not. Could they be playing ModNation Racers? I think so.

  7. JLord
    on 14 Jul 2010 at 9:19 pm

    First off, Half Life hasn’t been multiplayer since, like, 1998. Now you only blow up aliens.

    In all seriousness, this reminds me of a lecture I heard at a summer camp about a Christian reaction to media. They used two criteria for classifying media, Quality and Content, which leaves us with 4 categories of media & 4 different reactions:

    1. Good Quality, Good Content: A message that lines up with a Christian worldview in the form of well-executed art, i.e. A church service from, oh, say, Willow Creek in Chicago. Reaction: Love it, learn it, learn from it.

    2. Bad Quality, Good Content: A good message, well-intentioned but poorly executed. i.e. a Christian garage band. Reaction: Be edified by its message, but know what could be done better & don’t settle in your own work.

    3. Good Quality, Bad Content: A less-than-holy message, but done superbly. i.e. oh…most pop and R&B. Reaction: Learn from its form so you can make more category 1 art, but guard your heart from its message.

    4. Bad Quality, Bad Content: Bad message, poorly made media. i.e….I think you get the idea. Reaction. Stay away. There’s nothing to learn. Except for what not to be.

    How this applies to video games: Basically what Michael said. Games with questionable content shouldn’t be a part of the game selection. However, games that are good quality will attract kids, just like any other good quality media will. And good quality helps them take the content (i.e. everything else that goes on at youth group) more seriously. So, maybe scratch Half-Life despite its merits as a game. But consider Portal: equally award winning but consisting solely of puzzle rooms and a hand held teleportation device.

  8. Rachel
    on 15 Jul 2010 at 9:28 pm

    Why not?

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