If you are unfamiliar with sexting—sending, receiving, and forwarding cell phone photos of a sexual nature—then I strongly recommend reading this article in Newsweek and/or another version of the same article in Slate. (Even if you are familiar with the concept, the article raises some questions worth considering if you have or work with teens.)

I believe youth leaders should have open conversations with teens about this practice. Many youth may not feel comfortable discussing the issue with a parent, but a youth group can provide a safe setting for opening a conversation about this growing trend. Here are seven key things to discuss—not in a preachy, "thou shalt not" way that will turn off youth, but in the midst of an open dialogue about healthy behavior and the practice of spirituality.

"A day away acts as a spring tonic. It can dispel rancor, transform indecision, and renew the spirit." —Maya Angelou , in Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now

Facebook. Email. Documents. Amazon. iTunes. YouTube. Games. These are but a few of the likely ways that digital media consume your time—and make you feel like you have information overload. Those in Christian education and youth ministry often spend a lot of time in front of a computer—more time, some will admit—than they spend with friends, colleagues, family, youth, and others in person. And no wonder! Emails and IMs can reach you just about anywhere, at any time, beckoning you to respond NOW. If this is true of you, perhaps it's time to institute a data fast in your life or among your church staff.

For those of you who are surprised to find me writing the email on “Technology Tuesday” – don’t panic! We promise that on upcoming Tuesdays Tim will continue to share his wealth of knowledge on technology issues. To give Tim an occasional Tuesday break, we’ve decided that I will periodically review a website of interest on Technology Day.

Let's face it...technology can be a challenge to implement if you aren't blessed with the spiritual gift of knowing how to manipulate electrons!  I have heard many a Christian educator say that they are not comfortable with setting up and using many contemporary technology tools, particularly when there are lots of wires to hook up and buttons to push. There have been many times when I've had to help university professors—who do PowerPoint presentations all the time—make their computer work with the projector in my church. And yes, I too struggle from time to time when it comes to technology (though my struggles tend to be with HTML, ASP, and other computer languages!)

In the Dummies series of books that have been written on just about every topic imaginable (I'm reading two of them currently) the emphasis is upon simplicity and straightforward approaches to solutions. If you're among the large group of Christian educators who struggle to get the cables connected to the correct In and Out connectors, here's my (bookless) "Dummies guide to video projection."

The environmental costs of the electronic gadgetry in our lives is enormous. Here is but a sampling of our current reality...

1. Video games and other devices are well known for being "vampire devices," wasting a lot of power when they are not being actively used.
   
2. Computers require a tremendous amount of heavy metals and other substances which are highly toxic. Those who are involved in the mining process (frequently in developing countries) are often negatively affected, and coltan—a critical element in today's cell phones—is linked to tremendous violence in the Congo. 
   
3. Millions of pounds of trash are created each year because these devices have a limited life span. (Of course, many are upgraded long before they truly need to be, just because consumers want the latest and best stuff.)
   

There are many things you can do to educate your congregation about environmental stewardship and environmental ministry as it relates to technology. Here are a few of my personal favorites...

A blogging friend shared this video yesterday on his site. Although it was created for those interested in marketing their products, it is in many ways equally applicable to the marketing of ideas, beliefs, messages, and values.

Scholz & Friends: "Dramatic shift in marketing reality from Michael Reissinger on Vimeo.

Assuming you just watched it, my hunch is you feel a bit overwhelmed and even inadequate at the moment. Clearly, technology has complicated our lives to the nth degree and filled our environment with options, noise, and distraction from both the inner life and the outer world. It seems harder than ever to communicate our message.

There are a host of research tools a Christian educator should have at hand, and one I think is worth the investment is a great computer Bible. Bible software is available from a wide variety of sources, and most any will suffice if all you want to do is quickly look up a passage or two in a few translations.

The trouble is, many Bible programs are filled with a lot of junk you really don't need, especially if you want commentaries based on the latest contemporary scholarship. This is because they frequently include lots of books and translations that are now in the public domain. (Typically, the only way to know when the books were actually released is to look at the copyright date within each program. They don't make it easy information to locate!) Further, many of the topical and study books that are included in the variously-labeled "Platinum/Scholars/Gold/Venti" editions are books few progressive theologians or scholars would recommend.

Curriculum providers are increasingly beginning to offer downloadable video clips for use in classroom and worship settings. Consumers are demanding resources that are quickly accessible, and the fact that video cameras and editing software are relatively inexpensive and easy to use is also enabling many independent producers to produce video clips. Unfortunately, as an experience watching a particularly offensive youth ministry clip reminded me yesterday, it is frequently hard to find great clips appropriate for progressive congregations. (Then again, that clip isn't suitable for any congregation!)

Here are a few places to begin your search. In future emails, I'll share additional clip sources, tips for selecting better videos, ideas for creating your own clips, the best places to share your videos, and more.

Over the course of a year, the digital junk in your computer can build up to one massive mess. Files get scattered everywhere except where you want them to be, email piles up, photo files become unruly, and downloaded PDFs and programs you thought you couldn't live without (but actually never looked at) take up hard drive space. It's time for a bit of end-of-year cleanup. Here are a few suggested tasks to take on. The time required will depend on how organized you've been all year— about an hour if you're neater than Monk, and much of the day if you're like, well, me...

Scraps of paper...stickies...Daytimers...PDAs...multiple calendars...browser bookmarks... all these and more are the common ways we try to keep track of the vast amount of information that comes at us each day. Some systems work better than others at reducing clutter (e.g. PDAs or iPhone) but those have their downsides too (e.g. dead batteries, forgetting to sync with your computer).

Now, I am not an expert on information management by a long-shot, but I do have several digital tools that help me to stay organized and to file away information in such a way that I can usually find it again. Among my favorites is a little application called Evernote...