Caution: The BBC3 documentary “Deborah 13: Servant of God” includes Deborah’s introduction to the “real world” of dance clubs and college parties, so viewer discretion is encouraged.

Deborah Drapper is a true rebelutionary. At thirteen, the homeschooled Christian girl from Dorset, England, has an inspiring passion for God and for evangelism. After getting an email about her from Anna in Ireland, I had to blog about it.

Fascinated — or maybe frightened — by her “sheltered” life and Christian faith, BBC filmmakers spent over 100 hours with her last summer for a one-hour documentary that aired in the UK earlier this month. They didn’t find what they expected.

In a review in the Daily Telegraph, TV critic Benji Wilson writes:

Whatever version of the fish-out-of-water conceit the producers were hoping for, what they got was far more compelling. They got Deborah. Steely-eyed and still, she was sensational. When we first met her, the producer, Linda Brusasco, asked, “Do you have a TV, do you have a mobile, do you watch The X Factor, do you go to Topshop?” and she replied, “No, no, no… and no.”

Deborah then bit right back, asking the producer, “Would you consider yourself to be a good person? Have you ever told a lie, stolen anything, used God’s name in vain, coveted anything?” It was a “yep” to all. “So you’re a lying, thieving, coveting, blasphemer… Do you still think you’re a good person?”

Something to chew on there, and credit to Brusasco for including Deborah’s comeback. This film’s strength was that while it could have sneered at Deborah, instead it just observed her.

“I hope that it is a reflection of my life as I seek to be obedient to God’s Word, live my life under his direction, and share the truth with others,” she told Streetbrand Magazine, before the documentary aired. “And as others see how I live and share Christ, [I hope] they may be encouraged to live and share their Christian faith.”

Many people, even other Christians, might say that Deborah should “turn it down” a bit. But after watching the entire film, Brett and I agree with her older brother Matthew — the rest of us are the ones who need to “turn it up.”

We’re so proud of Deborah. Her faithfulness to “do hard things” and share the gospel — both privately and publicly, both alone and with her family — is the reason for the larger platform God has given her. She was never doing it to get attention. Instead, she did it because she truly loves God and believes the gospel.

Besides dealing with all the emails, criticism, and media requests that have come with the documentary (and besides school, chores, and working with her family), Deborah also has a terrific blog. Be sure to pay her a visit and let her know that you’re praying for her. And more than that, let’s all learn from her example.

+ www.DeborahDrapper.com +

Brett and I have received a lot of emails about this video (and rightly so). Despite being threatened with disqualification for her controversial topic, 12-year-old Lia chose to deliver this speech for competition at her public school in Toronto — and won! Now her eloquent defense of life has been viewed almost 400,000 times on YouTube — and even saved a baby’s life.

Read more about this rebelutionary here and here. Way to go, Lia!

Post header courtesy of Jaime Colman and Baptist Bible College.

In December, Brett and I were invited to attend a White House Office of Faith-Based Initiatives round table discussion of young social entrepreneurs. The Rebelution was well-represented. Zach Hunter (our host), Conner Cress, and Jack and Leeland Mooring were all panelists. But what was even more exciting was to hear the stories of other teens, like them, who God is using to bring hope to a hurting world.

“Walk Humbly with Your God”

One of the young people we met was 17-year-old Jaime Colman from Pennsylvania. In 2007 her church partnered with 410 Bridge, a missions organization that uses humanitarian projects to share the gospel and meet the needs of rural Kenyan communities. After the church decided to adopt the town of Karogoto, Jaime found about a pressing need for something that most of us take for granted: shoes.

Jaime figured that her family wasn’t the only one with shoes in the closet that they didn’t need or never wore. She called her project Walk Humbly, based off Micah 6:8, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

“God Could Make it Happen”

She set a goal to collect 150 pairs of shoes. Her plan was to kick off the drive with a “Barefoot Mile” at her high school’s track. People would come, donate shoes, and walk four laps around the track barefoot. Some adults were skeptical, questioning whether people would show up and doubting that Jaime could even get the shoes to Africa if they did — but it didn’t take God long to prove them wrong.

“There were definitely low expectations,” Jaime told us. “It was discouraging, but I knew God could make it happen. On a rainy Saturday, 50 people showed up at the track — with 1,164 pairs of shoes! By the time the drive was over, God had brought in over 4,200 pairs of shoes for the people of Karogoto.”

Now that she had the shoes, Jaime had to get them to Kenya. It wasn’t easy. “We had a really hard time figuring out how to transport the shoes,” she said. “We had a lot of companies say no before we finally found one who would help us.”

“A Great Miracle from God”

In June of last year, Jaime and 14 other members of her church traveled to Kenya to help distribute the shoes. At one of the locations, they ran out of women’s shoes. An 11-year-old on the team immediately took off her own shoes and gave them away. The whole team followed suit. They weren’t prepared for what happened next.

“When one of the Kenyan ladies noticed my bare feet, she offered me the shoes she had just received,” Jaime shared, tears in her eyes. “I was so humbled. I was giving out of sheer abundance but she was giving out of pure genuine sacrifice.”

Jaime shared another story — that of 90-year-old woman named Gladys, who stood in line with thousands of people to get a pair of shoes. “I had given up on putting on another shoe until I die,” she had told one of the 410 Bridge team members. “The last time I wore shoes was 5 years ago and my feet can attest to that. For someone to think of something like this for us is a great miracle from God.”

That’s the story of Jaime. Her simple idea was a great miracle from God. Ultimately, it’s His story — a God who still uses teens to “do hard things” for Him.

Pictures after the jump: (more…)

Kristi Burton, founder of Colorado for Equal Rights, was thirteen when she decided to spend her life defending the unborn. “It just came to me,” she told the Denver Post earlier this year. “I prayed about it and knew God was calling me to do it.”

Eight years later, Kristi is spearheading the Colorado Personhood Amendment — an effort she began at nineteen — to define a constitutionally protected person as “any human being from the moment of fertilization.”

In May, with the help of over 1,300 volunteer petitioners and 500 churches, Kristi turned in 131,245 voters’ signatures to the secretary of state — nearly twice the number required to get the amendment on this November’s ballot.

“She’s an incredible leader for her young age,” says Judie Brown of the American Life League. “It took one person to get the campaign started in Colorado.”

Brett and I were honored to meet Kristi at a gathering in Denver a few months ago. Her passion and determination were evident, but so was her love for God and for people — no matter how small. Kristi, we applaud you. We’re praying for you.

The Task is Far from Over…

Kristi’s organization was founded less than a year ago in her family’s living room, with a budget of $200. In the face of fierce opposition, it has accomplished what some would have said was an impossible task. But the work is far from over.

In the video at the top of the post, Kristi invites people to get involved in this historic effort. Brett and I would love to see rebelutionaries rise to the challenge.

Everyone can do something — I hope many of you will do something hard. Share the video. If you can give, give sacrificially. And be willing to give of your time.

Finally, pray. Pray that God would give Kristi and her colleagues wisdom and favor. Pray that He would raise up laborers — young and old — who would join Kristi in defense of all human life. Who knows? He just might pick you.

It was three years ago that John Tyler Hammons saw an article about 18-year-old Michael Sessions being elected mayor of Hillsdale, Michigan. “I remember [thinking] that’s something I’d like to do,” recalls Hammons, now 19. With the encouragement of friends and the support of his family, he decided to give it a shot.

It wasn’t easy. Hammons’ ran against a 70-year-old former three-term mayor of the city of 38,000. He was outspent nearly five to one. Even so, in Tuesday’s election Hammons won in landslide, taking 70 percent of the vote. He calls the win “the greatest, humbling and most awesome experience I’ve ever had.”

Normal Teen. Big Job. Enormous Brouhaha.

“Apart from this passion I have for government, I’m pretty normal,” says Hammons, in an interview with ABC News. “I’m probably super normal.” And this super normal teen is about to tackle a pretty big job.

Mayor of Muskogee, Oklahoma, is not a figurehead position. The mayor oversees a nine-member city council and supervises an annual city operating budget of $27.83 million. In return Hammons will receive an annual salary of $1 and office space.

Yet, as Hammons tries to hit the ground running as mayor, the limelight is growing. Besides numerous interview requests, he has received a proposal for a book deal, invitations to appear on national talk shows and three offers for a reality television program. It seems that teens doing hard things is so… so… unexpected.

“First and foremost, Muskogee is my one and only interest right now,” says Hammons from his office inside the city’s municipal building. As mayor, his first priority is to promote openness of government and keep citizens better informed of city operations. “I think that’s been a detriment to the trust of the citizens of Muskogee,” he said. “Once we have that trust, we can solve any other problem.”

Another Teen Mayor Offers His Advice

Michael Sessions, considered the youngest person ever elected mayor, was quick to offer Hammons some advice, urging him to “listen carefully” and “take notes” while he’s in office. “[Hammons] is going to be looked at as the outsider and the kid, in some respects, but he he’s got to take them on,” Sessions told ABCNews.com. “When [the council members] make stupid comments, he’s got to refute them.”

Hammon, thought conscious of his age, feels like it shouldn’t be a major factor. “The only thing I have going against me is that I’ve never [been mayor] before,” Hammons said. “But that’s true, even if you’re 50.”

From The Desk of Alex & Brett Harris

When Michael Sessions was elected there was a similar media frenzy. It’s hard to believe that was almost three years ago. At the time Alex and I wrote the following letter of encouragement to Michael. With a few edits we’d like to address the same encouragements to the new mayor of Muskogee.

Dear John Tyler,

The Rebelution is extremely excited for you for many reasons. But primarily because you are one more example of how our culture doesn’t quite know what to do with young people who take initiative and do hard things.

The media blitz that you’ve faced has granted us small glimpses into the mind of a passionate young man with a strong family and with 1 Timothy 4:12 on his campaign website. Knowing very little about you personally, we are encouraged by the character and competence you have demonstrated.

We applaud you Mr. Hammons, but we would also like to offer you the following counsel—two 19-year-olds to another:

• Don’t stop! Keeping “doing hard things” in public and, more importantly, in private. The true test of character is doing what’s right even when it costs you. Even when no one else sees.
• Remember that despite the blatant abdication of modern “celebrities” and leaders, you are a role model. Live like one.
• You posted this verse on your campaign website: “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in faith and in purity.” (1 Timothy 4:12) Think about what it means and how it applies to your new position.
• Remember that in our “Fast-Breaking News” society, you can be picked up and dropped again by the media in the twinkling of an eye. Don’t let it upset you. We are not called to be famous. We are called to be faithful.
• Fight pride constantly! We commend to you the short article, “How To Fight The Sin Of Pride Especially When You Are Praised,” by Pastor John Piper, as well as C.J. Mahaney’s book “Humility: True Greatness.”
• Realize that nothing would be a greater shame than for the highlighting of your competence to be the undoing of your character.
  In Christ Our King, Alex & Brett Harris

While it’s not uncommon for young people to run for public office, they aren’t often elected, particularly in cities larger than several thousand residents. Someone forgot to tell that to 19-year-old Chris Brown who was just elected (with 84% of the vote) to the city council of Bedford, Texas — population, 48,000.

“If you’re dedicated to something and you work hard, it doesn’t guarantee you anything,” says Chris, “but without it you don’t stand a chance.” That’s why this teenager attended every single city council meeting for a year. “I wanted to run for council last year, but I didn’t think I had the knowledge, and so I took the past year to make myself ready.” For Chris, doing hard things paid off.

Teen takes his seat on Bedford City Council
Marice Richter / The Dallas Morning News - Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Last week was especially busy for Chris Brown: He had to juggle the final days of a political campaign with final exams.

The Bedford teenager successfully completed both, winning a contested race for the Bedford City Council by an overwhelming margin and passing finals so that he could advance to his sophomore year at the University of North Texas.

Such a feat might be daunting to most 19-year-olds, but not for Mr. Brown, who contemplated running last year as a high school senior but decided to wait and fully prepare.

“Running for the council is something I thought about for a long time and really wanted to do,” the political science major said. “This wasn’t just a spur-of-the-moment quirk.”

To run for the council, Mr. Brown turned down offers from several colleges, including Baylor University, to stay close to home. Although he lived in a dorm on campus in Denton, he commuted constantly to regularly attend meetings of the council and other city boards and commissions, including the Charter Review Commission, on which he served.

Despite his determination and dedication, Mr. Brown still had to overcome a lot of skepticism because of his age.

After all, he hasn’t yet voted for president, held a full-time job or bought himself a beer. And he still lives in his childhood home with his mom, dad and 15-year-old sister, Katie.

Read the entire article »

Once you’ve read the rest of the article (make sure you watch the video too!) come back here and let us know what you think about Chris’s accomplishment. You can also check out all the rest of our Teens In The News coverage.

• Have you ever attended a city council meeting?
• Have you ever considered running for public office?
• Have you ever run for office at school or in another context? If so, tell your story and share what you’ve learned.

A new study conducted by The Associated Press and MTV shows that family, friends, and religion make teens more happy and that (surprise, surprise) money and sex make them less happy. Family ties were the overwhelming winner and “mom” and “dad” were the most frequent responses when teens were asked to name their heroes.

It makes you wonder whether MTV will make the connection that they constantly bash the values and heroes of their target demographic while simultaneously promoting the very things that are shown to make teens unhappy. It makes you wonder whether us teens will make that connection as well.

Poll: Family Ties Key to Youth Happiness
WashingtonPost.com - Jocelyn Noveck and Trevor Tompson - 08/20/07

So you’re between the ages of 13 and 24. What makes you happy? A worried, weary parent might imagine the answer to sound something like this: Sex, drugs, a little rock ‘n’ roll. Maybe some cash, or at least the car keys.

Turns out the real answer is quite different. Spending time with family was the top answer to that open-ended question, according to an extensive survey — more than 100 questions asked of 1,280 people ages 13-24 — conducted by The Associated Press and MTV on the nature of happiness among America’s young people.

Next was spending time with friends, followed by time with a significant other. And even better for parents: Nearly three-quarters of young people say their relationship with their parents makes them happy.

“They’re my foundation,” says Kristiana St. John, 17, a high-school student from Queens in New York. “My mom tells me that even if I do something stupid, she’s still going to love me no matter what. Just knowing that makes me feel very happy and blessed.”

Read the entire article »

Once you’ve read the rest of the article come back here and join the discussion. For further reading on the topic of happiness you can check out one of our early articles called, A New Attitude Towards Happiness. Thanks for reading! Do Hard Things.

On a side note, thank you everyone who has been signing up for our Prayer Updates. We have the deadline for our book coming up at the end of this month. We are worn down from frequent traveling but need to make quick progress to finish on time. Please remember us in your prayers. It makes all the difference.

• What aspect of the survey was most surprising to you?
• What makes you happy? Try to come up with your Top Five things.
• Who are your heroes? Try to come up with your Top Five heroes.
• Why do you think there is a disconnect between what makes teens happy and what corporations like MTV sell them? Why do you think teens (including yourself) pursue things that we know will make us unhappy?

“One girl’s work at a local farm makes her stand out — fewer and fewer have jobs at all.” Thus begins an intriguing profile of 16-year-old Patty Bochsler of Lonely Lane Farm. As other teens bake on the beach this August, she stands in steel-toed boots packing freshly butchered beef, pork and lamb in a 40-degee plant.

The article goes on to report that the number of working teens has reached a 60-year low and that 80 percent of young workers lack basic communication skills and 70 percent lack a work ethic. Scary numbers. What do you think?

Teens and jobs are fields apart
OregonLive.com - Julie Sullivan - 08/20/07

The proportion of working teens in Oregon has shrunk from 6 in every 10 in 2000 to just 4 in every 10 last year, according to the Census Bureau. That’s true across the country this summer, where the employment rate for teens has fallen even further, said Andrew Sum, who directs the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University in Boston.

The repercussions will play out for decades. Students with jobs are more likely to stay in school. And for 10 years, they earn more for every year they worked.

“Kids are working at a lower rate today than at anytime since just after World War II — a 60-year low,” says Sum, who studied teen employment for 30 years. “I consider this disastrous.”

Why aren’t more teens working?

Economists say they are squeezed out by immigrants, workers older than 55 and recent college graduates unable to find jobs. Big-box retailers, which have proliferated in the past seven years, don’t hire anyone younger than 18. And some ambitious kids — or their ambitious parents — choose academic camps or classes instead of job hunting.

But it turns out that nonworking teens might be hurting themselves. Employers reported 80 percent of their young workers lack basic communication skills and 70 percent lack a work ethic.

Read the entire article »

Once you have read the entire article come back here and join the conversation. At the bottom of this post you will find some discussion questions to get you started. Choose one or all of them and share your stories.

We would also encourage you to ask your parents about their job history. You’ll be surprised to hear about some the interesting places they’ve worked. As I was writing this post I decided to go and ask my father to share his job history with me and most of them caught me by surprise.

The Job History of Gregg Harris (Our Father)

His first job was at Burger Chef in Miamisburg, Ohio, at the age of 14. I didn’t know this. He told me that they were allowed to make whatever kind of burgers they wanted for their own meals. He would create monster cheeseburgers with 4-5 patties and cheese between each one.

His next job was at Union Concession Stands in Dayton, Ohio. After that he worked at the Paul Harris (no relation) clothing store back in Miamisburg. At the age of 16 he was a runaway in Clear Water Beach, Florida, working at a concession stand.

A few months later, at the age of 17, he was in southern California working as a restaurant and coffee house musician. At the age of eighteen was a member of professional band in Indianapolis, Indiana.

From that point on he has worked at Countryside Nursery in Centerville, Ohio, at an auto parts stripping factory, owned the Custom Terrarium & Houseplant Shop, served as a youth pastor for a year, pastored a missionary church in Harlingen, Texas, and was the senior pastor at Grace Fellowship in Dayton, Ohio.

Most of what I knew didn’t start until after all that, when he started Christian Life Workshops, founded Noble Institute for Leadership Development, founded and sold Noble Publishing Associates, and now pastors at Household of Faith Community Church in Gresham, Oregon.

Go Now, And Do Likewise

Maybe that was only interesting to me, but I have a feeling that you will find your own parent’s job histories immensely intriguing as well. So ask them! If you learn of anything particularly incredible go ahead and share it (with their permission, of course) in the comment section. Also, don’t forget the discussion questions directly below. May God bless you all. Do Hard Things.

• Did you have a job this summer? Why or why not?
• Tell us about the best (or worst) job you’ve ever had. What did you learn from the experience?
• Hypothetical Situation: If (God forbid) one of your parents was injured and unable to work and you were forced to help provide for your family, what skills do you have that could help generate an income?

MuchMusic teams up with MasterCard to launch a new payment card aimed at teenagers as young as 13. Andrea Gordon, family issues reporter for The Toronto Star, wonders whether prepaid cards and credit cards aimed at the youth market are really about conditioning kids to accumulate debt.

This article raises many important issues in the area of teens and financial responsibility and gives a glimpse into some of the traps our society has set for teens who don’t know how to manage money. There are big companies making big bucks off of a culture that encourages instant-gratification and self-indulgence in its young people — whether they can afford it or not.

Alex and I are planning to get credit cards soon, but we’re going to use them sparingly and strategically, paying them off in full every month, with the goal of building our credit rating. Hopefully the following article will help spark your thinking as you develop similar strategies of money management.

Giving teens credit
TheStar.com - Andrea Gordon - 08/28/07

Meet Danny, a typical teen. Except when he first flashes across the TV screen, he’s kneeling in a playpen. A caption introduces him as “Recovering Momma’s Boy.” Seconds later, Danny is in a highchair, protesting, “I’m not a baby, mom!”

Switch to voiceover and Danny sums up his problem: “I really wasn’t in control of my life.” Enter the MuchMusic Prepaid MasterCard. The baby equipment disappears. Danny, now a big boy, tells us his new card means freedom. Money matters are “as easy as loading it and spending it.”

MuchMusic, which joined forces with MasterCard this spring to launch the new payment card aimed at teenagers as young as 13, sure knows its target market. The last thing adolescents want is to be treated like children. They are struggling to exert their independence. And they’re also bigger spenders than ever before, online and in malls. Both companies are hoping to cash in on that combination.

Not long ago, financial institutions didn’t much care about the under-18 set. But younger teens, now acknowledged as the driving force behind family spending decisions on items ranging from cars to fast food, have become a sought-after group in a card-saturated marketplace.

As well as being big consumers, today’s kids have been raised in an era when debt at a young age is considered inevitable rather than something to be avoided, especially for post-secondary students. So it’s not a surprise that lenders want to build brand loyalty early with these future borrowers.

Read the entire article »

Once you have read the entire article come back here and join the conversation. Below you will find some discussion questions to get you started.

We would also encourage you to have a discussion with your family about this issue. Ask your parents what they wished they’d known about money at your age and discuss what the Bible has to say about all this.

It is never too early to develop a biblical view towards money — especially in a culture that is coming after us early. If you have never really thought or read about this issue before, now would be a good time to start.

• What is your financial situation? Do you have a steady income? Do you spend much? Do you save much? Have you ever invested your money?
• Do you have a credit, debit, or prepaid card? If so, how have you used it? What do you think about teens using them?
• How do you manage your money? Have you ever created a budget?
• What do you think about going into debt?

Two 16-year-old teens have been recruited as police community support officers in Thames Valley, New Zealand [ Correction: United Kingdom], with the power to detain and question suspects, stop and search under terror laws, issue penalty notices for disorder and stop vehicles the Herald Sun reported on Tuesday.

Read the condensed article below and then share your thoughts in the comment section. Which side do you agree with, the police department or the concerned officials? What could be the consequences of this decision?

Teens hired as police
Herald Sun - August 14, 2007

Two 16-year-olds have been recruited as police community support officers with the power to detain and question suspects. Just out of school, they will join foot patrols at a busy police station.

The teenagers are two years too young to join the regular police force or be tried in adult courts. Yet they will have the right to detain suspects, stop and search under terror laws, issue penalty notices for disorder and stop vehicles.

Police Federation chairman Jan Berry said 16-year-olds did not have the skills for the frontline. “To expect someone so young to put on a police uniform and patrol the streets is a few steps too far,” she said.

“It puts pressure on them as they have neither the maturity or experience to deal with situations they are likely to confront. This means they are more likely to let down their colleagues and the public.”

Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said: “Recruiting 16-year-olds to frontline policing puts them and those around them at risk.”

But Thames Valley Police said the youths had “the skills that we need. They bring experience of being able to interact with the public — especially young people.”

“If you are good enough, you are old enough.”

Read the entire article »