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.

Update: We’re really sorry for giving you all heart attacks (even though it was really fun reading all your comments)! This post was meant as satire — poking fun at the low expectations our culture has for young people. Finally, it’s probably important to note that Alex and I do not eat Reese’s Puffs.

The Rebelution is shutting down. We’ve made some great memories together, but two teenagers with a blog can’t compete against a behemoth corporate empire like Reese’s Puffs. Now that they’ve started challenging teens to do hard things like “meet someone with your own name” and “pull off the perfect practical joke,” there isn’t much reason for The Rebelution to continue. Reese’s Puffs has the resources and the marketing team to call this generation to a better future — we don’t.

So, while The Rebelution is over, The Reese-olution has just begun. Reese’s Puffs has provided tools we never could have — like the handy checklist below. We believe that it is a complete road-map to God-glorifying teen years and a bright future. We’d encourage you to study it and allow it to reese-olutionize your life.

Click here for a LARGER more READABLE version

This list might sound intimidating, but just remember that you have eighteen years to complete it! Even if you don’t start until you’re thirteen, you’re only talking about three things each year. That leaves you plenty of time to eat lots of Reese’s Puffs — the perfect combination of chocolate and peanut butter flavor.

Goodbye Rebelutionaries. Hello Reese-olutionaries.

UPDATE 4: David himself writes, “I’m home! After having spent the day in x ray rooms, trauma centers, scary machines, and wires and tubes all over me… and after having spent the day in my faithful Heavenly Father’s arms. I’m back home, with the mere inconvenience of one casted arm. Thank you SO much, all of you, for your prayers, for your support and your encouragement, it has meant a lot to me today!”

UPDATE 3: Christina writes, “My dad just called and said that they’re setting the break now and putting the cast on. So I guess the specialist decided they wouldn’t need to do surgery. So that is wonderful and he’s coming home tonight! I doubt he would have wanted to stay all night just with a broken arm.”

UPDATE 2: Michael Poythress writes, “I just spoke with David briefly before his cell battery died. But he was in good spirits, as usual. He had just completed MRI and CAT scans, and said the doctors had reported that his brain seemed to be all in order, which is very good. He fell 18 feet from the barn, and shattered his left wrist, and cracked his left arm just beneath the elbow. Those are pretty serious, and he’s been transferred to a major hospital where his wrist will undergo surgery and his arm can be set by a specialist; so they will be keeping him at least another day. Praise the Lord for his mercy in limiting the injuries to a single arm!

UPDATE 1: Christina Boskovic writes, “Looks like they’ll be keeping him over night, he’s been transfered to a major hospital, his break is pretty bad (it’s his left arm). They need a specialist to set it. They are running other tests and scans. Falling 18 feet isn’t really a joke.”

Many of you know David Boskovic — one of Brett’s and my closest friends and the tech-wizard behind the Rebelution website, the Modesty Survey, Glarity, and Huck’s Army. If you have been blessed by any of those projects, you owe David your profound thanks. They wouldn’t have been possible without him.

Right now, David needs your prayers. This morning he fell off a barn and broke an arm and a wrist — and last we heard, is still at the hospital getting them x-rayed and casted. Pray that the injuries are limited to one arm, as recovery is much more difficult with both arms injured. And regardless, pray for peace, strength, comfort, and a quick recovery. We’re praying for you, David. We love you, brother!

Let David know you’re praying.

Every once and a while a movie comes along that has the potential to change lives. But even more rare than that — one in a thousand — a movie comes along that has the potential to save lives. Bella is such a film.

Since Brett and I first saw Bella last September, we have not ceased to be excited about this film. Here is a powerful message, communicated artistically and with excellence, by three young men who are passionate about God, life, and family.

The Rebelution hosted a private screening in Salt Lake City, where we were able to spend the weekend with lead actor and producer Eduardo Verástegui. Last month, while in Los Angeles for several interviews, we stopped by Metanoai Films and spent some time with producer Leo Severino and director Alejandro Monterverde.

The three of them are an incredible picture of the Three Pillars of the Rebelution — character, competence, and collaboration — in action. Many of you experienced Bella in theaters last year and have asked how you can help spread the word. Others missed it in theaters and have asked when it would be available.

For both groups, we have great news: Bella is out on DVD.

More importantly, you can be a part of the Bella 10 Campaign — buying the DVD on Amazon.com and recruiting ten other people to do the same. Already at least fourteen lives have been saved by this film. Through the dedicated effort of rebelutionaries, that number can be increased exponentially.

Talk to your parents, siblings, and friends and decide how you can be involved in spreading this beautiful film to a world that desperately needs its message. Go out and do hard things — and come back here to let others know what you’re doing.

Buy the DVD / Join the Campaign / Read Reviews

On Saturday, over 2,200 teens, parents, and youth workers gathered at Rolling Hills Community Church for the second stop of the Do Hard Things Tour. They came from California, Idaho, Washington, British Columbia, even Alaska, to be challenged to do hard things for the glory of God. 127 stood for salvation.

Photo Credit: Jordan Schaefer

Do Hard Things is the manifesto of the movement, our attempt to spread the ideas in the most compelling and accessible way possible. Few things make us happier than getting it in the hands of people who will read it and help us spread the word. By God’s grace, that continues to happen.

Photo Credit: Jordan Schaefer

“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

+ Ephesians 3:20-21 +

Photo Credit: Jordan Schaefer

TanyaBeth sends in this shot of Do Hard Things with the greatest book ever written. Send your creative book photos to book [at] therebelution.com.

Justin and Cassie Davito collaborated on this action shot. There must be some mysterious connection between Do Hard Things and basketball.

The sibling team of Krista Gora and Mike Vance sent in this beautiful picture. Wait until you see their other ones in a future post. Very cool.

Erik Brown on pull-up number twenty. You’re the man, Erik!

TanyaBeth demonstrates that even dogs can learn to do hard things.

That’s all for this post. More to come! Meanwhile, please be praying for us and all the attendees at tomorrow’s Portland conference. Soli deo gloria!

Here’s an awesome shot from reader Kole and his four brothers. Send us your interesting, funny, or creative Do Hard Things photos — book [at] therebelution.com.

Brian Jones sends this incredible black and white photo of the book cover.

Hillary sends in this adorable picture of her brother John. Start ‘em young!

From Katrina and Lillian Martin — the Vikings doing hard things! Send us your interesting, funny, or creative Do Hard Things photos: book [at] therebelution.com

A few weeks back WorldNetDaily.com invited Alex and me to write a short column about The Rebelution and what God is doing in our generation. It was published just yesterday and we wanted to share it with you. Each of you is a part of this incredible story that God is unfolding before our eyes. Praise the Lord that He uses young people who are willing to do hard things through Jesus!

A teenage ‘rebelution’

by ALEX & BRETT HARRIS

A GROWING MOVEMENT of young people around the world is choosing to rebel against the low expectations of today’s culture and “do hard things” for the glory of God. And for some reason, God has seen fit for two teenage twin brothers from Oregon to help lead the charge.

We weren’t looking to launch a movement back in August of 2005. In fact, all we did was start a blog. Sixteen million hits later, this idea of teens “rebelling against rebellion” has sparked a national conference tour and now a book, “Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations,” which reached No. 5 on Amazon.com – even before its April 15 release.

To the average person, the success of this message is more than unlikely; it is inexplicable. Teens don’t want to be challenged. They don’t want to do hard things. Yet, as we’ve traveled around the world we’ve found that God is doing something big in the hearts and minds of our generation. There is a growing restlessness and a desire for something more than the piddling offerings of popular culture. Young people today want more. They want to be challenged.