Nov 06 2007
School District Bans Christian Group After Bobbing for Live Goldfish
[Fox News]
A Christian student group’s latest attempt to show middle school students how fun the group could be was too much for school administrators to swallow.
Last week the Campus Life group allowed students to bob for live goldfish. Two students and one Campus Life volunteer swallowed fish. No student was harmed or forced to participate, but some parents complained, and district officials weren’t pleased.
“We just felt like that type of action was distracting to the students and interfered with the learning process,” Virgil Horne, assistant to the superintendent, told the Lincoln Journal Star.
So Campus Life will be allowed to meet only at Lincoln’s Scott Middle School one more time this school year. The group’s executive director, Bryan Carlson, said he would tell students the news at Wednesday’s meeting.
Read about it here.
[From me]
PLEASE! I grew up in Campus Life–literally. Campus Life is the student ministry of Youth for Christ. My father was a Campus Life Director for over 30 years in Kansas City, Iowa, Indiana, Alabama and South Carolina. Bobbing for a goldfish is tame compared to some of the things we did when I was in Campus Life.
What does the school district want? Kids selling pot, having illicit sex, having babies out of wedlock, crime, etc…? Campus Life, Young Life, Youth Dynamics and other groups like it are making a difference in kids who don’t go to church. I have seen thousands of students lives changed by the ministry of YFC/Campus Life. This school board needs to get a clue.
What do you think?
18 responses so far
Campus Life = good ministry
This particular stunt = pretty thoughtless on the part of the leadership
Seriously. The school has major liability issues when it comes to things like this happening on their property. If a kid had been injured or gotten sick, the parents could have sued the school district. I don’t think it’s too much to ask that adults who are permitted to operate groups on public school campuses be responsible and use good judgment. Just because kids don’t have to participate doesn’t mean they’re going to make good decisions about doing so. There are ways to show kids that God is good and that Christians aren’t lame that don’t involve stuff like this.
Meant to add that as long as the school district treats other groups the same way, it doesn’t seem like they’re being discriminatory towards Christians at all. They’re just trying to protect their backs.
I’ve been in youth ministry for over 20 years… far too often parachurch ministries spend too much effort on the crowd-breaker stuff and too little on the life stuff (from the Word). I have no idea IF this applies to this particular incident.
Obviously we need to be careful - realizing that many are looking for “what’s wrong with it” and when we give them ammo like this, they are happy to use it.
Ultimately, I think we need to realize: Whatever it takes to get them, is what it takes to keep them. IF it’s bobbing for goldfish… please, but IF it’s Christ’s genuine LOVE… COOL!
TIA,
What harm is a goldfish? If the school district doesn’t like it just tell CL not to do it again.
Chilly,
Thanks for stopping by again. I agree about the crowd breaker stuff. But my experience with CL is they truly are reaching kids that most churches won’t. My friend Stuart is doing a great work up in the Washington state with Youth Dynamics. Check out his blog here. Stuart and I spent lots of time together when we planted a church a few years back.
Of course this must stop, as must all other fun things like that. They need to tell those brats to get back in line and go up and get their birth-control pills like good little children.
Well .. I did hear that the goldfish didn’t care much for the stunt, either.
It does seem like with all the other stuff happening in schools around the country, this wouldn’t seem like the biggest thing to complain about. Bobbing for goldfish seems pretty mild compared to ammunition hidden in the girls’ bathroom (which happened at a school here recently) or students using drugs or giving out condoms and birth control pills to 12 year olds. I’d understand the warning to not do this sort of thing again, but kicking them off-campus completely seems a little extreme.
Then again, in today’s law-suit-crazy culture, maybe I can understand a school board not wanting to be sued.
I think bobbing for live goldfish is stupid. I wouldn’t do it. And what in the world does that have to do with spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ? An embarrassing way to lose your right to be on campus.
Dorcas just shared my thoughts exactly. And I think it’s hilarious that there’s clearly a difference between men and women here. Kevin says, “What’s the harm?” and my first thought was, “Why would anyone do this in the first place?” To me, it’s evident that there could be all sorts of problems resulting from swallowing a live goldfish.
I see your point that maybe this was overreacting, but think about this from the school district’s point of view. If you see them do one questionably responsible thing, and your responsibility is to protect kids, what reason do you have to trust an outside organization that already did this?
Ladies,
You must have never worked with students. You do all kinds of crazy stunts to earn the right to share Jesus.
I saw CL up close & personal for 18 years & 4 as a CL volunteer. Then I was a youth minister for 10 years. It takes different methods to reach each generation. Would I have used a goldfish? No. But if one kid continues to attend & then & accepts Christ I rejoice!
Kevin,
I have to side with Dorcas and Laura on this one, and from reading Texas in Africa’s blog, I think I recall reading that she teaches high school students at her church, so you’re jumping to a conclusion to say that she’s never worked with students.
Icebreakers and other “gimmicks” to capture the attention of students are great–within reason of course. The problem arises when as Texas points out something is done that has the potential of some pretty negative consequences–choking on a goldfish for example, or getting sick from swallowing it or the water in which it was swimming.
I agree that the school’s action was excessive and believe that a warning would have been more appropriate.
While I’m commenting, let me say I enjoy your blog and appreciate your parents’ ministry with Crusade. Much of my growth as a Christian in my college days at UT-Austin was the direct result of my involvement in Campus Crusade.
I have never understood the “culture of wierdness” that has cropped up around youth ministry. While some of these sorts of “stunts” seem quite at home on an episode of Fear Factor, I’m not sure that they fit in a presentation of the gospel. I’m also not sure that I can take a guy seriously that eats live goldfish, chews someone else’s gum, sponsors revival meetings with $10,000 half court shots as the marketing ploy or shoves marshmallows into his mouth until he can’t talk anymore.
I’m with Dorcas, but not as kind about it. I think it’s a dumb way to lose the privilege to be on the greatest mission field in the United States.
We embrace all the cloak and dagger stuff we do to keep our missionaries working in closed countries. Our missionaries in closed countries do whatever it takes to stay on their mission field. Maybe the same sort of dedication needs to be seen with campus work too?
Possibly the “culture of weirdness” is a manifestation of becoming “all things to all men, so that [they] may by all means save some.” On the other hand, it sounds a bit disingenuous to pretend to be something you are not while at the same time expecting people to believe in you enough to believe what you say about Jesus. Maybe the honesty of being yourself outweighs street-cred? Maybe the “weird witness” should be left to those Christians who are genuinely weird.
I think that school districts are afraid of problems and litigation, and they have a tendency to err on the side of over-reaction.
I think that there is a lot of stuff that goes on in middle school and high school that is just dumb - both in Christian groups and non-Christian groups.
I like AAA’s comment that the honestly of just being yourself outweighs street cred.
Isn’t goldfish swallowing out of the 50’s?
Thanks for making my point better than I did, Gary!
Kevin, I think you’re right that different generations need different techniques. Of the six youth ministers who came through during my six years in youth group, one was a big believer in pulling off big stunts, having events like “gross-out night,” and other things of that nature. I don’t recall any of those being things that actually laid the foundation for strong discipleship in anybody’s life. For me, it was mostly just a big turn-off, but I’m sure others enjoyed it.
And not to toot my own horn, but I do have pretty substantial experience working with teenagers, as a Sunday School teacher, former youth intern, camp counselor, camp site director, and frequent sponsor of youth retreats. In my experience, the thing that gets kids’ attention these days is simply being there as an adult they can trust to listen, give good advice, and not judge them while pointing them to God’s truth. Put it this way, when I’m leading a D-now group next weekend, there won’t be any live goldfish!
I’ve heard of several Christian groups pulling the goldfish stunt, and to me it seems like a contradiction. It seems cruel to me - and YES, I know it’s ONLY a goldfish, but God made that fish. Why show such disregard for one of God’s creatures? I’ll probably get flamed for this, but that’s how I feel. Get out those blowtorches!
Follow me and I will make you bobbers of fish
A3, that made me laugh, seriously.
In other news, abstinence only education doesn’t appear to work.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071107/ap_on_re_us/teen_sex;_ylt=Avtc.vqj_CahE63seQlBt3lH2ocA
It’s too important for CL to be on campus to squander their opportunity by playing Fear Factor instead.
wow…this is a great idea. i remember jesus pulling money out of a fishes mouth, or turning water into wine…lots of things that got peoples attention. huh? Once again, it sounds like Political Correctness trying to take over the world. GOLDFISH PEOPLE GOLDFISH