I saw “The Social Network” on opening night but with all the Oscar buzz recently around this amazing film I figured this was a worth repost. I was skeptical going in, having not read the basis for the film (“The Accidental Billionaires” by Ben Mezrich) and wary of anything looking to capitalize on such a trendy topic. But then I noticed it received an astronomical 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. I’ll leave others to critique the accuracy of the story, screenwriting, performances, etc but I do believe that people will be talking about it for a long time for many reasons…at least around here in Silicon Valley.

I’ve had a difficult time for many years watching or listening to something without looking for ministry or leadership applications. It’s just something that’s on my brain a lot, I suppose that any work of art can be somewhat of a Rorschach. The rest of this post will make a great deal more sense if you’ve seen the movie, not enough space here to give the full run-down. So with that in mind here are a few interesting nuggets related to youth ministry that I noticed in the film:

1. Entrepreneurial Energy — There’s a level of energy and enthusiasm inherent in discovery, risk-taking, and the forming of great ideas that you can’t help but get excited about. This in itself was obvious and inspirational in the movie. We saw a group of students portrayed as unsatisfied with existing structures and yearning for more purpose, connection, and significance. This kind of energy and enthusiasm is vital to our work with students and our teams. If you or your team is struggling with being excited about your current plan, existing structures, or roles, it may be necessary to try something new, shake things up, take a risk. Even if you fail in the short term, it may point you in the right direction. Neo didn’t make the jump on the first try because no one makes the jump on the first try. Just like in this movie, often it’s not the first idea that generates a movement but the outcome of many drafts and hard work. Excitement runs downhill, if you and your team are excited about what’s happening, your students will be too.
2. Priority on Intention — All dubious ethics and betrayal portrayed in the movie aside, it was interesting throughout that the primary motivation for the lead character was not necessarily money but the integrity of the invention. While the more business-minded folks encouraged monetizing almost immediately, it was the visionaries who kept the inner circle focused on the design and intention of the product. For youth-workers trying to stay focused on The Call with a ministry plan strategically designed to produce a certain outcome (disciples of Jesus), the application writes itself: namely, distractions and rabbit trails even with good intentions are still distractions and rabbit trails. Being great at a few things often leads to a greater yield than being mediocre at many things. Not always, but often. How can we stay focused on being great at the few things we’re called to do rather than spreading out our time, energy, and resources on too many activities that have a tendency to produce vision-drift in ourselves and our teams?
3. A small group of people with an unstoppable idea can still change the world — Who would have thought that three 19 year olds in a college dorm room would revolutionize the world? Facebook stands at a valuation of 25 BILLION dollars. Its 500 million participants makes it the third largest nation on earth. Mark Zuckerberg is the youngest billionaire in history. We’re all aware of the impact of this initially small, simple idea that came from the mind of a kid. A few people with a great idea can make a difference. Reminds me of a small, motley group of people in the Galilean outback that eventually reached Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth. Student ministry is tough. For many of us, we’re handling what seems like 4 job descriptions on a daily basis. Navigating politics, dealing with conflict, leading different teams, walking with parents, school administrators, teaching, coaching, programming, planning, goal-setting, and on top of it all pursuing the spiritual development of our students…it really goes on, you know the feeling. Sometimes it can feel like we’re running uphill in quicksand and true change happens way too slowly. But we have a trump card, the ultimate unstoppable idea: the Gospel is THE original, greatest, revolutionary idea that can change the world. God broke into our world in the person of Jesus and the world has never been the same. What cool things is God doing among your small group of people as you share His unstoppable idea that can change the world? May we continue to be the tellers of this great, unstoppable story to a generation that desperately needs to hear it.

P.s.: I also saw numerable negative lessons as well in the film — the ends doesn’t justify the means, loyalty DOES matter, people DO matter, narcissism is alive and well…but that’s for someone else to post about.

Matt Bond is the Director of High School Ministries at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church on the San Francisco Peninsula. He’s been serving in full-time youth ministry for the past 16 years plus a few years of volunteer leadership and internships. Check out his blog and Twitter at @matthew_bond, too!