|
March 2000 Table of Contents
Youth Choir
Rescue 101
By Dennis and Nan Allen
"We've gotta do something!" That's what we're all saying about our world...especially when it comes to our children and youth. Violence, suicide, pregnancy is rampant among our teens. It seems the world's gone crazy and we don't know what to do about it.
So...we try something...anything...different things to end the violence and crime among the teenagers. Metal detectors. Curfews. Locker searches. Drug sniffing dogs. Dress codes. Anything that will keep the kids under control.
But has it helped? In some places, yes. But mostly...no. Kids are still killing kids. And hopelessness is the worst disease in our society.
Why? Well, believers know that the changes that are needed in our world aren't changes in legislation or in administration. People need a change of heart! And we know that the only way to change a kid's heart is to empty it first of the hate for their world...BUT then fill it with the love of Christ.
When Mark Cabaniss at Hal Leonard Publishing approached us with the idea of addressing the recent violence in high schools across the nation, we began to pray about what to say. Finally, it came down to this message: "We have the cure for the world's disease. We've just gotta present it in a way they can understand and embrace."
The youth musical RESCUE 101 is a way, we think, to inspire churches (those with traditional youth choirs and those without) to evangelize among the student population in their communities. But it's also a tool to help groups present the gospel in a cool and pointed way. Actually the musical has two parts.
Part One is to the church. The story line is of some Christian students who truly want to reach out and share the gospel with their friends at school. They come to a realization that they must bind together, that there is strength in numbers. "Even the gangs know that," one of characters declares. At first, the students have such fervor! They're so excited about telling their classmates, but they aren't prepared for the response they get. The main characters are "churched" and use "church" language to speak to their friends. One of the characters says, "It's like we're speaking Swahili or something."
The characters finally discover that they have to learn a different language in order to share the gospel. Then they realize that they have to be "salt". In this case, being salt means that they have to find ways to melt away the cold, hardened hearts of their friends. They must do it with courage and compassion.
The students, at first, are overwhelmed by the task before them and even threaten to give up, until they realize that they see people everyday who are "on the edge", careening off into some pit of despair. One of the main ballads in Part One got its title from a report from one of the survivors from the Columbine shooting. A girl, with her friend, hiding under a table during the attack looks away for a second and when she looks back her friend is dead. The girl said, "One second she was right next to me, the next second she was gone." The song is called "Right Next To Me."
(verse)
BRIGHT AND EARLY SUNDAY MORNING
I SHOW UP IN MY SUNDAY BEST
AND SIT SMILING ON A PADDED PEW
THANK GOD I'M TRULY BLEST.
YOU'D HARDLY GUESS
THAT
BRIGHT AND EARLY MONDAY MORNING
IT'S A TRULY DIFFERENT SCENE
DEMONS DANCE
OVER MY FRIEND IN THE SEAT
RIGHT NEXT TO ME.
RIGHT NEXT TO ME.
(chorus)
THEY'RE HELPLESS
THEY'RE HOPELESS
POWERLESS AGAINST
A FORCE THEY CANNOT SEE.
LORD, HELP ME KNOW
WHAT TO SAY TO THOSE
RIGHT NEXT TO ME.
SHE WALKS BY ME EVERY MORNING
WITH THAT SAME LOOK IN HER EYES
VACANT STARES FROM VACANT LONGINGS IN
A DARK AND LONELY LIFE.
HE PASSES BY ME
EVERY MORNING IN THE HALLWAY
SOMETIMES OUR EYES WILL MEET
I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS COULD BE THE LAST DAY
HE'LL BE
RIGHT NEXT TO ME
RIGHT NEXT TO ME
(bridge)
LIFE IS FRAGILE
SO UNSURE
I MAY NEVER GET THE CHANCE
TO SAY WHAT'S ON MY HEART AGAIN.
©Copyright Hal Leonard Publishing, 2000
Part Two is to the world. It begins with a cool song from the group Audio Adrenaline called "DC 10" which asks the question: "Where ya gonna go when this life is over?" This is optional to the presentation, but it sure will be a crowd grabber for a mall, a park, a campground, etc. where the group hopes to witness (not to mention the fact that the choir will love singing it!) Then there is a quick (6-7 minute) musical presentation of the gospel. We basically put the plan of salvation to music, stopping briefly between scripture songs to explain some of the "church" words that may be foreign to non-believers. Words that we use all the time like "sin", "lord", "believe", and "saved" that the world maybe misinterprets or doesn't comprehend at all.
Part One of the musical can be done alone (without Part Two) if you'd like to just inspire your own. Part Two can also be done alone if you're wanting something quick and energetic for evangelism. But together, both parts work great for any occasion and can be performed with simple staging or with elaborate sets. The book has production notes and an accompanying Bible study and ideas for organizing your evangelistic efforts.
Rescue 101. We've gotta do something. It's gotta start somewhere!
Back to Top
|
