I Survived Youth Group in the 90's

Happy Holidays and/or Merry Christmas from all of us (it's just Caleb and Scott really) at I Survived Youth Group in the 90s! Troy and Meleah join us to talk about our childhood Christmas memories and how those translate to how we celebrate Christmas today. We will be taking a bit of a break for the remainder of the holidays. But don't worry, we've got very very good episodes coming up in January....

We really appreciate Adam jumping on an reflecting on his time as a 90s youth group kid. With great reverence, Adam describes how the opportunity he was given in youth group translated into the fulfillment of a life long dream. Check out his book at www.lessonsfromcoach.com! Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@SurvivedYG⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ISurvivedYouthGroup@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ Discord: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://disco...

This week's episode we are joined by DJ who both Caleb and Scott know in different ways. We won't spoil how but one of us has known DJ for a very, very long time. This is an honest and intentional conversation about how faith can change overtime while still holding onto the tenets of our youth. Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@SurvivedYG⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ISurvivedYouthGroup@gmail.com⁠ Discord: ⁠https://...

A very quick episode to update you all that we won't be releasing episodes on Thanksgiving or the day after Christmas and New Years. Please reach out if you want to connect with us! Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@SurvivedYG⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ISurvivedYouthGroup@gmail.com Discord: https://discord.gg/5HyZTvhE

We wrap up our music series and our conversation with Josh and Eric about where Christian music is at today. There's been a ton of change over time for this industry and finding Christians making music and writing about their Christian experience isn't as easy as it used to be. But there are some very goods out there so listen to find out all about them! Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@SurvivedYG⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

We continue with our music series with a discussion about where Christian music is at today. Our first episode with new friends of the pod Eric & Josh establishes their journey through 90s youth group and how it shaped their love of music. The conversation then moves to modern non-worship Christian music and what that market is like today. Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@SurvivedYG⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ISurvivedYou...

Caleb and Scott and Tim continue their conversation about worship music and talk about its history, the meaning it has for the church today and lastly what it means for our kids to worship in church spaces. How often theologically when we sing corporately? As someone who has edited and updated old hymns for modern worship, Tim has some great insight into worship music as a whole. Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@S...

Part 4 of our Music Series takes a quick break from a specific music discussion to introduce our very good friend Tim J. He served as a worship pastor at a church in downtown Minneapolis so this is a introduction to our discussion about worship music. Part 2 will dive heavily into that topic while Part 1 serves as an introduction to Tim and his story. Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@SurvivedYG⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ISurviv...

This is Part 2 of our summary of our Christian music experience. Go listen to part 1 if you have not - this will make much more sense! This episode focuses mainly on why the 90s Christian music industry was unique and what it still means for us today. Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@SurvivedYG⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ISurvivedYouthGroup@gmail.com

We're kicking off a a series about Music so it's only natural that we begin with 90s Christian Music. We welcome our old friend Bill back to the show because the three of us went to many, many shows together. These two episodes are a cross to Caleb's other Podcast - The Album Anniversary Podcast. So our listeners get to hear the real Caleb in this one! Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@SurvivedYG⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ISurvi...

With about 20 episodes under our belt and many of them being interviews, we decided to discuss what we've learned so far. What themes have we noticed and what has surprised us. This is a slight pause in our interview style episodes. Next week we're back start off a string of interviews discussing Christian music, starting with Worship. Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@SurvivedYG⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠ISurvivedYouthGroup@gmail.com

We get the chance to talk with Erica on this fun episode which is equal parts funny and insightful. Erica was a few years behind us so we talk about the anticipation leading up to becoming part of the youth group and whether or not it lived up to the hype. We appreciated her honesty in answering these questions about her journey! Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@SurvivedYG⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ISurvivedYouthGroup@gmail.com

We get the chance to reconnect with our old friend Leah on this episode. Leah was an integral part of our youth group at 5 Oaks. We really appreciate the thoughtfulness in her answers - you will find it very much enhances the episode! Hey, did your youth pastor send you to the mall with the instructions to tell a stranger about Jesus? Asking for a friend. Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@SurvivedYG⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ISurvi...

Part two with Meleah & Troy! We round out the conversation about their younger, youth group selves and dive into their experience with the 5 Oaks youth group as volunteers. Their perspective sheds light on how prolific that 5 Oaks youth group was at the time. Tune it to find out how Troy (eventually) checked all of Meleah's boxes for a spouse! Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@SurvivedYG⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ISurvivedY...

This week is the first of a two part interview with our dear friends Meleah and Troy. These two have a fun story meeting at 5 Oaks (Scott takes full credit for this marriage) after independently surviving their own youth group experiences in the 90s. This first part will mainly be their stories about youth group and Part 2 will be more about their relationship and how 5 Oaks contributed to it. Twi...

When was the last time you had some big shoes to fill? Tim B took over the Five Oaks youth group in the early 2000s and the youth pastor there for over 10 years. We talk about youth group transitioning form the 90s into the 2000s, what it means to be welcoming, and the importance of giving kids the chance to lead. Don't let Tim fool you - he says that he didn't know how to be a youth pastor but he...

A special episode for this pod, we get to chat with Caleb's sister Bethany. It's an honest, vulnerable conversation about how life can come at you fast but Christ still remains constant. There are lots of laughs to be shared in this one but the love and admiration these two have for each other is heartwarming. Consider this episode an homage to good parenting! Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@SurvivedYG⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠ISur...

In our mid-40s, you would think our tongues would have been tamed by now. Quite the opposite, actually. We dive into a discussion about the real implications of swear words, vulgarity, and taking the Lord's name in vain. Find out why, on this topic specifically, 90s Scott would be heckin' mad at grown up Scott. This episode is edited to actually be family friendly. All swear words are beeped out....

We break the mold to talk to Alex who survived Youth Group in the 2000's! Alex takes us on an insightful and often hilarious journey that reveals his deep commitment to Christ and equally serious journey through questions, doubt, and change. Disclaimer: Scott got confused on some of the timelines in this episode but he still led a couple of groups when Alex was in High School. Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠@Survive...

What was more scary to a 90s youth group kid? Finding out the world might older than 6000 years or realizing that Left Behind was actually terrible fiction? This week we discuss how fear of cultural takeover motivated us to defend our faith at all (well, most) costs. Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@SurvivedYG⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠ISurvivedYouthGroup@gmail.com

Another survivor of youth group in the 90s, Brant joins us to talk about his tender coccyx as well as other important topics such as returning to the church his parents help found (find out how he almost burnt it down), the utility of a historical Job, and why he bought the home of his childhood best friend. Twitter: ⁠⁠@SurvivedYG⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ISurvivedYouthGroup@gmail.com

As we got deeper into interviews we realized a lot of the reminiscing is - naturally - positive and funny. However, in this disclaimer episode we talk about how things weren't always rosy and how shame was common for 90s youth group kids. Twitter: ⁠⁠@SurvivedYG⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ISurvivedYouthGroup@gmail.com

A youth group kids in the 90s we were very tempted to judge the faith of others. Some things really haven't changed! Today we are joined by our old/new friend Alex as we discuss, with trepidation and sadness, how Christians call each other fake for a variety of issues. We talk about partying and politics and why ultimately we feel deeply that the church needs to work at regaining trust. Twitter: ⁠...

The third installment in our politics series takes issue with the difference between American and Christian Freedom. While very different, our hosts discuss why its hard to watch the church conflate the two. How much distinction of those two ideas should be discussed in a sermon around July 4th? And why does one lean so heavily on the other? If you've ever been to a church on July 4th that has an...

Continuing on in our politics series, Caleb and I bring the conversation to today and how things have changed for us but more importantly why. We know its a heavy topic but we hope you can stick with us as we try to keep it pretty light-hearted. By the end of the episode, you'll realize that neither Caleb nor I are very manly whatsoever so all of those Braveheart references never landed well for u...