James Meehan - What Should Christians Think About TikTok Activists?
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Vince Parker: Well, welcome back to Culture Makers. Today we're talking getting advice, crop tops, what we would do differently back when we were in high school based on what we know now, a little bit of NBA. I'm your host Vince Parker. With me I have Ariana. Ariana, how are you doing today?
Ariana Lane: I'm great. I'm so happy to be back.
Vince Parker: It's so glad. Do you know that you're like, the favorite of the Culture Makers?
Ariana Lane: Oh my goodness.
Vince Parker: Everyone loves you.
Ariana Lane: I don't know about that, but I have a really great time with you guys.
Vince Parker: Fans in the chat, let us know how Ariana is your favorite. Just put it down there. So you're my favorite too, so.
Ariana Lane: Well we haven't actually gotten to host together. I'm ready.
Vince Parker: We haven't, this is our first time. Wonder Twin powers activate, come on.
Ariana Lane: Yes!
Vince Parker: Psh!
Ariana Lane: Shew!
Vince Parker: Excellent, excellent, excellent. So good. So let me ask you this: are you watching the NBA finals?
Ariana Lane: No.
Vince Parker: Okay; is it because you're anti-NBA, you don't like sports or you just have better things to do in life?
Ariana Lane: Actually, basketball is my favorite sport. If I had to watch one, but I just, I don't know. Like I don't, I don't really have like, channels. We have a TV but we don't have like, cable.
Vince Parker: So you're one of those non TV watching TV owners.
Ariana Lane: Yes.
Vince Parker: You spend your time outdoors?
Ariana Lane: Yes.
Vince Parker: Okay. So what we're going to do is there's a few teams left in the finals and I'm going to ask you who you think is gonna win, okay?
Ariana Lane: Okay.
Vince Parker: We can do that, okay?
Ariana Lane: Yes.
Vince Parker: So, first up we have the 76ers and the Atlanta Hawks. Who do you think is gonna win?
Ariana Lane: 76ers.
Vince Parker: Okay, that's a good call because right now they're up 2-1 over the Hawks. So, good call. And they're the top seed in the east, so good job. Okay, here we go. This one's going to be difficult: Suns or Nuggets?
Ariana Lane: Suns or Nuggets?
Vince Parker: Yeah, Phoenix Suns or Denver Nuggets?
Ariana Lane: Nuggets make me think of chicken nuggets, so I'm going to say Nuggets.
Vince Parker: Okay, bad call, because actually last night, the Phoenix Suns just eliminated the Denver Nuggets in a 4-0 sweep.
Ariana Lane: Okay, okay.
Vince Parker: But that's okay, we're still good. Couple more, here we go. Utah Jazz or LA Clippers?
Ariana Lane: Clippers.
Vince Parker: Clippers? Okay, that's a good call. They could come back; right now they're down 2-1, but they could come back.
Ariana Lane: Yeah, they could come back.
Vince Parker: Next up, Brooklyn Nets or Milwaukee Bucks?
Ariana Lane: Um okay, Nets. We'll pick that, basketball net.
Vince Parker: Okay, well right now they are tied 2-2, as of this recording. We'll see what happens.
Ariana Lane: Okay! I hope every single prediction that I just made is right, except for the Nuggets, of course.
Vince Parker: Yeah, that was already... So let's talk about crop tops, okay?
Ariana Lane: Okay.
Vince Parker: All right, so let's dive in. This is why we're talking about it. In California about a week ago there was a protest that was started on TikTok because the school was having a school assembly to enforce its dress code about crop tops. And one of the young ladies went to TikTok to start a protest, encouraging ladies and guys to protest. They even wrote their protest statements across their stomachs. And her big push behind it was this: instead of having an assembly that tells girls not to wear crop tops because of what it encourages guys to think, how about having an assembly about encouraging guys about what to think and not to objectify women?
Ariana Lane: Hmm, man.
Vince Parker: Thoughts?
Ariana Lane: Thoughts? Well, my first thought is that's just kind of cool that Gen Z and students, and just people can use TikTok to like, organize like that.
Vince Parker: Like things they care about, things that things that matter.
Ariana Lane: They're passionate about it. They want to get a message out there or connect with their friends about something that they're passionate about. I just think that's pretty cool.
Vince Parker: That was one of the big things I took away from this, is I'm like, you know what? That is cool, that there's something they're passionate about. And as we know, Gen Z is passionate about a lot of things. I love how they're being proactive about it. So may I ask you this...
Ariana Lane: Yes.
Vince Parker: Crop tops, are you a fan or not a fan of crop tops? Do you wear a lot of them?
Ariana Lane: I think that there is a way to stay with the trends and still honor God. And I think there's a way to stay with the trends and not do that. There's a lot of things that you can wear that are in style with Gen Z or in style with any generation that are done well...
Vince Parker: Right.
Ariana Lane: And others where you're like, you know, maybe you should skip that one.
Vince Parker: Have you done what I call the Christian crop top?
Ariana Lane: What is that?
Vince Parker: Which is, you wear some type of bodysuit, I'm not sure, I never asked, I've seen it, underneath, but yet you have a crop top.
Ariana Lane: Yes!
Vince Parker: So let's say the crop top is like white or blue, whatever bodysuit you wear underneath it is like a contrasting color. So it'll still have the crop top effect, You just don't see the belly.
Ariana Lane: Yes, I've done that. I've also done like the overalls, you know, with crop top underneath, things like that that come up more. Like high-waisted things, yeah.
Vince Parker: Okay. So what we're taking away from this is, hey, at the end of the day, we love that people take action about things they're passionate about.
Ariana Lane: Yes.
Vince Parker: If you have something that you're passionate about, what are you going to do about it? Like you just can't sit around and wait. And using social media is a good way to do that. But when it comes to actually wearing a crop top, that may not be the best fashion thing that you would wear. I particularly don't wear crop tops, not even the Christian way.
Ariana Lane: Well, I'm pretty thankful for that. I will say, you're very fashionable.
Vince Parker: Thank you.
Ariana Lane: You're very fashionable. I really think that about you. I admire your style. Crop tops, I think I agree with you. You should maybe stay away from those, as your friend.
Vince Parker: You heard it, I'm officially never going to crop tops. But let us know in the chat how do you feel about it, the whole thing. Or if you have questions, let us know. Let's talk dating advice.
Ariana Lane: Okay!
— Now you've been married for a couple of years now, right?
— Yes, two years.
— Didn't you just recently celebrate an anniversary?
— Yes we did, last week!
— Congratulations to you, that is exciting.
— Thank you!
— Two years of probably 200 more to go, right?
— Yes, hopefully!
— So here's the deal, when you think about the two years of marriage, when you think about the dating, when you think about all that, what would you tell yourself in high school?
— Man, I think the thing that I wish that I would have known when I was dating is who I am in Christ, and being confident in that. And I think for my story personally, I just kinda looked to dating relationships to find out who I was, and didn't walk confidently in who God created me to be. So I just wish I would've spent some time learning more about who I am in Christ and found my confidence there first.
— I feel like that probably resonates with a lot of people who watch Culture Makers. How would you have gone about to do that? Like what are some steps or some practical things they can do to maybe discover who they are in Christ?
— Yeah, I think God's word is definitely where you can find all of those things. But for me, I needed somebody to walk alongside with me to show me where I could find those things in God's word and how it applied to my life. So I think I would have brought my small group leader at church into that. My mom and dad honestly were very wise. I wish I would have listened to them more, and listened to people who were walking before me and who had done that before me who were also following Jesus.
— Awesome; so what you're saying is instead of focusing on being in a dating relationship, you would have focused on the relationships that helped you discover more who you are in Christ.
— Definitely, 100%.
— That is awesome. So how do you, maybe there's somebody out there who's watching, who's maybe not in a small group or maybe they can't quite talk to their parents about this yet. How do you suggest they get involved in church, or get involved in being able to have that conversation with their parents that begin to build themselves up in who they are in Christ?
— Yeah, I think finding a church home is key. So we have a ton of experiences online for students at Switch Online. Or if you're close to a location or church online, there are people waiting to connect with you. And honestly your parents too, your whole family who want to walk along that journey with you and teach you how to connect to God's word and empower you to even influence your family. Like anybody in the family, whether it's a student or a kid, can be the person who encourages their whole family to get to church and to learn more about God's word.
— That's awesome. That's good. You are super wise. That's why you're everyone's favorite.
— Thanks!
— So here's the deal.
— Yep.
— Question, not about dating, just in general. If you could tell yourself one thing, right? Back in high school, what would it be?
— Hands down that you don't have to have steps A through Z of your life lined out when you're 15, 16, 17, 18.
— That's good.
— Like, there is time for you to figure out what you want to do, what you're passionate about, who God has made you to be, your gifts. You don't have to figure that out in one year or a few years in high school.
— Awesome, great advice.
— What about you?
— Ooh, man, that is good. I would probably say to myself, slow down. It's going to be okay.
— That is so good, yep.
— Slow down. It's going to be okay. Now let's shift gears back to sports, your favorite topic.
— Yes, I'm excited.
— Did you watch UFC 263?
— No, but I did have a friend that went to that and I think that's pretty cool.
— Okay, that's a...
— I didn't watch it, but...
— Did they like send you a message that said they were there?
— Yeah, they told me they were going and then they sent me some pics of them at the fight. I mean, I was like, that's cool. I don't know what's going on. Did you watch it?
— I did not watch it. I did pay attention to what happened, the winners and the losers. So we're just going to move on, because I was hoping you had watched it and sat down and checked it out, so, okay.
— No, no.
— So here's the deal, what are your top three things you're looking forward to doing this summer?
— Ooh! My family is going to Colorado and so I'm excited to be outside and hike and just spend time with my family. And then two other things? I feel like everything that I'm saying is about outside, but we just love going to the park in Oklahoma City. We love walking and biking to different places and eating snow cones.
— Ooh!
— So I think it's like the little things, you know? Like getting outside in the sunshine. I feel like I come back alive when it's warm outside.
— Okay. That's good. So, difficult question, really hard: what's your favorite snow cone flavor?
— That is really hard! I think it's lavender lemonade.
— Do they use real lavender?
— Yes!
— Like sprinkle, actual like little lavender things on top?
— Yes, at Katiebugs they don't use any harsh dyes or chemicals. So that is really my jam. I'm all about that natural snow cone.
— Okay, what's your favorite snow cone? Say it in the comments below. Maybe someone's in your area. Let them know, that way they can go check it out. We hope you guys have a great summer. Thanks for hanging out with us today. Remember: like, subscribe, chat it up, and let us know what we can be talking about that helps you grow in your faith. We'll see you guys later, peace.
— Bye!