We all gossip, but why? Do we do it to feel better about ourselves? See SoulPancake hit the streets to talk to strangers about why, and when, we gossip.

Items Needed: Paper, markers or ink pens, tape or safety pins to apply the paper hands.

You can either pre-make paper hands or have each participant trace their own hand on paper and pin it on their back. Then the whole group walks around and writes a one-word POSITIVE description of the person whose back they are writing on. (ex. Nice, Pretty, Fun, Exciting, Loving, Kind-hearted, etc.) Allow enough time, depending on group size, for everyone to circulate. Then have students sit in a circle and read what everyone said about them.

Get students into the habit of encouraging one another with their words. All you need is one bottle per 10 kids or so. Gather all your students in a circle around a bottle. If you have a big group, break off into several groups of 10 students each. One student starts the game by spinning the bottle. When the bottle stops spinning, it will be pointing at another student in the circle. The student who spun the bottle must then give that student a compliment. It CANNOT be something like, “Your shirt looks good.” It needs to be genuine, something about their character, faith, disposition, etc. Keep going until everyone in the circle has been complimented. Sometimes this can be tough, especially if there are students who do not know one another. But genuine and kind words are worth the effort. NOTE: It is probably a good idea to place at least one adult leader in each group of students. This makes sure the compliments are genuine.

In a circle, the leader whispers a sentence (gossip) into a student’s ear. Continue, one by one. The last person repeats the sentence out loud to see if it matches the original sentence.

See the Seahawks’ star player choosing to be abstinent with pop star-girlfriend Ciara.

Girls’ group —  Bring in magazines and evaluate the ads. Talk about how looking at them affects how you feel about yourself. (Even if you know they are airbrushed.)

Selfie contest — what makes a good selfie? How do you choose what pictures to post on social media or not? Do you ever post pics that make you look bad?

Use words from your topic or lesson to introduce the subject. Pictionary, but with Play-Doh. Divide your group into two teams. Have a representative come up front from each group. Whisper a Pictionary word to the leaders and they must run back to their groups and, without talking, mold that word with Play-Doh. Words for this lesson are things we compare ourselves with others: facial features, body image, clothes, grades, money, talents, friends/ relationships, car, home, career, family.

Tony Evans explains what it looks like to wait for God to intersect with us.