Movie Review: Saved! (2004) A Parody of Youth Group Culture 

At the 51:00 mark you mentioned how Graham would get others to 'prime the pump' to get others to come forward. I remember our church when I first became a Christian (early 2000's) did the same thing. It was building up to Easter and the pastor had groups of us that were told to 'move forward at different times' in order to get others that may be hesitating to come forward. That never sat well with me.

I hit like as soon as the intro plays

Many things in this movie hit close to home. We took our kids out of youth group in the early 2000’s. Our kids thanked us. We changed to a smaller church in which all ages studied the Bible together on Wednesday nights. Anyone could ask any question and there were reference books on the tables in reach of everyone. My kids grew so much and learned how to use study tools and find answers in the Word. Much better approach.

My friends and I would throw paperback books at each other (not Bibles) and yell "I'm filled with Christ's love" randomly during school breaks. We took that movie with a grain of salt. We were and are still saved. As a teen we saw that movie as a joke. As an adult, I roll my eyes and laugh thinking about it.

Charles Finney started the culture of godless manipulation. The movie was bashing christians as hard as possible. It is a cautionary tale for belivers at best. We must gaurd against promoting a "christian like culture" as opposed to being about the buisness of our own santification, building up of the body, and spreading the gospel. Youth culture like in the movie is why so many kids leave for collage and never come back to church.

I was in a pretty typical southern Baptist youth group from 1997-2000 in 6th-8th grades. There is a lot I can see looking back at it the wasn’t great, and I never liked some of the ridiculous games they put on, but it was first time I had actually ever made friends. My family moved after that I didn’t actually make new friends again until college when I got involved in a campus ministry. I’ve always struggled socially and still do, but youth group was one place where I was able to overcome it.

I grew up in the 1990's youth group culture. There was little gospel and no theology. The 1990's youth group culture caused so much damage to the church that we may never fully understand the extent for years to come. I believe that it help with the growth we now see in the NAR cult.

I was a kid in California at the time and Mcauly and Mila sat behind our family at the "harvest crusade" with Greg Laurie (angel stadium) apparently to get info on how to act for the film!

Just stumbled across your channel the other day. You do a great job in them and may God bless you and give you encouragement, sir! The truths you speak could get you physically injured or worse these days, and i pray God protects you! I would add you're dead on, in that John Calvin was right, humanity is totally depraved. It's so sad many churches don't realize that foundational truth about us all and start from there...

I made some dear friends during my time in youth group growing up(late 90s into early 2000s) and had a lot of fun, but relationships with older believers(my parents and others) were vastly more spiritually formative. I think there's room for some dedicated space for kids to build relationships with one another, but youth group, especially taught by a mercenary who's looking to jump to a head pastor position instead of an elder who's there for the long haul, ain't the way to grow solid Christians

Thanks this was great👍

I went to youth group in the early 2000’s. I started at a fairly big church for my area in 7th grade that met in a warehouse next to the church. It started with loud blasting music and games, followed by some outrageous competition where kids ate gross things or something like that, and then a short, watered-down teaching, followed by more loud music and games. I HATED it! I only went a few times that I can remember, and then I switched back to the small church where I grew up. The youth group there was night and day from the other one. Emphasis was on the Word. We sang, heard a short sermon, and then girls/guys were divided up and our groups spent time discussing the teaching and praying together. The youth pastor always encouraged us to read the Bible on our own throughout the week. I grew spiritually so much during my teen years and I credit it in large part to that church and youth group. However, sadly, there were many of my peers who fell away during or not long after high school. One deconstructed (before it was a thing, but that’s the label I’d give it) and others got caught up in sin of various kinds (promiscuity, drug abuse, etc.) I’ve often wondered why.

I'm about your age Pastor born in 82. The 90s youth group culture is a huge part of why I wanted nothing to do with what I thought was Christianity until I was nearly 30 years old. What many young people don't get is before the internet, you only knew what you encountered in person. For so many of us, youth group culture was the only Christianity we knew. There was no Jay Dyer or redeemed zoomer to get different views from.

As a Zoomer, (who never saw what you are describing firsthand) I believe that I am seeing a sensitivity to outward displays of repentance/showy piety in the church. I often have been warned against these vices by those who saw others participate (and in some cases were guilty of) them. The 1990s church culture impacted a lot of folks in my parent’s generation.

It was Temple of Doom that brought PG-13 into existence. Spielberg and Lucas submitted it with full expectations of a R rating for the occult sacrifice scene and gross-out feast. But it was given PG. And even they said, "OK, We need something between the two."

Why does Parker look like Matt Damon, and I’m betting Parker and Matt have never been photographed together

Fantastic movie

The come forward etc has always had a high pressure salesmanship element to it in my mind, and it always left me very uncomfortable. Faith is such a beautiful growing sense of wonder at all the Word of God, like a growing thing.

Two things can be true regarding saved: 1.) that the intent of the movie was to bash true Christianity in general and the culture it brings (bad intent/no surprise) and 2.) it being a somewhat accurate critique of the milk toast-big-Eva-cultural “churchianity” of the 1980’s-90’s (good).

Superman 1978 is the greatest movie of the 70s. Don't forget to check out DC comics follow up comic book series "Superman 78" continuing the adventures of the Richard Donner version of the man of steel.

I believe Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was the first movie to recieve the PG13 rating.

I grew up in the 70s. Churches then were not so into the megachurch borg mentality.

repent(change your mind about sin to the way God sees it and change your attitude about sin. and trust in Jesus you will be saved