RADIO

Sony Pictures
PG

Radio, inspired by a true story, is a movie about hometown heroes. A football coach (Ed Harris) in a small town starts to notice a man who walks around with a shopping cart (Cuba Gooding Jr.). When he finds him being ridiculed and abused by some of his players, he decides to teach everyone a lesson and gives the man a job on the team. He soon becomes known as "Radio."

This relationship has a transforming effect on Radio. But as the coach says in the movie, "Truth is, we're not the ones who have been teaching Radio. Radio's the one been teachin' us." The coach, the team, the school, and the town end up changed as a result of bringing this one person into the community.

Discussion questions

• What was this movie about?
• What was your favorite part of the movie? What made you mad?
• Do you think people here would have the same kinds of responses to someone like Radio? Remember to consider the racial dynamics.
• Why do you think people have such a hard time accepting people who act or look differently than the majority? How can we change that?

Coach Jones says, "Truth is, we're not the ones who have been teaching Radio. Radio's the one been teachin' us."

• What does he mean by that? What does Radio teach everyone? (Compassion, humility, kindness, sacrifice, love, etc.)

Colossians 3:12-17 teaches us to be like Radio, clothing ourselves in compassion, kindness, humility, lowliness, meekness, and patience.

• Have you ever thought you were doing someone a favor by being nice to them only to find you got as much out of the interaction as they did?
• This is a good time to talk about serving the homeless, going on a mission trip, participating in a Servant Event, etc. What were your original motivations for participating? What did you learn through the experience about yourself and others? What was the most difficult learning to face and accept?

Use 1 Corinthians 12:1-12 to emphasize the gifts that everyone brings to the table.

1. Pass out paper and have everyone think about whom in his or her world is someone they might get to know better that could transform both of their lives. Offer some ideas. Maybe it is someone who is "Just like everyone else; just a little slower than most" as Radio is described. Or maybe it is a homeless person, or a person at school who has less money than the average person, or who doesn't move the same way as everyone else. 
2. Write down the name of the person.
3. Ask youth to take their paper home and put it in a place that will remind them to work on building a relationship with that person.

Matthew 25:31-40 reminds us whatever we do to the least of these, we also do to Christ.

Closing prayer

To close, come up with a list of people or groups of people who are marginalized for one reason or another. Assign willing participants one person or group to pray for in your final prayer exercise. Using a football, start out the prayer and then pass it to someone else between petitions. The petitions can be short: I pray for people who don't have a place to sleep. (Pass) I pray for people who are Islamic. (Pass), etc.