According to the Los Angeles Police Department, there are more than 450 active gangs in L.A. with at least 45,000 members. Many have been operating for over 50 years. From the beginning of 2010 to the end of 2012 there were 16,398 confirmed violent gang crimes. Author and Los Angeles high school teacher Anne P. Beatty has for many years taught teens that belonged to gangs. Here's what she said about the desperate drives underneath gang members:

In gangs, people without families, or without functional families, find a place where they belong and are taken care of …. The gang structure meets every basic need that a teenager has: food, clothing, protection, purpose, identity. For some members, to leave the gang requires a rejection of everything they consider to be themselves. Getting violence out of your life is an abstract concept, but getting rid of your homies? That's real.

Ms. Beatty claims that gang violence is a symptom of deeper problems in families and in society:

Advertising appeals to the most basic instincts of human nature, to the things that really get us salivating: sex, money, and power. Kids are brought up on these goals and they hunger after them—all kids do. But the lucky ones have parents, teachers, and friends who push against this unholy trinity, who demonstrate instead the importance of love, community, and compassion. The unlucky ones … absorb only the messages in the media. We all suffer for it.

Possible Preaching Angles: (1) Consumerism; Desire evil; Conformity; Worldliness—This story doesn't just apply to gang members. Even teens in "good families" can still struggle with this "unholy trinity" of sex, money, and power. (2) Parents; Mentors; Teachers; Pastors—We need strong leaders and parents who can help our youth absorb more than just the messages in the media. (3) Church, mission of; Mission; Mission, church—As the church we have a mission to create an alternative society to the one offered by the media.