Kidologist.com: Karl Bastian's Personal Site and Blog
Archive for Christianity
November 17, 2011 at 10:31 am · Filed under 24 Days of Thanks-Giving, Awesome Products, Children's Ministry, Christianity, Discipleship, Spiritual Growth, Uncategorized
This is part of a series called 24 Days of Thankfulness. These posts are in RANDOM order, NOT priority order. Each is something I am thankful for leading up to Thanksgiving.
DAY #17 : Awana and Sunday School
I was just serving at an Awana last night in Colorado Springs. I was reminded as I watched these clubbers of the impact of Awana in my own spiritual journey as I realized how blessed these kids are – and they don’t even realize it yet. For them, it’s just something fun their parents have enrolled them in.
Yet they are having a spiritual foundation laid that is going to serve them for the rest of their life. Some will come to Christ at club, others will memorize hundreds of Bible verses which will become the building blocks of spiritual thought that will form a biblical world view which will become the super structure upon which will be built a life of critical thinking. And I’m not over-stating it. Objective studies by outside researchers have found that most kids trained in Awana continue to faithfully follow Jesus as adults. (source)
Awana is also where I got my beginning as a children’s ministry worker. My first official volunteer position was as a Sparky Game Leader when I was a young boy. Serving in Awana taught me a lot about living for something outside of myself and what it meant to be a part of a Team reaching and teaching chidren… I was in barely into the junior high having just finished the end of what was then Awana Boys Club Pioneers. (Now T and T)
I have had or started an Awana Club in every full time ministry I have led.
Why? Because Awana has been the single most effective outreach ministry of the entire church. Hands down. Did you catch that? I did not say most effective in the children’s ministry – I said of the entire church. Every ministry I’ve been in, I’ve been a team member of the pastoral staff and blessed to serve on a staff that functioned as a team. (I know that is not always the case in children’s ministry, so I am thankful for this.) So I am well aware of the results of all areas of ministry when it comes to new families coming to the church and people (or families) coming to Christ and (most important) assimilating into the body life of the church – and nothing does it like Awana. In fact, no other ministry draws new people like Awana, as many families who are new to the community get online and look for the church in the community that has Awana. We did. And while we ended up not attending that church, we do take our son to a their Awana club since the church we do attend doesn’t have Awana. We want our son in Awana.
After fifty years, the results are in.
Churches that have Awana – see results.
Kids who are in Awana – benefit greatly.
But I also mentioned Sunday School. “What is that?” Some may ask. I know, Sunday School seems to be going the way of VHS and Floppy Discs and soon even DVDs. A thing of the past. Most new churches are not even bothering with it as their ministries are being built on a One Hour Sunday model built around a great worship/preaching experience and their new fancy buildings reflect this with one huge auditorium and a few child care rooms and no adult educational wing or classrooms. This is tragic. With no educational hour for adults, children’s ministry is forced into a “Kids Church Only” model, which severely hinders intentional discipleship. Even when there are two services, it is the same service twice in many churches.
Christian Education, as an intentional ministry of the church is threatened. You can’t do it in Kids Church, all ages combined, and you can’t do it in small groups for adults. You can do many good things in small groups, but not intentional in-depth Christian education, so a dumbing down of the Church is happening and it is showing throughout the culture. On the adult side the evidence is everywhere, and on the kidmin side, which only kids church (which can only do so much) the results are even tougher.
Churches with both an Awana, and Sunday School education hour and a Kids Church worship service will always produce the strongest kids spiritually. This is not to say the whole parent/home element is being left out or ignored – but the Church plays a critical role and so many churches today have forgotten what it means to have a comprehensive disciple-making strategy. Or they have no idea what those words even mean.
I know that I am the result of such a strategy when I was a child. And I am thankful for it. I see the impact on my life, my faith, and who I am today. It doesn’t mean I’ve lived a perfect life, but it means I’ve known the Path, and when I got off, I knew I was off, and knew where it was, and knew the way back. A strong spiritual foundation provides you with that perspective.
I am thankful for Awana and for Sunday School. They worked together so well as part of a right hand, left hand strategy in my spiritual development, and then Kids Church brought it all together with worship and topical teaching in a kid-friendly way. Just as the adult service brings everything together for “Big People.”
November 1, 2011 at 9:00 am · Filed under 24 Days of Thanks-Giving, America, Apple, Awesome Products, BeTheDadToday, Breckenridge, Children's Ministry, Christianity, Discipleship, Evolution, Family, Food, Friends, Kidology, Luke, Mac, Marriage, Moody, Parenting, Photography, Politics, Spiritual Growth, Star Wars, Technology, Yosemite, iPad, iPhone
Today I launched a little Thanksgiving Project over on Kidology.org called “24 Days of Thanks-Giving” – basically I am providing a simple Word doc you can download and every day from Nov. 1 until Thanksgiving add ONE thing you are thankful for.
It’s really just something I need to DO MYSELF – but I thought maybe others might want to join me, and I’d enjoy reading/seeing what others are thankful for. So you are welcome to use the Word doc, or just post in the forum what YOU are thankful for! So let me begin today, with my first post. These are NOT going to be in priority order, otherwise I’d have to go God, Family, etc. and then later on, people might judge me for putting one thing “above” or “before” another – so right out of the gate let me say, these posts will be in RANDOM ORDER of things I am THANKFUL FOR!
DAY 1 –
Yosemite
DAY 2 – God’s Word
DAY 3 – My Mom
DAY 4 – Photography
DAY 5 – Pandora
DAY 6 – George Lucas
DAY 7 – Breckenridge
DAY 8 – Barq’s
DAY 9 – Mercy & Grace
DAY 10 – Steves
DAY 11 – Freedom
DAY 12 – Luke
DAY 13 – Sara
DAY 14 – My Bookkeeper
DAY 15 – Science
DAY 16 – Da Cloud
DAY 17 – Awana & Sunday School
DAY 18 – My Dad
DAY 19 – True Friends
DAY 20 – Scottevest
DAY 21 – My Customers
DAY 22 – Tennis Balls
DAY 23 – Flight
DAY 24 – Jesus
June 20, 2011 at 11:34 pm · Filed under Children's Ministry, Christianity, Creativity, Devotional, Life, Photography, Spiritual Growth
Everyone worships God differently. The Bible says those who don’t worship God, are fools. (Creation indeed leaves them without excuse.) But how they worship God, varies based on personality and interests. Some sing. Some paint. Some build. Some create. Some meditate. Some think. Some write. Some serve.
While I find many means of worship enjoyable and meaningful, one that I find most pleasing and satisfying I call “worshiping through my lens.” It is simply enjoying and attempting to capture God’s Creation through the lens of my camera, and then taking some time to edit with iPhoto.
I enjoy the compliments I get and people are often surprised I’m not a “Photoshop” expert and do everything I do to my photos with only iPhoto. So I thought this time, instead of just posting photos from my Father’s Day outing to the Denver Botanic Gardens (where we have a membership) I’d go ahead and give you my “before and after” pics to show you the difference between the pics I took and the way they look after I had some fun on the computer with them.
NOTE: All pics can be clicked to be viewed larger.
White Daisies (BEFORE)
White Daisies (AFTER) See the bug?
Hungry Bee (BEFORE)
Hungry Bee (AFTER)
Lonely Flower (BEFORE)
Lonely Flower (AFTER)
Red Rose (BEFORE)
Red Rose (AFTER)
Purple Fields (BEFORE)
Purple Fields (AFTER)
Busy Ants (BEFORE)
Busy Ants (AFTER)
Fire Flower (BEFORE)
Fire Flower (AFTER)
Waves of Grain (BEFORE)
Waves of Grain (AFTER)
And then, of course, I shoot pictures of my favorite subjects: (no ‘before’ on these)
I often do this… it is relaxing and my own personal form of worship to sit and edit photos of nature on my Mac. I don’t post them often, because I don’t assume they would make for a very interesting blog if I did it often. At times I think I should start a photo-blog, but then that would be another website to maintain and I have enough websites already!
Tell me (in comments) How do you worship?
May 14, 2011 at 1:05 pm · Filed under Christianity, Evolution
I got to spend some time yesterday with family and friends in two of my favorite places in Colorado – Castlewood Canyon State Park, and Garden of the God. (I leave the ’s’ off, there is only one God.) Little did I know the surprise that would await me and rock my Faith! But first, some pictures!
I worship through my camera, so allow me to post a few pictures. A few more are on my facebook page. (If you send me a friend invite, include a short personal note, or I will ignore it due to spam.)
I just can’t get enough of God’s creative art in the mountains and trees that He has created!
And I love seeing my little boy fall in love with Creation!
These rocks fell and caught here years ago… a sample of God’s sense of humor!
I love watching these climbers… tempted to join them, but… well, I won’t.
We saw this cave and it beckoned…
So we climbed up into it!
That’s my boy!
Here he is again!
One of my favorite spots to shoot every time I go to Garden of the God(s). It on a popular route and everyone walks right by.
And then I saw it… (you can click on the image to see it larger)
Through the woods I saw the most amazing thing… out there in the middle of the trees was the most incredible natural phenomenon!
Occurring completely on it’s own, without any intervention by man, was a fire hydrant! Obviously, this didn’t need any design or planning, it just had grown here naturally over the course of thousands or perhaps millions of years. I’m sure the $8 3D video program over at the Visitor Center would explain it in more detail, but I never watch those, because I hate how they deny a designer and planner for everything around this fire hydrant. But, obviously, this had to be completely natural! I see no signs of any intelligence or forethought or purpose or planning for this yellow iron mass. There is no need for a hydrant in this location. No way it fits into an overall plan for balance or safety or prevention. No master plan can be at work here. Obviously, it just popped up over time. It can’t be connected to a larger network in order to help a broader thought-out system be available in case of a fire? Nah. To think that this appearance here in the woods is evidence of intelligent design is absurd and ludicrous. I’d have to be religious or something and take that on blind faith to even suggest such a thing! The only logical explanation is that over a very long looooong period of time it just sort of kinda appeared hear and just happened to be a part of very complex and complicated system that only works once completed and that along the way it was somehow motivated in and of itself to keep evolving even though in its half developed stages it served no functioning purposes. Yeah, that’s it. Makes perfect sense.
May 12, 2011 at 11:45 am · Filed under Christianity, Devotional, Life, Luke, Parenting
So how do Daddy and Son survive in the store when Mommy is shopping forever?
Why, we play hide n seek, of course! I love hunting for my son, and I love how his giggles give him away, or how he is oblivious with his feet sticking out.
And I love the look of pure joy on his face and how it lights up when I find him! We both hide from Mommy every night at bedtime, and it’s a challenge to find a new stop where a grown man and a boy can hide from Mommy, but we do pretty good, and while sometimes she plays along, sometimes we fool her pretty good. The goal is always to hear, “That was a good one!”
But the truth is, there aren’t too many places to hide a little boy, and he’s pretty easy to find if you look.
That’s the nice thing about our Heavenly Father too. God has good things for us, and if we are willing to look, He hides them pretty easy too. After all, didn’t He say,
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” – Matthew 6:33
And the best news is, he hides them easy, He said so:
“God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.” – Acts 17:27
Perhaps you need to look for God today. You might think He’s hiding… but I promise you, if you look for Him, He’s let his feet peek out, or give you a clue as to how to find Him, because He likes to be found. But He usually waits to see if you’ll seek Him first. He’s like that.
If you will, He has a promise for you:
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” – Jeremiah 29:12
May 11, 2011 at 10:03 am · Filed under Blog World, Christianity, Internet, Life, Random Observations
I stumbled upon a blog post this week by a guy named Derek Miller, who died on May 3rd.
He had his family put his last blog post live after he died:
The last post
It’s a nice final post that has received millions of visitors since last week. He declares pretty confidently what he thinks will happen (or rather NOT happen) after he dies, which stimulates a lot of conversation in the comments on his site, and as usual, the Christians make fools of themselves doing more to hurt the cause of Christ than to help it. I usually find myself wishing Christians would just SHUT UP or stay off secular sites because they never seem to remember that Jesus said we are to known by our LOVE not our mean-spirited holier-than-tho argumentedtiveness. Sigh. How do these “Christians” ever think the lost will come to Christ if we are yelling at non-believers on websites comments and in forums?
Anyway – here was my comment on the site:
I very much enjoyed his post – since I’m also 41, it was very sobering. I found it sad he didn’t have any eternal hope of any kind, but find the mean spirited posts by Christians even sadder. (Jesus said we should be known by our love) I enjoyed his expressions of peace and love for his family, and as a techie myself, especially his wondering what technology he’ll miss out on – that will be my longing too should I get to see death coming slowly. (Also what movies I’ll miss! LOL) A good post that should get ALL of us to consider life after death regardless of the conclusions Derek made.
Just wanted to share it with you. It gives us all pause the thank God for our families and every day that we have here to enjoy our family and the gifts we have.
I posted about another Last Lecture a few years ago and my thoughts on that.
Every day is a Gift. It’s why its called the Present.
Breath Deeply.
April 23, 2011 at 1:37 pm · Filed under Christianity, Devotional, Friends, Holidays, Kidology Update, Spiritual Growth
Happy Resurrection Sunday…
Hello Friends.
Grace = Getting what we don’t deserve.
(vs. Mercy = Not getting what we DO deserve!)
That’s what this weekend is all about. It’s about the Grace God showed us by looking past our short-comings, our failures, and our imperfections… and loving us anyway.
It’s about wanting us to be Family in spite of us. It’s about Him DYING to make us Family, even though we were wrapped up in ourselves and our needs.
We’ve all got people in our lives (and families) and drive us nuts and who are wrapped up in themselves. People who have let us down. People who don’t deserve a second chance. People who don’t deserve forgiveness. People who are a “lost cause.”
Christ was demonstrating for us what He expects of us by what He did for us. While WE were a lost cause, beyond hope, undeserving, selfish and wrapped up in OURselves – He died for us, and then did the biggest “come back” in His-Story to redeem us.
We have no excuse to hold anyone at arm’s length or hold a grudge. Those who have truly experienced Grace, find it so much easier and natural to extend Grace – for they have been to the foot of the Cross and begged for it.
This Easter, look around for who you can be Jesus to… someone perhaps you’ve overlooked, forgotten, or even given a cold shoulder too… and welcome them back.
After all, it’s what Jesus did for you and me on the first Good Friday and Easter not so long ago. (In God’s eternal timing)
Happy Easter!
A grace receiver,
Karl.
February 22, 2011 at 12:29 am · Filed under Children's Ministry, Christianity, Parenting, Review
Not since Parenting is HEART Work has there been another parenting book that I really liked. Most parenting books annoy me. Why? Because I find them gimmicky or filled with tricks and cliche’s that don’t treat children as unique creations of God wired by Him for a purpose. I’m passionate about this because as a boy I was one of those boys that drove my teachers crazy – I wasn’t rebellious, disrespectful, mean or insubordinate – but they might have called me a “bad boy” when I was out of ear shot. Because I didn’t come out of a cookie cutter. But if they could see me now, they’d understand, I’m a leader, a visionary, a creative innovator, inventor and initiator. An entrepreneur. A mover-and-shaker. I still can’t sit still.
That is why I was hesitant when I was offered a free copy of Spiritual Parenting to review, because it was a new “parenting” book, and I hate parenting books! Parenting books teach parents how to get their kids to behave, and if you’ve been to any of my discipline workshops, you’ve heard me say,
“I have absolutely NO interest in children behaving.”
After the shocked faces recover, I assure them, behavior will improve, but what I’m interested in is shaping their character and their hearts. If you change their behavior – you succeed in making little Pharisees out of them. Training them how to “act” when adults are around. And what happens when the adults are no longer around. Uh, huh. Exactly!
That is the problem with teenagers. When they were kids their parents taught htem how to behave instead of shaping their hearts and character. DUH!
Well, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the premise of Spiritual Parenting is precisely that. As it says on the back cover:
“It’s hard enough to train kids to behave, but good behavior isn’t what Jesus calls for in the Bible. God wants hearts and souls that are shaped in vibrant faith and love toward Himslef and others.”
Michelle Anthony, a Family Ministries Pastor in Costa Mesa, CA, talks throughout the book about how to create environments for fostering Godly character in your children – Environments of Identity, Faith Community, Service, Out of the Comfort Zone, Responsibility, Course Correction, Love and Respect, Modeling and more. She gives practical examples, steps, stories, and scriptures to help parents see how forming a child’s character is the key to real genuine change – change that matters – not just external change. It is a book I’d highly recommend you pick up and settle down and read, have your spouse read, and then discuss.
The other book David C. Cook was generous to give me a copy of, also by Michelle, was The BIG GOD STORY – and it just that! Big and all about God! Never before have I seen in one short children’s book the story of GOD woven so simply and profoundly through the entire Bible in a way that even young children can grasp – even including the 400 years of silence between our Testaments, showing, as she says in the final letter to the Reader, “that God promised, preserved, prophesied, and faithfully presented His Redeemer at the perfect time!”
Your children hear bits and pieces of this giant story in a scattered order at church. Having this book at home and telling them where what they are hearing at church or seeing on TV fits into this BIG GOD STORY can really help them grasp the larger Story of God. I’m grateful to have this book for my son.
Note: These are not affiliate links, I make no money off the purchase of these books. However, I did get a free copy in exchange for the review.
MORE INFO:
BUY ON AMAZON:
YouTube Video About Spiritual Parenting
YouTube Video About BIG GOD STORY
February 8, 2011 at 12:49 am · Filed under Awesome Products, Children's Ministry, Christianity, DiscipleLand, Kidology, Kidology Update, Teaching
PLUS! Kidology Has EXCLUSIVE Buy One Get One Free Offer!
DiscipleLand, the publishers of DiscipleTown, are coming out with the most beautiful preschool Bible this Spring – BUT RIGHT NOW – you can get exclusively from Kidology.org a gorgeous Easter Story Book for your children at an amazing BUY ONE SET OF TEN and get a SECOND SET FREE!
This special offer won’t last long – and it is unique to Kidology.org due to my special relationship with DiscipleLand as the author of DiscipleTown.
DOWNLOAD A SAMPLE PDF and then hurry over to the Kidology.org Store while supplies last!
You will get TWENTY 16-Page books for the SAME PRICE as TEN over on Discipland.com! (compare)
You’ll want to give one of these beautiful books to every one of your children on Easter Sunday Morning! VISITORS COME ON EASTER SUNDAY! This bibllically rich book tells the Story of Easter and shares the Gospel Message!
FIND OUT MORE and ORDER!
May 13, 2010 at 1:40 pm · Filed under Blog World, Christianity, Twitter
Been enjoying some interesting conversation over on twitter. I can’t quote it because it involves the F-bomb – but some non-believers ended up being followed by the @Kidology twitter account probably due to using some key words such as “kids” and “church” in the same tweet – and ended up tweeting about how “sick” we were for “brain washing” kids and “making a business” out of it.
As I tried to engage one of these folks, just to apologize and let them know we’d ‘unfollow’ them, we eneded up getting into a public conversation about God, atheism and the pointlessness of prayer, etc. One of them (not the one who dropped the F-bomb) claims to be a “well adjusted free thinking atheist.” Not sure what she is “well adjusted” from. Perhaps, adjusted from life without God, since she mentioned giving up on God 30 years ago since He never answered her prayer. Made me sad. I wonder what she prayed for? I also wonder what she is free of? She mentioned be guilt-free? That also made me sad. I don’t know if some Christians have imposed guilt on her for sins they see in her life or some life-style overlooking their own sins? Or perhaps she just perceives this. If I’ve learned anything in my journey, it is that Christians can be the most judgmental people on the planet. Or maybe she feels a sense of guilt knowing she is not in line with her Creator’s design for her life? I wish she understood that the most beautiful thing about the Christian Faith is that we can walk GUILT FREE because of Jesus. That our God doesn’t point His finger at us, He points at Jesus who came to die for our sin and take the punishment for our sin away from us, not judge us for it.
She mentioned that she was disappointed that her prayer of years ago wasn’t answered. I don’t know what that prayer was for. But I do know that God answers prayer. In small and in huge dramatic ways. I’ve experienced it many times. Millions have. Apparently she had not. Why? Of course, I can’t answer that – especially not knowing what she prayed for, but I do know that God answers prayer for His children differently than He does for those who have not yet surrendered to Him. It’s like the difference between a kid asking his own parents for something, and asking a parent in a house down the street. A neighbor parent might give you something – but your own parent has an obligation to provide for you. When you are just a creation of God – you live on His block – He often will help you out, but when you become His child, things change – I wish so much this woman would understand that were she to give her life to God, to give God a chance, to become one of His children, the floodgates would open, and her prayers would have the ear of a Father, not just of her Creator
Nevertheless, I was sad to hear of her disappointment with God and therefore choice of Atheism. But it was understandable. You can’t argue someone to faith – you can only graciously hope to guide them to be open to what God might what to show them, if they will be open to experiencing it. If they aren’t, there is nothing you can really do. No one was every argued into the Christian Faith.
Sometimes I wonder if it is worth engaging in discussions on twitter or facebook or blogs with atheists or non-believers… does it really do any good? Can I really change their minds? Probably not.
But if I don’t answer – if I don’t try – do I really believe what I believe? And if I leave a question unanswered – too I give the impression that there is no answer? So I try. Too many Christians don’t even try. Or they just quote Bible verses or preach back at them with meaningless arguments that I think just tick them off or at least annoy them. I’m sure I have in my sincere attempts. Though I try to use compassion and logic rather than spouting off Bible verses. What good is quoting a Bible verse if they don’t believe the Bible? You and I may have studied the historicity of the Bible and understand why it is reliable – “God said it, I believe it” works for us, but when you don’t even believe God exists, the source is in doubt.
Instead, they need someone to answer them with a little more compassion. I told this woman not to give up on God – that even in the silence, God still cares. And I admitted that answer sucks. I think non-Christians need to hear that kind of honesty from us because I think sometimes we are afraid to admit it. The truth sucks sometimes. God doesn’t always answer our prayers. Sometimes He seems distant.
And so, some people, give up. Like this lady on twitter. They give up on Him and decide instead to be “well adjusted free thinking atheists.” She gave up, 30 years ago. How do we invite her back? We engage her. I probably failed. Did I bring her a step closer? Maybe. Maybe not.
I have no idea if I handled this right. But at least I’m engaging the lost. Sometimes we get too comfortable in our Christian circles and loss sight of WHY we do what it is that we do – to reach the lost.
And so I ask you – when was the last time you had the F-bomb dropped on you? Maybe that’s a good sign you are on Enemy territory? Every time it happens to me over the years I realize, I’m engaged in the battle!
At least this woman with her unanswered prayer of 30 years ago, who has learned to adjust to life without God was reminded today through a chance tweet that God does care, He does love her, and He does want to know her.
And I prayed for her. I guess both she and I will find out 1,000 years from now whether anyone heard my prayer.
Follow @Kidology on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/kidology
Follow me on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/kidologist or @Kidologist
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