Kidologist.com: Karl Bastian's Personal Site and Blog
Archive for Christmas
December 19, 2012 at 3:42 pm · Filed under Christmas, Family, Friends, Life
We still enjoy sending out a traditional Christmas Card greeting to a select list of family and friends – though it is a challenge every year! But it is a great opportunity to get updated addresses on people you know and love.
But it also forces you to make tough choices too.
Have we heard from them in while?
Do they still live there?
Are they still married?
Have they ever written to us?
Who are they, again? LOL
Often you see a name and such fond memories come back. A smile appears on your face as you remember years of ministry together. Once in awhile you crack up laughing over something that happened. Sometimes sadness sinks in. They’re divorced. You were at their wedding. What went wrong? Other times you wonder, why haven’t we heard from them? What’s changed in their life? You hope they are doing OK. Life happens. Other people’s addresses change and their cards come back. You wonder if you’ll ever reconnect. Then there are those who pass away. Memories are all you’ll ever have. Until heaven, of course!
Relationships and networks have only grown with the Internet, e-mail, and facebook and Twitter! (I suppose I should include circles on Google, though I only dabble there.) It’s hard to manage them all! Life is too short and too busy to keep up with everyone we have ever worked with, played with, laughed with, liked, loved, or been related to!
But at Christmas we try to catch up… even if it’s just a card, or letter or a blog post or a video or even just a quick e-mail.
That’s one comforting thing about being a Christian and belonging to the Family of God. We will have all of eternity to catch up with all the people we feel behind on here on earth. A new heaven and new earth without the pressures of work and deadlines and a calendar that reminds us we are getting older and no hurry that pushes relationships aside because of things we tell ourselves are more pressing. (When they probably really aren’t most of the time.)
We won’t need Christmas to play catch up. We’ll be able to walk and talk and catch up all the time. I’m looking forward to it. But in the mean time… I’ve got to get some Christmas Cards in the mail. If you don’t get one, don’t be offended. I’ll be posting a video and blog post as well soon, but “catch all” strategy. And no worries, I take no offense at those who ‘forget’ or skip me. I’m planning to spend some quality time with all of you Someday. Let’s make a point of it!
February 18, 2012 at 2:35 pm · Filed under Children's Ministry, Christmas, Cow, Family, Life
How do you know if someone is a fit for marriage?
Sara, Karl and the Cow
If they are willing to be the rear end of a cow with you!
This is Sara and me practicing in my Cow Costume (which I still have 20 years later!) eight months before we were married.
I got it for a Christmas Play where Hark, from the Herald, traveled through time to interview different characters from the Christmas Story (shepherds, wise men, innkeeper, etc.) in order to discover the “True Meaning of Christmas.” However, I thought it was too sacrilegious to have “Hark” interview Mary or Joseph in the Nativity, so I had him interview a cow off to the side instead.
I was very excited when I got my two-man, er, one man – one fiance cow costume, and Sara was happy to help me figure it out and practice with it while were on a Thanksgiving retreat with my family that winter.
Cow or no cow, we’ve made quite a team over the last twenty years!
December 25, 2010 at 12:12 pm · Filed under Christmas, Luke
We searched the house, where could Luke be?
Finally, we went outside… and there he was… at the nativity, worshiping Jesus.
What did he bring? Was it Frankincense? Myrrh? A toy car?
OK, so the picture was posed, but it has been wonderful to see our son’s understanding of Christmas blossom this year, especially as this was the year he asked Jesus into his heart, and all by himself one evening when he was alone.
“Quizzed” by his parents later, he assured us he knew what he was doing. We’ve seen so much fruit to reflect a change in his heart and vocabulary we are assured that the Christ of Christmas now lives in our little boy. Now he won’t let a day go by without Dad teaching him something new about Jesus!
It’s made this Christmas all the more special to us.
December 23, 2010 at 12:08 pm · Filed under Christmas, Family, Life, Luke, Parenting
And the GRAND PRIZE, “The Bastian Family!”
We couldn’t believe our ears! We were at our church’s Family Gingerbread House making event, and there were well over 100 families making yummy houses. When they announced there was a competition and my wife saw my face slightly change she said, “You’re not competing are you?” I answered, “Of course!” (Men, you understand.) But I didn’t seriously think we had a chance, after all, I had a four year old on my team who I was not going to cut out of the process to increase my chances.
We struggled away with our house, since we didn’t cheat and use a kit (!) and even added shingles and a chimney! When we heard the ten minute warning three sides were still blank! I then realized that the chimney look a little like a steeple, so I quickly added a triangle and a cross just as we slapped on frosting and stuck candy all over the sides!
When I got to the tables and saw all the amazing creations I thought we don’t have a chance but as I was setting ours down I overheard the judges say, “Look at that and its not a kit.” Wow, that was encouraging!
When we ultimately won out of so many entries we were laughing all the way home. There were so many incredibly amazing creations there! Lots that, if I had been a judge, I would have chosen over my own. But for some reason, ours was chosen – perhaps for the family effort, the shingles, and the steeple. I mean, it IS a neat Gingerbread Church, I don’t mean to belittle our hard work. But there were some other amazing ones there too. We just DID NOT expect to win! But we’ll take it!
It made me think of Mary and Joseph – the most unlikely couple to be chosen to “win” the choice as the Parents of Son of God. A single teen age girl? A young man with no experience? Poor and unknown! So many others would have been more impressive.
But God chose them. Like us when we heard our name announced, they were probably laughing too that God chose them of all people!
Even when I look at the growth and impact of Kidology – and then consider myself, I have to laugh again. That God would choose me. God truly has a sense of humor as well as grace and delights in choosing those who don’t deserve to be used. I think that’s a big part of the meaning of both Christmas and the Cross.
We wish you a laughter filled Merry Christmas!
December 17, 2010 at 10:44 am · Filed under Christmas, Parenting, Uncategorized
On the center table of our home is a figurine of Santa kneeling down and worshiping Jesus. It was the one thing I wanted from my childhood. My mom promised it to me as a little boy. To me, it summarizes the role Santa plays in our home. He is a part of Christmas, but he is subservient to Jesus.
Over on Kidology.org we have a thread the gets action ever December: How to answer Kids questions about Santa. I invite you to chime in!
My story is a funny one, because in my home, we enjoyed Santa – but not only did I not “believe” in Santa, I didn’t know any kids actually believed in him until my first Christmas as a children’s pastor! I found out in the most horrible way.
Teaching on the “true meaning of Christmas” in kids church I must have mentioned that Santa wasn’t real… (well, he isn’t!) I didn’t intend any harm to children, it wasn’t the point of my lesson, I also said it wasn’t presents or lights or snowmen or trees! I don’t even remember exactly how it came up! Maybe I was asked by a child. But Monday morning I was in the senior pastor’s office (who was a father of six kids) being asked…
Boss: “Did you tell the children in children’s church that Santa isn’t real?”
Me: “Um, I might have.”
Boss: “Why would you do that?”
Me: “Well, um, maybe because, he isn’t?”
Boss: “But why would you do that in church?”
Me: “Well, my lesson was on the true meaning of Christmas?”
Boss: “But what gives you the right to spoil Christmas for kids?”
Me: “How does telling kids the reall meaning of Christmas spoil Christmas?”
Boss: “Because a lot of kids believe Santa is real?”
Me: “They do? Not grade school school kids. Who tells them that?”
Boss: “Their parents.”
Me: “Not CHRISTIAN parents?!?!?”
Boss: “I do.”
Me: “Ooops”
It was a real eye-opener to me! I never knew that anyone, let alone Christian parents would tell their kids that Santa was REAL! I can’t bring myself to “lie” to my son. (I use the word lie very lightly, but it is lying, as its not true.) However, I don’t judge parents who do this, I have good friends and family members who do let their kids “believe” in Santa. But for me, I don’t see the need to believe in something for it to be fun. I didn’t need to believe Star Wars was real for it to bring so much joy to my childhood. (or adulthood for that matter!) – - sorry, if a few of you out there are just now saying, “What!?!? Star Wars isn’t real!?!”
The real clincher for me is that so much of our Christian faith, if we are honest, is hard to believe! Faith is required. (Josh*)
I want everything I tell my son to be TRUE. When I do tell him things that aren’t true – as I often do in a joking manner – if he asks, “Really, Dad?” I answer honestly. I don’t want him to discard Jesus when he discards Santa. But he can always tell when I’m “lying” or having fun making stuff up – be fanciful. So when I say, “This is true” he believes me. So when I say the Sea parted, or the sun stood still, or Jesus walked on water, and my son says, “Come on, REALLY DAD?” I want to be able to say, “YES, Son, REALLY.”
That’s why I don’t lie to my son, ever. And I can’t bring myself to tell him Santa is real. Because so much about our faith IS unbelievable. And yet so true. So why start at this young age telling him something that isn’t real, is?
But that’s not dogmatic or judgemental. That’s just MY decision for MY family. Because I have a responsibility to raise MY son to know the difference between what is real and what is true and to not discard Jesus when he discards Santa, as 85% of all high schoolers do according to research “as a childhood belief.”
I LOVE how Mark Driscoll from Mars Hill sums up the issue in: What We Tell Our Kids About Santa. It’s a GREAT read. In summary:
The daughter of one of my great hero’s, Ewin Lutzer, has an excellent blog post on the topic, Lori Bourne: Should Parents Tell Their Children the Truth About Santa? It is an excellent and through post with many ecellents comments!
But, in my summary, I think I like BEST how my good friend, Henry Zonio, summed it up in a much shorter blog post:
A lot of people are worried about their kids believing that Santa is real. It’s not the story you tell at Christmas that’s going to determine their belief in Jesus. It’s the story that you tell every other day of the year with your life that makes the difference.
NOTE ON COMMENTS: I have 20+ on Facebook so far and 2 here… keep in mind Facebook comments vanish and are never read again, comments here are archived and become part of the annual discussion (like Lori’s comments on her blog) so be sure to post your thoughts here to last longer!
*Josh, faith doesn’t mean ‘blind faith’ – faith means even with the overwhelming evidence, there still remains an element of trust, a leap to trust & accept. Atheists or evolutionists must do the same, in fact, even more so I would argue!
November 27, 2010 at 10:38 pm · Filed under Children's Ministry, Christmas, Devotional, Holidays, Humor, Kidology
Don’t Like Green Eggs
and Ham?
Jimmy Jim says TRY JESUS!
JESUS LOVE YOU!
I’m Jimmy Jim!
JESUS LOVES YOU!
Will you accept Him?
That Jimmy Jim!
That Jimmy Jim!
I do not like that Jimmy Jim!
Do you know Jesus?
Do you know Him?
Would you like to accept Him?
I do not want to be a Christian, Jimmy Jim!
I do not want to accept Him!
Would you accept him here or there?
I would not accept him here or there.
I would not accept him anywhere.
I do not want to be a Christian.
I will not accept him, Jimmy Jim.
Would you accept him in a house?
Would you accept him with a mouse?
I will not accept Him in a house,
I will not accept Him with a mouse.
I will not accept Him here or there,
I would not accept Him anywhere.
I do not want to be a Christian,
I will not accept Him, Jimmy Jim.
Would you accept Him in a box?
Would you accept Him with a fox?
Not in a box,
Not with a fox.
Not in a house,
Not with a mouse!
I would not accept Him here or there,
I would not accept Him anywhere!
I will not become a Christian!
I do not want Him Jimmy Jim!
Would you? Could you? In a cart?
Accept Him! Accept Him! Into your heart!?
I would not, could not, in a cart,
I would not, could not, into my heart!
If you’d accept Him, you would be
On your way to Heaven for eternity.
If you’d accept him you would see!
You may accept him, in a tree?
I would not, could not in a tree,
Not in a cart, you let me be.
Not in my heart, now can’t you see?!
I will not accept Him in a box
I will not accept Him with a fox.
I will not accept Him in a house,
I will not accept Him with a mouse.
I will not accept Him here or there,
I would not accept Him anywhere!
I do not want to be a Christian!
I will not accept Him Jimmy Jim.
A train! A train!
A train! A train!
Could you, would you, on a train?
Not on a train! Not in a tree!
Not in a cart, Jim! Let me be!
I would not, could not, in a box.
I would not, could not, with a fox.
I will not accept Him with a mouse,
I will not accept Him in a house.
I will not accept Him here or there,
I would not accept Him anywhere.
I do not want to be a Christian,
I do not need Him, Jimmy Jim.
Say! In the dark? Alone in the dark?
Would you, could, in the dark?
I would not, could not, in the dark.
Would you, could you, in the rain?
I would not, could not, in the rain,
Not in the dark. Not on a train.
Not in a cart. Not in a tree.
I do not want Him, Jim, you see.
Not in a house. Not in a box.
Not with a mouse. Not with a fox.
I will not accept Him here or there.
I will not accept Him anywhere!
Jesus loves you!
Will you love Him?
He died for you!
Won’t you accept Him?
I will not accept Him, Jimmy Jim.
I could not accept Him with all my sin!
But when you accept Him,
Your sins are all gone!
Jesus forgives everything you’ve done wrong!
That’s what it says in the Book that He wrote,
So could you, would you…. with a goat?
I would not, could not, with a goat!
Would you, could you, on a boat?
I could not, would not, on a boat.
I will not, will not, with a goat.
I will not accept Him in the rain.
I will not accept Him on a train.
Not in the dark! Not in a tree!
Not in a cart! You let me be!
Not in my heart! Get away from me!
I will not accept Him in a box.
I will not accept Him with a fox.
I will not accept Him in a house,
I will not accept Him with a mouse.
I will not accept Him here or there.
I would not accept Him ANYWHERE!
(getting weak)
I do not want to be a Christian,
I do not need him, Jimmy Jim.
You do not need him,
So you say,
But Try Him! Try Him!
Please just pray.
Try Him and you may, I say.
Jim!
Since you will not let me be,
I will try him so I can see,
Just why you keep on telling me.
That Jesus died so I can be,
Right with God for eternity.
I’m not so sure,
Just what to pray,
But if He loves me as you say,
Then I will pray
This very day
And have my sins
Washed right away.
Jesus, You know that I have sinned,
Probably more than Jimmy Jim,
But he says you love me, and if it’s true,
I’d like to be a Christian too.
Come in my heart and make me clean,
I do not want to be so mean.
I’d like to live forever more,
If you will take me, I am yours.
Say! I’m a Christian now!
I accepted Him, Jimmy Jim!
And now I’ll love Him in a boat!
And I will love Him with a goat!
And I will love him in the rain!
And in the dark! And on a train!
And in a cart! And in a tree!
He’s in my heart, He loves me!
He is so good, so good, you see!
So I will love Him in a box!
And I will love Him with a fox!
And I will love Him in a house!
And I will love Him with a mouse!
And I will love Him here and there!
Say! I will love Him ANYWHERE!
I DO love Jesus!
I DO love Him!
I’m glad that I accepted Him.
Thank you! Thank you, Jimmy Jim.
Original Story,
“Green Eggs and Ham” by Dr. Seuss.
This Christian parody written
and copyrighted by Karl D. Bastian.
1994
Sample from The Christmas Zone on Kidology.org
(Original Kidology Post)
I wrote this back in 1994 in 20 minutes right before Kids Church! I was doing a lesson on witnessing and the main point was on being persistent in our witness and I remembered this classic book from Dr. Seuss and the persistence of the little guy who got the old guy to finally TRY green eggs and ham, and how he LOVED IT when he finally TRIED it! And I realized, that is how it is with sharing Jesus.
So many people are so resistant to Christ, unwilling, for vaious reasons to even give Christ a try – usually because of Christians they have met, or seen in the media or movies – or misconceptions, and so they simply will not TRY JESUS, because they want nothing to do with the Jesus they have a perception of.
The problem is, the Jesus they are rejecting, I’ve rejected too – and Jesus would reject too, if they would read the Gospels! That Jesus doesn’t exist. In fact, it’s why He was crucified. The religious establishment didn’t like His message.
So, for my atheist and non-Christian friends, forgive my persistence, but you really really ought to try the Jesus of the Bible – not the Jesus of obnoxious Christians. (I don’t like them either!) And I apologize for all the things that have been done in the “Name” of Christ, yes, they were wrong. That isn’t the real Jesus.
Not even the Jesus I reflect at times, unfortunately. I’m a terrible mirror Him, often.
But the real Jesus, who created you, set you free, loves you despite how you use that freedom – then died for you to pay the penalty for the consequences of how you’ve used that freedom. And patiently waits for you to return to Him.
Jesus is often called the Meek Savior. But don’t confuse meek with weak. Meek is NOT weak. Meek is restrained power. He is powerful alright! Someday that power will be unleashed in judgment on this world and those who have not accepted his offer of salvation will be judged, and no one is getting away with anything. Those who have wronged you, will pay. But you and I will pay too, if we’ve not gotten right with our Creator. But everyone who has accepted His offer of forgiveness, will be granted such. Luckily for me (I need it) I’ve accepted it.
I hope many others will too. Before it is too late.
I DO love Jesus!
I DO love Him!
I’m glad that I accepted Him.
Thank you! Thank you, Jimmy Jim.
December 28, 2009 at 9:10 am · Filed under Christmas, Family
Here is the Bastian Christmas Letter 2009:
Dear Family & Friends,
It’s hard to believe, but it was during Christmas last year that I said to Sara, “by this time next year, we won’t be in Illinois.” And here I am, writing to you from Colorado, looking out my window at prairie, cattle & mountains! It was mostly wishful thinking at the time – but a brush with death in April made the idea of moving to Colorado a firm plan! After a big magic show Easter weekend, I felt some chest pain and went to the ER hoping to be told I was fine. Instead, I had a stent put in my heart! That brush with death (and the lightening strike in May) focused my resolve to make what mattered most matter now! I read on a blog a quote by Andy Stanley that I could not get out of my head,
“Everyone ends up somewhere, few end up there on purpose.”
So here we are – on purpose, loving our new home, in a new setting, and a fresh start in a new place! Sara and Luke seem to be enjoying our new surroundings. Luke loves his new neighborhood. For starters, it has sidewalks so he can drive his motorized Ford F-150 to the mailbox which is a block away to get the mail, and we have a community playground and lots of little boys his age in the ‘hood to play with. If you visit, he is eager to show his playroom where his ‘car table’ is the center attraction! Sara has made new friends to bake and shop with and is enjoying exploring the new area and especially that when it does snow, it melts within two days and warm weather returns. (unlike Chicago!) She is enjoying having a new home to set up and decorate and especially hosting guests who visit – and yes, the guest room is always available for you should you be in Denver on business, or even if you plan a visit just to visit us! (hint, hint!)
We have found a church we are attending and I’m volunteering on Christmas Eve with Gus (my puppet) to teach, but otherwise we are just enjoying attending and making friends at this point. People often ask if I am looking to be a children’s pastor again – the answer is I give is that right now I am enjoying being the children’s pastor of ONE little boy named Luke, but yes, in time there is nothing I enjoy more than teaching and pastoring children and it’s probably where my gifts and passions are strongest. But right now my plate is full equipping and encouraging other children’s pastors through Kidology.org – especially with the writing assignments I currently have. But I have a sneaking suspicion that in God’s timing the perfect opportunity will present itself and I look forward to the time when I will get to be a children’s pastor again – and hope that I can teach Kids Church while my son is in grade school – and I look forward to that day, in God’s timing. Until then, I have plenty to do!
God has opened doors for writing a new children’s church curriculum for DiscipleLand.com called DiscipleTown and a column in Children’s Ministry Magazine as well as in their Professional Edition. So I’m learning a lot about working at home and what it means to be an author and managing time and deadlines! It’s not easy, but I’m learning! Keeping my own Kidology deadlines has been challenging since I’m my own boss for those. I’m learning you can’t manage time, – only tasks! If you have kids, they may enjoy my new kids videos at www.objecttalks.com
Be sure to keep up with our family via my blog at Kidologist.com and both Sara and I are active on Facebook. If you are on Twitter, you can follow me @Kidologist, if you don’t know what that is, visit www.twitter.com/kidologist and get with the times! ☺
Because Jesus Loves Children,
Karl Bastian (for Sara and Luke too!)
Click Image Above to View LARGER IMAGE
or Download HIGH RES PDF (13mb)
or LOW RES PDF (1mb)
December 21, 2009 at 5:03 pm · Filed under Christmas, Humor, Luke
You gotta love those ad lib moments that become memorable and meaningful! At a family advent event I was speaking at this month, my theme was the name Immanuel and the significance of “God with us.” My ever-present helper, Gus from ChildrensMinistryPodcast.com, suggested that maybe Mary and Joseph nickname Jesus “Baby Manny” – short for Immanuel. I’m not so sure about that – but the kids got a kick out of it.
Luke's Favorite Jesus - Because He's Dressed in Purple!
While I doubt “Baby Manny” will catch on as a name for the baby in the manger, isn’t it wonderful to be reminded that the awesome and powerful Creator of the universe desires to have a close and intimate, even familiar, relationship with us? I think the Almighty God, who once said we could call him Abba Father, or “Daddy,” wouldn’t mind his son being called “Baby Manny” if it endeared us to Him more.
This Christmas, don’t let the hustle and bustle of the season distract you from the Child who cries for your attention. After all, Baby Manny is the Reason for the Season! He is God with Us!
(This is the intro to the Kidology Newsletter this week,
read the entire newsletter online)
December 8, 2009 at 8:57 am · Filed under Christmas, Found on Web, Holidays, Humor, just cool
I rarely post something I got in an e-mail forward, but I loved this:
Here is the text of the e-mail: (source unknown)
I had to take him down after 2 days. I had more people come screaming up to my house than ever. Great stories. But two things made me take it down. First, the cops advised me that it would cause traffic accidents as they almost wrecked when they drove by. Second, a 55 year old lady grabbed the 75 pound ladder almost killed herself putting it against my house and didn’t realize it was fake until she climbed to the top (she was not happy). By the way, she was one of many people who attempted to do that. My yard couldn’t take it either. I have more than a few tire tracks where people literally drove up my yard.
It was fun while it lasted
Hope you get a kick out of it too! I thought it was pretty creative, but can totally see why the poor guy had to take it down! It’s something I’d do but my wife would make me take it down long before the police would get a chance too! Merry Christmas!
December 16, 2008 at 9:40 am · Filed under Christmas, Holidays, Life, Spiritual Growth
(Reprinted from the December ’08 Kidology.org Newsletter)
Getting Christ Back into Christmas Your Ministry
There is a danger in ministry that is easy to miss. During the Christmas season, we often hear the phrase, “keeping Christ in Christmas,” or reminders that He is the “reason for the season.” But these sentiments have as much to do with our ministry all year long as they do with the celebration of Christmas. While it is certainly disappointing how little of Jesus we see in our culture’s celebration of Christmas, and frustrating to see our Savior being systematically squeezed out more and more every year, there is something far more gradual and eternally dangerous than seeing Christ steadily removed from Christmas. And it is happening every month of the year. It is the slow and unintentional removal of Christ from ministry – or at least the removal of a vibrant relationship with Jesus in the midst of Christ-centered ministry.
I have no doubt that children’s ministry leaders and volunteers will keep “Christ in Christmas” during this season. I am more concerned about whether we will keep a relationship with Jesus at the center of our life and ministry. Christmas serves as a perfect object lesson on this topic because Christ slips away from our ministries the same way He slips out of Christmas. When it comes to the purpose and focus of Christmas, it is true that there are those who are intentionally and strategically trying to remove Christ from Christmas – but they are easy to identify. However, there is a more subtle attack at play. Too often Christ gets lost, not because of overt attacks, but because He just gets drowned out in the midst of many other good things. Shopping for gifts to express love is a good thing. Decorating to make the world a brighter place is a good thing. Cooking up special recipes to make life taste better is a good thing. Playing with children, volunteering to help the poor, giving to the needy, playing music focused on joy, and promoting peace and expressing love are all good things. They aren’t “bad,” and they even please Christ – but at the same time, they can distract us from the very One who inspired them.
The same is true with our lives and ministries. We do have an Enemy who seeks to remove Christ from the center of our lives, and often his distractions or downright seductions work – and we sin. But more often, it is all the GOOD in our lives and ministry that can cause Jesus to be lost in the shuffle. We are about so many good things! Creatively teaching the Bible is good. Getting kids to come to church is good. Making the environment fun and inviting is good. Preparing fun games, engaging crafts and yummy snacks is good. Providing resources is good and staffing our classes and programs is good. Developing safe policies and creating attractive bulletin boards, brochures and websites is all good – and most of it is inspired by our desire to lead children into a saving relationship with Jesus. But just as Christ slips out of Christmas while we are busy sipping the eggnog, so Jesus can slip out of our ministry while we are restocking the resource room with apple juice.
Here a few warning signs that Jesus may have gotten buried in the busyness of ministry:
- You haven’t read the Bible for yourself in awhile. (Lesson prep doesn’t count!)
- If you pray, it’s at meals, or when you need something for the ministry.
- Your spouse or kids are starting to resent the ministry. (Or perhaps you are.)
- What used to bring you great joy now seems like a burden. (If you are honest.)
- You aren’t really as happy as you appear on Sunday. (You thought no one could tell.)
- You can’t remember the last time you got to lead someone to Christ (one on one).
- You are feeling stressed and overwhelmed with the ministry. (His burden is light.)
- You are exhausted most of the time.
- You feel unappreciated, undervalued and overworked.
- You don’t like who you are becoming privately.
- You have sin in your life that if anyone knew…
How does it happen? How can you be doing so much GOOD and seeing LIVES CHANGED and have so many people impressed and pleased with you… but Jesus seems like a stranger to you?
It is because your ministry has become central, when it is only supposed to be an outgrowth of your relationship with Jesus. It’s what you do; it was never intended to become who you are.
Let me tell you a true story about a member of Kidology.org. Jean was an extremely active and talented volunteer in her church, leading many aspects of the ministry. So when the church decided to hire a children’s pastor, she asked me to pray as she eagerly applied for the paid position. At the culmination of the search process, the church leadership decided to evaluate the final outside candidate and Jean at the same time. As she describes it, they flew in a “superstar” applicant who they would interview and evaluate along with Jean. “I was scared big time” Jean says, “and failed the interview miserably. I was so frozen with panic that my husband started answering the questions for me!” Jean was sure she wouldn’t get the job. She lacked the education, the experience, and frankly she knew she didn’t answer all their questions very well. Jean was accepting with grace the fact she probably wouldn’t be chosen but was happy to continue serving as a volunteer under whomever the church leadership eventually hired. That was why she was so surprised when the church leadership called her in and offered her the position as the new children’s pastor. Surprised, she asked, “But I thought I gave all the wrong answers?” They replied, “You did. But you also talked about Jesus in all your answers and how you and He would figure it all out. We’d rather have a leader who is in touch with Jesus and working with Him, than a leader who is depending on their education, experience and expertise to lead.”
I applaud Jean’s church leadership for recognizing what truly matters most in a children’s ministry leader – an active trusting relationship with Jesus. She is now getting the experience and education that will only make her a better leader. No school or conference or church can offer her the most important thing for the job: a vibrant relationship with Jesus.
Where does Jesus fit into your life and ministry? Do you have all the right answers? Or do you have Jesus? Are you relying on all your expertise and experience or are you leaning on Jesus and allowing Him to lead you as you lead the ministry?
Friend, Jesus is not only the “Reason for the Season,” he is the Reason for your Ministry, too. “Keeping Christ in Christmas” is not the main challenge – keeping your relationship with Him central in your life and ministry is! Perhaps you need to take some time away from ministry and spend it with Jesus. Show him He is still #1 in your life and that ministry comes only after the relationship. Thatwill give Jesus a Very Merry Christmas indeed!
Discuss this article
(Kidology Network Forums)
SOMETHING TO CONSIDER:
If you could benefit from some time away from ministry to focus on your relationship with Jesus, please take a look at Yosemite Summit or Unbridled. Yosemite Summit is a four-day retreat for men in Yosemite National Park, while Unbridled is a three-day women’s retreat in Ohio. Information on both can be found at YosemiteSummit.org
Next entries »
