I was very touched to discover a very simple piece of paper that I had written and colored just a year after my little sister, Blessing Faith, was born…and died. I didn’t want to forget her.

She lived only 5 days due to a very rare birth condition where her brain did not finish developing. I got to hold her, and my parents later told me that my strength and trust in the Lord at age 12 helped them through it. It was something amazing for me to grasp at that time, not understanding the simple faith of children and how it can often help us more complicated adults!

Anyway, here is a close-up of what I wrote, and a PDF of the entire sheet is linked below. I wanted to make sure I never forgot that day, and here, 30 years after making this simple piece of paper on Blessing’s birthday, I am getting my wish. I am remembering.

(Click to View Larger)

Some might ask why my parents named her Blessing Faith. Well, the answer is quite simple. Right away when she was born, it was clear her life would be very short. In fact, the doctors predicted only hours at first, and yet she held on for several days.

My dad was the senior pastor of our church, and people would say things like, “How terrible” or “What a tragedy” or “How unfortunate,” etc. I remember my parents explaining to me that her life was a Blessing, and it was their Faith in God that helped them trust Him through difficult times like this. And that we too, as her siblings, should see her as a Blessing to our Faith.

I will always remember holding her and holding back my tears so I could be strong for my dad, and silently thanking God for my Blessing and asking Him to give me Faith like my parents.

Blessing Faith did a work in many people’s lives in our church. In fact, I remember my mom saying that she led more people to Jesus in five days than some Christians do in their entire life. Those words have always stuck with me.

Now, 31 years later, I remember her still. And I look forward to meeting my sister, the Blessing, someday.  Because that’s what Faith is.

Here is the PDF of my Remembrace to my Little Sister, Blessing Faith. (900kb)

Several of these kids I still know and some I am friends with now on Facebook, even though this was 1993 at the Village Church of Lincolshire, IL. (Pictured here are David and Hannah Shaw, Tina Myers, Athena (Rebecca) Stephens, Tyler and Kelsey Hagen, Matt, Sam and Gab Fuqua, Jennelle, Jenene and Jenna Stanonik, Amy Lane, and others I only remember first names. I am getting old!)

Here is a fun game event I did in my Rookie Year as a full time children’s pastor that I called Sumu Kids:

First, the TEAM PHOTOS:

We did this at a “Sack Lunch Sunday.” Every first Sunday of the month, I let all the grade school kids stay at church for a themed afternoon of fun and games. Its purpose was simply to deepen my relationship with the kids as well as to give parents a nice Sunday afternoon off. (Parent Points!) There was always some spiritual teaching, yes, but that wasn’t the main emphasis. Building relationship was, as it made my teaching more effective during church. (Remembering all these names some 19 years later is proof that Relational Ministry works!)

Here are the kids getting their Sumu Fighter ready:

Hannah Shaw

and another:

Jenna Stannonick

and…

The white suits I got from Abbot Laboratories

Abbot Laboratories was located near our church, and I asked volunteer at our church (Byron Wingerd – thanks!) for a few of these awesome zip up lab body suits and he gave me a bunch. (I still have some!) And then the kids stuffed them with toilet paper!

Sam Fuqua

Then….. THE BATTLE!

Of course, the goal was to knock the other person (not over) but out of the circle! The Sumu Kids had to keep their hands either on their hips or just out in the air and could only use their belly to fight. It was hysterical! The kids loved it of course.

Oh, and did I mention they were BLINDFOLDED? Their teammates had to coach them on where to go by yelling instructions! But it was hard to tell which yelling kids were your team, so it took concentration.

The spiritual application?

1) You have to listen carefully to which voices in life you listen to.

2) There are enemies out there who seek to knock you over!

3) We need to work hard to not fall down!

SCRIPTURES I MIGHT HAVE USED: (I don’t actually know, but I know myself and how I think, so I would have used verses like this. NOT ALL of them, but I’m just showing you that after a FUN game the Bible has a LOT to say about standing firm and NOT FALLING DOWN!)

Psalm 36:12
See how the evildoers lie fallen— thrown down, not able to rise!

Psalm 145:14
The LORD upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.

Ecclesiastes 4:10
If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.

Ephesians 6:11
Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

Joshua 7:10
The LORD said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face.”

1 Corinthians 16:13
Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.

Matthew 24:13
but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.

1 Corinthians 10:12
So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!

Luke 21:19
Stand firm, and you will win life.

Mark 13:13
Everyone will hate you because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.

1 Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Philippians 4:1
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!

James 5:8
You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.

1 Peter 5:9
Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

IN SUMMARY:

Have FUN playing games – make it count by incorporating some spiritual teaching – but at the end of the day, we aren’t in ministry to have fun, and we aren’t even in ministry simply to teach. I’m not sure if many of these remember the lesson I taught that day. (Though a well taught lesson becomes part of who they are.) But the relationship impacts deeper than a lesson, and in two directions. I miss these kids very much. Some I’m still in touch with. Others, I cross paths with from time to time, others I know I won’t see again until the New Heaven and Earth – and what a Day that will be!

I think I’ll challenge them to a Sumu Match on the shore of the Crystal Sea!

DAY #24: Thankful for Jesus

I saved the best for last. He who is the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

He Created me.

He Died for me.

He Saved me.

He Rose for me.

He Sought me.

He Drew me.

He Invited me.

He Heard me.

He Accepted me.

He Sustains me.

He Forgives me.

He Walks with me.

He Reminds me.

He Helps me.

He Nudges me.

He Guides me.

He Disciplines me.

He Heals me.

He Encourages me.

He Equips me.

He Accepts me.

He Abides with me.

He Comforts me.

He Gets me.

He Loves me.

He Prays for me.

He Knows me.

He Waits for me.

He Defends me.

He is Patient with me.

I am nothing without Him.

I am Thankful for Him today.

DAY #18: My Dad

While there may be some sons out there who have had the honor of having their dad appear on the cover of TIME magazine or some other newspaper or periodical, I must say that I can say, as the son of a preacher man, I was the proudest (in the most Godly way, of course) when MY dad made the cover of a magazine that I think says it all. You can have your TIME magazine “Man of Year” or People Magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive” titles. In 1996 MY DAD made the COVER of a magazine whose bi-line is:

“A Wise Person Displays Understanding By His Godly Life as  Gentle Servant.”

There is probably no better description of my dad, so posting the cover of the magazine cover my dad was on was the best way I could think to “toot his horn” today, though it will embarrass him. Such is his character, for he made the cover of SERVANT magazine:

Humble Servant, Doug Bastian

That’s my dad. (Click to enlarge the cover in a new window)

I’m thankful to him for so many reasons, I should probably write a book about it someday, all the wisdom he has given me. As I’ve often said, he is a great dad not for being perfect, but for being real. There are no perfect dads. The best dads are not the perfect dads, but the ones who don’t pretend to me. Kids figure out early on that dads aren’t perfect, and think they have something on dad when they figure that out! But when dad blows their own cover by admitting their own humanness, and admitting they are on a journey in life, and inviting their children to walk with them on the journey of parenting and walking with Christ… the impact is trans-formative. Not only in parenting, but in the life of the child.

Mac and PC

I posted A Tribute to My Dad in the past, with lots of fun pictures of us from a long time ago, so I won’t post those pictures again or get too wordy again. This time, I justed to say THANKS to my dad for not telling me what it meant to be a servant in the home and in my ministry, but showing me. In fact, I don’t think he ever did actually tell me. He just lived it, and it just rubs off. And when I heard it preached later I thought, “Oh, that’s my dad.”

I’ve said it a thousand times,

“Discipling your kids isn’t something you ought to do… it is something you are doing.”

Your kids become you! My dad often quoted to me I Cor. 11:1, where Paul said to Timothy, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” In other words, where I saw my dad being like Christ, he wanted me to be like him, and when I saw him not being like Christ, he hoped I would have the objectivity to not imitate him in those times. I hope the same for my son. But for better or for worse, more and more, I am becoming my dad. It’s a scary thought some times (!), but over all, it’s a good thing. And that’s why I’m thankful for his example.

Thanks, dad, for always trying to imitate Christ.

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.”

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 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

The aspens were simply amazing and it was like God painted the entire place a masterpiece for us.

Everywhere I went, it was like God was there with me. Last year, when I went, it was wet and raining and depressing and I didn’t know anyone (it was literally my first week at the church) – and no one talked to me hardly, and while I went with a friend (thanks buddy) it just wasn’t the same. This year the weather was beautiful.

I found an empty outdoor auditorium. Pretty symbolic of my life right now. I miss being a pastor. While I know Kidology.org impacts and helps a lot of people, I spend the bulk of my time in front of a computer. Not as fulfilling compared to when I was in front of kids every Sunday. I have this idea of what I’d like to being doing and how I’d like to be serving God, but I have to release that and trust that God has a plan, and right now it is to do what I am doing now, and be where I am now, and simply wait to see what He has in store for me, on His schedule, not mine. Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do and I love serving those I serve, but I miss shepherding a group of children that I know by name every Sunday. And I long for the day when I will have that again. All in His time.

This weekend there were some things I needed to let go of. Plans, ideas, needs, hopes… things I’ve been clinging to… and just trust God’s timing and plans for me. It’s not like I didn’t already know all this – pastor’s know a lot of things in their heads… but it can take the heart awhile to catch up.

I am learning so much about resting and walking and being instead of doing and achieving and producing. God has been completely re-wiring me over the past several years. Moving to Colorado has been a huge part of this process. But I’m a slow learner. Am I alone in this struggle?

I have to constantly remind myself, even as I tell others… to be content. To focus on the blessings, the positive, the good things, the many ways that I am making a difference… even though I am not currently a children’s pastor… that that is not my identity… I know it in my head… but my heart needs reminders sometimes.

So I walked with God and released a lot of things that I have been longing for and wanting and hoping for and wishing for… and He gave me a spirit of contentment that just overwhelmed me.

I gave up trying to figure some things out. And a peace overcame me. It was incredible. I stood on the side of a very high hill that I had climbed without a path to get me there…

And I sang “I surrender all.” (Plus a bunch of my favorite Newsboys songs!) Later that night, after the “hot tub baptism service” was over (which I thought was a little goofy, God bless ‘em anyway) I decided it wasn’t so goofy after all. I changed into my suit and went down to the hot tub and baptized myself, which is even goofier – since there was no one there to witness it! But since I was a pastor, I figured I could do it myself, I know what to say and all. And I just went in by myself, rededicated myself to the Lord, and dunked myself with no witnesses other than God Himself, and then floated for awhile listening to the men singing in chapel nearby. It was pretty powerful actually. Until some teenagers from a separate group came by and thought there was a dead man in the hot tub and freaked out. That brought my spiritual bliss to a pretty humorous ending. God does have a sense of humor! So I got out, went and got dry, and no one knew about my self-baptism until now. Now you know!

May God continue to use this goofy servant of His and I continue to seek his blessing and serve Him with contentment wherever He has me and whatever He has me doing for His glory.

ENJOY:

The fact that I am writing my Yosemite Summit 2011 Report at the end of August that took place in May should tell you exactly WHY I do Yosemite Summit in the first place, though I’ve blogged here about that several times already:

• Built In Pit Stop
• Someday is Another Word for Never
• Is This Your Letter?
• The Best Thing for Your Ministry

Others have written as well about why they went to Yosemite Summit. I’ll link those another time perhaps, but you can just click through the archives. But the reality is, my life is BUSY. Don’t get me wrong – I’m doing things I love pursuing my life Mission, but if I didn’t schedule Yosemite Summit, I’d never STOP and GET AWAY and enjoy time with some guys who love God like me and just UNPLUG and enjoy nature and fellowship like you just can’t get in the hectic pace of normal life. I’m never “ready” for Yosemite Summit – it just comes, and I have to just GO. And when I get back, I have to dive in and pick up where I left off and getting this report done and a highlight video done can be a real challenge with Kidology.org to run, DiscipleTown to write and other responsibilities all while keeping my family first. (And some new and exciting things in development!)

It’s truly a gift I give myself every year that I plan to give myself for the rest of my life. AND a gift I am excited to ANNOUNCE that I am going to extend starting in 2012 to ANY MAN IN MINISTRY. No longer will Yosemite Summit be limited to children’s pastors. God has laid it on my heart that I shouldn’t be limiting this event to children’s pastors. I will explain this in more detail in a future post when registration opens and how the application process will work. But I have heard and listened and responded and God has answered your prayers, guys! On to the report.

Yosemite Summit 2011

This was the fourth Summit – and since 4 has been my favorite number since I was a kid, I anticipated it being my favorite Summit so far. I also had the advantage of three past Summits under my belt, so I am able to enjoy them even more now as I am less figuring them out and more just repeating what I’ve done in the past, though every year is unique and has aspects that make it special. This year was no exception. I especially enjoyed that this year we didn’t have to alter plans at all due to weather, which was a treat.

The newest thing this year was I made a photo journal for the guys for them to use throughout the week with color photos from past years, space to journal in and scripture to read and reflect on according to the theme of the day. Our reflective theme this year was P.A.T.H. which provided our focus for each day:

P = Peace

A = Abiding

T = Thankfulness

H = Holiness

We had a wonderful time hiking, enjoying fellowship with each other, and spending some quality time with God, the Creator of this incredible place. If you have never been to Yosemite National Park – you are truly robbing yourself of one of America’s hidden treasures. It remained hidden from the “white man” long after San Fransisco had been founded and the Ahwahnee Indians managed to divert (or at times kill) travelers over the Sierra Nevada mountains away from this this incredible valley in order to keep it a secret. It was not until the time of President Abraham Lincoln that it was finally discovered, and while Yellowstone was the first “official” National Park, Yosemite was the first land protected by a President when Abe himself declared it protected land for the people forever!

Millions travel from all over the world to behold the wonders of this relatively small valley (only seven miles in length) but only mere thousands experience the hikes that take visitors to the truly beautiful locations hidden in this gordeous place, and only Yosemite Summiteers (who stick with me on the hikes) get to see the truly hidden wonders of this magnificent park. I know the trails that many neglect and that the masses miss, and the hidden spots off the trails where one can find solitude and solace and spectacular views of God’s Creation. (I took my family to Yosemite in July and enjoyed showing my son some of “Daddy’s Spots” and Luke created a few spots of his own that we will visit again in future years!)

In case you are wondering what can be experienced on Yosemite Summit, instead of a long detailed report, as I have done in 2008, and 2009, and 2010. This year, I offer simply one word summaries of what can be experienced at Yosemite Summit and suggest if you are not one of the eight men who join me. You are truly missing out. I have no need to twist your arm. Those who join me, are the lucky ones. I already have next year almost full from the e-mails I have been getting already. So if you want to join me, you’d better sign up as soon as registration opens. It’s THAT good. I expect a waiting list in 2012. It can change your life.

Yosemite 2011: In photos and one word summaries: (Don’t Miss the Video at the End!)

ACCOMPLISHMENT

AMAZING

AWE

BEARS

BEAUTY

BRIDGES

CONTEMPLATION

DEEP THINKING

FELLOWSHIP

FUN!

JOURNEY

PEACEFUL

POWER

REFRESHING

RESTFUL

UNINTERUPTED

WONDER

WORSHIP

Do these images whet you appetite for Yosemite Summit? It is truly an event that is difficult to describe, even with words or images – or even with video, but I’ll try yet again…

HIGHLIGHT VIDEO:

If you have any questions about Yosemite Summit, I invite you to ask in this thread in my forum on Kidology.org, and I’ll be happy to answer. Basic Registration on Kidology.org is free to participate, however, Premium Membership to Kidology is required to attend the Summit.

Maybe YOU will be one of us next year?

Here they are:

1.            What do you think are the biggest challenges children or family pastors face when attempting to “partner with parents” in raising children to be fully devoted followers of Jesus?

There are several challenges that we face when attempting to partner with parents.  One is that parents feel completely inadequate to disciple their own children. Another is the battle for time to equip parents in the busyness of every day life. Maybe most practically is the reality that children’s pastors or family pastors likely have to change the way they work in order to partner with parents. The mindset shift is the change from just creating ministry processes to equip kids verses creating processes that disciple kids and their families when we have access to the parents. It is impossible to do it all, so children’s pastors and family pastors have to learn to focus, equip, delegate, and let go of ministries they once did themselves.

2.            Why do you think parents feel so inadequate to disciple their own children?

Parents feel this way generally because they often have not been discipled themselves.  They struggle with teaching something they don’t think they completely understand or practice. For parents it would be easier to trust the faith training of their children to the church. Embracing their role as the primary faith trainers means becoming intentional.  Many have the question, “What does intentional spiritual parenting look like?” They need a simple plan and a demonstration of that plan in progress to help them overcome their feelings of inadequacy. The truth is that parents are wired for this. When they take even little steps in faith to overcome their fear, God blesses. It’s part of His plan for the Kingdom.

3.            How can children’s pastors (or those responsible in a staff role over children in a church) best challenge parents to embrace their role as the primary spiritual leaders of their children without it coming off as a guilt trip or pressure to “do more” on top of their already busy lives?

I think we need to teach a biblical theology of discipleship which includes a lengthy thread of Scripture not limited to Deuteronomy 6:4-9. This teaching, when done in love, may motivate or even convict. Conviction is a good thing. It is the work of the Spirit to bring us back into God’s way of living. At the same time we can avoid being guilt-mongers. I have learned that when I share my fears of messing up the daddy thing or my feeling of inadequacy when it comes to discipling my kids, the people of our ministry really connect. When I tell them specifically how I have messed up they almost breathe a sigh of relief. We have to be real when we talk about this stuff. Don’t pretend you have it all figured out. Use humor when you talk about parenting. Let them into your real life as a parent. I am as busy as the next guy. I let them see my success and my failure with that even as I teach concepts like simplicity and balance. I think it’s all about approach.

4.            How do we convince parents that the spiritual develop of their children is not just another area of importance worthy of some attention, but the most important area of their child’s development worthy of the utmost attention with ramifications on every other area of their development? It sounds so dramatic – and yet it is so true. (Assuming you agree with this statement.)

We have to teach them the biblical truth. The words of God speak with authority on the matter in a way mine do not. Since God is the Grand Designer, he has hardwired parents for this task. Most Christian parents intuitively know that faith training is worthy of their attention. I think we convince them fully when we teach them how to be intentional about the faith development of their children in simple, every day ways.

5.            Lastly, what is one practical way you have found to encourage parents that they do not need to first get their own act together or become a perfect person/parent before they start to be intentional about leaving a legacy for their kids? Can you share a specific example of a story, object lesson, challenge or illustration you have used to move parents from inaction to motivated action?

I get parents to tell me of a time they looked into their child’s face and saw their own. Sometimes I will ask them to share a funny story of when their child said something and they instantly realized, “That kid sounds just like me.” I have them recall a time disciplining there child either in a positive or negative way when they realized they were practicing discipline just like their parent did whether they wanted to or not. Everyone has a story to illustrate that legacy is built whether intentional or not.

I then say, “If we are building legacy, why don’t we do it with some intentionality.” I like to give them an easy win. I teach them at that point to start praying scriptural blessings over their kids at night before bed or before they walk out the door for school. I even give them the cards with the Scripture on it so it’s easy. Intentional legacy can be that simple.

The Legacy Path is a great follow up for both children’s pastors and even more-so for parents!

Here they are, perhaps someone else might enjoy them… as you can see, my artist skills peaked around the second grade. As for the lesson content, I am covering The Nine Virtues and teaching Bible Characters that displayed them. I’ve done four so far:

Courage: Displayed by David: (Click image to see full size)

HONOR: Displayed by Young Jesus (Click image to see full size)

TRUTH: Displayed by Peter (Click image to see full size)

LOYALTY*: Displayed by Esther (Click image to see full size) *Fidelity

(All spelling errors while drawing are in fun and for audience participation and laughter… you just keep on going, you are drawing quickly!)

I love this technique because the kids enjoy it, it involves the audience because it is funny and it also gives a very unique visual. Kids are so used to video today, it is almost “high tech” and “NEW” to see someone manually draw something to illustrate, since it is just not done any more. Plus, much like ToyBox Tales, it is something they can relate to, since kids like to draw. You don’t need to be an artist to do this, because kids aren’t artist either! I’d really encourage you to try it!

Kids come up to the stage afterward to look at the drawing, and then many copy it throughout the day in their notebooks, which is reinforced learning. They are getting a visual overview of the book/story – which is a great way to learn.

I wish more teachers would find ways to get rid of the DVD player and teach in new ways that “draw” kids in. It isn’t hard, and its actually MORE effective.

LET ME CHALLENGE YOU, loose the DVD player. If you use it, limit it to NO MORE than ten minutes in your lesson. More than that, and you are honestly losing effectiveness. Kids need real people in front of them teaching. And if you can draw a stick figure, you can teach better than a DVD can. Honestly.

I will post the rest at the end of the week in a post on Kidology.org and update this post with a link to that post with much more detail on the entire lesson scope and details on the overall unit on the Nine Virtues.

This morning I am teaching on free will to a group of first and second graders. It’s really only a lesson into, but nevertheless, it’s got me thinking – how do you get people, adults or kids, to grasp the sheer Power of their Choices? Our free will is the greatest and yet most dangerous gift God has given us. When I say “dangerous” you may immediately think I mean because of how it can be misused. And of course, that is true. But I am more thinking of the loss when it is NOT used. Missed opportunity, missed potential, kids or people who failed to reach their potential in life because they simply refuse to make the big or little choices daily that would get them there. How do you motivate or inspire others to grab a hold of the Power they have to Choose?! This AMAZING POWER we have to CHOOSE what we want to do each day and with our lives? Now some will be quick to point out that there are many things we can’t control or can’t change or can’t choose. Of course! I can’t go buy myself a Ferrari this afternoon, nor (more painfully) my six kids to the park. Life doesn’t always turn out the way we hoped or planned, BUT… do we focus on what we CAN’T choose? Or on what we can? The reality is, there is ALWAYS MORE THAT WE CAN CHOOSE than that we can’t if we are willing to SEE it.

So, the question remains, how do we instill this in kids? How do we inspire them to seize their life? To make good choices? To dream and to go for it? And how do we NEVER STOP saying, “TODAY I’m going to make some choices that will move me forward and stop the stall or the circling pattern I’m in?”

To move forward, stay on the right path, or get back on the right path, you must be willing to make the tough choices others are too afraid to make. I’ve certainly made some bad decisions in my life, but I try to be a person who is willing to make bold decisions when needed. Two near death experiences makes you very aware you only live once. I refuse to allow inaction to hold me back. Other obstacles in life can hold me back – but may it never be my own inability or unwillingness to make Choices when they need to be made. So I moved across the country to get out of an unhealthy situation. Once I had to choose to go to the boss and fess up. I’ve quit a job I loved, really loved, because the boss was not doing things right behind closed doors and I wanted nothing to do with it. I have chosen to barely watch TV. I rearranged my life to work from home. (I wish I could choose to get up earlier! But that is just too hard! LOL) I chose the Mac over the PC to give myself many more hours a week for family and ministry and less headaches. (That isn’t a jab at my PC friends, that was a hard switch for me, I once was one of those PC guys annoyed by my Mac friends trying to convert me! But I made the choice because of what it meant for my life, it was one of the best choices I’ve made to be quite honest.)

Choices. You make them every day. There might be some big ones you need to make. Don’t put them off any longer. But today there are little choices too. Don’t under estimate them. Your life is the sum of the little choices you make.

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?

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.

Got some Kingdom Building Plans?

Out of deep and sincere devotion to God we can make great effort to work for God, to assist Him in building the Kingdom, but our efforts are like a little boy with a toy hammer banging on the side of a sky scrapper. We may feel really powerful and important, but our efforts are silliness compared what God is doing and has already done. And to think that we can DO anything, is so wrong.

“The men and women He is going to use in His mighty building enterprises are those in whom He has done everything.”

The moment we look at something we have done, is the moment it is no longer a part of what God is doing.

“The only men and women He will use in His building enterprises are those who love Him personally, passionately and devotedly beyond any of the closest ties on earth. The conditions are stern, but they are glorious.”

We talk much of vision, and goals, and objectives (I’ve got published articles all about them!) but the spiritual reality is that GOD alone does the aiming, and we are the mere arrow in His bow. Our work is to chose to remain in the bow (our situation) and in the Hands of God (our Master Archer) while the bow is bending.

“A saint’s life is in the hands of God like a bow and arrow in the hands of an archer. God is aiming at something the saint cannot see, and He stretches and strains, and every now and again the said says – “I cannot stand any more.” God does not heed, He goes on stretching till his purpose is in sight, then He lets fly. Trust yourself in God’s hands.”

Our aim ought not be ministry, but fellowship with God, and HE will take care of the aiming for us.

“Shipwreck occurs where there is not that mental poise which comes from being established on the eternal truth that God is holy love. Faith is the heroic effort of your life; you fling yourself in reckless confidence in God.”

In the midst of ministry, it is extremely difficult to keep our aim and focus on God, because so much of what we are doing, if not everything, is ABOUT God and His work! Being in the midst of ministry is the most dangerous place to be spiritually, because it is nearly impossible to see when our focus gets off God and instead gets onto His work.

“When once we lose sight of God, we begin to be reckless, we cast off certain restrainsts, we cast off praying, we cast off the vision of God in little things, and begin to act on our own initiative.”

If you are in the midst of ministry, STOP for a moment. PAUSE. Set it all aside – and check your walk with God. Nothing you are doing for God matters, if you are not in close fellowship with Him. It won’t matter for anything, and it can cost you the very things you are striving to maintain.

“The real meaning of eternal life is a life that can face anything it has to face without wavering. If we take this view, life becomes one great romance, a glorious opportuity for seeing marvelous things all the time. God is discipllinging us into this central place of power.”

Are you building a ministry? Or building our fellowship and relationship with God? THAT is the only building that will last, and the one that will build a stronger and longer lasting ministry anyway. So focus your aim and energy on God, not ministry, and the ministry will take care of itself.

Italics are quotes for Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest

Hear me dads: When we are doing our Pit Stop (as we call our family devotional time) Luke is often fiddling, fussing, fidgeting, etc. and I half wonder if he is “getting it” – but this video demonstrates that he is hearing it and learning, and there is lots he knows that comes up other times that isn’t reflected here in the video.

It was especially touching when we got to the Cross and Luke said, “I don’t want to learn about that, it’s sad” but then kept going back to that card with several questions.”

Enjoy:

In January 2007, I presented ten trends I predicted would characterize children’s ministry in the years ahead. As we approach January 2011 and I review those, it is interesting to consider which of those have trends still resonate as hot trends, which are assumed or fading, and which I wish were of greater emphasis as I scan articles, workshop descriptions of conferences or forum discussions of various websites.

Whenever I am asked to write or speak on the “future” I often start with one of my favorite quotes, which always goes off better verbally…

“I’m not a prophet, nor the son of prophet. In fact, I work for a non-profit organization.”

The reality is, I’m always faced with a very real dilemma. Do I respond with my Predicted Future, or my Preferred Future? Because in many ways, unfortunately, they are very different when I look over the children’s ministry landscape today. I often feel as though I am both fighting against the advance of the kidmin culture as well as contributing to it. On one hand, I’ve been a significant influencer of children’s ministry over the years, and on the other hand, I often find myself trying to push against the goads and challenging the status quo. As I’m about to do.

My answer to the question, “What is the Future of Children’s Ministry?” is going to be to answer it twice. First, I will give you my Predicted Future and then my Preferred Future. Which describes your future will depend on whether you are a leader who is interested in numbers or disciple-making. It will depend on whether you want to wow kids and parents or whether you want children who will walk with Jesus through high school and into their adult lives.

The stats are in. Despite all the modern advances of children’s ministry, youth pastor’s can tell us, if we will listen, we aren’t doing them any favors with our million dollar facilities and fancy curriculum and edutainment and mini-youth groups. Their job hasn’t gotten much easier. And blaming families isn’t the answer either. While supporting families is critically important, in our culture, less and less children are in healthy Christian families, so there will only be a growing need for strong children’s ministries to reach them. So let’s take a look at two possible futures and then make a choice.

My Predicted Future

The demise of the children’s pastor and children’s ministry. Both have been usurped and swallowed by family ministry. Misunderstanding the distinct difference between children’s ministry and family ministry, churches opt to roll the children’s ministry into family ministry. Rather than embracing family ministry as a church-wide responsibility that should coordinate with and work in concert with children’s ministry, it is seen as the solution and biblical mandate that renders children’s ministry obsolete. Of course, this happens slowly. First the children’s pastor is replaced. Next, the word “ministry” is dropped from children’s ministry. In time, “children’s programming” becomes part of the family ministry, a disguised name for child care. This is denied emphatically, but the lack of evangelism, discipleship and solid biblical teaching is the proof, those having been all been delegated to parents. Volunteers are no longer trained to study and teach and lead children to a saving faith in Christ. They are trained in safety standards, how to run video equipment, and to foster caring environments and build loving relationships. Worship is emphasized and is central to the experience at church along with highly entertaining programs teaching bible stories and virtues based on biblical principles. All of which are important, but do not fulfill Jesus’ mandate to “Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations.” (Matthew 18:19-20) Processing large groups of children through similar group experiences with as few volunteers as possible will be key. Resources that make volunteering as easy as possible with as little preparation as necessary will be the best selling. And of course, neither children, nor volunteers, will bother bringing their Bibles to church anymore, because they simply are no longer needed in the Lord’s House.

My Preferred Future

The resurgence of the teacher and a return of the student. When was the last time you heard the kids at church referred to as “students?” I would like to envision both the children’s pastor and volunteers studying the Bible during the week. I’d like to see children again memorizing Scripture and completing assignments at home. I see them logging on to a website with their parents to interact with materials the church has provided to help them engage with what the church is teaching their children. I see Dad getting a text message during the week from the children’s pastor with a question he can ask his son about the main point of the week in class and Mom getting an e-mail with ideas of discussion questions the family can use at dinner time about the theme of the month from the family pastor. I see the family ministry and children’s ministry working together, one first being far broader than families with kids – and the latter being far broader than kids with a mom and dad. Where they overlap, there is a lot they do together, but where they don’t, they have learned that merging them leaves too many left neglected. So family ministry reaching far more than a children’s ministry ever could, and children’s ministry reaches more than families ever could. Oh, and on Sundays, the children’s pastor, (this is a role, not necessarily their title) is actually teaching from the Word, with a Bible in hand, and the children are following along in their Bibles, some even underlining, learning to correctly handle the Word of Truth. (2 Timothy 2:15)

Neither of these futures are automatic, nor will either represent every church. But both will exist in some churches. The question is only which is more likely to more closely represent your church?

What the future of children’s ministry needs most for success is a return to an emphasis on the study of and teaching of the Word of God, and less on making ministry easy for volunteers, attractive to families and processing large groups of children through fun environments. That hasn’t produced disciples who will walk with Jesus for life. The future doesn’t need more technology – it needs deeper and better relationships. If technology can foster more connectivity or methods of relating, that is wonderful. But “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” (2 Peter 1:3)

Karl Bastian, the Kidologist
www.karlbastian.com

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As Kidology folks know, I’m passionate about the topic of “Intentional Parenting” – its the theme of my Online Training Lab “Partnering with Parents” (Kidology Members can watch the training video for free) – and something I have preached and “teached” about…

But, of course, it starts in your own home. Early on when we first became parents we got excited about starting a family learning time, and inspired by a family in one of our first ministries (the Camarenas) who did a “Praise the Lord Time” every evening, we started that with Luke when he was around two. It was a complete disaster. LOL. We quickly had to surrender that we were starting the family devotional thing too soon, and settled for bedtime Bible stories and prayers, of course prayers at meals, Christian entertainment, and learning moments throughout the day – and engaging with the materials from church, but set aside any formal home devotional time for the time being. My over-eagerness to be a good dad and start this with a two year old would have made for some good candid camera moments.

Since I actually write and publish family devotional guides for a publisher (download a sample) I can’t wait until Luke is much older to be able to use those as a family – but we probably let a little too much time slip by before restarting an intentional strategy again.

But the time has come for me to give myself a kick in my own rear to be more intentional as a parent in being a Deuteronomy 6 Dad and start doing some formal (but fun) spiritual training in my own home – and not just encouraging others to be doing it in theirs via the materials I write for churches.

I’m blogging about it for a few reasons:

1) To hold myself accountable – by telling others we are doing it, there is some public accountability! People can ask me how it’s going. (gulp!)

2) To get feedback, suggestions, ideas and questions to improve what we are doing.

3) To maybe inspire others to be more intentional in their spiritual parenting.

Daddy and Luke after our First Family Pit Stop!

My first challenge was to come up with a name for our intentional family time. I wanted something that would last for years – not sound too “spiritual” – and not overly define what we were going to do, as I want to be flexible. I was writing all kinds of words on a paper as Sara and I brain stormed. It had to be simple enough for a four year old to understand, and yet have some meaning that would still make sense when he is ten. (Yes, I pray we are still doing it years from now!) We had Bible Learning Time, God Time, Family Zone, Prayer Circle, Family Huddle – and lots of key words – and then it hit me: my boy LOVES cars, and race cars need to pull out of the race to refuel and get repaired and stop racing for a bit so they can get back in the race. Everyone knows what happened to Lightening McQueen when he thought he didn’t need a pit stop at the beginning of the Disney Cars movie!

So I explained to Luke that every night after supper we are going to have a Family Pit Stop. We are going to pull out of the family race and daddy is going to plan a little something to focus us on God. We might watch a video and talk about it, we might read a book, we might play a game, we might do a craft, we might watch a toybox tale, but we will always just take some time to focus on God. We’ll read something out of the Bible and pray. They don’t have to be long. Pit Stops are using fast anyway. But the point is to always make one.

Of course, I know there will be days we can’t make one – but I really want that to be the exception. I want my boy to grow up knowing that our family had a Family Pit Stop in the evening, even if it was short, we always pulled over to talk about God, read some scripture and pray. Some days I can get really creative (After all, after twenty plus years as a children’s pastor, I have an entire children’s ministry in my basement!) but other days it will just be a kids devotional book and prayer – but the point will be stopping and focusing on God as a family.

I think it will be fun to even do a Family Pit Stop by iChat when I’m on the road someday!

Preparing for Halloween

Tonight, since Halloween is coming, and Luke is starting to notice scary stuff around the neighborhood and in stores – I decided to show him what a skeleton really is. I got this cool books at Costco awhile back, one of a Car Body and one of the Human Body, where as you page through them you get to see the “parts” unfold and see the insides. We did the car first and talked about the insides of a car and how you can’t see the insides normally, but that is how a car works, and then we did the human and talked about how people have insides too, and he learned a lot about how his body works, and then we just talked about how that’s what a skeleton is. So when he sees skeletons, he doesn’t need to be scared, they are just pictures of people like in this book showing how God made us. He was fascinated and said that he wasn’t scared of skeletons at all and it was silly to make them walk and talk, people can’t do that with no skin on!

Then we did a devotional book with the story of Jesus on the road to Emmaus, and how he disappeared, and then when he appeared to the disciples they thought he was a ghost, but he proved he wasn’t by eating, and talked about how the only real ghost was Jesus – and he wasn’t even a ghost, and he proved it by eating. So all the ghosts and skeletons are just things people put out for fun.

At the very end Luke said he loved the Pit Stop and said, “This was fun, now can we get back to racing and run around the house?” Reminding me that kids are quite literal, so he took the pit stop explanation quite literal!

I plan to wear the racing jacket for Pit Stop time for awhile, until my NASCAR hat arrives. Then, when it is Family Pit Stop time, I will just put on the hat and announce, “It’s time for Family Pit Stop!” Pray for me that I will be faithful to keep up this commitment.

RELATED: Dads, you need to check this out: Pastor Dad

Yosemite Summit was first a dream – a weak sliver of a dream in the mind of a frail and broken man who was issued a challenge by his pastor to dare to intentionally build re-creation into his life.

I have written the story in detail in the post, “Thank You Pastor Jeff Griffin.”

It took another two years for that dream to become a reality. First, I needed to heal the wounds of my own brokenness – and the consequences of overextended ministry passion. My marriage, my soul and many relationships needed focused repentance, repair and restoration.

Only then was I ready invite others to join me on a retreat in Yosemite for a week of hiking, reflection, and connecting with God in a way I had never done before.

At first I was going to go alone. Then with just one friend. And then I realized – I can’t be the only children’s pastor who needs this. So I created Yosemite Summit – an annual event where I CHECK OUT of ministry and CHECK IN with God and make sure I never again get going so fast, I out-pace God.

I’ve now done this event three times and every year has bee so unique, I can’t wait to see what God does in 2011 to make the fourth Summit special.

The event isn’t cheap – it costs me over $5000 to pull off this event, regardless of whether 3 or 8 guys come. The cost is basically the same, for the lodge, the van, the fuel, and all the food. If I can fill the lodge, it averages out to about $600 each.  So that is what I charge, I actually lose money every year. But I don’t do this to make money – I do it because I need it. And because I know other men need it too.

However, I know that there are guys who need this event, but can’t afford to pay that much – plus the airfare to get to Sacramento. So this year, I’m taking a step of faith, and instead of offering a few scholarships, like I did last year – to help a few guys come for free – instead, I am going to offer the option of allowing guys to optionally pay less – on their honor – if they need to.

Hear me out, if a guy’s church can afford the full $625 plus the Sacramento lodging (that’s an extra $100 that everyone pays) then I expect ‘em to pay. BUT if they need to pay less, I’m giving that option, between them and God.

Crazy, huh?!

One year, I had a guy from a big church who picked up the gasoline on the 15 passenger gas a few times to help me out. I’ve had others who have donated. I’m gonna trust God to honor this, because I have a sense there are a few guys who NEED this trip, and I want them on it…

There are only a few openings available. My only concern with this is, I don’t want to scare off guys who CAN afford it. This retreat is open and available to anyone who needs it. Big church, little church – doesn’t matter. There are guys at big churches who can easily afford it – and they need it! They are crazy busy, and NEED to get away and disconnect and hike and commune with God.

But I just want to also make sure that guys who look at that $625 price tag and say, “I could never go to Yosemite Summit” to know that they CAN come… I’m willing to work with them and they can opt to pay several hundred dollars less.

Details are on the COST page of the Yosemite Summit site.

Please pray with me that God would bring together, again, just the right group of guys for Yosemite Summit 2011.

Help Spread the Word: http://tinyurl.com/YS11reg

I think it is safe to assume that you are very concerned about the spiritual welfare of the children in your church. If you are a parent, you have your own children in mind as you think about the challenges that they are currently facing and the battles that lie ahead. Perhaps the title “Partnering with Parents” resonates with you as something that is desperately needed in your church. However, it may be a phrase that conjures up feelings of doubt, discouragement or frustration because as much as you know it is needed, you’re not sure how to do it. Perhaps you’ve tried, but nothing seems to be working, at least not as well as you’d like.

First off, I need to confirm that you are right, it’s NOT easy. But I also want you to know that I have discovered a completely different approach to partnering with parents. It is an approach that you may find radical, or you may simply find it a relief.

But it is an approach that enables you to say with confidence, “Yes, we genuinely partner with parents in our ministry.”

Why are children’s ministry leaders clamoring for books on family ministry and packing out workshops on “partnering with parents?” Because they are coming to the realization that the church is failing to produce children who are fully devoted disciples of Jesus Christ. Even a casual look at our youth groups, often filled with kids who grew up in the church, our hearts break to hear about the language, drinking, drug use, immorality and general abandonment of core Christian values and beliefs.

In his latest book, Raising a Modern-Day Joseph, Larry Fowler presents three sobering realities facing the church, and the parents who drop them off.

Declining Commitment

Christian young people are leaving the church and the faith of their parents as they leave home for college and work. Christian researcher, George Barna, reports that “the most potent data regarding disengagement (of youth from their faith) is that a majority of twentysomethings – 61% of today’s young adults – had been churched at one point during their teen years but they are now spiritually unengaged.”

Unbiblical Worldviews

Christian young people are not transferring the biblical knowledge they have into a biblical worldview. Christian apologist and researcher Josh McDowell claims that between 69 and 94 percent of teenagers leave the church after high school. He also reports that only 15% of Christian young people have a biblical world view. George Barna says it is only 10%.

Declining Bible Knowledge

Christian young people don’t know nearly as much about the Bible as they used to.

Christian Smith, principal investigator of the National Study of Youth and Religion states that

“Most U.S. teens have a difficult time explaining what they believe, what it means, and what the implications of their beliefs are for their lives.”

How can this be? (!) Not so many decades ago “children’s ministry” hardly existed. “Children’s Pastors” are relatively new on the church staff scene. As Linda Massey Weddle points out in her book, Driveway to the Highway, most churches now provide fully staffed nurseries, Sunday School, children’s church, mid-week and after school programs, and much more! Children’s Ministry curriculum is more entertaining, colorful and professional looking than ever before. Publishing houses have flooded the market with “Christian” books, toys, resources and more. Radio stations play Christian music and messages twenty-four hours a day. Why is it, we wonder, do kids walk away from the faith of their parents and church when we have all these “advantages” in the church in America?

Church leaders look at statistics and are concerned. (They ought to be alarmed!) Parents, on the other hand, often don’t need stats. They are concerned, and often alarmed, simply by what they see in their own home or in the homes of their kids’ friends and classmates. There is little doubt the church is doing its best – sincerity and effort are not in question – but the results are coming in, and it’s not looking good. Parents are also doing the best they know how, and are feeling the sense of failure more personally, for it is their own children, whom they deeply love, that who they are watching fall away – or are afraid might.

George Barna, in his book Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions, confirmed through scientific research what children’s leaders have long undertood – Christian education during childhood is the most critical of a person’s entire life, as it will most likely determine what they believe their entire life! Children’s ministry leaders and parents who are awake see the dangers and the spiritual casualties and are desperate for change. It is more critical than ever that the church and parents start partnering to do a better job of preparing children for a life of faith in a world that is ever increasingly seeking to mislead and destroy them.

We have a choice. Keep doing what we are doing or step back and take a serious look at how we can do a better job.

That is why I took a completely new and radical approach to “partnering with parents” – but you know what? it worked.

You can learn about it in my Leadership Lab, “Partnering with Parents.” Be prepared for a totally different way of thinking about partnering with parents. But be prepared for results too.

Karl and Gus, circa early 1990's

TWO LISTS: The “Sorry List” and the “Lightening List!”

Everyone who listens to my podcast knows I’ve been ministering with Gus, my teaching partner, since Bible College – they may not realize, that one of our routines is included in every lesson of DiscipleTown! (The children’s church curricululm I write for DiscipleLand, which you can use regardless of what Sunday School curricula you use.)

Here is a sample from Lesson Two of How to Pray! Yes, now you too can can do a wacky puppet routine – or convert it to a skit – and introduce the topic of your lesson in a humorous, and yet very thought provoking manner, that really gets the point of the forthcoming lesson across.

The Lesson is on Repentance and the the Main Point of this lesson is: In prayer, God shows ways we need to change!

Note: “Puppet” refers to “Gus” but in the curriculum, you are encouraged to use your own puppet so I leave it generic. (This is my pre-edited version, the final version from the publisher may be slightly different.)

Puppet comes out and is very excited about the lesson today because he understands that it is about repentance. Teacher says it is indeed. Puppet says that he has put together two lists. Teacher asks what the lists are. Puppet says, “Well, the first list is my ‘Sorry List.” Teacher, says, well, that sounds great! What’s on that list?” Puppet says, “Well, I wrote out all the stuff I’m going to do that that I feel sorry about.” Teacher says, “What?!?!” Puppet says, “Well, there’s  just some things I gotta do, but that I know are wrong, and I feel really bad about ‘em, so I thought I’d better confess ‘em ahead of time, just to make sure God knows I’m sorry about ‘em. You know, then it’s not as bad, as if I just did ‘em and didn’t feel bad, you know, like some people we know.”

The teacher is flabbergasted, and says, “That’s doesn’t make any sense, “If its wrong its wrong, it doesn’t matter if you feel sorry or not, if its wrong, it’s… well, its still wrong. Even if you say you’re sorry about it in advance. It’s almost worse then.” Puppet says, “Well, I’m confessing it? Doesn’t that count for anything?” Teacher says, “Yeah, its premeditated wrongness! That’s what it counts for!” Puppet says, “Bummer, I was afraid you were going to say that. So feeling sorry isn’t enough, huh?” Teacher replied, “No, to repent means to change your mind about it, it means to go the other way – its more than just being sorry, its deciding not to do it.”

Puppet sighs and scratches his head. Pauses, and then says, “O.K., I repent then, I’ll rip that list up, I repent then. I won’t do anything on that list, and I’m so glad God forgives me. I’m forgiven, right?” Teacher says, “You sure are.” Puppet says, “That’s good news. I feel so much better.” Teacher asks, “I’m almost afraid to ask, but what’s the other list?” Puppet says, “Oh, that’s my Lightening List.”

Teacher is exasperated again. “Lightening List! What is tar-nation is that?!?!?” Puppet answers, mater-of-factly, “Why the people I want God to strike with lightening, that’s all, why? Something wrong with that too?” Teacher is about to lose it. “Yes! How can you have a list like that?” Puppet says, “Simple, they all did something to me, and unlike me, they haven’t repented yet. So I think they should be struck by lightening.”

Teacher takes a deep breath and says, “Didn’t you just say it was good news that God forgave you of your sins?” Puppet answers, “Yes, but what’s that got to do with anything?” Teacher says, “Everything! The Bible says you will be forgive as you forgive others. In fact, in the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus instructed us to pray, ‘forgive us our sins as we forgive others who have sinned against us.’ So that means, if you don’t forgive the people on that there list – why should God forgive you?”

Puppet stutters, “Uh, well, uh, gulp – I guess, if I get forgiveness when I don’t deserve it, they should get it too, even though they don’t deserve it?” Teacher says, “I think so.” Puppet throws his hands up, “Do you know what this means?” Teacher says, “No, what does this mean?” Puppet answers, “This means I have to rip up my last list, and now I don’t have any lists left.”

Teacher says, “That’s O.K., you’re on a better list, the list of the forgiven – and there is no better list than that!” Puppet says, “I’m gonna start a new list, my Blessing List, all the ways God has blessed me!” Teacher says, “Now you’re talking!”

To learn more about my lastest DiscipleTown unit, How to Pray, I’d encourage you to read all about it.

Prayer is not an unfamiliar topic to children – but do we truly teach children How to Pray? For too many Christians, of any age, prayer is something reserved for times or trouble or perhaps meal times, instead of being a means for connecting with their Creator on a daily basis and deepening their walk with God. That is the meaning the purpose of prayer, but it is a skill that must be taught to children so that they can discover the richness of having a meaningful prayer life. Teach a child to pray, and there are a great many other things you will not have to teach them, for the Holy Spirit will do it for you.

That’s why I was eager to write a series that taught children How to Pray! In order to give children a simple mental framework, the many aspects of prayer are broken down into four areas that start with the letters of the word P.R.A.Y. – Praising, Repenting, Asking and Yielding. While there is certainly more to prayer than can be captured in four simple words, each of the lessons expands on these and hints at the broader aspects of prayer and that they will have a life time to explore the power and joy learning How to Pray!

If it’s not a children’s pastor’s event – some ask me why I limit it to children’s pastors (or CM professionals). It’s a fair question. It is because I believe that there are unique challenges that we face as men in children’s ministry that only children’s pastors understand and we need each other to face and overcome them.

I’ve faced many of them (not always victoriously) and created this event as a way to share what I’ve learned and provide a safe and unique opportunity for men to come together – unplugged from both the demands of ministry and the busy pace of life (and electronics!) to face some things they may have never faced before and come away with a totally new perspective on themselves, their families and their ministries.

Yosemite Summit changes men in ways you can’t understand until you’ve been here. And it is only open to a very small group of men each year. And every year, I’ve had one or two come back – which is the highest compliment I can get, that it is a powerful event. Much of the feedback is too personal to post on this blog. Though some have shared. In these posts:

Why I’m Going Back – Brent

Why I’m Returning to Yosemite Summit – Pat

If you page through the posts on the YosemiteSummit.org blog you will find many quotes from the guys who have been on this event – and how it has impacted their life, and I will be posting more from last year in the weeks ahead. But here is one that truly blessed me from this year from a Summiteer who asked to remain nameless, but that is typical of the e-mails I receive from the guys who have joined me on this trip – but let me say first – the credit for God working on Yosemite Summit does not go to me. I start each Summit letting the guys know, I am not the leader, just the inviter, facitator and organizer – after that, I am a fellow participant with them. After all, I created this event after discovering how much I needed this myself. God is our Host, Jesus our Guest Speaker and the Holy Spirit is our Guide.

The final quote I wanted to share:

Thanks for giving me a place where I could hear the voice of God and thanks for helping me change my life.  Yosemite Summit will be a major defining moment in my life, that as long as I live, I will see Yosemite Summit as the single event that allowed me to look inside my life and see what needs to change to make a difference in the lives of my wife and my kids. Indebted to you for life because Yosemite Summit made a difference that I have needed for so long.  Living Yosemite Summit each day from here on.

- A Yosemite Summiteer, 2010

There are only 8 spots for Yosemite Summit and THREE have already been verbally spoken for, for the 2011 Summit. Registration will be openning September 1st. Don’t miss your chance to be a part of this life-changing event.

Here is a Yosemite Summit Wallpaper to help inspire you. (1600 x 1200 719kb)

Visit YosemiteSummit.org for more information.

Me too.

But at least something is different now. I have a built in pit stop in my life, called Yosemite Summit.

Every May, me and eight other children’s pastors (or ministry leaders) go to Yosemite National Park for a complete break-away from ministry to just fellowship with each other and focus on our relationship with God and our  relationships with our wives and kids. And nothing else.

and…

We WALK AWAY FROM IT ALL. I’ve had to accept that while I will always be working on it, I will never master getting my daily life or week under control. There is just too much to do all the time. But at least I can look forward to once a year, every year, when I walk away from it all for four glorious days when I just enjoy God’s incredible creation in THE most spectacular place on earth. (Seriously, it is!)

If you are stressed out and thinking you don’t have time for Yosemite Summit – than YOU are exactly who DOES NEED Yosemite Summit, and believe me, not only can you leave everything and it will be waiting for you when you get back – but you will be different when you return, and everything will be lighter when you pick it upon your return, for reasons I can’t explain until you join me there…. it’s kinda a secret until you arrive and experience what happens on this retreat.

There are only THREE SPOTS LEFT on Yosemite Summit 2010. I know the economy has been rough and many church budgets have been cut. I have to pay for these spots no matter what. So if you need a scholarship to attend this event, please contact me and let me know. I will personally assist you so you can join us. I want to see this event filled with eight children’s pastors who need this retreat. You have no excuse not to come – if you need Yosemite Summit – you need only step out in faith and register to attend.

Why not trust God and build this Spiritual Pit Stop into your busy life? Your family and your SOUL will thank you… and so will your Savior.

Why go back to Yosemite? I prayed about the opportunity and tossed it around for a while. Would this year match the experience I had last year? Would it be better? Would it not be as good? There were so many reasons to go back and really no reason to not go.

The number one reason to go back – I know that I need the time away. I love what I do, don’t get me wrong. But throughout the year, the emotional stress can wear you out. The “normal” people issues that come up can wear on your soul, especially when the people are not just bodies in the congregation but are your friends, your family, your brothers and sisters in Christ. I know that I need the time away to leave the work of ministry behind, to leave the daily tasks behind, and to focus on ultimately what is most important, my own personal relationship with Christ.

Words cannot describe the feeling you have when you are 8,000+ feet up, looking over God’s awesome creation and it is just you, Him and His Word. God revealed things to me during the week at Yosemite that I was not expecting.

The time away last year allowed me to refocus my life and set my eyes on what was most important once again. I am looking forward to the time once again to refocus my life and to continue to grow as a child of God.

The opportunity to get with other guys from across the country and share life together was amazing. We all shared the common ground of children’s ministry but it was great to get to know each other, pray for each other, and encourage each other in our personal walks with Christ. I am looking forward to that fellowship again this year.

The cost was an issue that I had to weigh out. But when it came down to it, I could spend the money going to conferences getting new ideas for ministry or I could spend the money and take the time away I need to grow in Christ and re-energize my walk with Him.

I don’t know about you, but I have so many ideas that I don’t know what to do with them all. And the thing is, if I am pouring my energy into ministry and not taking care of my own relationship with Him, those new ideas are not going to take off anyway. Over the last couple years I have been doing what I can to do what I have always known, to put my relationship with God before my ministry. This is easier said than done, especially during the day to day things of life. Yosemite Summit is a great way to get away to leave the other things behind for a week and focus on what is most important.

Whether we realize it or not, we all need this time away with God. We fool ourselves into thinking that it is not a good time. We tell ourselves that we have too much going on. The things is, when don’t we as children’s pastors have too much going on? When are we just waiting around with nothing to do? There is always something to do!

There is never going to be the “best” time in our eyes to leave things behind. But as I came to the conclusion last year and this year, I need this time more than I need to hold the next event for the children. I need this time more than the next new activity or idea for the children’s ministry.

I realized that I needed to trust God and that He would provide the way to get things done that needed to get done – He would clear the path even if issues came up while at Yosemite. So with that said, I look forward to the discussions God and I will have on that mountain top. I look forward to the time with Him. I look forward to the continued strength from Him and how I will grow closer to Him that week. It will be an awesome week. Don’t miss it.

- Pat, April 2010

Learn more about this retreat at www.Yosemite Summit.org
Only four spots remain for 2010

Let me share one of my favorite elements from lesson three, it is a routine I use with my puppet, Gus. Of course, in the curriculum Gus’ name gets dropped (Sorry Gus!) so that teacher’s can replace him with their own puppet, I remember this routine fondly for both the humor and yet the poignant impact this routine has made many times on children. It’s a description, not a script, but you’ll get the idea:

Puppet has a black eye, a broken arm, and bandages all over his body. Leader asks what is wrong and says, “I hope you didn’t try to fight sin to the death like you were talking about last week!” Puppet says, “Oh, no. I did this all by myself.” Leader looks shocked, “You did this yourself? Were you in some kind of terrible accident?” Puppet says, “Oh, no. It wasn’t an accident. I did it on purpose.” Leader is even more shocked, “On purpose!? You did this on purpose? But why on earth would you do this on purpose?” Puppet looks sad and solemn. “Because I’m such a bad puppet. I needed to be punished.” Leader looks very concerned, “Punished? Punished for what?” Puppet continues, “Oh, I’m too embarrassed to tell you. But you said last week to turn to God and I’d stop sinning. Well, it didn’t work. I sinned again. And since I know better than to try and fight sin, I decided to beat myself up instead. I wanted to teach myself a lesson. God can’t have bad people on His team, you know. I’ve got to knock some sense into myself—beat myself into submission, you know. I tried to knock myself into the middle of next week. What is today’s date, by the way?” Leader is shocked and sad. “Oh, Puppet, you don’t need to beat yourself up. God will forgive you.” Puppet looks up, “Oh, I know He did, but not again and again.” Leader says, “Yes, again and again, and then again and again and again and again.” Puppet asks, “And then … again and again?” Leader smiles, “And then again and again.” Puppet says, “And then again?” Leader says, “And then again.” Puppet asks, “How many agains?” Leader says, “Until you’ve lost track.” Puppet says, “I already have.” Leader: “Then you still have more agains left over.” Puppet, looking more cheerful: “That’s a lot of agains!” Leader smiles: “As many as you need—that’s how much He loves you.”

Jesus sure has given me a lot of “agains” and I know I have a tendency to beat myself up to. I recently was with a good friend and brought up a sin I had committed in the past and this godly leader cut me off, looked me in the eye and said, “Do you believe in the cross?” I said “Of course,” and this person said, “then don’t ever mention your sin to me again. Just keep moving forward and serving the Lord.” Wow. That’s far as the East is from the West! We need more Christians like that, don’t we? We teach this stuff to our children, but sometimes its so hard to live and believe it for ourselves!

What are you beating yourself up for? What do you keep reminding yourself of?

Jesus has as many “agains” as we have sins. Need another “again?” He’s got one for ya!

You are invited to be a part of the Fellowship of the King!

“The Fellowship” is simply a group of children’s pastors and ministry leaders I am gathering who desire to periodically disconnect from the busyness of life and ministry to spend time with God in His creation and fellowship with others who share in their passion for children’s ministry.

There is no cost. It is simply a list of guys who I will invite on day hikes.There is no obligation to attend any or all – I know that only a few may be able to make each hike – the Fellowship simply makes up the list of those who want to know when the hikes are so they can be invited to join us. They will be planned all over the state during all seasons. Most will be one day hikes, leave early in the morning and head home when the sun sets.

The first will be Thursday, April 1st. For more information contact me.

NOTE: If you REALLY want to get away and enjoy creation, join me in May in Yosemite! See www.yosemitesummit.org (only a few spots remain unspoken for!)