Home Articles posted by kidologist (Page 125)

I finally solved it, but can you?

UPDATE: I posted this in 2010, about a poster I got before Y2K and it is now 2022 and I am STILL getting e-mails for the solution. This may be one of my most popular blog posts! I think I need to update the photo with a better image! LOL If you need the solution, comment and I will email you the answer. I have had this framed poster hanging in my home or office for over TEN YEARS (I think much longer!) and have offered a cash reward for years to whoever was the first to “find the identical pen men” if only to solve it for me! I have starred at it and wasted much of my life wondering if it wasn’t a cruel joke. And then tonight, I SOLVED IT! I have used all kinds of systems. I have had post-it notes on it, going row by row. I have made photo copies and cut it up and tried sorting it. But I never finished any system. Then here, in my new house in Colorado, I hung it up in the restroom in the new Kidology office thinking there I might have more time to devote to…

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The Last $1000 Needed for Leukemia Research!

TONIGHT AT 7pm Eastern you can watch (Live via U-Stream) the LAST $1000 BEING RAISED FOR  LEUKEMIA RESEARCH! Cam is the son of a woman I met at CPC last week: I first ‘met’ Heather when she e-mailed me via Kidology.org and told me about the amazing and moving testimony on YouTube by her pastor’s 19 year old son just ten days before he died of lymphoblastic leukemia last August. He died on Wednesday and her team needed to lead VBS in the midst of their grief knowing that Ben, who had once been a prominent leader at such events, was now with Jesus. His story is both sad and yet moving and wonderful at the same time. I was moved to tears hearing of how it has impacted their church and was delighted to meet Heather after one of my workshops. I then got to hear about the “Ben Ripple” – how Ben’s life and testimony has been impacting the children since he died, including Heather’s son, who announced to her recently that he would be hosting a concert to help others survive what took Ben’s life. Please take a moment to read this article in the Beacon Heard:…

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DiscipleTown Table Talker Taste

I’ve been working on writing DiscipleTown Table Talkers all day, for the fifth unit due to come out soon, and one of my favorite parts of this curriculum is the Table Talker family devotional component. Download a Sample TableTalker (PDF, 185k) So I thought I’d put a sample on my blog to give my blog readers a “taste” of a family devotional that will be part of the next DiscipleTown unit. Each devotional has an easy “Let’s Play” component that gets families playing together with no complicated preparation – just something they can do with stuff usually right at the table, tho this one uniquely has them using the whole house due to the lesson point. Then there is a “Let’s Talk” discussion question to get every member of the family talking – but it is a targeted question that is setting them up for the topic. Next they are in the Word with “Let’s Read” followed by a short devotional “Let’s Think” that helps guide a parent on a spiritual discussion. But it doesn’t stop there. I always end with a “Let’s Do” practical application. Most are just a verbal application, but one of the three will be an…

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CPC ’10 Nashville Report – Cool Dudes

For this year’s CPC Report, I’m going to do a series of reports, and this first one will feature some of the COOL DUDES of CPC! And of course, it is not an exclusive list! (Sorry if you got left off!) Next will be the GROOVY GIRLS of CPC and I’m sure it will be easier on the eyes, but I’ll start with the guys since  their my best buds! One of the neatest things about CPC is the friends you make over the years as we minister together! So here it goes: Me and Jack Daniels. OK, we are exactly buds, but he was the only guy around the night I arrived, so we hung out the first night while I worked on my lap top to get some last minute work done for my workshops. I promise I only had root beer! Byron Ragains from David C. Cook was the first friendly face I ran into. I’ve known this CM Dude since I was a green thumb back at Moody Memorial Church in Chicago back in the early 90’s. Byron is enthusiasm on steroids and a constant encourager of everyone he meets. But of course he is –…

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When Teaching a Large Age Range

I was reading a discussion over on the Kidology.org forums about how to teach to a wide age range and there were some comments suggesting different age ranges to aim for. Some were suggesting “aiming for the middle” or “targeting the older kids” so as not to bore them, whereas others thought it better to teach to the younger ones so as not to lose them. I’d like to suggest a different approach after having taught over 1,000 children’s church services to first through sixth graders for over fifteen years. It’s a rather simple suggestion: AIM FOR EVERYONE! The key in a large group with a large age range is to shift your focus constantly. The secret is to be highly visual and to be physically moving and animated to keep the younger ones tracking with you (don’t stand still and never sit, meaning you the teacher) and use humor constantly to keep a connection with your audience. Think about it: Senior pastors preach to a wide audience range of age and intelligence and education and world view and learning styles and they can do it! They don’t break their audience into groups! How do they do it? It isn’t…

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