Home Archive by category "America"

Category: America

The Influence of a Child: How an 11-Year-Old Girl Helped Shape a President

As a kids pastor, I often reflect on the profound impact children can have on the world around them. Recently, I discovered a story that beautifully illustrates this truth—a tale involving none other than Abraham Lincoln. A Personal Connection While Abraham Lincoln has no direct living descendants, my father-in-law was a descendant of the Hanks family, Mary Todd Lincoln’s lineage. Standing tall and bearing a striking resemblance to Honest Abe, he often donned the iconic stovepipe hat, embodying Lincoln’s spirit. Yet, it wasn’t until a friend shared this particular story with me that I realized the depth of influence a single child can wield. The Letter That Changed History In October 1860, 11-year-old Grace Bedell from Westfield, New York, penned a letter to presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln. Having seen his campaign portrait, she believed he would look better with a beard and suggested that growing one might help him win more votes, especially from women who would then persuade their husbands to support him. Dear Sir, (she wrote)  … I am a little girl only 11 years old, but want you should be President of the United States very much so I hope you wont think me very bold to…

Continue reading

How Do You Talk to Your kids About Tragedy? By Ron Brooks

Thank you, Ron Brooks, for permission to re-post this helpful article on my blog. How to Talk to Kids About Tragedy. By Ron Brooks The largest massacre in US history in Las Vegas. The shooting at Columbine. The devastation of Hurricane Katrina, Irma and Harvey. The Tornadoes of Moore, Oklahoma. The school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.  The terrorist attack on 911. The terrorist attack in Paris, France. The mass shooting in Orlando.  All terrible tragedies, and if your child has heard about these events, you may be wondering how to talk to your kids about tragedy. With social media such a huge part of our life now, events like this are widely publicized. You are hardly able to turn on the TV or read through a Facebook feed without seeing reports. Many of our kids will see photos or hear about all the people that lost their homes or their lives in the storm. While we may do our best to shield our kids from horrible events, the truth is, many will find out. We homeschool our daughter, so it may be easier for me to keep bad news like this from her, but for others it is…

Continue reading

Should We Promote Diversity in Kidmin?

I hope that this blog post will generate some honest, polite and important dialogue. I am not trying to stir anything up – but sincerely want to get your feedback on a question I got. Several months ago, I received the following question from a listener to my podcast: Good morning Karl, I am… (name and church removed)   I listened to your podcast, and absolutely loved it! Great job, keep up the great work that you’re doing for all of the professionals in the kids ministry world.   I did have a question, however, that I would love to see you address. The question is, “How do you encourage and promote diversity in your kids ministry?”   We are living in a day and age, that unfortunately, kids and families are exposed to the rise of division because of race and ethnic background.   How do you promote unity and diversity in the mist of these unfortunate events? This is a fantastic question – but I must admit, I had to really wrestle with it because the premise of the question bothers me, that we live in a day and age when, yes, there are a lot of events…

Continue reading

Angry Kids and Crime

Responding to the School Shooting Near My Home This past week just a few miles from my home yet another troubled teenager entered his school, armed with weapons and explosives, fired on fellow students, before turning the gun on himself as the police closed in. While the rapid response of law enforcement minimized the potential harm to students, a young classmate now lies in a coma fighting for her life. While her parents and our nation pray for her recovery, there is another set of parents who have lost a son – and a nation asking once again, “Why?” While the radio waves are filled with the predictable arguments over gun control laws – some have brought up the broken home this young man came from and the fact that nearly all school shootings have been committed by children of divorce. While we certainly don’t know the complete reasons for this most recent attack, we do know divorce is an attack a child’s world. On Kidmin Talk this week I invited Wayne Stocks from DivorceMinistry4Kids.com to join me as we discuss what children’s ministers can and should be doing to better meet the needs of these kids to help them…

Continue reading

Karl the Pioneer?

As I have just spent the last two days driving across the “fruited plains” I have had time at the wheel to think again about the rich (and sobering) history of this Great Land. And I love to day dream about what life would have been like for myself and my family had we lived in a time when crossing it wouldn’t have been in an air-conditioned mini-van with cruise control and fast food stops or look-a-like rest areas on paved Inter-states – but perhaps along the Oregon or California Trails of 1840? A time when it took months at walking pace to travel hundreds of miles into the unknown leaving all comfort behind and going forward with only hope and courage. What would “Karl the Pioneer” be like? I have often been called a “Pioneer of the Internet.” In today’s definition of a pioneer I suppose that is true. If being a pioneer is to ‘bravely go where few have gone before,’ then sure. O.K. I was a pioneer. I was building webpages in HTML when most people didn’t have an e-mail address and “blogging” before WordPress or Blogger existed. I survived the “Dot Com Crash” because I built…

Continue reading