My Long Lost Brother (in the Lord)

A few weeks ago my family got to travel to Waterford, MI to minister to kids as part of a revival week at Williams Lake Church of the Nazarene. The children’s pastor is a part of Kidology’s CP Team and happens to be the first student in Kidology’s Coaching program.We are so alike! As we swapped stories of children’s ministry – it was like we’d done so many of the same (crazy) things. Once, as I said I needed to go use the restroom before the program began, I called him over and whispered, “why don’t you have all the kids hide while I’m out, like they are playing a joke on me?” and he said, “I was just going to do that!” It was like finding my long lost brother separated at birth. But my mother was spared having two of me around! I was pleased to see Eric had in his office his Coaching Notebook, Kidology Online Training Notebook, and Kidology Handbook Notebook! He truly has a servants heart and a teachable spirit! We asked me to feel free to tell him what I thought he could do better, but I honestly was very impressed with his ministry.…

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Karl to be Interviewed on Radio

At 5:15 p.m., February 22nd, Chicago time, I will be interviewed for 15 minutes as a part of WPEO‘s live coverage of the Peoria, Illinois Equip Conference. It does not appear their radio station is streamed online (that I can find) so unless you live within this map, you’ll probably not be able to stop whatever you are doing for my fifteen minutes of fame… well, fifteen minutes on the radio anyway. Karl’s Radio Coverage for 15 Minutes Tomorrow! But it will be fun anyway. I’ve been interviewed twice on WMBI (not counting my youth group appearance on Saturday Night Live with Ron Hutchcraft in high school) Of course, it’s fun to be on the radio – but the best was when Rush Limbaugh read my e-mail on his show back in the early 90’s – I still have people tell me they heard that. (another story for another time, and I actually missed it!) At any rate – let me know if you get to hear it! They will be interviewing many of the other speakers through tomorrow and Saturday so if you can get the station, listen in for other great interviews as well. My good friend Tim…

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CPC: The Best Place Still to Network

My bags are packed, I’m ready to go. I’m sitting here just blew my nose. I hate to face it, but I must admit it’s true. I’m leaving on a jet plane, Don’t know when I’ll be back again, CPC is over and I don’t know what to do. Yes, it’s true. I’ve got the post-CPC blues. Its that feeling you get when all your friends have said good-bye and you’ve just finished stuffing all your collected ministry propaganda and Mickey souvenirs into your luggage and are waiting to head home. (but going home IS a good thing!) While there are now many children’s ministry conferences, CPC is still the #1 place to network with other children’s ministry professionals. People like: Rob Biagi, the coolest worship dude for kids in America! I hear his music in churches everywhere I go. If you don’t have Rob’s music you should hide under a table for what your kids are missing out on. But instead, get out from under the table and get your hands on Rob’s V.I.P. to GOD Worship Leaders Kit or his latest CD Get Out There. Kal Gilchrist, a frequent Kid U presenter (who was helpin’ in the Laflins…

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FREE Reproducible Art Collection from CMUO

As a loyal reader of my blog, I wanted you to be among the first to learn about some free reproducible children’s ministry art that Dick Gruber created, compiled, and is making available as a FREE download! That’s right…this resource that includes years worth of his cartoon-style drawings is available for FREE! Dick Gruber’s Evangel Art: Reproducible Art for Children’s Ministries is offered for FREE and includes: over 40 evangel pages 385 picture words 124 scripture pictures All artwork is provided in .jpg format and can be easily incorporated into any word processing, desktop publishing, or presentation software. To request a free download of Evangel Art, simply complete the download request and brief survey at www.cmuo.com/resources/evangelart. You will then receive an email with more details for downloading your free copy.

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How Can We Motivate Our Kids?

Here is an excellent post from the DiscipleLand newsletter: Many kids have lost interest in spiritual matters. They are discouraged about trying to please God. From their perspective, it is not “cool” to be godly. So they focus on their own desires and let the world guide them. The number one challenge in churches today is to overcome mediocrity. Christian kids are satisfied with lukewarm-ness. To counteract this trend, some churches have replaced content-rich children’s ministries with high-energy programs. This may keep kids from being bored and it may eliminate the need to recruit volunteers, but it also severs teacher-learner relationships that foster discipleship. If we routinely motivate kids with flashy events, we are doomed to the “bigger and better” cycle. Each new program must offer more energy, excitement, and “wow” than the previous one. Instead, we must move kids from extrinsic to intrinsic motivation. Throughout the Bible, God uses a variety of cause-effect techniques to motivate His people. Some are positive and some are punitive; some are earthly and some are eternal. Some are fascinating and some are frightening. Remind children that every human being will someday meet the Creator face-to-face-and give an account to Him. Every child can…

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