Home Archive by category "Children’s Ministry" (Page 70)

Category: Children’s Ministry

But is the Bathroom Fancy?

I’m not exactly sure where this came from, but every time we go out to eat, my five year old son now wants to see the bathroom and check whether it is a “fancy bathroom.” Much to my embarrassment, he will be in the stall saying, “Daddy, this isn’t a fancy bathroom, is it?” to the chuckles of others in the room. My theory is that it began last Easter when we ate at the Red Mountain Grill in Dillon, Colorado because when we visited the rest room there, he was truly impressed! That was indeed a fancy bathroom! And I believe it has been since then, that he has been commenting on the “fanciness” of restrooms. We’ll be in a very nice restaurant, but upon visiting the restroom, if it is lame or boring or dirty or junky, suddenly the restaurant is no longer “fancy” any more. We’ve been to some pretty nice places that Luke was pretty impressed with…. until he got to the restroom, and then he announced, “This restaurant isn’t fancy at all… it’s a fake.” It almost seems like his trip to the bathroom is just to investigate the “fanciness,” as a few times, after…

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A Weekend with God

As I already blogged, Friday I went on an all day hike with a friend in the mountains near Idaho Springs to see three beautiful lakes in preparation for the Men’s Advance for my church. (Note, “Advance” – real men don’t retreat) That was sorta my “pre-retreat,” er, Advance – for what God had in store for me this past weekend. It was a good time. It was a weekend spent with God. 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…

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I’m On the Back Cover of a Bible!

O.K., It might not be Sainthood, and I may not be up there with the authors, like Peter, Paul and James… but I did get my name on the back cover of a Bible… and not just any Bible, THE ALMIGHTY BIBLE! I’ve been a fan of The Almighty Bible since editions started to appear last year, and I was lucky enough to be sent some early review copies to check out. The Almighty Bible is a series of graphic novels that illustrate the Bible leaving the biblical text intact at the bottom, edited only slightly for younger readers, instead of bubble captions like a standard comic Bible. I gave them some feedback and expressed my enthusiasm and a quote has been put on the back cover the newly printed Book of Acts! “Finally, there is a Bible for kids and preteens that engage their eyes and captures their imaginations without sacrificing the biblical text. The Almighty Bible brings the Bible to life like never before for young readers.” – me In addition to an ever-growing collection of graphic novels for preteens and older, they have an amazing online interactive club for kids called, The Almighty Bible Club where kids…

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Father Knows Best

How could my dad give MAGNIFIERS to my sisters?!?! It is one thing to talk about something in the abstract. Kids need real stories from real people they know. Have you ever had a bad attitude that cost you something? Too often we give the impression that we have always done everything right and it is only the children we teach who make mistakes. Telling our students real stories of times we have blown it can help encourage them in profound ways. I remember a time when my dad came home with a gift for all three of his children. To each of my sisters he gave a gift of a different type of magnifying lens. I was in shock! Didn’t my dad know, it was I who collected magnifying glasses?!?! My older sister got a magnifying sheet the size of a full page of paper! Then my younger sister was given a magnifying ruler. You could place it over what you were reading and as you moved it down the page the words would magically grow as it passed over them. I was so jealous! How could my father DO this to me? Again, didn’t he understand that it…

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The Training Cycle

When I was a young boy my dad had a framed sign in his office that he had made himself. It read: I do. You watch. I do. You help. You do. I help. You do. I watch. It summarizes the process of discipleship or training it a nutshell. This summer I volunteered at my church to teach the preschool Bible stories for our churches sports camp because my son was attending. (I knew that fit my skills better than volunteering to coach sports!) I used props and objects to illustrate the Bible stories. For my own self-training purposes I video taped the sessions with my flip camera. (I like to watch and learn to improve.) One of the leaders had to teach the same Bible stories a few weeks later for the second week of sports camp when I was off to teach at a camp and couldn’t volunteer. I boxed up all my props and spent a little time coaching her on how to do it and gave her copies of the flip videos to watch and study. She did great! This week she is on a mission trip to Nairobi and I just got this picture posted…

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You Don’t Have a Recruiting Problem

You Don’t Have a Recruiting Problem. You Have a Relationship Problem. I have some hard news for leaders. This may come as a shock to some. You may need to sit down. Get a coffee or tea or soda… whatever you enjoy. But you need to hear me on this. There is a Grand Canyon of perception between why you serve in children’s ministry and why most volunteers volunteer. You? You love kids! You knew long before Barna that there is a 32% greater chance of them coming to Christ if they are reached before the age of 12. You know Jesus said we ought to come as a child, not hinder the children, and blessed the children. You feel called to children’s ministry. You read Roger Field’s The Calling and it gives you goose bumps and you nearly cry because THAT’S YOU. You would serve if no one asked, no one noticed, and no one said thank you. Sure, you’d have your little pity party when no one was looking, and you’d whine to your spouse a little… but you’d never quit. Because, like Roger Field’s also said so well – You are a Special Ops Kidmin. The Few.…

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