Home Archive by category "Children’s Ministry" (Page 84)

Category: Children’s Ministry

Coming in Next to Next to Last

I’m excited to announce I came in in Next to Next to Last on the Church Leaders Top 200 Church Blogs on Two Websites! (Actually, it’s the same list in two places) and Yup, I was Number 198 on a list of 200! Barely made it! Whew! But what an honor to be noticed and because they did the ranking based on Google ranking and subscribers to Google Reader and RSS feeds, I must say: THANK YOU to those you YOU who read my blog, because it must mean you find my posts interesting, helpful, encouraging or something in order to keep coming back. I often say “I’ve been blogging since before there were blogs” and so it’s nice to know there are people reading! I don’t often post (or concern myself) with awards or recognition (my dad raised me to not give much thought to such things) but as long as I am here to say “Thanks”, I should mention Tony Kummer’s Blog List – not because I’m on it – but because so MUCH WORK goes into creating these lists, and he has 99 OTHER great Kidmin Bloggers on it, all worthy of checking out, in addition to…

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The Power of Encouragement

Before there was Kidology.org – (well, it was members.aol.com/kidologyweb) – Before most people had heard of this guy who called himself “the Kidologist” – there was just this kids pastor name Karl Bastian who threw himself 287% into whatever he did! One of those times was when he got invited to provide the children’s programing (not child care!) for the Okoboji Lakes Bible Conference waaaay back in 1996. I was hired by none other than Scottie May. You may have never heard of her, but she is the Mom of Phil Vicher (Creator of VeggieTales), and he wasn’t a household name in kids pastor’s homes (or American homes for that matter) back then. I think the first VHS tape was just hitting stores! Anyway – Along with my wife and some youth I brought from my church, we were proving children’s programming for TEN DAYS while the parents were in sessions over in the “Big Tent.” We did full scale Kids Church-like lessons, game times, crafts, and so much more. As I always do whether I’m doing Kid’s Church, speaking at camp, or writing curriculum, I provide more than asked and try to make it the best I possibly can…

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My Blog Madness iPad2 Challenge!

O.K. – everyone keeps e-mailing, texting, direct Tweeting, calling… everything short of knocking on the door of the Kidology Top Secret Headquarters deep in the mountains of Colorado to ask me, “Who are YOU voting for?” First, my mini-rant – I think some people lost the whole point of this – it was to vote for the blogs you liked the best, not use your influence to rally votes for someone. But since everyone seems to be doing that, I’ll give in and lend whatever little influence I have and tell you who I’m voting for. But when faced with THESE “Final Four” you have four incredible bloggers – two I was very familiar with (Jim and Sam) and two that were newer to me (a great thing about this contest!) So, I’m gonna just be a good sport and go for the guy who beat me in the biggest upset of the second round – Justyn Smith – the guy who I had a 100+ vote lead over who somehow mysterious had a rally that knocked me out in a few mere hours! I don’t know if he had a Saturday evening church service and his third sermon point…

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Got Building Plans?

Got some Kingdom Building Plans? I’ve got a bit of a sober warning and challenge for my fellow ministers today – one written in my personal online journal a few years ago that I’m publishing today. I pray some will consider it slowly and with an open heart. It was written by one who learned these lesson not easily! So it is written not preaching down – not side to side, and perhaps at the time it was written, broken looking up. OC writes,“These are days of tremendous enterprises, days when we are trying to work for God, and therein lies the snare. Profoundly speaking, we can never work for God.” 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…

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NO MORE Making Time for Family

I’ve made a decision, and by God’s grace and power, I’m sticking to it. Are you ready? Here it is: Never again am I going to make time for my family! That’s right. I am DONE making time for my family. No more. Never Again. I Quit. I’ve spent over ten years making time for my wife, and then when I became a dad I started making time for my son too. And I was totally wrong to do so! I have learned my lesson, and have made a personal commitment to never ever again make time for either of them. Have I lost my mind? No, quite to the contrary – I have finally found it! While I have always claimed to put family first – my proof was in all the time I “made” for them. The days off, the dates, the dinners, the vacations, the coming home for a meal, the night time feedings and play time on the floor… all the things I took a break from ministry to do. What?!?!? Did you just hear the insanity in that last sentence?! The “break from ministry” I took to “make” time for my family? I’m ashamed to…

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