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Category: Life

Old Gospel Tools – Same Timeless Message

I’ve been creating ministry tools for as long as I can remember, even before I had a “job” where that was part of what I do. I’ve been going through some “old stuff” and came across some old ministry tools I created back in the type, tape, and photo-copy days of old! These were Gospel Tracts that I made to give to people I met along the paths of life. I’ve removed my address/phone from them (since they are defunct and don’t want anybody being called and bugged!), but the Message in them is as true as ever! Let me encourage you to check them out and consider creating your own evangelism tool. People always responded well to something I had written myself over mass-produced Gospel tracts, because they seemed to see I cared enough to make it and then give it to them. So they would often read it and engage in conversation, even if I wasn’t able to persuade them toward my faith – they opened up dialogue, and that is always a good thing! They learned what I believed, and I learned more about them. I had three versions for three levels of relationship and gave them…

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Kingdom Kids Historical Documents

When I was a “rookie kids pastor” back in 1993, not even married yet, before the dawn of the personal computer, (or before they became truly practical anyway) I used to hand draw my Sunday Kid’s Bulletins.  I also used them for a Mail Box Club as an outreach tool. Doing some “Spring Cleaning” this week, I discovered a box filled with original masters of these bulletins as well as many completed by children. It was fun to find these blank bulletins that I spent hours creating each week as a follow up tool for my lessons. I used to photo-copy them and send them home as well as use them as a follow up tool for magic shows at outreach events. This is all back in 1993 when I was the first Children’s Pastor the historic Moody Church which was founded by the great evangelist D.L. Moody well over 100 years ago. Below is a downloadable PDF of one of these Kid’s Bulletins / Mailbox Club Bible Lessons. I post it for two reasons. The first is simply for fun and enjoyment, as a “historical document” of how kidmin was done in the “old days” before all these techno…

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Time to UNPLUG and Reconnect

Have you ever wanted to UNPLUG from the hectic busy pace of ministry life? That is the entire point of Yosemite Summit. It is a week where you are unplugged in every sense of the word. No computer, no e-mail, no phone calls, no work, no deadlines, no ’emergencies’, no pressure. Better than a day off spent catching up on personal things – it is a complete break for the sake of complete rest and renewal. I was once told by a very wise mentor, “Karl, you need to stop being a human doing, and learn to become a human being.” That is what Yosemite Summit is all about. It is an annual cessation of activity. Too often we confuse busyness with what God is truly seeking from us. Not that we aren’t busy doing good things! But we get so busy doing these good things, that our relationship with God can grow distant, and soon God is wondering, why or who we are truly busy for? Stopping, completely, once a year is an opportunity to recalibrate. It is a time for reflection and renewal. It is not a time of evaluating ministry goals and seeking a new “ministry vision”…

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Orange Crushed? No, Thankful!

This was an amazingly fun year to be a Bronco fan. I feel bad for those who only joined the season for the Super Bowl, where we got soundly defeated, because they missed an incredible season that was extremely entertaining! I don’t deny the Seahawks fans their gloating just as I would have were it reversed. But in the end, we spectators can take no credit nor share no blame for what happens in a football game. We can only watch and cheer or groan. Only the players are champions or losers, not us. So go be a Champion in life in the arena that is yours – that is worth cheering on, Denver, Seattle or Anywhere! As I listen to all the “experts” whether on TV, radio or sitting in an armchair discuss this Bronco defeat… my thoughts go immediately to the words of Theodore Roosevelt who made the point so clearly that it is easy to criticize – the credit goes to the men on the field, win or lose, for they are the ones who are actually in the arena playing the game! The rest is just words. Read how Teddy said it: “It is not the…

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Why I Do What I Do

I just got an e-mail that MADE 2014. It defined why I do what I do. I share it with his permission: Subject: I’m Going to Be a Children’s Pastor! Hey Karl, This Sunday I am going to be appointed as the Assistant Pastor of Children’s Ministries at my church. I am so excited to finally get to be focused on Pastoral ministry to kids and their families. However, when I think back over the years, I know I need to thank you. You were a HUGE encouragement to me and one of the reasons I kept pressing forward in this call. At one point I was simply a 6th grader with a call from God, but you were one of the touch-points God used along the way in order to keep me focused on that call. I know I was not the best employee at times, but you still saw through my work and saw the call God had put on my heart. I wanted to thank you for supporting me through the years I was blogging and working for Kidology. Honestly, I’m not always sure why you were so willing to empower me, because I know I was…

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