Home Archive by category "Spiritual Growth" (Page 5)

Category: Spiritual Growth

It’s That Simple, It’s That Difficult

My podcast this week is in response to a post in the Kidology forum where a Kidology member laments, I’m working at a new church and realize that the youth don’t know that much about the God’s Word or Jesus. I’ve sat and scratched my head trying to figure out what approach to take. Many of the youth have been coming to the church as kids, but haven’t really learned about a relationship with Jesus. ….they aren’t interested and neither are the parents. The majority of the youth ….are moving on and the youth director assigned to their age group is clueless. They focus on events rather than ministering to the kids. I’m about to pull my hair out because I feel like I’m the only one who see’s the problem. HELP!” If I had to answer you in one would, it would be: DISCIPLESHIP. The church today spends too much time and energy and money trying to turn out disciples through mass/large groups ‘events’ and what you describe is the results. “The proof is in the pudding” as the saying goes. If you want to see the solution, you have to look no further than the ministry of Jesus.…

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2012 Yosemite Summit Report

The 2012 Yosemite Summit Report has been posted! The 2012 Yosemite Summit Gang! I have posted the 2012 Yosemite Summit Report and Hightlight Video over on YosemiteSummit.org – GO CHECK IT OUT! I am already looking forward to and praying about who will join me next year! Remember, Yosemite Summit is now open to any men in ministry, not just children’s pastors.

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To Build a Boy

My son is loving that a house is now being built next door! I already blogged my thoughts on how the framing of the foundation related to fatherhood, but now the foundation is complete – and Luke has left his mark: Luke’s day now consists mostly of watching these men work, and then going and mimicking their work in his own giant sandbox. At lunch today be informed us, “It’s O.K. To go to lunch, my workers are at lunch right now too. I have ten workers, you know.” He’s the foreman of his backyard construction site and gives us daily reports at dinner of his workers progress each day, in creative detail. You can only imagine his sheer excitement when a huge truck arrived today and dropped off two massive piles of rocks next to our house! He loves imagining the house that will be built upon this foundation. “The house will be up here, Dad!” As I watch this boy of mine, I too wonder… What will HE hold up one day? What will be built upon his life? Some of his accomplishments and how God uses him, I will get to see, much may be after I’m…

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Blessing Faith Remembered, 31 Years Later

I’ve been going through some childhood papers, sorting, filing, (pitching!) and it’s been very special (and funny) to get these glimpses into the “young Karl.”  Many things I remember, others come as a surprise to me. I was very touched to discover a very simple piece of paper that I had written and colored just a year after my little sister, Blessing Faith, was born…and died. I didn’t want to forget her. She lived only 5 days due to a very rare birth condition where her brain did not finish developing. I got to hold her, and my parents later told me that my strength and trust in the Lord at age 12 helped them through it. It was something amazing for me to grasp at that time, not understanding the simple faith of children and how it can often help us more complicated adults! Anyway, here is a close-up of what I wrote, and a PDF of the entire sheet is linked below. I wanted to make sure I never forgot that day, and here, 30 years after making this simple piece of paper on Blessing’s birthday, I am getting my wish. I am remembering. Some might ask why…

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Sumu Kids!

Here’s a “Blast from the Past!” I recently had thousands of pictures scanned by ScanMyPhotos.com and am discovering some fun pictures from over twenty years of ministry as a children’s pastor (as well as lots of fun family pics). Several of these kids I still know and some I am friends with now on Facebook, even though this was 1993 at the Village Church of Lincolshire, IL. (Pictured here are David and Hannah Shaw, Tina Myers, Athena (Rebecca) Stephens, Tyler and Kelsey Hagen, Matt, Sam and Gab Fuqua, Jennelle, Jenene and Jenna Stanonik, Gina Geavaras, Amy Lane, and others I only remember first names. I am getting old!) Here is a fun game event I did in my Rookie Year as a full time children’s pastor that I called Sumu Kids: First, the TEAM PHOTOS: We did this at a “Sack Lunch Sunday.” Every first Sunday of the month, I let all the grade school kids stay at church for a themed afternoon of fun and games. Its purpose was simply to deepen my relationship with the kids as well as to give parents a nice Sunday afternoon off. (Parent Points!) There was always some spiritual teaching, yes, but that…

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