Addicted to Ministry?

“Hi Craig, my name is Karl, and I too am a recovering ministry-a-holic.” In the current issue of K! Magazine, there is an excellent article by my friend, Craig Jutila, former children’s pastor at Saddleback Community Church, where he very honestly and transparently talks about his own personal “crash” from being so addicted to ministry he found himself in an unhealthy place spiritually, emotionally, and relationally with his family. I appreciated his candor. I’ve attempted to be as open here on my blog (and even more so in one on one relationships) about my own “demise” as a children’s pastor nearly two years ago who thought he could do everything and keep his walk with God and family life healthy. Why are the best lessons in life learned so painfully? Craig’s topic was “spiritual renewal” and he admits (as I will) that we can be so good at faking it and knowing all the answers even as we are dying on the inside – but unwilling to admit our need. He quotes an unknown person as saying we don’t change until, “you hurt enough that you have to” or you “learn enough that you want to.” We both admit, it…

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Kidologist.com Now iPhone Friendly

Thanks to the folks at iwphone.contentrobot.com, my blog is now iPhone (or iPod Touch) friendly! I love my current theme (created by PowerServe.net) but on the iPhone it was a bit much to navigate. Now you can enjoy my blog on your iPhone, those of you lucky (or smart) enough to have one. ENJOY!

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Harrison Ford Isn’t Too Old, We Are.

I went to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull on opening night with seven other grown men and had a great time chompin’ pop-corn and watchin’ Indy crack his whip and knuckles again after a 19 year break from the silver screen. How was the movie? Fun. Was it spectacular? Nah. But I’ve actually been getting a kick out of listening to and reading all the negative reviews of the movie. While I agree with most of them as to whether the movie is on par with Raiders or Last Crusade (Temple seems to be nearly universally hated) – I’ve got a different take on it. Like Star Wars Episode I, which came out 20 years after the last Star Wars film, Indy 4 was doomed to be criticized by those who loved the first three. (or at least two of the first three.) Interestingly, Episode I was met with mostly whining and complaining by all the twenty or thirty-something year old men (like me) who saw their first Star Wars film when they were a boy, but was loved by all the young boys who saw it. Hmmmm. Could it be it wasn’t really made…

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A Prayer Bearly Answered

I’ve got lots of pictures to post and stories to tell about the very first Yosemite Summit, but for those of you who like to read the last chapter of books first – I’ll start by telling you about a very cool thing that happened at the very end of the trip. I’d been to Yosemite many times as a boy and then not for a long time until my sabbatical in 2005. I’ve gotten pictures of many animals, but other than being “attacked” by a bear at Yosemite as a boy (you’ll have to ask me in person for the story – posting it takes away the fun to telling it!) I’ve not seen a bear at Yosemite. So on our first day in the park on our “solitude hike” among much more spiritual things, I selfishly prayed that God might let me see and photograph a bear on this trip. It was a childish prayer to my Abba Father, one I knew He may not answer, but I’ve learned He loves me enough that I need to at least ask. If my asking is wrong, He’ll show me by not answering. I kept my eyes alert for a…

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BLOG READERS ADVANCE SCREENING!

As promised yesterday , below is an exclusive SNEEK PEEK video from the next Kidology Online Training Leadership Lab: Partnering with Parents . RIGHT NOW THIS IS ONLY HERE ON MY BLOG – as a parting gift before I go completely cold turkey offline for a week, I wanted to give you a little something to hold you over. (Oh how will you survive without my blog? ) This will not be live on Kidology.org until next week some time! So enjoy this Advance Screening via a TOP SECRET YouTube link before it’s official release next week on Kidology! This is the introductory video that is part of the most JAM-packed Leadership Lab yet! This lab is the culmination of several years of work and includes exclusive content never-before-published that I’ve been being asked to release since 2005, ever since it was hinted at in the Kidology forum. I have finally provided detailed background, description, explanation, samples and more on the VIP Family Ministry philosophy that I pioneered at my previous church. But that’s not all. CHECK OUT ALL THIS LEADERSHIP LAB WILL INCLUDE: 36 Page Leader Lab PDF – This is the core content of the Online Training. 52…

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