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The AMAZE Conference was Amazing!

This past Saturday my local Fellowship of Christian Magicians chapter hosted its first AMAZE Conference. It was a treat for as Barney Kinard, our head Kidology Coach made the trip out (he came early for the Kidology Coaching Summit) as well as my good friend John Mobley. (aka, Johnny Magic!) I’ll be telling you more about Johnny Magic in an upcoming blog post – but this is a guy you want to get to know! Another highlight, was getting to hang out with BOTH Duane and David Laflin on the same day! I challenged them to do a three generational show, and they did, including David’s boys in the grand finale of the conference. We had several workshops, great performances and tips throughout the day that will make everyone who was there better at Amazing their audiences about our Amazing God! Here are a few of the insights I gained or thoughts I had as I sat and listened: Don’t neglect the classics. Just because something is new, doesn’t necessarily make it better. When it comes to magic tricks, if the audience is fooled, it doesn’t matter whether you did it with a simple method or new-fangled hi0tech complicated method.…

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Cool Kidmin Idea: The VIP Couch

This weekend, I got to visit the church of my good friend, Todd McKeever in Des Moines, Iowa. Their children’s ministry is wonderful. I am always on the look out for super creative and original ideas that others may want to learn about. While there were many things I was impressed with, the coolest thing I got to both see and experience was the VIP Couch in their children’s church room. In the front of the room they have a big couch. Guests (as well as the friend who brought them) are invited to sit on the couch for the entire service – but not only that, a child volunteers to serve them yummy snacks throughout the service. They can have as much as they want, with only two rules. They have to eat the snacks while on the couch (no stocking up and taking a bunch home) and they are asked not to eat during worship time. It is a great way to honor guests, to give kids an incentive to invite a friend, and provides a way for another child to serve as they offer snacks throughout the service, any time they notice they are done. I assumed…

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My Magic Video Goes Viral

I just noticed that one of my YouTube videos has passed 200,000 views. O.K., so maybe that isn’t viral, but I think it’s pretty cool – especially since the Gospel is shared. The comments are always interesting once your video gets “out there” – “Jesus freaks are everywhere… even in magic…” “are you a engel from heven to teel good storie about god” “Karl nice job but I think that the show was to preachy and to related to god other than that great magic show “ “I am a Christian and I am a magician. Thank you for this show. I realized that showing tricks can talk about Christ. And it will be understood by children. God bless you.” “You need a kid fence on the edge of the stage or something!” ENJOY! (and feel free to share it!)

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His Kidmin Yoke is Easy

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 If Jesus came to give us abundant life (John 10:10) and to make our joy complete (John 15:11), then why are so many in ministry worn out, stressed out, and secretly ready to drop out of ministry? Why is it that so often those who know they were called by God to serve Him find themselves second-guessing that same call when life and ministry become almost more than they can bear? Whenever I am asked to speak or write on “avoiding burn out,” I can’t help chuckling to myself. Not because the topic is funny, but because the joke is on me. I know that when I needed to hear such things, I was unable or unwilling to. Why? I loved ministry! I was driven by the pressure that comes from wanting to make a difference. My favorite Calvin and Hobbes quote was when Calvin declared, “I…

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Kidology.org Makes a “TOP 25” List

Group Publishing has honored me and my team yet again. They just published a “Top 25 Children’s Ministry Websites” list, and I was honored to see Kidology.org make the list. Back in 2010 Group named me as one of the top children’s ministry influencers in the past twenty years as they celebrated their own 20th anniversary as a magazine. It was a great honor not only for me, but for my entire team and all the wonderful kidmin leaders who have played a role in Kidology over the decades of ministry we have enjoyed. I posted my own list of influencers so I could pass the honor on. See: The Kidologist’s Top Influencers

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