Latest Blog Posts
05
Jan
Evaluation: A Formal and Informal Exercise
Maybe it’s because after the Christmas holidays I’ve had time to think instead of continually running on the treadmill of life. For a couple of weeks, I got to step off the treadmill and had some time to survey what it is that I do on a regular basis (often and sometimes on auto-pilot): as a husband, father, friend, writer, communicator, discipler, teacher, pastor, leader, etc. For me, at least, evaluation happens more informally than formally. Perhaps I should “program-in” formal evaluation times for my life and ministry, but in real life it seems to happen more on an … read more
09
Dec
It’s Not Your Birthday
“It’s not your birthday.” Shocker, I know! But although the Christmas holiday tends to revolve around the expectation of gift-giving (more like gift-receiving), it’s really not your birthday. If I remember right, it’s Jesus’ birthday. While I’m sure He doesn’t mind sharing His birthday with everyone, I’m sure He would mind if in our efforts to celebrate the birth of our Savior we overspent and stressed ourselves out with Christmas parties and plays and cards and holiday light trips and decorating and traveling and gingerbread house making and bargain shopping and bargain returning and buyer’s remorse and Christmas … read more
11
Nov
Parenting “Experience”
“I don’t need to be educated on parenting! My parent(s) did a great job! Look how I turned out! I’ll just do what they did.” I’ve also heard the opposite: “I don’t need to be educated on parenting! My parent(s) did a horrible job! Look how I turned out! I’ll just do the opposite of what they did! For better or worse, it seems like most parents take the “what they experienced” route as their parenting “how-to” practices. They either experienced wonderfully supportive and loving parenting or they experienced a harsh and neglected family environment. Either way, they will just … read more
07
Oct
“FUN Is Not A Four Letter Word”
Outreach is good. Why? Well, not only does it attract new people to your church (which is good if you want to grow and minister to people), but because it communicates that your faith community wants to engage with people outside of the ones already in. A number of years ago, a lead pastor was asking me some questions about children’s ministry and outreach. One comment that he made really bristled my fur. He told me that his children’s leader would not allow any child who was not a part of the group to go on any fun events. … read more
09
Sep
I Really Like Volunteers!!!
I don’t like managing volunteers. I just really like volunteers. I like that they are willing to sacrifice their time to serve kids I like that they like kids like I do (lots of “liking”!) I like that most of my volunteers can manage their own schedule, are reliable, and I don’t have to babysit them I like that they trust me I like that I can trust them I like that they are my friends Most of the volunteers that serve alongside of me in children’s ministry @ Hayward Wesleyan are my friends. It makes the … read more
05
Aug
How Are Your Ministry Plans Coming?
I don’t know about you, but I’m in the middle of planning for the next ministry year (2011-2012), which includes research, tons of internet searches, strategizing curriculum plans and themes, choosing curriculum and program elements, recruiting and organizing volunteers, and prepping communication structures and delivery vehicles. Sounds like fun, eh?! I imagine that if you are a vocational children’s pastor (full-time or part-time) you’ve probably got your hands-full with your computer right now. It’s funny, I feel like I do more ministry with my computer than I do with kids in the month of August! If you’re a volunteer leading … read more
07
Jul
Curriculum?! Where do I start?
I was talking with a children’s ministry couple the other day and they were asking me about curriculum ideas. They had done what most people do: they got on the Internet and browsed for what came up in a “children’s ministry curriculum” search, went to the various sites and downloaded their samples. Well, in one of the samples (I don’t know which one) was the story of Noah’s Ark and the application point had something to do with how to take care of one’s pet. They found that entirely frustrating, sort of gave up, and ended up chatting with me about some advice on where to look next. Well, at first I laughed, because taking care of your pet can be really important to a child. It’s a real reality for them. This young couple, though, were offended to some degree (and rightly so) because they were asking me the question: “Is this the level with which people teach and apply God’s Word to children?” In other words, “Is this what I can expect from ALL curriculum?” So after laughing, I got serious with their question about curriculum... … read more
