[Kid Inspiration]

Gadgets — Toys — New Techy Stuff Alert!
I just got a new toy.

Its a way of keeping points live during our programs!

Read more at:
http://kidinspiration.com/video/scoreboard.htm

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And, as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

Marianne Williamson- from “A Return To Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles”.

Hey, check out the Podcast site here

The first episode is online! But I warn you, it is merely a test and not even remotely professional.

I will be putting it on iTunes in the next couple of weeks!

Check it out.

http://childrensministrypodcast.com

I just finished reading the transcript of a discussion with Rick Warren — senior pastor of Saddleback Church in California (for link see previous post).

It is a fascinating read where Rick is responding to a whole bunch of media types… reporters, journalists etc. I just had to comment on a coupld of quotes made by Rick regarding the reason he is a pastor.

…God called me to be a pastor, not a politician. If I believed you could change the world through politics, I’d run for government. But I don’t think you ultimately change people’s hearts through legislation. I think you change people’s hearts through personal transformation.

- Rick Warren

It seems that society, especially in Western nations, now look to the government for the solutions and the answers. And if you want to change the world and make it a better place for mankind, you gotta get in a political party.

Now being a politician is a great calling, but for me I am called to be a pastor. I want to invest my life in service that has greatest impact in the Kingdom of God. I want to serve and influence the politicians, the musicians, the entrepreneurs, the business people not only of today but tomorrow. That’s why I lead children!

I firmly believe it is the most fertile harvest field in the entire world, worthy of my full attention. Worthy of my best efforts, the best resources, and a standard of excellence that demonstrates the love Jesus Christ has for children.

It is not enough to see kids as a training ground for ‘real’ ministry you can’t get more real than a child grasping for the first time the meaning of the cross, or the power of the Holy Spirit.

I have to shepherd everybody. I have a church full of both Republicans and Democrats. And you know what, I love them all. And I don’t care how they vote; I still love them. And that’s my job – I’m not a politician, I’m a pastor.

- Rick Warren

The church is not peripheral to the world, the world is peripheral to the church. Not the building, not the crowd, not the denomination but you and I serving Christ around the world and looking after the widows and the orphans — the marginalized of society.

Some of the nation’s leading journalists gathered in Key West, Florida, in May 2005 for the Pew Forum’s biannual Faith Angle conference on religion, politics and public life. Conference speaker Rick Warren, pastor of the largest church in America, addressed misconceptions many Americans have about mega-churches. He also discussed his best-selling book, The Purpose Driven Life, as well as current trends in the evangelical movement, the work his church is doing for AIDS and poverty relief in Africa, and some of his views on hot-button political and cultural issues.
Click here to read the transcript…

It’s a cool thing to hear Rick’s global perspective.

The unmistakeable Simpsons opener, but with live people — very clever!
Real Life Simpsons Opener

If you have been reading this blog for a while you may notice that I often quote Perry Noble, senior pastor of NewSpring Church in South Carolina, when he says cool stuff. It is GREAT to hear a senior pastor talk about children and families like this on his blog.

More Power to ya Perry!

What does your music library say about you?

Try this out:

iTunes Signature Maker (iTSM) analyzes your music collection and creates a short audio signature to represent who you are and what you listen to. After it checks your system configuration and asks you a few simple questions, iTSM will spend a few minutes analyzing your collection and generating the audio signature.

Well, I haven’t heard much about the mark of the beast for a number of years. After a number of commentators completely mucked up the millenium bug in 2000 (There was no worldwide meltdown in finance), it seemed like they have been lying low.

Now I grew up hearing messages about the end times. The eighties were a particulary fertile time for all things conspiracy… remember rock music is from the Devil! (Hells Bells etc.)

From Wired News…
…Albrecht and co-author Liz McIntyre have written an introduction that says that RFID chips, particularly the VeriChip subcutaneous implant designed for humans, bear an uncanny resemblance to “the mark” described in the Bible’s Book of Revelation.

Maybe this is it!

Only time will tell.

I just posted this on the kidology forum, If you are new to the blogging thing, then read on!

The uses for blogs a wide and varied, but lets look at it from a ministry point of view.

Imagine being able to hop on the net and read a dozen messages written by people you respect and admire in ministry. Cutting edge research, inspiring ideas, thought provoking theology, challenging ideas that keep you fired up and inspired to go for it in your ministry… and it is all fresh, written that morning or last night.

Well, that is what blogs will do… I have 78 blogs (currently) that I read regulary… not all ministry related, some just completely for entertainment!

(Note: I don’t visit 78 websites every day, just one… to find out how watch this.

It’s like reading a newspaper customised completely for me.

I even have blogs or ‘feeds’ that I read that come from mainstream media (newspaper, TV). Every time an article mentions a keyword (like children’s ministry) I am interested in, I get notified. That is from media from all around the WORLD, not just Australia where I live.

There are a lot of other things people use blogs for, but for me it is ministry insight and news, and making a lot of cool friends all over earth.