Quotables from Phil Baker
Snakes on a Plane.
There are snakes on our journey through life we need to be aware of:
Wisdom:
Nice article about ‘contemporizing’ the bible for kids.
A pain-free way to get a little blip on the attention-o-meter is to look for strategic places you can contemporize the language. In other words, add some modern lingo, even pop culture references, to tug them in.
Author Donald Miller wrote this after attending screenwriting course:
It did not escape me, as I listenend to 36 hours of story deconstruction, how powerful story is. The overwhelming majority of the Bible, in fact, is story. We often think of the Bible as creeds and precepts, but it is anything but. Instead, the stories of the Bible work to create an internal map, a guide and compass, teaching us what is worth pursuing and what is worthless, what is meaningful and what is not. Right and wrong, then, are not often taught by lists (truth without meaningful context) but rather through the tools of story. The seminar made me wonder why religious institutions who aim to teach ancient texts don’t have story departments alongside their systematic pursuits. It seems that one might benefit from the other.
Keeping kids attention.
But…
Is there a line?
Can we put too many words in the ‘mouth’ of the bible?
I read an article that talked about the development of childrens bibles from the 1800′s until now.
It seems that there are some extra-biblia (that a word?) additions to some of the stories in the kids versions. Or they cut off the story at a happy ending not a tragic one – and it is getting more widespread every year.
When are we giving kids false information?
A lot of my mental images of bible stories are pictures/artwork/movies that I have seen as a child… nice line of animals ldeaing into the ark (It was 2 of every unclean animal, 7 of every clean one Gen 7:2-3)
So there is a line I guess – and there is nothing I love doing more that shattering a bible ‘myth’ that was created by a church culture or a line taken out of context (eg. Only God can understand you when you speak in tongues).
The bottom line (I love a good bottom line).
Children need to understand the bible as ONE narrative, extending from creation to the end of time, teaching them the reality of the world around them.
(I am sure there is a better bottom line, maybe you could write it?)
Godtube.com
Why?
WHY?
From MSNBC
GodTube is the best example of a new group of Web sites that aim to do the same things regular Web sites do, but with a Christian (or Christian conservative) point of view. Like the idea of MySpace, but hate the thought of your children as prey? Try Famster, a secure online community for families. Like Wikipedia, but chafe at what you see as its liberal bias? Read On.
Somewhere along the way someone has a brilliant idea. Let’s take an element of culture and prop up the word Christian in front of it. Then it is now safe for people of faith to participate in culture.
A Christian MySpace, a Christian music genre, a Christian movie, a Christian email address, a Christian bookstore.
So we separate from culture and live in a Christian gated community.
If there is one skill I REALLY want to impart to generations of children growing up right now around the world is how to engage culture… and FILTER it. What is bad, what is good? How can I tell the difference between art and obscenity?
Let’s teach kids how to make decisions on what media they consume, instead of training them to retreat from culture and build a Christian theme park.
Let’s be honest… the creation of Christian cultural ghettos are usually tied into profit.
It may be impossible for me to protect the children in our ministry from viewing pornography at a young age (average age is 11)… although I will fight to keep our kids pure.
But teaching, training and inspiring our children to make the right choice is my plan to populate the world with Godly adults who move from being just consumers of every cultural wind to creators of profound/Godly/entertaining/moving/beautiful works of art.
Slavery may still be with us (in the West) if William Wilberforce had decided to create a Christian Shipping Company instead of engaging the political arena and standing up for justice… and for Christ.
UPDATE: Here is another article on a similar theme. Link
Ah!
Sad news.
Craig Jutila has resigned as Children’s Pastor of Saddleback!
There is a messsage from Rick Warren on the Purpose Driven site. Announcing that this years PDYM is cancelled.
Excerpt:
I’m saddened to share with you that last week, Pastor Craig Jutila, our Children’s Pastor for 13 wonderful years, resigned from the Saddleback staff due to personal issues.
Craig came and spoke over here in Sydney last July at our Hillsong Conference and was brilliant! A great leader and friendly dude!
I am praying that the personal issues are resolved and Craig is able to move forward from here. I really DON’T want to speculate on the reason he is leaving, it’s not even worth the effort, but I also pray that Rick finds the BEST possible replacement for Craig!
When I was about 2 or 3 my dad made a now famous (in our family) stop-motion film (okay about 10 seconds), using his Super-8 Camera (really old school video camera).
Now you can do the same with the insanely cool iStopMotion
And it’s $40 after a free demo version.
So first check out a reiview from Wired Mag
Then go to the site and at least download the thing and have a go.
P.S. If you have no idea what stop motion is check out this vid:
A church leader I love hearing and reading is Andy Stanley.
Great speaker and writer…
Here are some thoughts from a conference he spoke at late last year… I know a little behind the times but better late than never.
God works through systems. For example, your body is a complex system designed by God. It’s systematic and predictable. God created systems. That doesn’t make him small. Likewise, God works through systems in our ministry. Systems aren’t secular.
We made a fundamental decision years ago that we were going to be more committed to reaching people than keeping people.
Your current system is perfectly designed for the results you’re getting. That may be great news, or that may be bad news.
Connect the dots. You need to figure out a way for every single volunteer in your organization to understand what they contribute to the whole.
Link (In three parts)
The Scholastic Corporation, US publisher of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, has reported a net loss of US$ 7.7 million for the quarter that ended February 26, 2007…
Now overall the company is doing fine, but you would think that selling over 300 million books just in one series would help your companies bottom line?
No?
Most films are made in the USA. But since Peter Jackson began using New Zealand as a backdrop for the Lord of the Rings Trilogy it seems that studios are more willing to outsource their movie-making to other countries!
So the ‘Matrix’ and ‘Superman Returns’ we both filmed partly in Sydney Australia.
This is cool for one important reason: 1. All them juicy props have no where to live once the studio is bored with them and they auction them off to the general public.
Monday… I will be there, believing for no one else to turn up so I can cart off some nice stage props for our ministry.
(thank you Lord).
A bad day for Muppetville and Sesame Street…
Elmo has hooked up with Barbie.
From Amazon product description: It’s fun synergy! Always on top of what’s hot, Barbie knows everyone loves Elmo. Barbie also knows what Elmo is up to, but isn’t telling! Dressed in cool T.M.X. Elmo graphic print tee, Barbie is the queen of the style scene and together, Barbie and Elmo are the talk of the town! Includes Barbie doll and a mini plush Elmo.
I never thought I would say it, but I guess the midlife crisis hits everyone (even though Elmo is only 3 1/2 years old he technically over twenty which is a long time in monster years), and Elmo has the aging rocker syndrome, whereby you date someone a quarter your age and get a tattoo (I cannot confirm the tattoo part).
Elmo, I can only pray that you sign a pre-nup before taking this relationship any further!
A sad day indeed
It’s amazing how coincidence works. Here I was yesterday thinking about how the best way to respond when someone tells you bad news, or is grieving. And then today, Rick Warren’s Ministry Toolbox appears in my email inbox with an article titled: What not to do when someone is grieving.
So many times I have been in situations where I was not sure of the right things to say… this article gives a great outline of what NOT to say to someone who is going through a painful time!
Interesting analysis from the Sydney Morning Herald about this current generation of children. It seems that high-density living often meant children missed outside play vital to motor skill development. So we have timid kids who don’t like to paly on the scary park playground.
Here are the stats:
- Proportion of Sydneysiders living in flats: 17%
- Families in flats with more than one child under five: 3.2%
- Families in flats with children under 15: 17.2%.
I guess the message is clear, get your kids outside to play!
So click the link below and you can take your own test… here’s what mine came up as.
| Your Personality Is |
| You are good at expressing yourself and sharing your ideals.You are the most compassionate of all types and connect with others easily. Your heart tends to rule you. You can’t make decisions without considering feelings.You seek out other empathetic people to befriend. Truth and authenticity matters in your friendships. In love, you give everything you have to relationships. You fall in love easily. At work, you crave personal expression and meaning in your career. With others, you communicate well. You can spend all night talking with someone. As far as your looks go, you’ve likely taken the time to develop your own personal style. On weekends, you like to be with others. Charity work is also a favorite pastime of yours. |
![[Kid Inspiration]](http://www.davidwakerley.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/logo5.png){kind=logo}
