[Kid Inspiration]

Just put together this quick list of the reasons the leaders (not the kids) wear identical tee-shirts and name-tags at Hillsong Kids.

Inspired and mostly blatantly ripped off from Scott Ginsberg (who wears a name-tag 24-7).

4 Reasons for TS and NT

1. It’s pure, human and friendly. And most importantly, it’s simple. Not to mention, you’re immediately on a first name basis … with everyone!
2. Inspires cheap online zoloft confidence in parents. A parent walking into a room filled with leaders wearing tee-shirts and name-tags gives an immediate sense of safety and assurance.
3. It’s self-disclosing. Having your name encourages an exchange of personal information and builds an instant connection. Name-tags instantly and constantly reveal your personal information to everyone around you. This foregoes your anonymity. Which creates instant accountability for your actions.
4. Helps to create a sense of authority with children. A teacher can give detentions, a policeman can arrest, a Hillsong Kids leader does not have that luxury (no matter how much you want to). Establishing a sense of authority in your leadership is helped by name-tags and tee-shirts.

Rick Warren article: How to get more out of your reading time

I may be a little biased about reading here. I never had a TV until I was 12… a curse at the time (very embarrassing to try and do an aleve mg assignment about your favourite TV show), but a blessing looking back. So I got big time into reading!

A couple of quotes:

Practice active reading. Mark up your books. I always read with a pencil in my hand. Even when I’m reading magazines, I’ve got a pencil in my hand. A book only becomes your book when you mark it up.

Yep… Clean bible, dirty Christian. Dirty bible, clean Christian. Carries over to books… as much as I hate to mark a new book… gotta do it!

The best way to save time in reading is to be discriminating. James Bryce says “Life is too short to spend it reading inferior books.” More than 1,000 books are produced around the world each day.

That’s a lot of reading. Try the books that are recommended to you, not just the ones on sale!

I have the best team in the world!

Last weekend over 8 services there were hundreds of awesome volunteers serving the children of Hillsong Church.

8 services!

That is two months of church for a LOT of churches around the world.

And that’s what I keep telling our team. My role is to give the ministry away, to our awesome volunteers, and eventually to our kids.

I would LOVE nothing more than a child to come up to me and say ‘Wow, what a weekend… we did it!”

…

…

Don’t get all uptight on me… I know it’s God that does it…

BUT actos prescriptions 2005 he chooses to use people, I plan to make dang sure he has the opportunity to use children.

Leader: Give away your ministry (it ain’t even yours). 

I just read the best newspaper article ever.

Would you like to read it?

But what if I do and then you don’t read it all the way through… and watch the video clips on the page?

I guess I will have to take that chance.

Pearls Before Breakfast by Gene Weingarten of the Washington Post.

Can one of the nation’s greatest musicians cut through the fog of a D.C. rush hour? The newspaper sets out to discover if violinist Josh Bell — and his Stradivarius — could stop busy commuters in their tracks. Read On.

Have a thorough read of the article… take your time, it may take a few minutes to really read it all.

Done?

Okay, just love the premise and experiment.

You can probably guess the one section actos prescriptions that I loved the most.

Yep.

Its was this paragraph.

There was no ethnic or demographic pattern to distinguish the people who stayed to watch Bell, or the ones who gave money, from that vast majority who hurried on past, unheeding. Whites, blacks and Asians, young and old, men and women, were represented in all three groups. But the behavior of one demographic remained absolutely consistent. Every single time a child walked past, he or she tried to stop and watch. And every single time, a parent scooted the kid away.

The point I would like to propose to you is this.

NOT that parents can often be too busy to notice their children.

BUT that every child in their first year of school considers themselves an artist/painter/sculpter. Then with every subsequent year when you ask the same question less and less children put up their hands to admit to their creativity.

Until you have a classroom with no artists by early high school.

(Teachers, try the above in your classroom).

This from the aforementioned article.

The poet Billy Collins once laughingly observed that all babies are born with a knowledge of poetry, because the lub-dub of the mother’s heart is in iambic meter. Then, Collins said, life slowly starts to choke the poetry out of us. It may be true with music, too.

Maybe life just chokes the poetry out of us.

When kids notice beauty… life…

I want to let them enjoy it.

And teach them how to live with poetry.

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. actos 30 mg In other words, add some modern lingo, even pop culture references, to tug them in.

Link

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.

Link

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?)

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 actonel lowest price 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)

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!

Link acomplia price

Children are:
In need of appreciation
Spend time with them talking about their interests

In need of participation
Find things for them to do, and let them contribute to the lesson.

In need of insight.
Talk to them about the running of the kids’ ministry and explain why we do things

Uninterested in my subject at first.
‘Buy’ their attention

Unable to concentrate for long
Plan a varied lesson with frequent changes of focus of interest.

Limited in vocabulary of words and experience.
Watch my words and use metaphors sparingly.

Unable to think aciphex prescription drug about the abstract.
Always talk in terms of actual things and people and use illustrations.

Capable of using their minds.
Provoke their minds with questions and exercises.

Source: Sunday School Teaching by J. Reginald Hill (1962).

One of the must read blogs on my list is Hello, My Name is Blog.

Written by aciphex online id=”ctl00_PlaceHolderMainContent_lblMainContent”>Scott Ginsberg who is the only person in the world who wears a nametag 24-7-365 (since November 2, 2000) to encourage people to become friendlier and more approachable.

You need to read his blog… great ideas that can be adapted to your ministry situation, even though it is written from a business point of view.

Check out this post about conversation.

Can you start conversations?

You may be the type of person who can walk into a room and engage another person in meaningful conversation, but most likely like a lot of people you find meeting new people difficult.

Our ability to pastor and care for people in our ministries can be seriously enhanced by breaking though our personal issues.

Don’t hide behind the kids, speak to the parents… engage them show them you want the best for their kids! And see your families flourish.

Just had to post this video on the blog. Teaching kids to ‘fly’ in life is my purpose!

Note: The Kiwi is a flightless bird… just in case you were confused.

aciphex buy

Great email from my boss, Julia A’Bell Children’s Pastor here at Hillsong Church.

Thinking, dreaming and loving leading in God’s kingdom…

Get this into your spirit…

Proverbs aciphex 20 mg 20:28
“Love and truth form a GOOD LEADER; sound leadership is founded on LOVING INTEGRITY.”

Proverbs 14:28
“The mark of a good leader is LOYAL FOLLOWERS;
Leadership is nothing without a FOLLOWING.”

All from The Message.

Who’s following you?

“Kids will take a chance. If they don’t know, they’ll have a go. They’re not frightened of being wrong. Now, I don’t mean to say that being wrong is the same thing as being creative, but what we do know is,if you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.”

I have no idea where this quote came from… I just found it lying around idle on my desktop. I think it is a key reason acid hyaluronic purchase we all try less new things as we grow older.

When was the last time you tried something new?

Others tell. Leaders sell.
Others impress. Leaders influence.
Others try to be heard. Leaders strive to be understood.
Others explain. Leaders energize.
Others inform. Leaders inspire.
Others accutane purchase relay only facts. Leaders tell stories.

- Mark Sanborn, You Don’t Need a Title to be a Leader (WaterBrook, 2006)

One of my favourite blogs: the cool hunter has a number of posts related to kids and cool stuff for kids.I see a lot of companies and businesses creating environments for kids these days. Which is a fantastic thing… adults are starting to think from a child’s perspective (very biblical).

Here are a list of these companies stolen from a kidology.org forum post

See the original post here .

• www.wackyworld.tv
• www.realfakebuildings.com
• www.littlemountainproductions.com
• www.creativeforkids.com
• www.cvmkids.com
• www.worldsofwow.com
• http://www.dreambigstudios.com/
• http://www.happytheartist.com/
• http://shanegrammer.com/
• http://labrosseltd.com/childrens.php3
• http://lassocreative.com/scenic/scenic%20_portfolio/index.php
• http://www.faithworkstudio.com/
• http://www.jonathanmartincreative.com
• http://www.sunnyday.org/wallmurals/childsroom/child_dept.htm
• http://www.angelfire.com/art/person/logos_signs.htm
• http://www.alsupworkofheart.org/index.html
• www.starryhostdesign.com
• http://www.wonderworkstudios.com/THEMES.htm
• http://www.kingdomproductions.net/Themed%20Environments1.html

All these companies create awesome looking themed environments, and I am accutane price excited that churches around the world are investing in children and facilities for children. The look that these companies create is often ‘cartooney’ and ‘fun’, engaging kids each week during services. But I got even more inspired by some of the creations from around the world. Not just fun and cool looking but hugely functional!

I love the cartoons, but I love the spaces that get kids involved WITH them.

Check out the pictures and see if you don’t get as inspired as I did!

The Cool Hunter. Have a scroll down this page for some awe inspiring design ideas!

Library where kids are inspired to read.

The Kids Republic bookstore in Beijing incorporates the core design elements of a kid’s playground, these slippery slide-inspired-shelves house books in an incredibly fun way. Breaking from the traditional table and chair reading areas, padded L shaped reading stools are used and enjoyed by tiny readers. Dull lighting is replaced by snakelike fittings.

A tree-inspired day care center is a far cry from fake grass enhanced playgrounds. The tree trunk is the very foundation of the center, and as such creates the security blanket for the entire structure.

Subscribe to the Cool Hunter blog… there is some truly inspiring design happening around the world… especially for kids!

Read this ages ago on Seth Godin’s Blog
Talked to my leaders about it… this is a great tip for teams!!

Don’t give me your opinion, give me your analysis! 

“The first rule of great feedback is this: No one cares about your opinion.

I don’t want to know how you feel, nor do I care if you would buy it, recommend it, or use it. You are not my market. You are not my focus group.

What I want instead of your opinion is your analysis”.

Read on at Seth’s accutane online Blog