[Kid Inspiration]

Forget about tradition for a moment. Don’t think ‘but that’s the way we’ve always done it’. Ignore the fact that your Church is probably comfortable with things the way they are.

I want to talk about your bad language.

• You call your kids spaces – Classrooms! – Huh? Do kids really want another day of school?
• Your ministry is called Sunday school! – Wah? Again, why another day of school?
• Kids Church!! – Wha?? Way to reinforce the myth that ministry to kids is separate to the rest of the Church
• Workers! - Man, when I think worker I imagine a coal mine and chimney sweeps.
• What about all the adults in Big Church – I know it’s cute… but seriously, this is not playhouse Disney
• A CRY ROOM?? – For the love of all that is holy!! You know words are powerful right? Why just not call it the unsettled and annoying baby room!

You are not building a Church in the 1950′s, most of us function in a post Christian world where a lot of children have not even heard of Jonah, Moses and all the other stories let alone have any connection to the Christian-speak you use. WOW – take the opportunity and reinvent yourself!!!!

You are also completely missing the cultural impact of branding, by using generic names you mark yourself and your ministry as boring and irrelevant!

Stop it!

A role of the leader is to communicate… sometimes you need to communicate CHANGE… this is one of those times.

In conclusion, corporations spend millions of dollars crafting just the right phrase to communicate their brand and product – why don’t you sit down and spend a few minutes choosing the words that communicate and reinforce the vision and mission of your Church.

Get rid of your BAD LANGUAGE and replace it with helpful/good/inspiring/innovate/interesting language.

We should be focussed on creating a Church that our Children will want to be a part of and lead.

We need to be creating a ministry where our ceiling will be their floor.

We want them to stand diflucan prescription online on our shoulders

The next senior/lead pastors of our Churches are most likely in your parenting rooms, or our early childhood ministries.

Which in my mind is the only reason to include chocolate in your weekend services.

Seminary?

Bible College?

Leadership College?

Whatever you call it – check out Hillsong International Leadership College.

We have a Children’s Pathway, which is a fancy way of saying you can study to do pastoral ministry with a focus on working with Children! And you will get to do it with the best Children’s Ministry staff in the world (in my humble opinion).

Here is what our students this year experienced:

Go to: hillsongcollege.com

Slowly but surely every single person on the team at Hillsong Kids is becoming a blogger…  its my theory on growing a volunteer team… if every single team member will become a blogger, then maybe, just maybe every single blogger in the world will become a volunteer!

Not sure exactly on the logic yet, but it’s a work in progress.

Carlos Dyonisio (aka Cadu), is just one of the most passionate people I know about seeing the lives of kids changed for the better! He is from South America and came to Australia a number of years ago and has found himself serving here at Hillsong Church!

He is an uber nerd… I mean I am nerdy, but this guy has Linux installed on his laptop with no graphical interface… just think back to the days before windows on MS-DOS and you can imagine how he runs his computer.

His new blog is For One Child and already has some great content up.

P.S. Don’t read the post entitled detrol la cheap Running the Race unless you really want to read about his bladder movements.

P.S. I am kinda serious about the blogging theory, the more your team can see their lives invested into being a voice for childhood the greater impact your Church community will have!

Here is part two of my little series on using media with kids. Part one is here.

I have seen many moments of beauty and love often perpetrated by apparent pre-followers of Jesus (‘pre’ as in God desires that all should receive salvation).

Now how can someone show compassion and love but yet not be a ‘Christian’. The truth is that love is not exclusively the domain of the follower of Jesus, BUT God IS love and so all acts of love emanate from God.

All beauty comes from God. There is no beauty that does not come from the Father through Christ, Himself the embodiment cymbalta order online of all beauty. St Augustine, Confessions

I firmly believe that all beauty comes from God. There is no second source for kindness and goodness, so no matter who is doing the act they are, and can only be inspired by God. That goes for the depiction of the loving sacrifice of a father for a son, the compassion of a warrior for an enemy, the integrity of a businessman in the face of corruption.

But no matter how brilliant movies are and how beautiful the moment, it is often in the context of a lifestyle contrary to the word of God — opposite to His Kingdom.

So the sacrifice of a father is surrounded by revenge, or unfaithfulness. The love of a couple results in immorality and adultery. No matter how moving the story lines and how teachable the moments the world view of the story teller is important and affects the story.

As a parent you would most likely be wary of movies promoting a Hindu or Muslim view of the world, but we are used to watching media that represents the family unit as dysfunctional and completely incompetent. Or enjoying with our family a movie about High School Students obsessed with relationships and being ‘fabulous’.

Could you imagine a world where the media we watch reinforces the teachings of Jesus and sets up ideals that our kids aspire to… and… doesn’t… suck.

It is a rare movie that accomplishes this without being preachy and cringe-worthy.

Find the song, the movie, the media that does this well and show your kids!

P.S. One of the most important skills the 21st Century kid needs is to be able to recognise and filter out this media (I did enjoy High School Musical), so I am not saying get rid of the TV and move into an Amish community, but what a blessing it is to consume media that doesn’t give you heartburn and indigestion on the way down.

P.P.S. The Church stopped creating culture and started consuming culture many decades/centuries ago. I have great hope this is the generation that will reverse this!

I would love to highlight one of the main reasons we use media with our kids during weekend services.

When I grew up in New Zealand there were only two TV channels, the appropriately named One and Two, so my friends and I watched the same TV programs:

Macgyver and Knight Rider

(I cried when Kitt ended up in the acid pool and they had to remake him. Episode 314 Junk Yard Dog).

It united us as kids and has given us a common language and reference.

This has all changed with the stunning width and breadth of media available today. Our media choices are used to differentiate and separate us into tribes/groups. Are you an emo kid, do you like Hip/Hop, or are you a fan of ?

One of the many reasons we use media in our services is to create a shared experience.

No matter which campus I go to, which of our extension services I attend there will be children who I share a common language with… not about just Disney or Nickelodeon but with our crestor online target=”_blank”>curriculum and the Big Message videos. We could talk about Funny Man Dan and his latest exploits or some song they saw last week and as the media is created to point towards our theme and (hopefully) toward Jesus the relevance to their lives should immediately obvious.

And just like today as the mist of time clouds my eyes as I think about Macgyver diffusing a bomb with a toothpick, or Michael Knight foiling an international plot I hope that our kids today will remember with fondness and hopefully understanding what they experienced as a child.

(This may turn into a series methinks)

WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?

No seriously, you’re reading the blog of a Children’s Pastor… and seemingly remaining interested… unless you just searched for the term ‘Don’t Do Normal’ and this page came up, which raises two very important points… 1 Thanks Google, and 2 Why can’t people who are searching for ‘How to give away one million dollars’ come here?

(Hmm… just writing that down has increased my chances)

So what are you doing here?

You are set apart not just as a believer in Jesus Christ, but a person who may be called to minister to children! You are like a statistic within a statistic, a piece of a piece of a pie.

• You are unusual
• You are counter-cultural
• You are different
• You are standing out
• You are separate, distinct and set apart
• You are peculiar, unconventional and too some, strange
• You are contrary not to the Word of God, but to the world
• You are an visiting alien here for a specific purpose and goal
• You are opposed, not to the world but to anything that exalts itself against the Kingdom of God
• You are anything but average

YOU’RE A DEVIATION FROM THE NORM

Once you become a follower of Jesus normal just isn’t good enough anymore. You are part of the world that is to come… The Kingdom of God is here… and yet to come. The Jews were not expecting Jesus. They expected a conquering king, a strong soldier. He would free them from all their enemies. He would change the way that they lived. There would be freedom from the rule of their enemies.

This is what the religious leaders got in Matt 5… the beatitudes

• The way up is down
• The way in is out
• The way first is last
• The way of success is service
• The way of strength is weakness
• The way of security is vulnerability
• The way of protection is forgiveness
• God’s power is made perfect… in our weakness
• Want to become great? Become least.
• Want to discover crestor generics yourself? Forget your self.
• Want to ‘get even’? Bless and love them.
• Jesus didn’t just tell us to turn the other cheek we have to turn our hands and heart toward the other and do good.

You’re not normal, so don’t pretend to be.

Anyway, different is far more interesting.

See you in Las Vegas!

Napkin Conference

View: Conference Promo

Love this post from Wayne Stocks brilliant random thoughts blog, which is what you call your blog before you realise there are approx. 18.7 million with the same title.
(Man, I really know how to build up and tear down in one sentence)

Anyway read it today!

8 Reasons to Get Involved in coreg generic Children’s Ministry from Psalm 78

I had read about the HBO Movie ‘Taking Chance‘ on a blog written by a Marine serving in Iraq (One Marines View), and just watched it tonight.

I love a movie that reignites my love of Cinema! This is not a Summer action movie blockbuster… it is a very thoughful and moving tribute to a man who served his country.

Visit the site for more info on the actual movie, but the one word you can use to describe this film is ‘Honour’.

As the story unfolds of this young marines body being returned to his family what follows him is respect and honour. Every step along the way people are moved to respond in ways that place value on the life that has been given to protect them. And it surprised me by being a very powerful and moving film.

So get it and watch it

But what it did awaken me to was the fact that this world really would be a better place if we hounoured people. All people. Not just the ones percieved as heroes.

I am going to make sure my son gets to experience different cultures. From the honouring, to places where there is a complete lack of respect. So he can see for himself the outcomes and consequences. And also build into him a respect for the house of God where youth is celebrated, and wisdom and age is loved and appreciated.

Our churches really should be the most diverse places on earth. Contrary to the world where religion and ethnicity divides we build communities that by their very existence proves coreg cr price the nature and chrarcter of our God!

Just want to give a shout out to Pioneer Clubs – I have been reading the Mix It Up! blog since it started last November, great content that covers The Jonas Brothers to devotions about Lent.

But you have to watch the video “Window of Opportunity”a great way to cast vision for a ministry.

You can find out a lot from the core values of an organisation and I love these from the site:

We value…

…a God-honoring ministry. We seek to honor God in our curriculum, programs, customer relations, and all other aspects of ministry. As we honor God, we believe he will honor our work by fostering Christ-centered faith in the children we serve.

…the Scriptures as God’s inspired Word, his authority for all aspects of life; the core of everything we do; the tool we use to introduce children to Jesus Christ and disciple them. A primary goal of our curriculum is to help children use, understand, and apply the Bible in daily life.

…children as whole beings created in God’s image with individuality, uniqueness, dignity, and potential. Therefore, we will help create a safe environment where children can meet Christ and choose to live for him. Our materials effectively communicate God’s love for children.

…a holistic ministry for children, because authentic Christianity touches every aspect of life. Our curriculum and ministry are designed to help children grow physically, intellectually, emotionally, socially, and spiritually.

…excellence! We strive for constant improvement in every aspect of ministry. We design our curriculum to be educationally sound and our programs to be of the highest quality.

...relationships as God’s created design. We recognize the significance of children’s building healthy relationships with adults, peers, and children of other ages in the context of the family, local church and community.

…responsible stewardship. We recognize that all we have comes from God. He is the source and owner of all gifts compare cialis online and resources we have. We are merely managers with the responsibility to use wisely all that we have, to bring glory to God and expand the boundaries of his kingdom.

Guest blogspot from Nick Fisk today.

Nick is an awesome ex-kiwi (just like me) on our team whose role (or at least one of them) is to oversee all our extension services from a kids perspective.

He has a massive heart for kids, especially those going through separation and divorce. Here is a quick training thought we used in our ministry.

Communicate Caring in Small Groups – Nick Fisk.

Children are very discerning, even when you don’t expect it. They intuitively know if you love to connect with them and if you love what you’re doing. There are many ways to intentionally connect more deeply with children. For optimal learning cod soma sale and life change in the minds and hearts of children, they need to feel as though you want to hear them.

Children need to know they matter to you! Always remember ‘kids don’t care how much we know until they know how much we care’ Getting to know your kids versus getting through the worksheets, will pay off in the long run. You’ll be able to go twice as deep because relationships are in place and your kids will want to come back for more. Remember, for some children church might be the only safe place they have.

Children need to know they are accepted by you! For children to grow and understand God’s love, they need to know they’re loved, accepted, and cared for. How are you intentionally getting to know your children? Notice a pattern in what children want to talk about. Concentrate on keeping track of what they’re asking about or telling you. Check the percentage of time you spend on active listening, don’t be the one doing all the talking.

You will connect intentionally with your children when you care, stay focused, use the worksheets, communicate clearly and concisely, and challenge them to think creatively and critically.

Great comic from Wondermark today…

It does contain clomid generic an element of truth in it.

Every generation tries to impose it’s own values on the next (negatively or positively).

Here are a few great posts I read recently:

Notes from Reggie Joiner

• A lot of kids leave church experience rich but relationally poor
• What is the purpose of kids applying what they learn? So they can see God and others can see God in them.
• No one is more strategically positioned to experience all levels of spiritual growth in a child than a small group leader.
• The reason volunteer leaders are not committed to children is because we’re not asking them to be committed to cipro cheap children. We give them outs every way possible.
• How do we partner with parents? By casting vision to parents and getting parents so bought in that they cast the vision at home.

Speaking the truth in Love

Mark Driscoll with some helpful words about using our words to speak the truth in love.

4 Assumptions during the busy season

Here’s 4 assumptions I asked our teams to make during the next 4 months of ministry…

Enjoy.

I have three questions for you today.

And I’m not giving you the answers.

They relate to you as a leader and more importantly someone who is shaping the world view of a generation.

1. Why do I need to know all the answers?

Lost creator and Cloverfield producer J.J. Abrams has a “mystery box” from New York’s Tannen’s Magic store. This is what he says about it: It’s a cardboard box with a question mark printed on it. It’s one of those things you buy for $15 and they advertise that it has at least $20 worth of stuff inside.

He’s never opened it.

“I love the fact that it has this mysterious value as long as I don’t open it.” – J.J. Abrams

Our job is cialis softtabs prescription to instill into children a sense of wonder and mystery about God. (Romans 11:25; 16:25, 1 Cor 15:51, Eph 1:9) He can never be completely comprehended, but he reveals himself to us.

Knowable, yet completely unknowable.

Mystery.

2. Why is the part of church life that should be the easiest to build is the hardest?

Community should be easy. Why do we have to work so hard to be relevant?

A group of people connecting around a common goal and purpose.

I think it may be about moving people out of comfort into discomfort. During the aftermath of a tragedy no one complains about the air conditioning – you just want to stay alive and will connect with whoever you can to do so. And that is the most uncomfortable you could ever be.

Community

3. Have I ignored beauty because it was from a non-approved source?

Beautiful art can come from other religions… even Hollywood.

All beauty comes from God.

No matter the human source, they are acknowledging the creator (without even knowing it sometimes).

Beauty

A person like this is interesting.

I like helping kids become interesting.

“Dream no small dreams for they have no power to move the hearts of men.” –  Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

NOTE: These are some fairly unrelated thoughts. If you find them confusing, I probably will in the morning.

So the Children’s Ministry Today site is really rocking out some great content recently! (Which is run by Willowcreek and I guess by David Staal – anyway I give him the credit).

Check out two recent articles:

Community—The Other Key Ingredient

Just imagine how a strong small group experience sticks in the hearts cialis 10 mg of kids. Imagine the “super strength” of children’s ministry that mixes community kids love with creative, relevant Bible teaching.

Make God Real to Your Kids

Many of us feel we’re not doing that great a job at the most important task facing Christian parents. But before you don sackcloth and ashes, consider the hands-on approach advocated by child-education specialist Karyn Henley.

“Kids can learn from the direct teaching approach,” she says, “but they really learn better in other ways.”