[Kid Inspiration]

It’s time.

Time for something serious.

I don’t do too many posts like this, but I hope this opens up some serious discussion in the comments, because controversy is what gets lots of comments in the blog world and I am unlikely to write something truly controversial like… suggesting that we produce a VBS based on the twilight series of books.

So we are in the middle of creating our next children’s ministry curriculum – Hillsong Kids Big: Supernatural. I have been writing scripts like a madman and one of the weeks includes the story of Jericho. I send the scripts off for a little theology inspection (as usual) to one of our lecturers in our Bible College, Duncan Corby… it comes back pretty good, a few tweaks here and there, but I haven’t yet become a heretic. Yay.

But we start a discussion about something I hadn’t really expected, here is the question:

Should we be teaching/telling our kids the ultra-violent exelon prescription assistance stories found in the Old Testament?

When you get to the end of Joshua’s army walking around Jericho, the walls have fallen, they then proceed to kill every single man, woman and child in the city and burn it to the ground. This is all apparently sanctioned and encouraged by God (rinse and repeat for many other OT stories).

Now he was really thinking out loud and not endorsing the idea, but I need to (even if for my own sake) investigate this idea.

Let me present two perspectives as precisely as I can, because I don’t want this to be an essay.

YES: We should be teaching the whole counsel of God, and we can teach these stories in an age appropriate way. As children grow in understanding they can then begin to explore these issues further. We have to present the Bible as a narrative, the story of God dealing with his people over thousands of years so that our children grasp the big picture of faith. After all the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed.

NO: Exposing our kids to these stories has aided in creating our violent culture. Where Christians quite happily support capital punishment and can justify war in a heart beat. In much the same way that it is said that Jewish young men would not be allowed to read the Song of Songs until they were 30 years old our kids should focus on the life of Jesus, who was non-violent figure, until they are able to reconcile a jealous God in their hearts and minds.

I would love for you to post a pro/con thought in the comments, keep it short, focused and don’t try to present dozens of ideas in one go. Especially if you can point me in the direction of some resources/books that cover this thought.

I have given myself a challenge for the next 26 days – post the complete A-Z of Ministry to Children.

Y… young, yearn, yesterday…

Y is for Yahweh - So there it is. I didn’t choose J for Jesus, but put Y for Yahweh. The bottom line is that God came into His creation to reveal His plan to humanity and you and I and the children we lead all have a place in the grand story.

Jesus told His disciples “Let the little children come to me”. You and I are called to do just that.

Amen.

*Hey, I am at Kidshaper conference this week. Welcome any new readers, make sure you suscribe in the top right.

I have given myself a challenge for the next 26 days – post the complete A-Z of Ministry to Children.

X… xylophone, xenophobia, xerography…

X is for Xenagogue – From Greek, to lead, leading; bring, take; plus a “guest” or stranger. A reference to someone who conducts strangers or foreigners; a tour guide.

The tour guide is a brilliant description of your mission as a minister to children. Your job is to give them a tour of the Kingdom of God, show them the sights, the sounds and the places that make up this diverse and mysterious universe. A world that is often opposite to what we know. Where up is down, the first are last, and when you give you receive.

But unlike the all knowing New York local on the top of a red double decker bus, you are here to learn as well. In fact, sometimes will be operating as a reverse tour guide, learning more than teaching and experiencing more than describing, because if we are not like little children we cannot inherit the very thing we are showing.

So go forth you Xenagogue and I will see you later, the tour will stop for a manna lunch in the wilderness.

I have given myself a challenge for the next 26 days – post the complete A-Z of Ministry to Children.

U… undies, uniform, uncle, Umbratious…

U is for Unexpected – Give them half a chance and I bet the kids in your ministry would surprise you. I have lost count of the times that I have heard something about a child, or see them do something that is surprising… unexpected.

Sometimes negative like one of our regular boys who returned to me (Mum right behind him) a number of air hockey pucks he had stolen over a number of weeks.

But usually positive.

• The 6 year old girl who exhibits her art
• The 9 year old violinist getting a major scholarship
• A 7 year old in the lead role in a major touring show

All surprising.

Some of the biggest surprises are when I see the resilience of children going through major life situations.

So don’t be surprised when you get surprised by a child. In fact, the more surprises you get, I believe the better you are in connecting with kids and families.

I have given myself a challenge for the next 26 days – post the complete A-Z of Ministry to Children.

R… radical, repossession, remoulade, road…

R is for Respect – Now I don’t want to go on a rant here about how the ‘young’ people of today have no respect for their elders. I’m sure your great great Grandfather faced the same problem.

I want to talk about the respect you should have for your kids.

Paul said it straight to Timothy… let no man despise your youth (I Timothy 4:12). Children are capable of a lot more than we expect, I am reminded about this when watching videos on YouTube like the one below.

Expectation is a huge spiritual principle… Jesus when healing a lame man asked if he wanted to be healed… what a question! But He knew that not every person in pain wants it to go away, because then they also lose the attention it brings.

So expect much of your kids.

1. Expect them to enter into praise and worship
2. Expect them to serve
3. Expect them to show compassion, to care about the world
4. Expect them to give generously
5. Expect them to listen and learn
6. Expect them to surprise you with their gifts and talents.

Enough of them not showing enough respect, grant every child in your ministry YOUR respect!

Jackie Evancho

I have given myself a challenge for the next 26 days – post the complete A-Z of Ministry to Children.

P… Passion, people, pimples, palladiumizing…

P is for Paradigm – Here’s what you need, a shift in your paradigms. I hear you protest – “But I just had my paradigms rotated last month”, “these paradigms were meant to be good for at least 3,000 miles”.

I love the old school. But only when it is truly recognised as old school.

In fact if you are still rockin’ old school like it’s new school then you are not old school at all you are instead a roadblock to the purpose of God.

…

A little strong Dave?

- Tell that to Peter and his paradigm shifting food experience which paved the way for the salvation of Gentiles (Acts 10:9-23)

- Tell that to the children of Israel who walked the desert for a few years longer than they had to because they couldn’t quite get their heads around this God who provided for them everything they needed.

- Tell that to your senior Pastor when you suddenly become a pain in the butt, dragging your inability to change around like a wet blanket when a change in direction calls for all leaders to stand up and say, “Ah, we’re going this way… let’s go!”

Some of the questions, some of the methods, some of the answers that were relevant in your old paradigm are completely irrelevant now.

Deal with it, or get out of the way for someone who can.

P.S. Working with children and young people takes the MOST flexible leadership in the Church. Hope it’s you

I have given myself a challenge for the next 26 days – post the complete A-Z of Ministry to Children.

J… Jokes, Jiminy Cricket, juice, Jesus, jiraffes?…

J is for Journey - (Yes I know Jesus starts with J) Our kids have a lifetime of faith to discover. Salvation is not a one-time event but rather a lifetime journey. Sure we make a big deal about the ‘event’ of making a choice to receive salvation and redemption, but there is so much more to it than that.

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (1 Cor 1:18)

I think with children, one of the the important things to remember it that phrase ‘being saved‘, we have been saved, are being saved and will be saved.

Jesus has of course accomplished salvation on the cross (2 Timothy 1:9), and we will eventually be saved from the presence of sin (1 Peter 1:5), but there is a long time in between that we should work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12).

I used to get pretty frustrated with kids who just didn’t cope well in our programs, you know the ones who perhaps should be on a slightly higher dosage of medication. But as I have aged and mellowed out , I have realised that we need to take a long view of a child’s life.

I met last weekend a 14 year old I hadn’t seen for about 2-3 years when he was in our programs. He admitted to me that he was a ‘bit of a punk‘ when he was in Hillsong Kids, which I did seem to recall. But this is a young man who is still ‘being saved’, and I am looking forward to see him start serving and helping in our pre-teen ministry.

I am taking a long term view of his life for sure.

I have given myself a challenge for the next 26 days – post the complete A-Z of Ministry to Children.

H… hope, happiness, Harry, highjinks…

H is for House – There are two ‘houses’ in our lives, the ‘house’ of God and our own family. In a NT theology the house of God is the gathering of the Church, and there is always a tension between promoting a works based religion and a relationship with our saviour. Church attendance does not equal salvation, just like living in a garage doesn’t make you a car, just like eating a hamburger doesn’t make you Ronald MacDonald.

But then I began to see how little time we get with our kids as the Church and all the competing activities there are in the life of a family.

Faith without works is dead (James 2:20).

All of the examples I want to follow when it comes to family life just have so much in common, they are passionate about passing faith on to their kids AND live a life of service to their local Church.

If a family would simply model a life of dedicated service, our calling as pastors to children would be infinitely easier and far more powerful, impacting, fruitful and significant!

Just watch this very recent video of Benny Hinn talking about how he neglected his family. The home and the family NEED to work together.

If I lose my family in my pursuit of ‘ministry’, I have lost everything!

A Special Message from Pastor Benny Hinn

So you want to work for Hillsong Church, perhaps serve with Hillsong Kids at a high level?

I got this idea while reading Beat the Clock by Jim Wideman who filtered out speaking invitations to get rid of tyre kickers.

What kind of person am I looking for to be part of the team?

1. You better bleed/love/fight for the local church – Sure there are plenty of worthy causes out there, but our focus is Church, the one thing Jesus said he would build!
2. Your second mile better be well travelled – Above and beyond should be your local cafe, over-delivery should be your courier company.
3. I love great ideas, I hate great ideas poorly executed! – That is all.
4. You need to understand the devil is in the details – the comma in 1,000 is important! My first question might be “how did the event go?”, my second will be one of the following; “did the church van get returned clean?”, “did our volunteers feel appreciated?”, “how many kids exactly were there?”, “did it grow from last year?”, “what can we improve next time?” etc.
5. Are you committed to the vision of this house? – What’s in your hand right now at this moment in time is as important than what is in your heart for the future.
6. Sure you work hard, but can you holiday hard? – When you take a break… take a break… 8 months of leave owing is not a good sign.
7. I hope you believe that you are more important than the role you perform – Your well being matters, no workaholics/martyrs need apply.
8. Tell me HOW you manage your time – If you can’t clearly explain/define it we gotta problem.
9. The only way you can hope to survive and thrive is with God – Your job/role/task/mission will be more than you can handle, don’t come on expecting your talent/gifting is enough. Forget it, you will need God! (Although you will be a person who wouldn’t have it any other way).
10. Everyday will require you being creative – Everyone is creative, just because your 3rd grade teacher didn’t give you a gold star on your painting of your dog Pedro, and gives it to Tommy Wilkinson instead — doesn’t define your life. You are creative.
11. Expect to be inspected – Hey, if you’re not growing your volunteers probably aren’t.
12. You will have to pay the price – I’m not sure exactly what that will be, but on regular occasions there will come something that will touch your treasure (that’s where your heart is).
13. God will give you the desire of your heart – Tommy Barnett says hold on to a dream for five years, whatever you do — please dream big.
14. Please have a sense of humour diovan no prescription – At some point I will make fun of your name or Funny Man Dan will live up to his name. The team that laughs together… will probably laugh at your expense.

I could go on… really I could.

Setting the bar high is very important in ministry. Don’t just accept warm bodies both on Church staff and volunteer teams – sell a vision, one that will require work, the kind of vision YOU would want to be part of.

Sure some of these will seem contradictory – that’s the point. Welcome to life (and life abundant)!

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.

From the sad but true file:

A CHRISTIAN charity is sending a film on the Christmas story to all 26,000 primary schools in Britain after hearing of a young boy who asked his teacher why Mary and Joseph named their baby after a swear word.

NZ is lovely — the land of Hobbits is much colder than Sydney, but nothing that an electric blanket can’t fix!

WARNING: Don’t try the below in your children’s ministry!

This is a pretty bizarre way to teach kids about Christ’s sufferings on the cross – bring them forward during Mass and prick them all with a pin. The priest, Rev. Arthur Michalka, has now realised it probably wasn’t a good idea and is going to apologise and has stated, pun apparently unintended, “I didn’t think it was that big a deal. I can see the point now. I’ll see to it that it doesn’t happen again.”