I have met over the last few years a large number of incredibly faithful kids pastors and leaders. A large percentage of the people who lead children’s ministries in Australia are volunteers and give a large chunk of their time to their local Church to see the ministry to children move forward.

I think these leaders have a HUGE amount to say to everyone involved in ministering to children. I am fascinated with the different forms that our little world of ministry takes on. Just last year a network that had seemingly languished here in NSW was resurrected and is finding it’s feet again. I have been able to be a part of a few of the gatherings and it has been such a blessing just to connect with leaders from other denominations across the spectrum of ministry in Australia. The Salvation Army people, Anglicans, Baptists and representatives from World Vision.

Now I don’t travel around very much except perhaps to the Kidshaper conference each year. But mainly I get to invite hundreds of pastors to the kids stream at our annual Hillsong Conference. So for me the net is a vital connection to leaders around this sunburnt land.

Maybe it’s the Tall Poppy thing in our culture – but my experience is that very few leaders in Australia a good at telling their own story.

There is so much God stuff going on with our kids in Australia I want to read some more about this, I want to hear more about this.

The most significant thing we have done in the last few years is start a preteen ministry. I wrote about it here: Re: Ideas for Children’s Ministry and have spoken about it everywhere I get the chance. What a WASTE if I had never shared the experience of starting this program and the blessing that it has been (I think I should talk more about it actually), and simply kept it to ourselves.

Right now someone is sitting on a story that will inspire me (or anyone) to greater effectiveness and new vision but they choose the path of least resistance and keep it to themselves. That’s not humble, that’s irresponsible.

<And Breathe…>

Here are some people telling the story of what God is doing in Aus:

Rob Bradbury is the Godfather Children’s ministry in Australia of has a new blog.

Children’s Ministry 1234 – The Planetshakers kids team

Brendon and Cathie Clancy – Kids worship leaders and pastors

Chris Neal – Keep writing Chris

Nathan Mclean – On Hillsong Kids staff at our Hills Campus!

Andrew Shepherd – 25 years in ministry and passionate as the day is long!

Funny Man Dan – My very own muffin of mirth keeping you smiling since 1984

Kathryn Macdowall – Hillsong Kids staff and the worlds greatest curriculum writer

Uniting Church – News from the Uniting Church in Australia

This was a pretty quick list and far too small. I am sure it needs to grow. If you know of others please leave a comment below and I will edit this post!

P.S. This is kinda like a part two of my last post Blogging Matters.

I feel bad.

Someone asked one of our awesome team (Kathryn Macdowall) to  send them an organisation chart for Hillsong Kids, and she had to write one down from memory because we don’t really have a up to date one.

It’s like one of the first rules of ministry.

Especially if doing multi campus Church!

It’s so important, you have to submit it before entering kidmin heaven along with your child safety policy.

But I didn’t have one.

You need clarity in your communication, which is usually found in the writing of something, but so many job descriptions and charts lie around gathering dust. Having something in the hearts and minds of your team is so much more important than having it just on paper.

What’s the most important document you have that no one has read?

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

Q… quit, queen, Qantas, quacksalver…

Q is for Question – Your kids have questions. Lots of them probably. They will ask the most random question at the most random times. I know that when I am with one of our KDG’s (Kids Discipleship Groups – small groups), and talking I can see certain kids brains veering wildly out of control on a tangent which inevitably leads to a question like “If God is my Father, then is Jesus my brother?”.

I talked in E is for Encouragement about this topic a little. Whatever happens, you do want to encourage questions because they show thought and intiative both things that kids have control over.

So I want to talk about the questions you ask as a leader and follower.

Asking questions shows:

1. That you are eager to learn
2. You care about other peoples worlds
3. You want to improve
4. You are aware of what is going on around you
5. That you are interested
6. You don’t think you have all the answers
7. You want to involve others in the answers

As a leader you need to ask the most questions in the room. There is so much that goes unsaid in a team, assumptions, traditions, the way that we do things that are never articulated. Even if you feel like everyone in the room has heard it all before, say it!

Beginner stand-up comedians will work on new jokes until they have a solid ‘five minutes‘ of material they know is funny. They may keep using those jokes for years and years as they develop. Jerry Seinfeld in the movie/documentary comedian restarts his stand-up career after TV by writing all new material, and it is painful to watch at times as he goes through the growing pains.

Say what you have to say as a leader and then say it again. It will make your whole team laser focussed and avoid all the questions you don’t want to hear.

The questions you hear reveal your weaknesses, and the questions you ask reveal your heart.

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.

D… Doctrine, dynamic, Donald Duck, delusion, darts…

D is for Delegate – I have seen it over and over in our team and in myself. You find yourself with a new volunteer who has a lot of potential to carry great responsibility. But after a few weeks they have faded into the background and either settled or possibly disappeared. Not every leader is going to hop on your ‘bus’, but I find to often brilliant leaders are sitting in the back row when they could be helping you navigate!

The missing ingredient is often authority. You have been great in delegating responsibility, but like a lot of leaders cling onto the authority either because you like to ‘be the boss’ or you don’t trust anyone to ‘do it’ as good as you!

Hey – it used to be that you weren’t as good as you are now and the only reason you are where you are today is because someone took a chance on you.

Heres a simple little procedure to help someone reach their maximum potential:

1. Give them a simple task (very time specific) and follow up on it extremely diligently knowing that in the future you won’t have to be so thorough
2. Thank the person in a big way and ask if there is any way they think we (the team) could do it better.
3. Repeat a few times adding in the important ingredient - authority.
4. If they rise to the challenge they become a leader – simple as that.

(There is a lot more to it than this but you get the idea… simple right?)

Final thoughts from Jim Wideman and his blog series Delegate or die:

Delegation is not an option for those who want to succeed in ministry. But to succeed you must take inventory of where you are. Start small and go from there. I try to recruit my team one worker at a time. Ask yourself and your volunteers, “What do I need to do differently?” What volunteers do you see potential in? Commit to coach volunteers and let them learn by doing. What are you waiting on? Delegate or Die!

Control makes change exciting. Uncontrolled change is unpredictable.

Here’s the thing: We only like change when WE are the one making the change. When we are in control.

I even hate it when I read about a fellow blogger who I may know only from reading their work or sharing discount celexa online comments is changing roles or perhaps Churches. What is that all about?

It’s because I have zero control over the situation.

As a leader you are setting the direction and keeping the team going forward — so when you change something, it’s exciting. In those times (Andy Stanley talks about that moment you realise you the most powerful person in the room), that it is wise to think about the last time your leader changed something and how you felt — maybe out of the loop, or disorientated or even a little worried about the future.

Communicating change means:

1. Communicating the WHY behind the WHAT
2. Taking time to answer the little questions
3. Reinforce the vision
4. Empathise with your team, don’t dismiss it as an easy decision (even if it was for you… remember: you’re in control)
5. Talk about what a blessing the ‘old way’ was to bring them this far
6. Choose your battles — attitude and heart need to fought for, not the colour of the carpet (that will be a much easier change 6 months later)

Wondering about the post title? Just an example of something that should change often

Life is too short to entertain bad leadership.

I have been reminded today of just how blessed I am to be in a Church leadership environment that has no room for red tape or bureaucracy. Our mission and vision is too important, our time too short to waste time and effort.

I prefer to think of leadership as a positive attribute — that is… bad leadership is not leadership at all it is simply… not leadership.

I am not talking about fresh faced eager leaders making mistakes, but leaders who have given up learning, growing and living in faith, not seeing the potential around them and therefore slowly quenching those they lead.

Watching the excellent Exit Interviews DVD which can be found at the reThink Group store (although seriously majorly pricey), I watched four ministry veterans (= code for Old Fart – Thanks Jim) talk about some of the times in ministry they had to really watch their hearts as they dealt with leadership decisions and attitude diovan generic manufacturers that we can probably all relate to.

You cannot control others opinions and attitudes but you CAN control your reaction, AND your heart. Sticks and stones will break your bones AND names will seriously hurt you. Do NOT develop a wounded spirit, do NOT let hurt develop into bitterness, we all have the wonderful opportunity to get offended in ministry — that is an opportunity you never want to take. Whatever you have had to face, someone has faced worse, don’t throw a pity party, you’ll probably be the only one there.

More than any time in history the impact of the individual can be felt all across society and culture! Be part of something that excites and terrifies you every morning with it’s quivering, bone-melting potential!

I am pretty much completely mind-numbingly staggered with what is possible in my Church community – I hope you can say that too… you deserve it.

There are a number of phrases you don’t want to hear as a leader. I heard one of them last weekend.

“My friend put in a new leaders application and she hasn’t heard anything”.

Ouch.

If there is one thing you want to get right is making a process of becoming one of our team easy. One of your goals as a leader is too eliminate these utterances through a process known as communication — Don’t say much, but say it often!

Some other deadly sentences include, but are not limited to:

“No I didn’t get into a service this weekend, dilantin price I just served”

“But this has been happening for ages”

“I didn’t have my team leaders phone number”

“My tee-shirt is in the wash”

“There was a team meeting this week?”

“Yes there was a lot of blood, but it didn’t look too serious” (okay, that one has never happened to me)

Are there any phrases you don’t like to hear as a leader?

I am excited!

And not just because it’s Fri and a full weekend in Church is ahead of me with loads of opportunities to be a blessing.

Not just because I’m sitting here at home on my computer looking out at a beautiful afternoon listening to my son play Wii Fit.

But because there are new things on the horizon.

I’m excited to see new projects coming, to see new initiatives and new seasons.

It gives me a hope for the future.

I’ll bet that it’s the same for you.

And if you and I feel the same then why should detrol la order it be any different for those we lead.

So next year for your teams and leaders, even if they are staying in the same role and serving with the same kids give them fresh vision that gives the expectation of a new season ahead. Because it IS a new season. In my experience God elevates and promotes in a moment and you can’t plan for it, but you can prepare!

Prepare your people.

It’s what leaders do.

And when opportunity arises, in the fullness of time… there will be people around you ready to rebuild the wall. (So we built the wall…for the people had a mind to work. Neh 4:6)

It may be that Settlers of Catan is the best game of all time, but I appreciated this post from Trevin Wax about low expectations.

Last summer, my parents introduced me and my wife to a European board game called The Settlers of Catan. This award-winning game has become wildly popular, especially among college students.

But Settlers is hard to play. The game is expensive. The rules are complicated. Each game requires more than an desyrel 75 mg hour.

To do well, you must master the art of trade, strategic planning, anticipation of loss, and clever surprise. The game is difficult, but people can’t get enough of it.

Read On!