That was my first experience with this book.

One time I even discouraged someone from reading this book. I told him that it wasn’t really a book about leadership, but about leading children’s ministry productions. Sorry Larry.

I’ll say it.

I was wrong.

A few months ago Larry Shallenberger asked for people to review this book for his blog tour. I’m not even sure why I agreed because I had already made up my mind that this book wasn’t for me. I think it was the promise of a free book. Well, I’m glad I got to review it because it may end up being one of the most important books I read this year.

This IS a leadership book that happens to tell a story as a narrative that illustrates the lessons being taught. The story happens to be about a Children’s Musical Production. While skimming, I missed the point and made incorrect assumptions.

More importantly, this book spoke to some of they areas where I’ve felt “stuck” as a leader. It spoke to my frustrations as well as some of the frustrations my team has been feeling. There are many different styles to leadership and no one possesses them all. Perhaps part of the reason I feel stuck is becasue I’m not allowing my team to lead the way God made them which in turn isn’t allowing me to lead the way God made me.

I’m not going to get into the details of the book here. All I can say is that as I read this book I often found myself nodding in agreement, “Yes! This makes perfect sense!” I also found myself getting really hopeful about the way things could be if people on a team actually led this way. Plenty of light bulb moments. I’ve already been talking to my staff about the concepts and we’ll be reading the book as a team this month. We’ll experiment with some of these concepts this summer and fall and if we see certain results, me may look into some organizational restructuring. It’s very exciting!

So, order this book right now! You may have a packed out reading list, but do yourself a favor, pop this book at the top of your list.

Oh, I also have an extra copy of this book to give away. I’ll make this really simple. This post went live on Monday morning, July 5th. The last comment on this post today (Monday) gets a copy of the book. So, leave a comment!

Also, spread the word, I’ve got another copy to give away. The last person to tweet a link to this post with the #kidmin tag today (Monday) will get a book. This should be fun, so tweet away.

So, back in January I posted my reading list for 2010. I had 18 books on the list. For some of you, that’s a leisurely weekend of reading. For me, that’s an undertaking! So, we’re a little halfway through the year and here is where I stand.

So far I’ve read 5 books total, essentially 1/3 toward my goal of 18. I’m really not sure I’ll hit 18, but I still think I can kick it in high gear and get pretty close. Unfortunately, of the books on my 2010 list, I’ve only read 2, Orange and Mad Church Disease. I’m starting Parenting Beyond Your Capacity this weekend (another book not on my list), but I hope to hit my list again next.

I know a lot of you have read the books on my list. Based on what you’ve read, what book should I read next? Below is a little poll. Whatever book gets the most votes, I’ll read it next. I was going to suggest comments on what book needs to be on my list, but I think I just need to focus on the 16 I haven’t read next. Maybe next year I’ll crowdsource my reading list.

Okay, vote below (you can vote for more than one book… just to make it interesting). I’m anxious to know what I’m going to read next.

So, there’s a book out there that I want to point you towards. It’s called “Lead the Way God Made You.” I’ll be honest, it really spoke to where I am right now as a leader in many different ways. I’m doing an official review for this book on Monday, July 5th which I’m writing right now. It’s a holiday weekend and I’ve got a feeling that a lot of my regular readers will be soaking in some rays as opposed to reading my blog. On Tuesday, be sure to log in and read the review. I’m kinda excited about what this book might mean for me as a leader. Maybe if it helps me, it will help you.

Larry Shallenberger published this book five years ago and to celebrate the anniversary, he’s organized a blog tour. So far you can read Larry’s summaries here as well as the first few stops of the blog tour here, here and here.

If you haven’t read the book yet, go ahead and pick up a copy or two right here, I highly recommend it!

• Pastor Finder
• Church Staffing
• Youth Specialties
• Kidology
• CMConnect – Career Center

There are more than just these though, you just need to look around and wee what there is.

In addition there are a handful of ministry search firms, one of which is the Shepherd’s Staff. I had a pretty phenomenal experience with them. There were several churches that I had made connections with about a possibly position, but it was them that brought me to Gateway, and I’m really happy about that.

Another place to search are Christian university websites. Many of them have career centers and job boards, specifically if they’re connected to a certain denomination. I’ve tracked down some great leads in the past from those job boards in particular. Another place to look is on the websites of specific churches. A lot of your larger churches that actually have someone on staff than handles HR will usually post open jobs on the website. So, if there are 10-20 churches that you follow that you know would be the kind of church you’d love to work at, check their websites every week just to see if something is open. It could be that there’s an open position that would at least get you on the team with room to grow.

Hopefully this will give you a place to look every few days. However, don’t neglect the process of networking. Searching the job forums is the “easy” fix, but for long term success, CONNECT!

On a regular basis (probably monthly), I have pastors looking for a Children’s Pastor call me or email me asking me if I know anyone. Many of these churches aren’t advertising on the big church job websites. They’re looking to fill the position from within or through someone they know. Often times, these are the churches where cool and exciting things are happening. You’ll never get this opportunity unless you’re plugged into the network. Does that make sense?

To some degree, my network helped me get where I am right now. I was very new into networking when I wandered into unemployment land over two years ago. I had a few connections, not nearly as many as I have now. I connected with Shepherds Staff, a ministry search firm that first connected me with Gateway. However, as Shepherd Staff was getting to know me, I knew people that they knew which gave me come credibility. My small network that interconnected with their network provided some built in references. Just a few weeks before my first phone interview with Gateway, I had dinner with Jim Wideman. I told him about my opportunity with with Gateway and he knew Gateway. He had consulted with them and knew the man who would become my boss. Jim spoke very highly of Gateway and I’m not sure what all he did, but I think he gave a good word for me as well. Again, that’s the power of the network.

So, you may not be searching for a job right now, but one day you will. Start building your network. Even if you’re currently a college student or barely into ministry, get out there and connect. Everyone has something to offer. Share! Everyone has questions. Ask! I’m even amazed by the number of volunteers out there who are massively networked. I’ve mistaken several as children’s pastors only to discover they’re volunteers in their churches.

I’m also going to encourage you to break out of your molds and diversify your network. Kidology is a great place to connect, but you’re hurting yourself if that’s the only place to connect. CMConnect is a great place to network, but everyone’s not there (or active there). There are dozens of blogs and communities following the blogs. Some of these mini-networks connect, many don’t. Expand your web of connection as far as you can, even if you only dedicate an hour or so a week to it.

So, what are you options. Maybe you know who you want to be, but you don’t have any real experience. You’re pretty sure that the kind of church you want to serve at isn’t going to be interested in your vision alone, they’re going to want to see some experience on that resume. The other option is that you have loads of experience, but it’s in a totally different kind of church than the kind you have experience in. I’ve met people who have been on staff in pretty conservative churches and they want to make a change to a very contemporary church, but the contemporary churches aren’t willing to take the risk. This is a problem, but it’s not an impossible problem to get around. You need some good experience in the type of church you want to end up in. Here are two options to consider.

Church plants

There are so many churches getting started it’s not even funny. In addition, a lot of these church plants are unique and most church planters I’ve talked to understand the importance of a strong children’s ministry and are looking for someone with great vision for Children’s Ministry. It’s a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor. You can build something from the bottom up. Children’s Ministry in a church plant is hard, but it’s great experience as you get to lead at so many different levels and as the church grows, you get to overcome the challenges of leading a growing ministry.

Do your research. Many church plants are connected to organizations that fund our help them. See if there are plants in your area or if there is one somewhere you’d be excited to relocate for. Take your time to get to know the pastor and his vision for the church. Be sure he’s someone you can love doing ministry with because you’re going to be working very closely with him. One of the downsides is that many church plants can’t afford to pay a Chidlren’s Pastor and if they can, it isn’t much. This may just require some bi-vocational ministry time. It’s not ideal or convenient, but it may be what it takes to get the experience you need. Consider it your education.

Volunteer at an existing church

When I say volunteer at an existing church, I’m not talking about getting on their volunteer rotation of serving every other week. I’m talking about scheduling a meeting with their Children’s Pastor and telling him or her your plans of a ministry career. Tell him or her that you want to learn everything there is about Chidlren’s Ministry and tell them that you want to be his or her “star” volunteer. You’ll be willing to do anything and everything to learn everything you can. Again, this is one of those times you’ll need to be bi-vocational, but the stuff you’ll learn is insurmountable. I honestly wish I had done this at some point. I had to learn a lot of things the hard way because I did ministry alone.

You may find a church around you that is knocking it out of the park. That might be your option. If you’re really serious about learning from the best, consider relocating to work with the best. I can think of 4-5 churches that I’d do this with. Again, it does mean sacrifice, but it’s a little sacrifice in the context of a life-long career in ministry.

1. You might be thinking about going into full time ministry either as a young person fresh out of school or someone who is looking to make a career shift into full time ministry.
2. You might be currently in ministry, but you want to make a shift. Your values don’t line up with the values of your church or your denomination. You’re looking to make a radical shift to a different kind of church.

I’m going to do the best I can to address both.

First of all I feel I need to say this. Everyone truly can serve in a church they would chose to attend if they weren’t on staff. Secondly, everyone should serve in a church they would attend if they weren’t on staff. If your presence at a church is simple a job, how far you’re able to go will always be limited. Find that church with the DNA you love and make that the place you serve. I’ll be honest though. I have served at a church I don’t think I would have attended if it hadn’t been for the job. It wasn’t a bad experience by any means. I got tons of experience while still in college and the church I served at got a strong Chidlren’s Pastor for more than 4 years. I don’t have any regrets, but if I knew then what I knew now, I probably would have made a different decision. I’ll have to talk about that in another post.

So, before you begin your search, you really need to search your heart. Who are you? What kind of ministry to you want to lead? What kind of team do you want to serve with? Decide those things before you begin your search. Last week I wrote about the problem with Kidim and the revolution it needs. If you see yourself in this fight to revolutionize Kidmin, then look for the kind of church that will allow you to be that kind of Children’s Pastor. Does that make sense?

You may ask, “but finding a church like that is really hard!” Yup. It is. You may say, “but there aren’t many churches like that.” You’re right, they are the minority. However, I’d rather wait 6 months to a year to find the church perfect for me than take a great job at a church I can only tolerate. I’d rather make some significant sacrifices to get to where I need to be.

Okay, I’ve written too much already. Seriously consider these questions. Who are you? What kind of Chidlren’s Pastor do you want to be? When you know the answers to these, the next step will be a lot more clear… which we’ll talk about tomorrow.

This post; however, I want to wrap up a theme that’s emerged this week. I’ve been in Kidmin long enough to see that a real change has taken place. When I started 1997, there were not a lot of resources. Sunday School was king and no one was talking about small groups. Kids music consisted of Arky Arky and Father Abraham, the same songs I sang as a kid 10-12 years earlier (wow, I was a young CP). A decade later, we have a flood of resources and there’s never been a better time to be a children’s pastor. However, I still see two flavors of Kidmin. One tends to still be hanging on to some of the older ways of doing things. They may not be doing Arky Arky anymore, but there are systems and processes that haven’t changed in ten years. Then there is another side that is reinventing what Kidmin looks like. It’s not just the style of music or technology used or way of presenting the message (although that is part of it), but it is the philosophy underneath. It is leadership driven. It’s using creative and innovative ways of leveraging influence in the lives of the kids through schools, teachers and parents to make a lasting impact.

This second flavor of Kidmin is still the minority. Although some of the biggest and loudest ministries in the world are home to these types of ministries, the average church in the average town hasn’t made this transition yet. That’s where this revolution needs to begin. That’s where the change needs to happen. So if you’re a current Children’s Pastor, it would do you well to evaluate where your ministry stands. Does it need a revolution? Is your ministry creatively using innovative strategies to make an impact, or does it use what it’s always been using? Are you getting ready to go into Children’s Ministry? Decide now what kind of Children’s Pastor you want to be. Don’t let the church you go to or the church you think you want to work at dictate what kind of Children’s Pastor you’re going to be. You always have a choice.

Children’s Pastors come in all sorts of shapes and sizes to fit churches of all shapes and sizes, but what do you think are the characteristics of the “perfect” Chidlren’s Pastor. And when I say the “perfect” Children’s Pastor, I’m referring to the kind of Children’s Pastor who is the solution to some of the problems discussed in my post from yesterday (and comments). You may or may not agree with me, but Kidmin has bad PR in the church today which I believe is part of the reason there is such a shortage of great Children’s Pastors. We need more Chidlren’s Pastors who will change the landscape of Children’s Ministry for the average church. What does that Children’s Pastor look like? What are they good at? What is his/her skill set? What are the essentials?

I’ll start with a few.

The “perfect” Children’s Pastor is a strong leader. He/She spends as much time (or more) investing, ministering, praying for and building into other adult leaders as he or she does kids. The “perfect” Children’s Pastor understands that he/she must multiply or he/she will fail.

The “perfect” Chidlren’s Pastor is well-rounded, well-versed in multiple disciplines. He or she is educated. He/she doesn’t have to have a specialized degree (although that doesn’t hurt), but he/she should be able to hang intellectually with the parent, volunteer or fellow staff member who is highly educated. Newsletters, blog posts and emails from this Children’s Pastors aren’t riddled with grammatical errors and typos. He or she is a strong problem solver and can push through the most difficult problems. This “perfect” Children’s Pastor has a strong understanding of the Bible and theology. He doesn’t necessarily have a Seminary or Bible School degree, but it’s obvious he or she has read and knows the “good book.” He or she also has his/her finger on the pulse of what’s happening socially. He or she is current with language, dress and and what’s currently popular. He or she is a student of culture and doesn’t come across as someone who is trying to fit in, but actually does fit in and understands those in the culture.

The “perfect” Children’s Pastor is innovative and a risk taker. He or she doesn’t do what he or she has always done. He or she constantly evaluates past events and programs and makes revisions based on success, changes to the culture and a wide variety of other factors. He or she doesn’t change just for the sake of change, but is willing to do anything to see ministry success. The “perfect” Children’s Pastor has a little bit of a rebellious streak in him or her. He or she is not satisfied with the status quo and will not stop until what is no longer relevant is overthrown.

The “perfect” Children’s Pastor is a communicator. He or she is as comfortable talking to a room full of adults as he or she is speaking to a room full of kids. He or she desires “face time” on the main stage not just to recruit but because it’s important to make that connection with the adults. He or she returns emails and phone calls and doesn’t hide behind email or text messages to have difficult conversations with parents, volunteers or staff.

Okay, that’s just a few. I’d love to see what you think are key characteristics of the “perfect” Children’s Pastor.

One: Joy Bowen remarked that there seems to be a shortage of quality Chidlren’s Pastors with great experience and are strong leaders.

Two: Jonathan Cliff pointed out that some of the best Children’s Pastor candidates are successful Jr. High Pastors.

Personally, I think both these comments point to the same problem. Kidmin has bad PR. There are many great Kidmin Pastors and Kidmin programs that are doing incredible and innovative things in ministry. However, that’s not the norm. When MOST people think of Children’s Ministry, they think of boring Sunday School Classes, silly puppets and flannelgraph. It’s a stigma and it’s permeated through most churches around the world. Line up any church staff and 9 times out of 10, I can point out the children’s ministry staff. Why? Every play that game, “which of these don’t belong?” That’s usually the case for Kidmin. Oh, I can almost always point out the student ministry staff, but that’s usually because of the facial hair and trendy clothing. They stick out in a cool way. Kidmin usually sticks out in the “you need a makeover and new wardrobe” kind of way.

So here’s the problem with this. The latest and greatest leaders emerging from the church are excited to lead and when they look at the scope of where they can lead, they don’t relate to the Children’s Ministry. It looks a little boring, weird and uncomfortable. It’s that bad stigma that hasn’t gone away. Kidmin has bad PR and the stigma has to change. Not only is the Children’s Ministry one of the most strategic ministries in the church, but it can be really fun and innovative. It just often lacks leadership that can take it there.

I do think that some of the best Children’s Pastors are successful Junior High Pastors who can bring their experience and relevancy to a different set of volunteers and leaders. They can bring a new and fresh perspective to working with kids. It’s not just screaming two-year olds and dirty diapers. It’s so much more!

So, if you’re thinking about ministry to kids as a career, I encourage you to see where this ministry needs to go. It needs strong leadership that will take it to new heights creatively to reach a Disney and Nickelodeon generation without totally cheesing off their parents. If you can bring that to the table, then welcome aboard!