Archive for 'Philosophy'
Just curious… do you ever close rooms?
Posted on02. Aug, 2010 by Kenny.
Okay, I’m gathering information and I need to ask you a philosophical question. Actually, it’s a handful of questions.
- Do you ever close children’s rooms at your church?
- What’s your reason (room capacity or volunteer/child ratios)?
- Are you allowed to close rooms if you felt it was necessary?
- Do you have any additional thoughts or feelings on the subject?
If you would, please take a minute and share your thoughts. Feel free to be anonymous (insert bogus name and email in the comment section)
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What matters now?
Posted on17. May, 2010 by Kenny.
Henry Zonio, Amy Dolan and Matt Guevara put together a great resource called What Matters Now. It’s a collaborative project involving over 30 different leaders in the world of kidmin. It’s simply everyone’s different perspective on what matters now in the world of Chidlren’s Ministry. It’s a quick read. Each author had to state their response to the question in less that 200 words.
You can download this free e-book here.
For more information and to follow the buzz and conversation:
- Follow What Matters now on Facebook here!
- Follow What Matters now on Twitter here!
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The Kidmin Revolution
Posted on13. May, 2010 by Kenny.
On Monday I started this series on starting or changing your career in Children’s Ministry; however, the conversation hasn’t gone in the direction I intended. That’s a good thing though, I feel like a good foundation was put in place here and some important things have been processed… for me at least. Next week I’ll get into the highly practical stuff of resumes and searching for an open ministry position. The following week I hope to talk about the interview process. I really do hope that this little series will be a great resource for those preparing to enter the ministry or make a jump to a different stage of ministry.
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.
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#Orange10 Day 1: Opening Session
Posted on30. Apr, 2010 by Kenny.
I must admit that this year’s opening session was the best ever. Unexpected? Yes. At first I didn’t know what I thought. Normally Reggie gives the big Orange message, but this year it was more of an introduction to Collide with an interview and message from another speaker. So at first I was a little disappointing I guess, but not becasue it wasn’t good. Does that make sense? However, as time goes by, the more I liked it. There are many things that continue to stick with me from that opening session.
The very opening was powerful. A speaker/actor gave a 10-15 minute monologue that was simply amazing. Through his carefully selected prose, he took all 4000 participants along an engaging journey of what ministry is like, what it needs and a hope for the future. Simply inspiring. The theme “Collide” was introduced and I’m almost certain that this will become one of my most overused words this year.
Collide: make a deliberate contact for the sake of a lasting impact!
Reggie interviewed Mark Batterson where Reggie interacted a great deal with Mark’s new book, Primal. He was also directing Mark toward issues dealing specifically with the Orange Philosophy. Mark had so many amazing things to say, but there were a few that resonated with my soul and continue to stick with my thoughts.
Early on Mark said, “We can stop doing ministry out of imagination and start doing ministry out of memory.” Wow, how often do I have to battle this. While I love to innovate and change things up, I’ve got my things that I like the same, the carefully guarded practices that I’ve held on to for year. Risks. What new risks am I willing to step out into.
Mark also said, “There are ways of doing church that no one has thought of yet.” Isn’t that the truth. Just take a look at the way church looks now compared to 10 years ago. Multi-site. Video. Internet. It’s crazy how much has changed. I will say this. I’m very glad to be at a church that is pushing the envelope in so many ways. It’s exciting to have conversations with staff that I know few other churches are having conversations about.
After the interview, Reggie introduced Chris Weirsma, a pastor from Calgary. His message impacted me. Time will tell if it will be one of those defining messages that I’ll carry with me for the rest of my existence, but it was powerful. His message revolved around Genesis 3, the fall of man. He explored what we really lost in the fall. He explains that what when Adam and Eve fell, they immediately noticed that they were naked and they took it upon themselves to cover themselves. They were concerned with how they would be perceived. What did they lose? They lost the unquestionable okayness with being a three year old. What does that mean? If you’ve got a three year old, you know that they have no problem with the way anyone perceives them. They’d have no problem walking down the street stark naked. Honestly, they’d probably prefer that. We lost this in the fall and at some point as we grow up, we lose this as well. We have a deep, compulsive need to control the way we are perceived and this insecurity messes everything up.
It was a great opening session!
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Huge Giveaway: What do you think?
Posted on30. Mar, 2010 by Kenny.
A local church (when I say local, I mean another church in Texas) is doing a creative outreach this Easter Sunday. Bay Area Fellowship of Corpus Christi is giving away millions this Easter Sunday. That’s right, millions. Bikes, guitars, TV’s, gift bags and cars. Yeah, I said cars. It’s part of their message this Sunday called the Ultimate Giveaway. Read more about it here.
God did give us a free gift in his son, Jesus. The gift of grace through this amazing sacrifice is the most valuable and priceless gift ever given and it’s worth getting excited about. Bay Area feels that giving away millions of dollars in gifts not only illustrates the example (obviously not to the same degree) of God’s divine giveaway, but also is a high profile lure to get people to come in and check out what’s going on at Bay Area Fellowship this Easter weekend.
I have no doubt that the house will be packed this weekend (expecting between 15,000 to 20,000). I have no doubt that Bay Area Fellowship will grow as a result. I have no doubt that there will be an energy and excitement that will be hard to describe.
What do you think? I know that opinions on something like this vary from one extreme to the other. I ask this becasue Bay Area’s “stunt” has been highly criticized, but this same strategy is followed (not to the same dollar amounts) in children’s ministries everywhere. Prizes are given away on a regular basis to first time visitors, regular attendees or for earning Bible Bucks for bringing friends, bringing Bibles or memorizing scriptures. I hear very little criticism about these techniques as a method to reward kids or lure kids to come to church, but when the same thing is done on an epic scale, people are up in arms.
Is this the same thing? Is it different? Was this a really cool idea or did Bay Area go to far? What do you think?
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A new word for discipleship
Posted on29. Mar, 2010 by Kenny.
Words are so interesting. Over time, they change meaning, lose effectiveness or develop a stigma. When it comes to faith, we see this all the time. Pick up C.S. Lewis’ book Mere Christianity and the opening chapter will tell you how the word Christian has lost it’s meaning, and this book was written decades ago. Really, it’s only been the last 2-3 years that I’ve replaced the term Christian for the words Christ follower. Sure, it may just be semantics, but the term seems to be much more intentional about meaning in a culture where the word Christian conjures up some many different definitions and emotions. Who knows, maybe in a few more years, there will be another term Christ followers are using.
Don’t get hung up on the words though, it’s really not about me, it’s about those I hope to influence. Without compromising convictions or beliefs, it’s my job to connect with people in their reality. If finding a unique way to describe what I am about in life that actually engages a non-believer, I’m 100% behind it. I think we need to constantly analyze the words and terms we use while trying to be relevant with the people around us. \
One word we don’t use at my church at all is discipleship. Is it me or is it just so churchy? In addition, there are too many definitions for discipleship. To some churches, it’s a class. For others it’s a group book study. For others it’s a multi-year one on one relationship and to others it’s a program. Many Christ followers have awkward or negative thoughts associated with this term while even some of those outside the church see discipleship as cult-like and mindless devotion to a freaky cause. The term discipleship may need to go the way of the Dodo.
So what’s another word? We use the word transform or transformation. Isn’t that really the point of discipleship, to transform or change? Lots of people are in “discipleship,” but they never change. Isn’t that an oxymoron? It’s a fairly specific word that describes something that could be measured, right? The reason I like this word too is that it isn’t specific to any particular method. People are discipled/transformed by various methods, but just becasue someone is being discipled doesn’t mean they’ve changed.
What do you think of this word? Is it one you’ll add to your vocabulary? Can you think of any other church “inside” words that need to be transformed?
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Register for Orange TODAY!
Posted on18. Mar, 2010 by Kenny.
If you haven’t registered for Orange yet and you’re heavily considering going, go ahead and register TODAY. Today is the last day for any price break. Register TODAY!
There are so many reasons why you should go to Orange, but I’m not going to list them in this blog post. Just search Orange in the search bar to the right and you’ll get your fill. If you fill stuck in a rut in your ministry or if you feel like you’re not making the difference you should be, Orange is for you. Sure, Orange has a ministry philosophy that’s helped thousands of churches, but just getting in the same room with big thinkers in ministry can help you see your situation from a different perspective. You’ll hear great teaching, innovative ideas in breakouts, but some of the best parts of Orange are the conversations in the hallways, in hotel lobbies and restaurants surrounding the venue.
This year there’s a central meeting place called the Orange Leaders Lounge. It’s a place to come and talk life and ministry. It’s filled with a bunch of big thinkers in ministry who want to shoot the breeze as well as talk ministry victories and woes. It’s a great place for every leader to grow, connect, be encouraged and walk away with new ideas and perspectives.
So, Orange is a great place to bring you team. You can grow together. Click here to register your team. Orange is also a great place to go on your own. Consider it a time to personally recharge. Click here to register just you. Just don’t miss the opportunity. You can register tomorrow, it’s just going to cost a little more.
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Confusing terminolgy and spiritual concepts for kids: Churchy words
Posted on18. Mar, 2010 by Kenny.
Far too often, the most confusing terminology we use are the words we’re most familiar with. We’ve been using them so long, we don’t even realize how foreign they may sound to a person not familiar with God, especially kids. The funny thing is that some of these words and terms aren’t really used in modern conversational English, they’re just hand-me-down phrases from the church of generations past. Here are a handful of confusing words and phrases:
- Blood of Jesus
- Lamb of God
- Lord and Savior
- Born again
Don’t get mad at me, I know that some of these words and terms are sacred, most of them even in your Bible. However, when we throw out one of these words, it helps if there is a context. Without the proper context, the term “born again” sounds like the title of a freaky sci-fi flick. Although not all of us serve in churches where this is all totally new stuff to the adults, it almost always is to the kids we teach… becasue they’re kids. We must watch our words closely as not to confuse the kids we’re trying to reach.
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Building Christ followers the old fashioned way
Posted on18. Mar, 2010 by Kenny.
A few day ago I happened across this blog which linked to this fascinating article on catechesis.
Yeah, I didn’t know what Catechesis was either. I’ve written some posts here and there about catechism and it’s place in the modern protestant church. Most of us, including myself have images of old and outdated practices when we here this word. However, I think that many of us realize that the generation of Christ followers we’re developing are less than grounded. I’m not throwing out the idea of investing in parents to where they have the spiritual lead or throwing out small groups where peers and adult leaders can build into students. I’m talking about some manner of content that aligns the next generation with sound beliefs in a world of relativism. I honestly think we need to take a another look at catechism and see it’s place in today’s church, especially the church like mine where most who attend are totally unchurched. Catechism was designed for such people more than a thousand years ago.
What I found intriguing was how it was the reformers like Calvin and Luther who revived catechism, specifically for children as well as adults. As a response to the reformers, the Catholic church revised their catechism. It’s been a lot of months that I’ve been talking about catechism and I think I’m pretty close to moving on something. Maybe by this time next year I’ll have another angle to share, how we’re building young Christ followers the old fashioned way.
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Confusing terminolgy and spiritual concepts for kids: Hearing God’s voice
Posted on17. Mar, 2010 by Kenny.
Here’s my third post in “calling out” the terminology Children’s Pastors sometimes use when communicating to kids. Just so you know, I’m really not some self-righteous jerk making people feel bad. Every example I’ve written and plan to write, I’ve been guilty of saying at one time or another. Even writing these posts have caused me to even more carefully examine the words I use. We hold a valuable responsibility. We should steward it well.
Here’s another one that bothers me, probably more so because I’ve fumbled this one up with so many kids. It involves explaining how God speaks to us. Now, I don’t want to get into a spiritual debate due to differences in theological viewpoints, that’s not what this is really about. Feel free to disagree, but if we have a discussion, lets keep it to the point about not confusing kids pertaining to how we hear God’s voice.
Too many times when teaching kids how to hear God’s voice (outside what is written in the Bible), we tell kids that God probably won’t speak out loud, so we typically won’t hear what he has to say to us through our ears. Instead, we have to listen with our heart becasue that’s one of the ways he speaks to us, to our heart. You’ll know when he’s talking to you. Maybe I’m just the minority. These words have come out of my mouth before and I’ve heard them come from others. How confusing is this? As a Christian, fully indoctrinated in Christianeese, this makes sense to me or I can get the gist of it. But to a new believer or a child who sees the world through a literal viewpoint, this sounds kinda stupid.
I think we have we have to be very clear about what it looks like to hear God’s voice. Here’s just a sampling.
- God does want to talk to us and he does have something to say. It’s not usually a matter of whether he’s talking, but more a matter of if we’re listening.
- The Bible, God’s word, is his primary message to us. Those who seek his voice should probably spend more time with their nose in this book. God can and will speak to us outside the scripture, but it always comes back to the scripture. Does what God is saying to you line up with his word? If not, it was probably the pizza you ate last night. God will never contradict the scriptures.
- God will speak to us through others. This is why it’s so important to surround yourselves with godly company. It’s funny when people say, “I felt like the pastor had been reading my mail.” No, God’s been reading your mail! When I have difficult decisions to make, I listen to what Godly people are saying to me. When someone calls me out on crap I’ve been doing, I listen. Too many times someone has shared something with me either directly or indirectly and over several days or weeks, God’s used those words to create change in my heart.
- God will speak to us through the Holy Spirit. However, he’s not going to speak to your heart, your heart can’t hear anything silly. What this is going to look like is a thought is going to pop into your head. It could be something the Holy Spirit is saying to you. It could be your own thought. It might just be a good idea. However, it’s up to you to discern what is from God/Holy Spirit or what is from you. (1 Cor. 2:10-16)
I think that when teaching kids who to hear God’s voice, we should probably spend more time teaching kids how to be discerning as opposed to creative ways to hear the voice of God and the best way to be better at discerning is to spend time in God’s word and hiding it in our hearts.
Teaching kids how to heard God’s voice doesn’t have to be weird or mysterious. We can be honest and clear and as kids grow in their faith, knowledge and wisdom, they to will be able to discern what God is speaking to them!
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