Tag Archives: salvation
Confusing terminolgy and spiritual concepts for kids: Salvation, Jesus and the Holy Spirit
Posted on16. Mar, 2010 by Kenny.
Wow, that’s a long title. I think it’s a record for me.
So yesterday I started this series by posting about how many kids mix up God with God the Father which may seem like I’m getting picky, but it does create confusion around the relationship between Jesus and the Holy Spirit with God the Father. Today’s closely ties into this concept of “trinity” confusion.
When I was four years old, I asked Jesus into my heart. I really did. The funny thing is that when I was young, I literally pictured my heart having a little door on it and inside was a little bench that Jesus could sit on. I eventually came to understand that Jesus didn’t really live in my heart just like I came to understand that the tooth fairy doesn’t exist. However, for many years I continued to tell children how they could invite Jesus into their hearts. Habits die hard, don’t they?
Why do we tell children to invite Jesus into their hearts when Jesus doesn’t come to live in their hearts? Kids are so incredibly literal. When explaining this to kids, they have a very hard time seeing beyond the picture of Jesus literally living in their heart. If kids really are so literal, why can’t we be a little more straight forward with kids? They’re not stupid. I just think that we fail to clearly explain what is happening. Maybe we’re too quick just to “get kids saved” that we neglect to give them the full picture of what surrendering their lives to Christ really means.
So, let’s review real quick?
- Where is God the Father? In heaven, right?
- Where is Jesus the son? In heave too, at the father’s right hand.
- Where’s the Holy Spirit? That’s right, the Holy Spirit is with us. When Jesus left, he promised the Holy Spirit would come.
So, I was made to have a relationship with God, but my sin keeps me from him. However, if I recognize my sinfulness and need for saving and believe that Jesus provides a way to have a relationship with God and I let Jesus be in charge of my life and let him guide me from this time forward, I can be restored in relationship with God. As a result, the Holy Spirit comes to live in me, comfort me, guide me and encourage me. Isn’t that the gist of it?
Sure, it takes a little longer to set all of that up and it’s not as easy to say as just inviting Jesus into my heart. I don’t think we should give kids false information just because we think they’ll understand it better. It’s the most important decision they’ll make in their entire lives. Although I don’t expect every kid to fully understand every implication of following Christ (I’m 33 and I haven’t gotten there yet) I do think that every child can see a clear picture and make a personal decision.
Continue Reading
Faith development of a child: Episode 4
Posted on30. Jun, 2009 by Kenny.
Thank you for being patient with my random thoughts about faith development. Usually when doing a series like this, I’ve got a plan and a place I’m trying to take the reader. This time; however, I’m just emptying my head of many different thoughts I’m trying to sort through.
Education + Evangelism = Responsible faith development.
There is a certain amount of education that needs to happen regardless of a hearers age, but it seems that this is even more essential for kids. Let me explain.
When communicating salvation to adults, the emphasis seems to be more on persuasion. It’s crafting the message in such a way that combined with the prompting of the Holy Spirit, a person wants to give their life to Christ. Again, there is some education involved as the story and situation are created, but the crux of the opportunity is in the ask.
When communicating salvation to kids, it seems like there is more emphasis on education. Kids are eager to learn. They need to learn about how the world was created, how sin came into the world, how this created a problem, what God’s solution was and then how we can make things right. There is a lot of stuff a child needs to know. Like I said yesterday, the emphasis doesn’t need to be on persuasion. Why, because it’s really easy to persuade a child. They’re sponges for information and their very trusting and willing to be persuaded. In this case, we need to educate them on what salvation is and how the scriptures teach this and what it means for our lives. When a child understands this, then it’s very easy for them to take the next step and choose to follow Christ.
I can easily call for a decision at the end of a message or have an evangelist come in and tell kids that they can choose Christ and tons of them will. However, are we taking the time to build in a layer of understanding through education before persuading kids to make a decision.
Again, this goes back to my reason for wanting kids to attend a baptism class before being baptized. I can quickly persuade a child to receive Christ before jumping in the pool with them, or I could take an hour and build in a layer of understanding. When I do this, then kids get baptized within that foundation of understanding, something their new faith can sick to.
Continue Reading
Faith development of a child: Episode 3
Posted on29. Jun, 2009 by Kenny.
Last week I wrote about kids believing blindly.
Give me ten minutes with a kid and I can make a child believe just about anything. Kids trust. Kids believe. This is a beautiful part of their nature. But in this respect we have to understand that kids and adults are different. If I met an adult who didn’t know Christ, it would take me some time to lead them to faith. I’d have to show a lot of evidence before someone was ready to believe. I’d have to take them on a journey through scripture and share stories from how God worked in my life. After presenting all the stories, leading him through scriptures and showing him Christ’s love, he may decide to follow Christ. This is difficult. It’s hard. But the payoff is huge!
Kids are different. I can sit down with a child who doesn’t know Christ. I could literally lead them in a prayer in 10 to 15 minutes. Why? Because kids trust. Kids believe.
Here’s my problem though. Just becasue a child will believe doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take the time to walk them through the decision. What are the implications? How will my life be different? What does living for Christ really look like? If we don’t take the time to walk with kids through their decision, are we taking advantage of their trusting nature?
This places huge implications on children’s evangelism. Don’t get me wrong. I’m a big fan of children’s evangelism. However, is the evangelism without a little bit of discipleship (explaining the theology of following Christ) dangerous? This is a totally subjective question, but if 79-80% of Christian teens are walking away from their faith after their freshman year of college, do you think that any part of this statistic is attributed to kids who came to faith as a child without a proper understanding of this decision who managed to stick with their faith through high school but once questioned about it in college they left it at the door?
Thoughts?
Continue Reading
Leading a child to faith: C is for Confess
Posted on19. Jun, 2009 by Kenny.
C is my favorite part. Actually, C is kinda the linchpin of them all. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to admin that we’ve sinned, that we’ve broking a moral code. It’s also not too much to believe in Jesus and to believe what he did for us. A person could admit that they sin and believe in Christ, yet still not be a Christ-Follower. That is where C comes in. C is for confess. Confess that Jesus is Lord.
What does confess mean? What does Lord mean? Come on, we’re talking to kids here. We gotta break it down.
Confess means to say out loud or to say with your mouth.
Lord mean someone who is in charge. A king. A ruler. A boss.
I always follow up defining the words by asking this question. “So, if confess mean to say with your mouth and Lord means a king or ruler, what does it mean to say that Jesus is Lord?” I usually have to repeat definitions again. What does it mean.
Eventually someone says it. “It means to say out loud that Jesus is king.”
Exactly. But what is Jesus king over?
Everything!
What else?
Hmmmmmm…. Me?
Precisely!
This is the part where being a Christ-Follower begins and continues for the rest of our lives (and into eternity). To confess that Jesus is Lord is to make a conscious decision that Jesus is in charge of my life. That means I willingly let him lead my life. Whatever he say to do, I’ll do. He’s in charge of my words, my actions, my thoughts, my dream and my desires. I’m a slave to Christ. I’m no longer my own, I’m his.
I usually take a little bit of time talking about this specifically. We love to be in charge and do our own things. We’re going to mess up with this all the time. We’re going to try to do things our way and live our way. However, being a Christ-Follower means surrendering our will and our desires to him.
Becoming a Christ-Follower isn’t saying a prayer (although we do pray). Becoming a Christ follower is about owning our wrongs, believing that Christ made a way for us to have a relationship with God and most importantly, letting Christ lead our lives, becoming a slave to Christ.
That’s the ABCs. That’s how I lead children to the Lord. There are several different variations of the ABCs and other devices used to make this decision easy for children to understand but this is the one I like the most.What about you? What do you use?
Continue Reading
Leading a child to faith: B is for Believe
Posted on18. Jun, 2009 by Kenny.
B stand for Believe. Believe what? Believe that Jesus is God’s son and that he died on the cross for our sins.
This is where faith becomes a part of the equation. When reading about the new converts throughout the early part of Acts we see how people believed and were baptized. Many of them had heard for Jesus, but didn’t witness what he had done. They took steps of faith to believe the words of those who witnessed what Jesus had done. Our kids have to take the same steps of faith. Do you believe that the Bible is true? Do you believe that Jesus is God’s son? Do you believe that he lived a perfect life? Do you believe that he died on the cross for your sins? Do you believe that he rose again?
When I ask a child these things, (and I’ve asked hundreds) I’ve never once had one say no. Never. If I were to drill down as to why they believe it, they would say “becasue it is in the bible” or “because that is what I’ve learned.” This is good. They have faith. They have no reason to doubt. This is child-like faith. Do they need to know the twenty arguments for the existence of God? Do they need to see the statistical probability of the scriptures being true as a result of fulfilled prophesy? Do they need to see extra-biblical evidence that support the people, places and events of the Bible? No. Not yet. For now they believe at face value and that’s okay. As they get older they may want to explore the depths of their faith. They may want to test what it is made of and challenge what they believe.
To believe is the foundation for C. Stay tuned for my favoite part of the ABCs.
Continue Reading
Leading a child to faith: A is for Admit
Posted on17. Jun, 2009 by Kenny.
I use the ABCs of becoming a Christ Follower when leading kids to Christ. It’s easy and it clearly explains the important aspects of becoming a Christ Follower.
So, the first part is to Admit. Admit that we are a sinner.
I usually have to define admit and sometimes even clearly explain what a sinner or sin is. We usually decide that admit means to say that you did something. Close enough. So to admit that I’m a sinner means that I say that I’ve done wrong. I’m coming clean, letting everyone know that I’m not perfect. It’s an essential first step. If wrong has been committed yet no one has admitted to it, there is a breakdown in the relationship. If a wrong has been done, forgiveness cannot be received until someone first admits they are in need of forgiveness. Christ has already given us the free gift of forgiveness, but we can’t receive it until we admit that we have sinned and we need the forgiveness.
This usually a pretty easy step. Just about every kid recognizes that they’ve sinned. It’s fun to go around the room and point out all the people who have sinned (we end up pointing at everyone).
Here’s why this is so important. Being a Christ Follower is about having a relationship with Jesus. As in any relationship, things can get in the way. For instance, if I wrong a friend or disobey a parent I’ve put something in the way of our relationship. In order to clear the relationship and make things right, I have to addres the issue. I need to admit to what I did, or apologize for what happened. Once I’ve done that, the other party can choose to forgive me and at this point the relationship is restored. It is clean and open. This is how it is with our relationship with Jesus. Until we admit that we’ve done something wrong (i.e. Sin), we can’t truly receive the forgiveness that he’s offered us. This is a barrier keeping us from having a relationship with God. So, the first step into coming into a relationship with God is to admit that we’ve sinned so that we can receive forgiveness.
That’s A of the ABCs. Tomorrow I’ll hit B.
Continue Reading
Leading a child to faith
Posted on16. Jun, 2009 by Kenny.
I love leading kids to faith. It’s the best thing in the world. Actually I really love baptizing kids too or at least helping parents baptize their kids as well. It’s just one of the perks of being a children’s pastor. If evangelism is your thing, then children’s ministry is the place to be. The largest number of decisions for Christ happen with kids, so it’s where they fish are biting.
So, I’m starting a little series on leading a child to faith. I know this sounds a little remedial, but perhaps something I write will give someone some ideas. What I enjoy the most is hearing how you’re doing it differently, which often gives me new ideas to improve what I’m doing. So, I don’t make assumptions about what I write about here. It’s all about getting better at what we’re doing.
So, in the 11+ years of being in Children’s Ministry, I’ve had a lot of opportunities to lead kids to faith. I’ll be really honest (and please don’t take this as arrogance). It’s not hard to lead a child to faith. Put any child in front of me and within thirty minutes I’ll lead them in a prayer. You’re probaby as good or better at it than me. In thirty minutes just about any of us could lead a child in a prayer. Kids are trusting. We can be convincing. Right?
It’s not about leading a child in a prayer! It’s about understanding what it means to be a Christ Follower, a slave to Christ. I asked Jesus into my heart when I was four. Why? My teacher told me that I would go to hell if I didn’t. Brilliant! Any dope can do that. Being clear and concise and helping a child to make the decision on their own is harder. Allowing the child to make a thoughtful decision on their own isn’t just a good idea, it’s what is right.
So, how do I do it? I use the ABCs. I stole it from Lifeway. I’ve heard a bunch of other tricks to teaching this, but I just really love the ABCs that Lifeway uses for their curriculum materials. Check in tomorrow for the ABCs and how I teach them.
Continue Reading
Does it bother you that the same kid gets saved every week?
Posted on20. Apr, 2008 by Kenny.
Ha! If you’ve ministered to kids for any time, you probably got a kick out of this title!
Last week I was listening to an audio blog post on Steven Furtick’s blog. The blog was about how to give effective invitations. It was a great message, regardless of your position. He shared his advice and experience in the wake of Easter where his church saw over 500 people come to Christ. Absolutely amazing! There were so many great points worth hearing.
One thing did stick out to me in particular. Pastor Steven talked about how it had been his tendency to make it difficult for a person to come to Christ in order to ensure that they authentically made the decision. Then one day he read the parable of the wheat and the tares (or weeds) in Matthew 13 and was convicted. He came to realize that it wasn’t his responsibility to determine the authenticity of their faith and remove the weeds, it was his responsibility to sow the seed. In the end, the wheat would be separated from the weed. He went on to say that he (Steven) will refuse to cast wheat tot he side because he thought it was a weed. “I’m not God… it’s not my job.”
I thought about this in the context of the children’s ministry. We’ve all had that one kid that got saved every single time there was an opportunity. There were some kids that I met with personally and baptized that would occasionally raise their hands. Sometimes I’d pull them aside and question them, explaining that you only had to do this once. Ha, I even had one 7 year old girl (it would be an understatement for me to call her a firecracker) who had gotten saved 400 times in one year. I had been working with her parents already on some behavior issues, manipulation and lying. Once I explained to her that she didn’t need to keep doing this. She looked at me with her “sad” eyes and said, “I didn’t mean it those other times.”
A few Easters ago we had a great response to an invitation in our kid’s church. The next week I shared this news in staff meeting. One person on staff responded, “Yeah, but how many of them really meant it. Some of those were probably repeats from Venture Quest (VBS).” Yeah, that didn’t go over so well for me. I didn’t make a big deal out of it, but that did bother me.
Yes, it does bother me that the same kid gets saved every week. Not that I care that they’re doing it again, but because I really want them to get it. I asked Jesus to be my Lord when I was 4. I think I did it 10 times that week. Why? I just wanted to be sure. I understand for some kids (if not most) it is a process. It’s not “too big” of a decision for them to understand; however, as they mature, they’ll also grow in their understanding.
Continue Reading
Since we’re on the subject
Posted on19. Apr, 2008 by Kenny.
Last week I discussed the concept of how we handle decisions and baptism with kids. Truthfully I only planned to write one post, but it kind of morphed into a week’s worth of posts. I still had a few thoughts I hadn’t finished sorting out. Actually some thoughts that were in my head originally but they never made it to my post. So today and tomorrow I’ll get these final thoughts out and move on to something else.
About two years ago a friend of mine told me about an experience he had as the youth pastor at a fairly large church in the mid-west. They would give invitations every week at their student ministry services. The church was big on evangelism. Leadership felt it was very important to get these kids baptized as quick as possible, lest they fall through the cracks. So, the staff was encouraged/required to try to make it happen that night. After students came forward to receive Christ, they would bring the kids to the back, dial their parent’s phone number on a cell phone and have the kids get permission to get baptized that night.
Can you imagine that conversation? “Hey mom! I came up tonight to become a Christian. They want me to get baptized right now. Can I?”
What kind of position does this put the parents in? Even if a parent declined because they want to be a part of the experience, they risk disappointing a teenager. They’re a teenager. They don’t want to let their youth pastor down who’s pressuring them to do the deal that night.
My friend told me that he felt like he was committing spiritual rape. Ouch. As he told me this story, I couldn’t help but feel burdened for these kids. What a mess. I know the church was well intentioned. They just wanted to see kids come to Christ and “seal the deal.” But how much damage was done in the process.
Again, this makes me re-evaluate how I handle this important but delicate task. I need to trust God more and resist the urge to “make” something happen.
Continue Reading
Out of our control
Posted on18. Apr, 2008 by Kenny.
The idea I blogged about yesterday is what I’ve been processing the most. I really like this idea a lot. But I naturally have some questions. Perhaps you did too.
1. It’s obvious that only a percentage of the parents will come back with their kids for the class. That isn’t fair to those kids. Wouldn’t it be better to give everyone an opportunity to decide now so that kids who really want this don’t fall through the cracks due to their parent’s unwillingness to participate.
2. Do I really want to trust this opportunity to parents who have absolutely no experience at all? What if they mess it up? What if the kids have questions that the parents can’t answer? What if they make something up?
Maybe you didn’t think these things, but I sure did. In some ways I feel that this is the litmus test on how committed we are to family ministry. Do we really want our parents to grow in their spiritual leadership or are we going to keep trying to do their job and then complain that our parents aren’t doing more? Hmmm, good questions Kenny!
Here’s what I think. God’s bigger than me. He’s in control of more things than I control. If I decide that I want to honor the GOD ORDAINED institution of the family and empower parents to lead their children into a relationship with him, then I need to not worry as much about “taking advantage of an opportunity.” If a child truly wants to receive Christ, there is nothing I or their parent can do about it. I have to remember that it isn’t I who saves… it is the Holy Spirit who calls them and saves them. Maybe I should let go and let God do what he wants to do. As much as I want to see that child come to Christ, I’m pretty sure God wants it more than I do.
And as far as being afraid that a parent is going to mess it up kind of follows the same line. How many times has God used me even though I was a screw-up? How many times did God use unlikely (or even shady characters) to display his magnificent character? Yeah, I think God is big enough that I can let go of this one too. It’s not like I have to abandon these parents. I can provide all the resources they need and be available for help. But I think there is something absolutely beautiful about a father, who doesn’t yet have it all together, humbled at the opportunity to lead his family to Christ. I think that’s in the Bible somewhere folks!
***but wait***
That doesn’t mean we can’t provide tools to make it easy for a child to come to Christ. We can provide resources, things on our web site and the tools for a child who’s really on their own who really want’s to meet Christ take that step on their own or with a leader if necessary.
***one more thing***
Like I said, I’m still processing this. I had a heated debate about this with my wife. She challenged me that this idea makes it too hard for kids to come to Christ. I certainly don’t want that. I want it to be easy for a child who is seeking to find Christ. So, I’ve still got some thinking to do.
Continue Reading
