Archive for May, 2010

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-05-31

Posted on 31. May, 2010 by .

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Some things have to wait…

Posted on 29. May, 2010 by .

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I’ve got an unbelievable schedule for the next 4-5 weeks. This just released this week. Looks like I’m going to have to wait until I’m not so busy…

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Patience illustration

Posted on 28. May, 2010 by .

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Thanks for the feedback the other day on my patience talk. I’ve got one more favor to ask of you though. I need help with an illustration though. I think it’s an illustration I want to use in the introduction, a place where I can get us to laugh at ourselves over our natural inclination to be impatient.

I’m thinking of offering it up as a bit of a verbal quiz that would indicate your level of patience. Here are some of the questions I’ve already thought of:

  • As a child, did you ever unwrap your presents early so you’d know what you got?
  • Have you ever read the last page of a book you were reading just to see what would happen?
  • Do you ever repeatedly push the menu button on your DVD remote during the FBI warning and get frustrated that nothing happens?
  • Have you ever pushed the elevator call button after it was already illuminated just to make sure it was working?

I think I want to use this illustration for both the kids message as well as the adult message. Do you have any additional questions? How about some questions that would relate specifically to 4th and 5th graders. Remember, this is creating opportunities to laugh at oursleves, not meant to make us feel guilty.

Also, can you think of any other examples of our impatience that is just kinda ridiculous? These would be things that we do that are a little absurd, but our impatience leads us to do them.

Thanks for your help, I really appreciate you crowdsourcing help with this message.

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Help me with patience

Posted on 26. May, 2010 by .

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So I’m in the middle of a blog series on Kidmin careers and unfortunately I have to take a quick break this week. So much is going on. However, I could really use your help. So, whether your a Kids Pastor, Senior Pastor, volunteer or a family member of mine who is reading this post, I would appreciate your help.

I’m in the middle of message planning craziness. In a few weeks, I’m speaking at our kids camp and I’m currently planning 9 separate messages (10-15 minute talks in the morning and 20-25 minute talks in the evening). In addition, I’m speaking this Sunday to our 4th and 5th graders which I’m working on that talk right now. Last of all, my Pastor is leading a four week training where he’s teaching about 10-12 staff/leaders how to plan and prepare a message the way he does it. As a part of the training, we’re planning a message that we can and will deliver. Yes, I’m just a little overwhelmed right now.

So, I’m speaking this Sunday on patience as they’ve been focused on the virtue of patience all month; however, I’m speaking of patience from a fairly different perspective. Since I’m having to prepare a message from scratch for the kids this Sunday, I decided to make patience the message I’m working on for the training. So, I’ll do a lot of the work for this message I’m required in the training. Although I’ll give a talk on patience aimed at 4th and 5th graders this Sunday, I’ll prepare the same talk geared for adults as well.

So, I’m at the end of my content/information gathering stage and I want a little input.

One of the things I’m learning is that in every message, we should address resistance. Whatever we are talking about, someone has resistance to the message. They’re have a resistance to hear or believe what’s being said based on logic, past experience or cultural influence. They have a wall up and unless I specifically address that resistance, they’re not open. Here are some of the questions:

  • Why don’t we trust? Why don’t we do this?
  • What are people’s questions, doubts or fears?
  • What gets in the way of living this way?
  • Why should I? Why is God’s way better?

So, if you knew you were getting ready to sit down and hear a talk on patience, what is your initial resistance? What is the resistance of the typical seasoned Christ follower? What is the resistance of those still exploring faith? What other resistance might I encounter in a talk like this?

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Updating my weekly parent update

Posted on 24. May, 2010 by .

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I’ve been using Constant Contact for almost two years to communicate news to parents. I’ve been very happy with it as a communication tool. I get all kinds of great feedback from every email like what emails are being read, forwarded and the like. However, I’ve been very slow to adjust to using all that Constant Contact has to offer. For the first several months, I didn’t use any graphics. It was just a boring text email. Then a few months later I added a snappy header and that’s what I’ve been using ever since. However, I’ve been inspired to make some changes and have a semi-final product. I’d be curious as to what you think.

Here’s the template I’ve been using (click on image to see full page):

Here’s the new template (blue version, not sure we’re going to use this one):

Here’s another new template (green version, probably going to go with this one):

I’ll be using this new template this week, so any input you have would be much appreciated. Thanks!

BTW, I think I’m going to have to extra things done this week. I’m going to have my graphic designer tweak the header “The KQ Update” so it doesn’t look so plain. In addition I think I’m going to have her tweak the “Join Our Mailing List” as well so it looks a little better designed.

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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-05-24

Posted on 24. May, 2010 by .

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Another post dedicated to Sam Luce

Posted on 21. May, 2010 by .

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This isn’t the first time I’ve dedicated a post to my Yankee friend. However, Jonathan Cliff sent this to me a few weeks ago (not becasue he thought this was cool, but becasue he was picking on me) and I figured I should post this. Let me defend myself first.

I am not a Trekkie. I do not own any Star Trek paraphernalia, movies or costumes. Of the TV shows that have been running for literally decades, I’ve seen only a dozen or so episodes, most of them back when I was a teenager. However, I have seen all the movies, I think. There may be one in there that I missed.

However, because I do like the Sci-Fi genre and becasue I’ve I can recall a few random Star Trek facts that I’ve picked up and remembered from watching the movies, Sam Luce thinks I’m a Trekkie. Whatever. So Sam, I dedicate this post to you, perhaps it will give you more things to pick on.

However, just so everyone knows, Sam Luce too is a closet fan of Sci-Fi. He enjoyed the X-Files television series and secretly enjoys dressing up as a Wookie for Halloween.

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Best commercial I’ve seen about parents in years

Posted on 20. May, 2010 by .

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This is a silly commercial advertising the Toyota Sienna. I laughed out loud many times.


Toyota Sienna – Swagger Wagon

I think what I like most about this commercial were the parents and they way they were portrayed. Really, it was a commercial geared to mini-van moms and dads showing how cool you might be driving a Sienna. Although these parents might be a little over confident (and arrogant), they look like pretty good parents. They’re engaged in their kids lives. Period. When statistics say that the average parent spends only 15 minutes a day interacting with their kids, I say we need more parents like these.

Maybe Toyota is trying to tell people that paretns who drive Siennas are cool. I didn’t catch that. I saw parents who connect with their kids are cool.

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Discover the next stage of your Kidmin career through job boards

Posted on 20. May, 2010 by .

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As I said yesterday, I think the best place to locate a ministry job is through the network you’ve created. However, depending on the situation you are in, you might need to exhaust all available options. If that’s the case, you need to spend some time on the ministry job boards. Landing that next job might be a little combination of utilizing your network along with searching the job boards. So many churches put available positions out there, so look regularly. Here are a few of the sites I’d recommend:

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!

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My career path could have looked differently

Posted on 19. May, 2010 by .

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On Monday I wrote a blog post about starting your Kidmin career. Yesterday I followed it up with another post about starting options. These posts got me thinking a lot about my humble beginnings in Children’s Ministry. There is no doubt, if I could have done it over again, I’d do it the same. Why? I believe that God ordained my steps each and every step along the way. I believed I was following God in the steps I took. Looking back, I see that was true. However, would I recommend someone do exactly what I did? I’m not sure, maybe not. Not unless they felt God was opening up that door.

Here’s my story. I did a one year internship after High School with a missions organization. That year was dedicated to refining my call in ministry. I knew God had called me to Children’s Ministry, but in that year, God gave me specific marching orders. I left that internship with a five year plan that had been bathed in prayer and inspired by God. Part of that plan was to be a Children’s Pastor while getting my degree in college. I really hadn’t thought about how difficult it would be to become a Children’s Pastor as a 19 year old in a town that wasn’t home, but I felt that it was the plan God gave me. I was attending Church on the Move at the time, which I LOVED! I wanted to get more involved there, bud I didn’t have a car at the time and it was a good 20-25 minute drive from campus. It wasn’t really a viable option, so I just started serving in a Children’s Ministry outreach to inner-city kids through my school’s community outreach program. After a few weeks, I was leading that ministry. Four months later, I was directing all of “Friendship/Adoption” ministries at my school. By January (6 months after getting to school, I found out about a small church that was looking for a Children’s Pastor through my director within Community Outreach. A few weeks later, I was a 19 year old Children’s Pastor to 10 kids. God gave me marching orders and as I moved in the direction he set for me and the doors he opened along the way, things fell into place.

However, if I didn’t have that clear of a plan, but I felt God was calling me to ministry and I had a chance to talk to the 2010 version of Children’s Ministry, I think I’d give myself different advice. I’d say, go to Church on the Move. Become the best volunteer they’ve ever had. you’ve got four years to learn from Jim Wideman, Willie George and some of the best ministry leaders in the world. Figure something out with the car situation. Make it work. Certainly there is someone on campus who goes to the early service and certainly there is someone on campus who goes to the late service. Arrange your rides and stay there all day. Milk that opportunity for all its worth. You’ll be glad you did. It will set you on a path well beyond any other opportunity.

It’s interesting to think of where I’d be now if I’d done things differently. I don’t have any regrets. The experiences I’ve had the relationships I’ve made over the years have shaped me significantly. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. However, I might push someone else toward a direction knowing what I know now.

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