Archive for 'Inspiration'
Collaboration to the NEXT level!
Posted on 20. Mar, 2012 by Kenny.
So, I posted the other day that I’ve been watching a lot of TED talks through the TED app. It’s funny because I find myself in many conversations recently where I’ll say, “You know, I watched a TED talk recently that said…” If you’re looking to enrich your conversations with other people, by all means, you should watch/listen to some of these talks.
However, I listened to one on Saturday that has shaken me. The pure beauty of the innovation and thinking outside of the box both excites me and challenges me. It made me wish and pray for this kind of innovative thought for ministry. In this talk, Luis von Ahn explains how he’s leveraging the masses for incredibly massive collaborative projects, even when the masses have no idea how they are contributing.
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App of the Week: TED
Posted on 18. Mar, 2012 by Kenny.
I feel like it’s a joke to call this the app of the week, but hey.. it’s Sunday and I thought I’d share an app that I think is worth your time.
A few months ago I downloaded the TED app for the iPad and iPhone and over the weekend, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed having this app. TED has had hundred of videos of past talks on their website for years, but rarely have I spent the time watching. More often than not, I’d watch when someone would send me a link of something I needed to see/hear. The great thing about the TED app is that all this content is far more handy and available than just their website. You can search by topic as well as by title.… Read the rest
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Family bias
Posted on 07. Mar, 2012 by Kenny.
My family and I had dinner with Evan Doyle last night. He was in town for a few days this week and it’s always good to see him. Last summer he spent 8 weeks with me as an intern for our kid’s ministry.
We had several great conversations about curriculum, resources and the fact that the 90′s lacked great music. However, he asked a really compelling question that’s had me thinking all day. We’ve talked a lot about family ministry and efforts we’re taking to connect with families. His question was, “What are you all doing to help families of single parents or blended families?”
Hmmmm.
I honestly couldn’t give him a great answer. It’s not to say we’re not doing a lot of great things for families and how we’re developing strategy to equip families, regardless of whether they’re conventional, blended or single parent families.… Read the rest
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My Holy Hangover
Posted on 23. Feb, 2012 by Kenny.
Just so you know, I felt like a dork typing in that title. Whatever. So it’s Thursday and it’s been forever since I’ve blogged. I’ve had a lot of distractions, namely the Nashville Illuminate Conference. Let me just say, I love my Nashville peeps. The event was hands down amazing! The best yet. Everyone from my incredible hosts at Long Hollow to all the people who attended were so wonderful. Although Illuminate was created to be a blessing to those who serve in kidmin, I’m pretty sure that I left the event that day more blessed than anyone else.
Now that my 2011-2012 events are wrapped up, I’m working on launching Illuminate Online and working out dates for 2012-2013. Exciting stuff for sure and I’m already dreaming up huge things for next year!… Read the rest
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The Nashville Illuminate is 4 days away!
Posted on 13. Feb, 2012 by Kenny.
And I’m pumped!
As of right now, we have 522 people registered to attend!
That’s right, 522! Crazy number for just a regional conference. I’m so grateful to the local Nashville churches who helped get the word out. It’s going to be an amazing event and I expect to see hundreds of volunteers encouraged and equipped this Saturday. It’s going to be awesome!
So, if you’ve been thinking about coming, it’s not too late. Online registration will remain open until Wednesday at noon. After that, anyone can register at the door (doors open at 8:00 AM) on Saturday, February 18th! I really hope to see you there!… Read the rest
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Never get too comfortable
Posted on 08. Feb, 2012 by Kenny.
Last week I came across this article I found in someone’s facebook feed. America’s largest church is facing a 10+ million dollar lawsuit because of something that happened (or didn’t happen) in their children’s ministry. Who knows what is going to happen, but this whole thing probably could have been prevented. The article states:
The lawsuit accuses the church of negligence in its investigation, in reporting the alleged incident to police and in lacking surveillance that could have saved Guzman from being wrongfully accused of a crime. The church also is accused of failing to adequately train security and failing to take corrective action after similar previous events, the lawsuit states.
If this article doesn’t scare the poop out of you, then there is a good chance you’ve gotten too comfortable with your policies and procedures around the prevention and reporting of inappropriate actions toward children within your ministry. … Read the rest
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A free and highly accessible kidmin resource
Posted on 31. Jan, 2012 by Kenny.
I’ve learned that most kid’s pastors I’ve met are highly resourceful. They’re always looking for great new resources and the cheaper it is, the better. If it’s free, well that’s incredible.
So, I figured that all the resourceful kidmin peeps who read this blog would be interested in this great free resource. Are you ready for this?
Really?
Here goes….
It’s called following #kidmin on twitter.
Wait a second, before you bail on this blog post, hear me out. Some of you have refused to get on twitter because you’ve not seen it’s relevance to your life or you don’t need another social media element in your life. I totally get that. However, you don’t have to sell your soul to Zuckerberg to get a twitter account (yes, I know Zuckerberg is with facebook, not twitter) and signing up for an account doesn’t mean you have to use it an the traditional way.… Read the rest
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Systems help you win
Posted on 30. Jan, 2012 by Kenny.
One of the things I’ve learned most this year from the books I’ve been reading is the critical nature of systems. I’m absolutely convinced that systems help you win. You can be a great leader with a lot of charisma, but if you don’t have solid systems, you’ll never maintain what you want to achieve, if you even get there in the first place. I mentioned this in a post a few weeks ago along with the books I’ve read this year that supported this idea.
So, a few weeks ago I rented the movie Moneyball. I don’t like baseball, but I LOVED this movie. I saw incredible application of both systems and leading through change told through this movie, which was based on a true story.… Read the rest
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The birth of Kidmin
Posted on 30. Jan, 2012 by Kenny.
I’m always intrigued the origin of things. Why we say certain words or how names come about. What’s even more interesting is when you see the origin of something new right before your eyes. A handful of children’s pastors saw the very thing happen almost three years ago… the birth of “Kidmin.”
At this point, the term kidmin is still catching on, but I suspect that will change in the coming years and perhaps more people will refer to children’s ministry as kidmin as opposed to… well, children’s ministry.
For those of you who are new to this blog or the greater “kidmin” conversation, let me tell you how this whole thing got started.
I first became involved in children’s ministry as a four year old… back in 1981 and ever since then, I’ve been involved in the ministry either as a participant, a junior volunteer or as a ministry leader.… Read the rest
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Make it easy for parents to win!
Posted on 25. Jan, 2012 by Kenny.
I think my last big take-away from the Orange Tour was this little concept.
Make it easy for parents to win!
In Think Orange, Reggie describes the four levels of parenting.
- Aware – These are parents who may be outside your church. Studies have shown that most parents are aware that the moral and even spiritual development of a child is their responsibility.
- Involved – These are parents who are in our churches. They’re around, maybe following Christ, but they’re not really doing anything intentional with their kids.
- Engaged – These are parents who are beginning to be intentional. They’re trying things that they’ve not done before.
- Invested – These parents get “it.” Whether you provide a plan or not, they’re going after it, developing spiritual champions.
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