Culture | Childrens Ministry Online

Small is the new BIG!

Posted on 22. Mar, 2010 by Kenny.

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I’ve recognized something in recent years. It seems like so many things are getting smaller. I find myself using the phrase “it’s a small world” more an more. People who make products and providing services are finding niche markets where even though they seem to do well, they remain small from the customer’s standpoint.

In the last few years I connected personally with the owners, developers or staff of several products and services I buy. Twitter, the web and email have allowed me to get beyond the product and service and actually talk to someone. For several services, I no longer call support or submit tickets, I just call or email one of the developers. When I have a really cool idea for a product enhancement, I just send my contact in that company an email. One one side, I feel like a big shot. Ha! On the other side, it makes the company feel less corporate and more like real people. I think that this experience is going to make me a more loyal customer in the long run. I’m not just a customer, I’m a fan.

This idea is something we’ve got to understand as churches, especially in the big ones. In large churches it is so easy to make a huge impact because we have lot’s of resources and lots of people. However, becasue we’re so big, the back door is wide open because people feel disconnected and too much like a number. I think that leaders in big churches need to constantly be thinking how we can provide a “smaller” experience. This helps people feel like they know people and getting things done or talking to the right person is an easy thing to do. Several years ago at a conference I heard a convicting statement. Typically staff and pastors dream of more people and building mega churches, but the people who attend your church are perfectly happy and may even desire being in a small church. It comes with the experience. We need to be intentional about creating small spaces in our big ministries.

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Star Trek geeks and Children’s Ministry

Posted on 12. May, 2009 by Kenny.

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Last Thursday night I went to go see Star Trek with some buddies. I had a blast! It was a great movie! Now, let me set the record straight. There are some people out there (Jonathan and Sam) that would like you to believe that I am a Trekkie. No. I’m not even a closet Trekkie. I can’t draw the schematics of the Enterprise or speak Kingon. However, I do love the Sci-Fi and Fantasy genre. I love it! I’ve seen most of the Star Trek movies and have watched a handful of Next Generation episodes.

I think that one of the things I love the most about Star Trek and some other Sci-Fi in general are the fans. There’s no getting around it, they’re fun to watch. I was in line getting my ticket and for five minutes I listened to two guys argue about inaccuracies in the layout of a starship in a past movie. Then in line I accidentally said Star Wars instead of Star Trek and I literally thought a few guys were going to zap me with their phasers. It is for this reason that I own the movie Galaxy Quest. Even if you hate Sci-Fi but love making fun of Trekkies, you’ll love this movie.

Check out the video below:

SNL Get A Life

Okay, that was a long introduction to my point.

Why is it that from the outside looking in, Children’s Pastors look a lot like Trekkies? In some circles we have been labeled Fanny Packers. I actually wrote a lot more to this post, but I felt like what I wrote was tacky. So, I’ll leave it at this. Are we so passionate about kids and being relatable to kids that we lose relatability to others around us? My friend Sam, the same one who makes fun of me for liking Sci-Fi, wrote a great article about this issue. You can actually read the article here.

Just trying to help the cause!

BTW, what didn’t help my cause is that at Orange they were asking a bunch of Star Trek trivia questions and I happened to know all the answers. Sam was sitting beside me. I should have kept my mouth shut.

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Western Christian culture may vanish in our lifetime!

Posted on 08. May, 2009 by Kenny.

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I just came across the most eye opening information. As a Christ-Follower in Western society, you must pay attention! According to this information, European culture as we know it today will vanish within our lifetime and there isn’t anything that can be done to stop it. The United States is standing on the brink, but it doesn’t look positive for us either.

Here is what I am talking about.

In order for a culture to maintain itself for more than 25 years, they must have a fertility rate of at least 2.11. That’s 2.11 children per family. Historically, no culture has ever reversed a 1.9 fertility rate. A rate of 1.3 is impossible to reverse.

Here are the fertility rates of some European nations:

France: 1.8
England:1.6
Greece: 1.3
Germany: 1.3
Italy: 1.2
Spain: 1.1

The European Union has a fertility rate of 1.38. That is only .08 away from being impossible to reverse.

What’s the big deal? It’s not that European culture is vanishing, it’s being replaced. The population of these countries is growing through immigration and 90% of the immigrants are Muslims.

In France, fertility rate is 1.8. However, Muslims living in France have a fertility rate of 8.1.
In 39 years, France will be an Islamic Republic.

In the Netherlands, in 15 years half of the population will be Muslim.

In 2025, 1/3 of all European children will be born to Muslim families.

Germany has already claimed that they will be a Muslim state by the year 2050.

Within a few decades, Europe as we know it will cease to exist.

“There are signs that Allah will grant victory to Islam in Europe without swords, without guns, without conquest. We don’t need terrorist, we don’t need homicide bombers. The 50+ million Muslims (in Europe) will turn it into a Muslim continent within a few decades.”

Let’s look at our neck of the woods. Here is our fertility rates:
Canada: 1.6
United States: 1.6
With Latino Population in the United States we’re at 2.11

1970: 100,000 Muslims in the US. In 2008 there were 9,000,000. In 30 years there will be 30 million Muslims in the United States.

This is the first I’ve ever seen of this. I’m not even sure what to feel about this right now. Who knew that dozens of the greatest civilizations of the past 2000 years are about to vanish from the face of the earth. It won’t be becasue of a plague or war, but because we didn’t reproduce.

Holy cow! As intelligent as a civilization we claim to be, how stupid are we to simply disappear becasue we didn’t have enough babies? The thought of this makes me very angry… still processing. Does it make you angry too?

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Kids these days…

Posted on 20. Aug, 2008 by Kenny.

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I’ve got a few new posts coming out the next few days (over the weekend) that kind of relate. I feel like an old man even saying these words. “Kids these days are different.”

A lot has changed! This is totally not the teenage kids just 5 years ago and especially not the teenage kids 10 years ago. The merger of technology and adolescence has changed just about everything.

I don’t profess to know a whole lot about teenage culture… I feel like I’m really out of touch. That’s why I work with people who really know this culture. I feel like I have a much better feel for the younger kids. So the posts over these next few days are more of my observations that I’ve made these last few weeks about the teenage culture.

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A new pet peeve

Posted on 27. Jun, 2008 by Kenny.

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Okay, I just came across a new pet peeve of mine. I was hanging out in the check-in area on Sunday and it was about 15 minutes after the service started and I mentioned something about shutting down check-in. Someone responded that it was too early and people here are on Gateway time. That was the second time I heard that since I’ve been here. The last time was a few weeks ago. I was sitting in morph (a new discipleship program) and the speaker said something about only having a handful of registrations a week before, but now there were more than 60 people participating. He said something about this being the Gateway Way. All this sounded familiar.

However, I put 2 and 2 together today. I got an email from a previous co-worker at Cross Timbers. She was talking about how registrations come in slow and at the last minute. She said, “You know how it is on CT time.”

You know what?I think I can even remember back to my first full time position at a church in IN. I seem to remember talking about how people arrive at the last minute or sign up for stuff late.

So, this is my pet peeve. Based on my past experience, people are late and like to wait until the last minute. Sure, not everyone is like this, but enough are. I really don’t think it’s that unique, based on my experience. How about you? Have you experienced this with your ministry, or is everyone always on time? I think I’m going to start standing up for this. The next time someone says that this is “Gateway time” I’m going to boldly stand and say, “No. This isn’t Gateway time… it’s reality. People are late here just like they are at every other church in this country (and let me tell you, go down to a church in some other countries and they’ll give you some real examples of “late.”)!”

Technorati Tags: Promptness

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Wow, everyone really is trying to embrace the culture, huh?

Posted on 26. Jun, 2008 by Kenny.

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Yesterday I was doing a little research. I have a phone appointment in a week with someone who is attending our church and has left her Catholic roots. In the past, Church was always a “thing” to do…and not really enjoyed. But now she and her family look forward to coming to Gateway every week and they are growing in their relationship with Christ. She has two kids and she in a bit of a precarious spot. They know they’re in the right place here at Gateway, but due to her deep rooted past, she’s really nervous about not having her kids observe the sacraments (ie. Confirmation, Communion etc…). It’s just that part of letting go, but still being concerned with the “what if I’m wrong… am I screwing up my kids’ eternity?

So, I was doing a little research and I came across this web site.

You go St. Ignatius!

I don’t know if this is an effort of the Catholic Church to better engage with what is culturally relevant, or just an opportunity for some who are Catholic that want to show their faith in a relevant way. I give them props for making the effort. If I was Catholic, I’d be all over the brown “Sacred Heart of Jesus” Tee or the “Romantic Catholic” hoodie.

Bellow are images of some of my favorites. Oh and if I saw someone wearing the St. Francis shirt with the rope around the waist, I can’t say I wouldn’t laugh at them. Oh, and I’m kinda cracking up at the “today I’ll stay pure” shirt that is printed backwards to remind you to stay pure when you see it in the mirror.