This little series of posts have been stirring in my brain for the last few months and I’m going to attempt to get them out this week. These posts are written specifically for those in the Chidlren’s Ministry curriculum publishing business. I know there are a a few who read this blog, so hopefully you’re reading this. Let me add a disclaimer. I’m not mad or frustrated (usually). I’m grateful. When I got into ministry to kids 12+ years ago, there was precious little in the form of curriculum and most of what was available was LAME! I’m grateful to those who are publishing great curriculum as now I have options. Thank you so much!
Also, I know that there are many publishers already doing some of the things I’ll be posting about, but I’m not sure I know of any that are doing all of them. So, not everything is going to apply to everyone.
However, I hope that this little series will serve as a platform to share some ideas about what we really need. I hope some of this will push you to go further and do things that seem unconventional. In addition, I hope that other children’s pastors and leaders will also voice their ideas, thoughts and opinions. I imagine that this can get very opinionated and possibly heated. Publishers are passionate about their resources. Chidlren’s Pastors are passionate about our kids. Ultimately though, aren’t we all on the same team? In the end, don’t we want to see the same thing happen?
So, let’s get started…
I’m looking forward to this series. I have found the same thing in the curriculum I have seen. Most are strong on one or two things and weak in other equally important areas. I’m curious to see what your take will be.
.-= Wayne Stocks´s last blog ..#17 – Read About Teaching (Tips For Large Group Teaching) =-.
I’m am so looking forward to this series that I started a thread over at the Ministry-to-Children.com forums to see what other people’s ideal curriculum would look like.
.-= Wayne Stocks´s last blog ..#17 – Read About Teaching (Tips For Large Group Teaching) =-.
I’m sure your going to get lots of feedback from this topic. My guess would be mostly not good but hopefully it will allow some people to “rethink” the way they are doing things.
Was your “rethink” comment intentional? Ha!
Yeah, I hope a lot of people participate in this discussion becasue it affects us all.
You said you think that most of the content might not be positive. I welcome negative feedback. I have no agenda here. I’m not a publisher either, so I have nothing to lose or gain. The only reason I can think of someone being negative in this series is because someone is too attached to something and my pushing here makes them uncomfortable. All I’m going to do is share my experiences and my thoughts and feelings about what I’ve seen to be true in my ministry. I hope others will do the same. And who knows, maybe as a result, we’ll see things happen that advance our ability to minister to kids.
We have a value at the church I work at. It’s called, “speak the last 10%.” Too often we hold back because of fear of hurting someone’s feelings or not wanting to be totally transparent. If everyone speaks the last 10% in this series, both children’s pastors and publishers will have a clearer understanding of what can and can’t be done and where we move on from here! I’m excited!