Purity, Maturity & Unity

A couple of months ago, I sat around a tree with about 30 children's leaders and listened to Rick Warren talk about how leaders need to make sure they are working on their purity, maturity and unity. The 3 key elements of growth. Personal as well as church growth. He spoke about Achan's sin in Joshua 7. Achan sinned against the Lord by keeping devoted items for himself. He hid them and the Lord spoke to Joshua and told him to rid his troops of this sin. The Lord removed His favor because of the sin problem. There wasn't purity, maturity or unity amongst the troops.

Can you imagine what God can do with a local church body who focuses on purity, maturity and unity? I recently sent out an evaluation to parents of children in our ministry and I was amazed at some of the responses. One responder said; "And when the Jr. High program ramps up and my kids are there, I will be to, only because my wife thinks it is something fun we can do as a family. I'll be one of those smiling faces saying how great and cool it is, and how much fun I'm having. But let me speak now for all those men and women out there that see this circus going on and wonder why in the world we can't get this all done in one shot on Sunday." This was an annonymous evaluation so I have no idea who answered this way, but it certainly sounds like this person is not being honest with himself or with the one true God!

I am so thankful for the incredible volunteers who are serving this family! I pray they continue to focus on "purity, maturity, and unity." I pray that their example will cause the annonymous evaluator to think about how God wants him to act.

Fight to the Finish

I recently sat through a jr. high state track meet and heard a ton of comments about about running a great race. You could hear parents telling their children to get a great start, focus, stay strong, just run, don't worry about people in the other lanes, just do your thing and don't let anyone pass you, but my favorite was "fight to the finish." Are we not called to do the same thing? As leaders, we need to tell our teams to get a great start by preparing for their service, focus on the goal, children knowing Jesus as their Savior, stay strong when you are criticized (it's going to happen), just run your race without worrying about what other volunteers or other churches are doing, God has called you to the ministry you are in, if he wanted you to do what the church in florida's doing, he would move you there. It doesn't mean you can't learn from other ministries, I have learned so much from other ministries and I am so grateful! Iron does sharpen iron. We are all on the same team serving the same God, but you are called by God to fulfill His will at your location. We are supposed to "fight to the finish." Minister to children until, as Craig Jutila says, "Jesus comes back." Oh man, I wish it was Sunday!

On a personal note, my daughter did take second in the state in the 100m, 200m, and 200, low hurdles!

the dip

Seth Godin's new book totally rocks! It's a quick read, the perfect kind for a 2 hour plane ride! Perserverance vs. quitting. Quitting is not a bad thing, in fact, sometimes it's the best thing you can do! "It’s time to quit when you secretly realize you’ve been settling for mediocrity all along. It’s time to quit when the things you’re measuring aren’t improving, and you can’t find anything better to measure." I love to say "Less is More," because it's just plain true! This book hit the spot for me, pick it up you'll be glad you did!

The first child I ever ministered to...

What's Your Story?

I recently heard Donald Miller speak at the Orange Conference. (Which by the way was absolutely amazing. Way to go Reggie, Lanny & Sue) Donald Miller challenged everyone to think about their story. I have always thought about how God has allowed me to experience things as pieces of a 5 billion piece puzzle, but Donald Miller really clarified it for me by creating an amazing image in my mind of the book God is writing for us. God is exciting, there is nothing more exciting!!! Somehow we have forgotten that and just boxed Him in. I want kids to know the real God. I want them to know that following Christ is worth it, it's dangerous, exciting, fulfilling, adventurous, messy, full of grace, joyful, etc. I want them to see that God wants to write their story if they would just let Him.

Once upon a time......

Lion Chasers

After finishing Mark Batterson's book "In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day" I realize lion chasing is what I do. Keeping current is children's ministry is an ongoing process. Children are always changing and they are resilient, it's the parents that have a hard time with the changes! I know for myself I am enjoing every minute I have with my children because they will be off to college in a blink of an eye. Growing things change, change challenges us to rely on God, God grows things, ....... and so it goes. Mark Batterson tells the story of Beneniah and relates it to leadership. You must chase the opportunities that God puts in front of you. In order to stay fresh, I think you must look for those "lions" that God places in our paths, and then chase, conquer, and get ready to again lace up the shox! I love children's ministry, there are always "lions" to chase!