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My family watched the new DVD release of “2012″ last night. With surround-sound at near full volume and viewed on a hi-res 42″ screen, there was a whole lot of shakin’ going on!

As the credits rolled, my 11-year old son had lots of questions. I thank God for providing such teaching opportunities. Interestingly, I just received an email from Insight From Living containing a section entitled “Earthquakes … Famines … War.” Here’s an excerpt: Read the rest of this entry »

Charles Spurgeon said, “You are teaching children, so mind what you teach them. Take care what you are doing! …It is a child’s soul you are tampering with… It is a child’s soul you are preparing for eternity… If it is an evil to mislead gray-headed age, it must be far more so to turn aside the feet of the young into the road of error, in which they may forever walk.”

Should Children’s Ministry exist to lay the groundwork for a lifetime of discipleship?

Are we equipping parents through discipleship and instruction so that they fully understand that they are accountable by God to train up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord? (see Deut. 6:4-9; Mth. 28:19-20; Eph. 6:4; 2 Tim. 3:14-15)

My husband and I want to lead our children to love God’s Word. We want our girls (ages 4 1/2 months, 3yrs and 6 1/2 yrs) to love it, understand it, apply it, memorize it, speak it out loud with confidence, and run to it to find answers to their questions. We’re right in the middle of the high demands of parenting young ones, but this is an area that is going pretty well. Believe me, we’re not perfect, so as you read on, keep in mind that we do this to the best of our ability- and our little angels are, well,  not always angelic. But they DO love their Bibles. Read the rest of this entry »

The latest DiscipleTown unit, How to Follow God’s Plan is now available on both DiscipleLand.com and Kidology.org. Read the rest of this entry »

Last time, we viewed what it means to love God passionately. We considered both the horizontal and vertical connections. In this segment, we’ll focus on communion with the Lord from the Old Testament perspective. Next time, we’ll consider New Testament aspects. Read the rest of this entry »

This is part 10 in a 12 part Series on D.I.S.C.I.P.L.E.S.H.I.P. – Twelve Tips to help you become a more effective discipler of children. Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re like me, you want to love God passionately. After all, when a scribe pressed Jesus to identify the greatest commandment, He summed up the entire law in two all-encompassing statements—love God with your entire being, and love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:30-31). Nothing in life is more important than these! Read the rest of this entry »

Once upon a time, Christian parents asked their children after church, “What did you learn about God?” Today, the question is often, “Did you have fun?” Not too long ago, wanting to fully equip children to serve Christ, churches offered extensive Bible training for all ages. Today, wanting to keep kids happy and to make recruiting easy, many churches offer high-energy, entertainment-based programs. Children rarely use their Bibles.

What’s needed is a comprehensive children’s discipleship system that helps equip kids to reach their peak potential as Jesus’ disciples, a children’s church curriculum that partners with teachers and parents to transform children into dynamic disciples of Jesus Christ. Kids need to learn to Know God intimately, love God passionately, and to serve God selflessly.

Just curious what you think – I hear a lot about “Spiritual Life Coaching” in the Church today.

How is that different from discipleship? Jesus said to “Go and make disciples” not “go and coach people spiritually.” I’m not saying spiritual coaching is ‘bad’ – just wondering where it fits in with discipleship?

Is spiritual coaching just a new “hip” word for disciple-making? In other words, are they actually the same thing, just a word our sports-crazy culture can understand? or…

Is spiritual coaching something that is a PART of disciple-making? Is it just that part where the discipler is giving tips or advice or a pep talk or teaching some life ‘plays’ from the ‘Play Book,’ the Bible? or…

Is spiritual coaching something completely separate from disciple-making?

Did Jesus coach?

What do YOU think?

Discipleship is often labeled a “spiritual” activity. Nothing could be further from the truth! Jesus Christ showed His followers that discipleship encompasses every aspect of life. This article emphasizes the importance of balancing kids’ growth in three essential areas.

First Century Parenting

Just for fun, put yourself in the sandals of Joseph or Mary, Jesus’ earthly parents. While raising a child who never lied, never talked back, never undermined their authority, and always obeyed—what unique challenges did they face? A solitary verse summarizes Joseph and Mary’s parenting efforts: “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Luke 2:52). However easy or difficult raising Jesus may have been, His parents achieved a remarkable balance with their remarkable Son. His formation progressed intellectually (wisdom), physically (stature), spiritually (favor with God), and relationally (favor with men). Read the rest of this entry »