According to a report released by USA Today, digital gear sets this new group apart, even from their tech-savvy Millennial elders who among the oldest are approaching 30. They want to be constantly connected. Read the rest of this entry »
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?
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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 »
1 Comment »DiscipleBlog.com welcomes guest blogger Tony Kummer from www.ministry-to-children.com
Bible reading is one of the most important activities you can do with children. I believe that every Sunday school session, family devotion and children’s church meeting should include a time of Bible reading.
Since the Bible is God’s Word, we should do our best to listen to it.
Children become discouraged when they don’t understand. Most kids experience a knowledge gap when the Bible is read aloud. Sometimes it’s the vocabulary, sometimes it’s the concepts, and sometimes it’s just the way the text is read.
Let’s be honest – Most children have a hard time comprehending the Bible when it is read aloud. Every week in church, many children are only learning to check out mentally while God’s Word is read.
Don’t give up. I believe that all of this can be overcome, and children can learn to appreciate the public reading of the scriptures. The benefits are much bigger than the challenges. Read the rest of this entry »
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Suppose you attended an open house at your child’s school and the principal told everyone that the drop-out rate was running at 75%. Would you be alarmed? Would you try to get your child into another school? Would you home-school? What if you discovered that the drop-out rate in every school was 75-88%? You might decide that it was time to get involved and demand some major changes.
The drop-out rate for our kids attending church is 75-88% by the end of their first semester of college. That should scare us into getting involved and demanding major changes. Yet, at least twenty times a year I conduct a three hour parenting seminar and about 10% of the parents in the church attend. My most recent experience was with a children’s pastor who told me he sent out over 100 invitations and about fifteen parents showed up. He was disappointed, but didn’t know what to do. Read the rest of this entry »
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Whatever we allow to fill our minds will strongly influence how we feel and what we do. The sobering reality is our behaviors, repeated often enough, actually shape our destinies. That’s the message the Holy Spirit communicates to us in these words, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” (Proverbs 4:23).
All of our “outside” actions originate from within. Inside we reason, develop attitudes and experience emotions which result in behavior. “For from within,” Jesus said, “out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean’ ” (Mark 7:21-23).
What’s happening in our hearts will eventually work its way out into our lives. No wonder the Apostle Paul wrote, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2).
The renewal of the mind is key and it is done by stripping out the bad stuff by filling it up with the good stuff. Jesus put it this way, “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him” (Matthew 12:35).
So then, what’s the good stuff? The good stuff is tested, enduring, and certified true, it’s God’s Word. His Word has the greatest transformational effect when it is “fixed” within our hearts. That has been and is still God’s intention:
“These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children . . .” Deuteronomy 6:6,7
“Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds . . .” Deuteronomy 11:18
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly . . .” Colossians 3:16
The good stuff is the Bible. Fixing its truth deep in our hearts is God’s clearly revealed will and it is so potent for mind and life transformation.
For this reason, those of us who seek to disciple boys and girls to become life-long followers of Christ have to take a good look at how we approach Bible memory in our children’s ministries. In my evaluation, it is one of the weakest areas in children’s ministries. I’m very interested in hearing responses to this from those who are acquainted with children’s Bible curricula and Bible programs with a Bible memory component. I believe we must do better and I believe we can.
1 Comment »You have GOT to listen to this message!
Voddie Baucham is one of the most passionate advocates for children and families in America today. He is one of the preaching elders at Grace Family Baptist Church in Spring, TX. His vision and commitment make him one of the most sought-after Bible teachers of his generation.
This message, “Centrality of the Home,” is compelling, inspiring and challenging. Don’t pass up this opportunity to hear his message that will have you jumping out of your chair and shouting hallelujah.
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Imagine getting a brochure in the mail: Salvation Conference – O’Hare Hyatt – Jesus, God’s Son, lecturing on God’s Eternal Plan for the Salvation of Mankind. Admission Free. Come ready to study the prophetic Old Testament Scriptures and the Types of Christ that point to the Soteriological Position and Role of Jesus.
Not many people would be drawn to a training seminar on Semitic salvation – and that is why Jesus didn’t come and undertake an educational ministry, but rather a relational ministry! Jesus came to this earth, born as a child, grew up within the culture, ministered to felt needs, and made friends who He made into disciples to carry on the ministry after His redeeming work on the cross.
And yet, so often we try to minister to children through a primarily educational ministry instead of a relational ministry! Yes, Jesus had a message to communicate and did a great deal of teaching – but He delivered His eternal message within the culture and within a relational context. In Children’s Ministry we must do the same!
Jesus ministered within the culture.
Jesus could have made a ‘grand entrance’ as an adult – much in the same style as when He left for heaven. From one perspective, some might say this may have helped his reception as the Messiah, but instead, He chose to come as a child. Jesus chose to grow up within the culture. No one could say of Jesus that He didn’t ‘understand’ or had never ‘walked in our shoes.’ The book of Hebrews teaches us that He suffered and was tempted in all ways as we are. He knew whom He was ministering to, not only as their Creator, but as One who had experienced it first hand as well. Perhaps this made His ministry more difficult, but it certainly made it more effective. Ministry to children is not much different! We need to be willing to get into the culture of children and minister to them from within that culture. Yes, this will make ministry more difficult! Some will even misunderstand and accuse you of untrue things (being immature, childish, a clown, etc.), BUT your ministry WILL be more effective!
Jesus ministered to felt needs.
The multitudes that Jesus was ministering to were in desperate need of spiritual salvation and freedom from the bondage of superficial religion and the eternal consequences of trying to work themselves into God’s favor. However, their focus was more on their temporal aches and pains and political struggles. Jesus could have rebuked them for worrying about the wrong things and tried to redirect them toward the things that truly mattered in the scope of eternity. But instead, He graciously and patiently chose to attend to those temporal concerns, all the while drawing them to the things they should be thinking about. The same is true in a children’s ministry! Are kids thinking often about spiritual things? Their eternal destiny? How they can please God in day-to-day life? The salvation of their friends? Probably not. It’s more likely they are thinking about toys, television, the next time they will get to play outside or some other activity that is fun and certainly eternally irrelevant! That’s O.K. (Adults are not much different!) It is the children’s minister’s job to accept those ‘less than spiritual’ concerns and while addressing them, be continually drawing them up to the more important eternal concepts they should be thinking about. That is why church needs to be fun – but a strategic fun with a purpose. Not merely entertaining, but engaging the kids so as to lead them on to more essential concepts.
Jesus made disciples who would carry on the work after He left.
While Jesus certainly ministered to the multitudes, He focused the majority of His time on a few men we know as the disciples. It was these twelve men and those they in turn trained, that turned the world up side down for the rest of history. Without the development of the disciples, Jesus’ ministry would have only been a great show for three years. Instead, His ministry was the stone that was dropped to start a tidal wave of ministry that has only grown larger over time! Yet all too often in ministry, you see people who put on a great show for awhile – some fantastic kid’s program, for example – and then when they are gone, all that is left are great memories of a wonderful time, instead of a lasting memory. This need not be! In children’s ministry, it is essential that we continually build a team that will outlast us – not only in our particular church – but outlive us in life. This means not only training fellow adults – but also enlisting and equipping children to serve as well!
This is why later, we will address in detail how to start a “Kids Church Crew” of children who can learn to plan, organize, lead and minister in the Kid’s Church program!
IN SUMMARY…
A PRINCIPLE-DRIVEN MINISTRY
THEREFORE CHILDREN’S CHURCH MUST ….
ASK YOURSELF
- Karl Bastian
Founder Kidology.org
Blog: Kidologist.com
The David C. Cook Landmark Study asked children’s leaders what the top challenges are for children in grades 3,4 and 5. Peer pressure (56%) topped the list, followed by their need to develop friends (45%) and surprisingly dealing with self-image, how others see them (35%). Children fear failure, even as young as 6. They worry about not achieving what their parents and teachers expect. They are also biblically illiterate.
Teachers gave only 7% of their upper elementary children the grade of ‘A’ in Bible knowledge; ‘B’ (47%); ‘C’ (38%); ‘D’ (7%); ‘F’ (1%). Many do not live in what was once considered a traditional household. Some have no active male role model in their homes, and VBS week may be the only time they get to interact with men who are father and grandfather-ages. Some live in skipped-generation households, homes headed by grandparents raising children’s children. (Christian retailing 11/10/08)
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Last month I was in Fresno, CA where I did a DL academy. The church asked me to speak in the morning services on “Satan’s Seductions” and follow-up with the parents Sunday afternoon and Monday evening. We had a great response from the parents who were very interested in understanding the culture their kids are living in today. One point I made was the fact that many of today’s church kids have never personalized their God. He is still the God of their parents and their church. We discussed the mass exodus we are experiencing from the church by our pre-teens and teens and how Satan has seduced them into a world that opposes everything we believe as committed Christians.
Within 24 hours of our meetings I received email messages from three families. One mom said that when she went home Monday night her young teen daughter informed her that she no longer believed in God. She was very grateful that she had attended the meetings and had something to say to her daughter. The other families confirmed the things I had presented and told me the sad stories of their own battles with evil in their homes.
Under the noses of parents and pastors is another world that has one objective . . . seducing our kids and destroying Christian families. Last week I read a stat from the Association of Family and Marriage Ministry that in 2006 there were 42,000,000 porn pages available to our kids on the internet and 25% of all search engine requests are for porn. The largest group of viewers of internet porn are children between 12 and 17 years old. As Christian parents and leaders in the church we have a giant to slay who is taunting us at every turn. We can’t give up, we must keep fighting for the hearts, minds and souls of our kids.
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