Orange Conference Day 1 Preconference

We’re here! Flew in last night, picked up a very cool minivan; I know, I’m old. Drove out to the conference center and painlessly registered. What a relief. Beautiful hotel and now, Monday morning I’m in my first preconference session, Design on a Dime with Jeffrey Reed.
I sat in on a session with Jeffrey at Camp Kidjam and so I’m looking forward to his wisdom.
Update to follow…

Children's Ministry 101
Wayne Geer

How's Your Fire?

In the midst of prayer today, I thought about a meeting a couple of weeks ago when big, burly, manly-man, Wayne broke down and, yes, shed tears during prayer. Honestly, I’m not much of a crier, but there are times when I lose some salt. One situation that always brings emotion is when I’m brought back to the reality of why I do what I do; the calling God has placed on my life and the inherent urgency of ministry.
I certainly go through times when I look at ministry as just a job or an obligation. I wrestle with those periods; I do hate it when those feelings rise up. But no matter how crabby, stressed, cynical, or dull I feel “in the moment”, ultimately, it’s the calling and the urgency that are my fire.
The “fire” is not the programs I’ve been a part of, the events I’ve helped lead, or the object lessons I’ve brought. The fire is the urgency of knowing true eternal transformation is taking place in the lives of children and their families. The “how” we do what we do changes over time, but the “why” is always John 3:16.
And so I ask you, how’s your fire doing? My sincere hope and prayer is that you serve because of the desire, the calling, the necessity in your life to see others eternally transformed. I pray God would continually stoke the fire of urgency in you. This blaze impacts how you pray for “your kids” and their families, how you interact with them, even how you prepare your lessons. It burns away “job and obligation” and thankfully reveals calling and urgency.

I’m struggling with the ending here, so I’ll end with the question, “How’s your fire?”

Children's Ministry 101
Wayne Geer

Updated: Mrs. EVAN'S Famous Saying

"When someone tells you who they are the first time believe it!"
Ah, the famous saying from John Stickl's mother-in-law. It was about a year ago that I first heard it and from that very first moment, I knew this woman had great wisdom.
John is our Adult Ministries Pastor and oversees small groups; this guy is good. He and I talk a lot because I can always pick up some nugget from him. His MIL's saying has been one that has resonated with me. I wish I had known it sixteen years ago when I first started in ministry.
As I've looked back at first impressions of my different ministry opportunities, I've peeled away the "happy happy joy joy" parts of the visits. I've seen an interesting correlation between the first impressions and how the future at each particular position has developed.
People who have "told me who they are the first time" by going out of their way to be friendly, show trust, be respectful have been the one's who've proved themselves to be that way. Churches that showed characteristics of generosity from the first visit were that way in real life. The unfavorable impressions have also played themselves out. Very interesting.
So I'm adding the saying to my bag of wisdom in hopes of it being one more gauge to use.
Thanks Mrs. Evans.

Wayne Geer
Children's Ministry 101

Mac + Water + PRAYER = Dodged a Bullet

Oochie mamma! I dodged a bullet last night. I'm settling into my favorite chair, about to check email from the day, thirsty so I go to take a drink and then splash! Water on the Mac PowerBook G4.
Ahhh! I unplug, tip over and run to our other computer to search online for "spill on laptop." I then run back to the tipped over Mac, power down, remove the battery and start with the hair dryer on medium. Throughout this time, much prayer.
Well this morning everything works fine so far. Powered on, screen looks fine, keys and trackpad work. I'm about to go into the office, so we'll see if all the plug in items work. Update coming... Yes, everything works.
By the way, I've been a Mac convert for about two years now and love them! Unless forced to, I'll never go back to pc again. You can check out the newest Macs here, here, and here.

Children's Ministry 101
Wayne Geer

LinkedIn and Facebooked

I took the plunge a few months ago and joined both LinkedIn and Facebook. Both of my accounts kind of languished for those few months until this past weekend.
I went on a social network blitz.
I took time to update both of my profiles and worked at connecting with friends, family and colleagues around the country. And it's been fun. I've reconnected with some old friends who I would never have found had I continued on my path of not connecting via LinkedIn or Facebook. Also, I'm interested in both networks being an avenue for me to expand my professional network. It seems to be all the rage. Have you had success connecting on either network? Let us know.

Church Staff 101
Wayne Geer