The Golden Compass

It’s all the buzz in Christian circles lately, the fact that The Golden Compass will be in theaters this month. TV, movie trailers and the internet are doing their normal blitz of ads promoting the movie. Here at Children's Ministry 101, my goal is to partner with you, so I wanted to take time to give some wisdom as you help your families with their decision whether or not to see the movie. And I do believe this is one of the opportunities for us as children's pastors to encourage parents to take the lead rather than push our own thoughts or agenda.

Search. I would encourage you and your families to do a Google search about the movie. You may also want to include in your search the words “Christian” and “review.” You will definitely come up with quite a few hits that will give you plenty to read. Wikipedia is another site worth checking out. Both Christianity Today and Plugged In Online have insightful previews of the movie along with pertinent information about the author, Phillip Pullman.

Pray. Knowing how vital it is for us to be dependent on God, take time to pray about your decision concerning the movie. Encourage your parents to be in prayer about this decision and to pray with their children about making wise choices as well. God not only hears and answers, but also gives wisdom.

Act. Instruct your families to take time to talk about their decision with their children. Most definitely the movie is going to be a hot topic for elementary age kids the next few weeks. Have them prepare their children with solid biblical and parental reasons for their decision. Also, remind parents to use this opportunity as one more teaching moment about God, His Word and wise choices.

Wayne

Worlds of Wow

3 ½. That’s how many times I’ve been given the opportunity to do something not a lot of children’s pastors get to do. And no, it’s not sky diving or racing in the Isle of Mann TT.

Are you ready?

I have the privilege again of being able to spearhead the environment creation for new rooms our kids are getting in a building project. I am so excited! It’s an incredible opportunity, and seriously, I thank God for allowing me this kind of experience.

What separates this time from the others is the company we’ve contracted with, Worlds of Wow. WOW is headquartered (for the time being) in Austin, TX and is run by a great guy, Reagan Hillier. The reason I’m so excited this time around is Reagan and his team are partnering with us to “create an environment,” not just “decorate” the rooms. I’ve worked with wonderful companies in the past who have done amazing work, but WOW’s philosophy has really resonated with me.

I’ll be posting about this journey with WOW as we move along and my hope is you will benefit from reading about the process somewhat “live” on Children's Ministry 101. Check out their website, Worlds of Wow, to see some of the work they’ve done and learn more about the company.

Wayne

Are You Connected?

"Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family: whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one."
Jane Howard hits the nail on the head concerning networking. Are you connected? No, I'm not talking about being connected to the internet or to "Americas best network" cell phone plan, I'm talking about a children's ministry network.

For probably the last eight or nine years, no matter where I've lived, I've been a part of a cm network in that location. And in every situation, it's been time well spent that has been life giving and encouraging. Just yesterday I attended a local cm network meeting, and I came away from it with great stuff to pray and think through.

I feel strongly about this one aspect of my own spiritual and vocational growth. In fact, I wish that in the first six years of ministry someone had pushed me to join a group. I can't even imagine the mistakes I would not have made had I been around peers who had already been through what I was experiencing. Below is a list of CM Network To Do's for you, so don't waste another minute, get hooked up, plugged in, and encouraged.

Eight Children's Ministry Networking To Do's
1. You need to look for a group! I went out of my way to find and join these peers, they probably aren't going to come looking for you. Use the internet, call local churches, denominational district offices and local schools of ministry, someone is going to have some insight to help you connect to a group.
2. Put it on your calendar, make it an appointment. If you don't, something else will come up or you'll forget.
3. Force yourself to attend. Again, make it important. Think about it as another way to continue to be a learner.
4. Go with the attitude you're going to take at least one great nugget back with you. Focus on learning at least one thing that will help. Someone is bound to say something that can affect you, just be willing and attentive to receive.
5. Exchange contact info. This is one of those reasons we have about a million business cards. Make a connection with someone.
6. Ask questions. Speak up. Don't just sit there, ask away, that's why you're there anyways. If you're intimidated to ask in the large group setting (Chicken!), then wait until the end of the meeting time and pull someone aside.
7. Answer questions! Again, don't just sit there. No matter where you're at in your ministry journey, you have experiences, knowledge and wisdom that will help someone else, so give it away.
8. Start a group yourself. Put those leadership gifts you've been given to good use and start your own network meetings if there's not one taking place near you. Use technology to help, like email, im chat, even online conferencing.

I would love to hear from you! Comment about your networking experiences. Also, add this blog to your favorites or RSS reader to keep up to date on posts.

Wayne

Jott

I used to carry a pda device and a cell phone. The pda was used for a handful of applications I thought were super important. Eventually I got to the point that I was using it only for taking notes. The problem was that I either had to "type" the note then sync to get it to my computer, or I had to rely on the "handwritten" note using the pda software and hope that the pda didn't turn on in my pocket and my latest note destroyed by pocket scratchings.

And let me tell you, taking notes on my cell phone was a beating! It didn't matter what entry method I used, it was not efficient. I also had the great idea to use my cell phone to record notes as voice recordings. The problem was that it was never easy to remember to check all the voice recordings every day. And then when I did listen to them, well, I then had to transcribe them, two steps to get one note. Duh!

Ah, Jott to the rescue! Jott is a free online service that has saved my bacon! Here's how it works in real life. I'm driving and think about something important, like I need to remember to tell my assistant to purchase roller ball pens. I have Jott set up as a speed dial on my cell phone, number 7 actually. I speed dial Jott, the computer voice asks "Who do you want to Jott?" and I say, "Myself." I then speak the note, "Tell assistant to purchase roller ball pens." Computer voice says, "I got it." I hang up. Jott then transcribes what I just said and emails it to me! I now have the note in my inbox and I don't have to spend any time or energy trying to remember it. So simple.

Jott can be set up to send your note to any email address as well as your note can be sent to any cell phone as a text message. With Jott you don't ever have to go through the mental gymnastics of trying to remember what that super important note was you've now forgotten. It's truly an amazing free product.

Check it out at Jott.com and let me know what you think.

Wayne

Law and Order Part 2

Law and Order
Part 2

Kids need boundaries. I love this quote from Thomas Sowell, “Each new generation born is in effect an invasion of civilization by little barbarians, who must be civilized before it is too late.” Preach it Thomas! When involved in ministry to children, you know they are barbarians in need of civilizing. And of course it doesn't happen just by chance. Without limits or boundaries, children will naturally gravitate towards misbehavior, for the most part. Part 1 talked about the four rules we've implemented over the years. Of course, for us, these rules have been exactly what we needed to bring order to situations that were sometimes on the verge of chaos. But the rules cannot work alone.
Peanut butter and jelly. Salt and pepper. Hot dogs and green chili. Rules must have a complement, a vital second part that when missing leaves rules without any power. That's were the consequences come in. Consequences are good, they help shape a child and they give a child a reasonable understanding of when they are close to or have crossed a line. Rules without consequences only confuse and enable children to make unwise choices.
Whenever a child breaks a rule, there is a consequence with an increasing level of "uncomfortableness." And so here are the four consequences and an explanation of each.
First time a child breaks a rule, they receive a Warning. Take a moment to explain why they are receiving a warning, ie. they were talking, not paying attention. And then go on with your lesson, don't dwell on the situation, just remember little Johnny has received a warning.
The next time little Johnny breaks a rule, he receives Strike One. Again, taking a moment to explain why. An added level of uncomfortableness is that I do remind the child that the next time they break a rule, the consequence becomes much more severe. And then go on with your teaching.
Strike Two is when life gets interesting for little Johnny. When he breaks another rule, then the consequence is moving. At this point, I feel a "new" environment is in order, so Johnny is now moved to a new seat either next to another leader, or if you have boy and girl sections, Johnny would get moved to an OUT OF THE WAY seat on the girls side, little Janey gets moved to an OUT OF THE WAY seat on the boys side. This is severe so do what you can to minimize the impact on both the child being moved and the children he or she now is sitting near. I do again remind the child that the next time he breaks a rule, then he is choosing to receive the most severe consequence, Strike Three.
Strike Three means that when a parent comes to pick up, the parent, the child receiving Strike Three and me (and if possible the leader who gave Strike Three) will be having a little conference to let dad or mom know about the child's unwise choices. Surprisingly, whether in inner-city or suburbia, parents always have received well the information about their child. Part of the conference is reaffirming with little Johnny that we do love him, care about him and want him to be a part of our time, but the rules need to be followed.
A child receiving Strike Three because they deserve it is life changing in a couple of ways. The child knows their actions will bring consequences, an understanding children need to be reminded of pretty much constantly. Also, the child's peers realize the leader is serious about everyone following the rules. I've seen it happen a number of times when peers managed to barely get by without receiving the last consequence, they toed the line immediately when one of their own was not as fortunate.
I give you and leaders I train the same guarantee. If you are experiencing behavior problems and the child does not have severe special needs issues (another future post), implementing Rules and following through with the Consequences will change your life. You will bring order to a chaotic situation and I promise you AND the children will be blessed. Children need boundaries.

A few important items to consider:
If a child deserves a consequence, they MUST receive it. Not following through erodes respect, not a good thing.
New service, new scenario means four more chances. Don't carry over warnings or strikes for more than one service.
Review the Rules and Consequences before every teaching time, small group, outing, etc... Really, it takes about two minutes to review lightheartedly.
Never, ever embarrass; do everything within your power to lessen the chance of a child being embarrassed in front of their peers. Some embarrassment is going to take place no matter what, just don't excacerbate it.
I make a deal with the kids, unless they receive strike three, I won't talk to their parents about their behavior. I see it as holding up my end of a bargain. I don't want to make an issue of a child receiving a warning or a couple of strikes.
But if a child is constantly receiving Strike Two, I will say to them the next time they receive Strike Two I will let their parents know.
Keep an eye on militant leaders. Sometimes folks like the godlike power of giving out consequences. Keep them in check and or gently move them on to another ministry, like the choir.
And lastly, if you implement Rules and Consequences, you must follow through. I know, I said this already, but it's vital.

Let me know what you think. Be sure to bookmark and add this site to your RSS feed reader so you'll be up to date on new posts.

Wayne