It does not seem that long ago, but in the fall of 2003 I began my journey in full-time children's ministry in Madison, WI. I had Biblical and theological foundations from my newly earned Pastoral Studies degree and loads of volunteer experience working with children. However, lacking a great deal of maturity, I started ministry trying to be someone else. I grew up in the mindset that children’s ministry was event-driven, using puppets, performance, juggling, clowning/miming, Scripture pictures, and gospel magic. Having no real training in those areas, I took lessons in magic and devoted a great deal of time to trying to become a children’s ministry performer. I patterned my ministry after the models I grew up with and it did not take long before the thing that I so desired to become my entire life (a pastor) felt like it was going to kill me and my wife! God taught me an important lesson: Ministry was not going to work unless I was going to be myself.

The ebook sensation that has skyrocketed to over 3000 downloads is now available in print. Here are some ideas for how I would use the resource. Read more...

I want to continue our series of posts about What Matters Now in Children's Ministry with a few posts about the answers that really resonated with me. Randy Isola contributed the answer "Wonder" to the What Matters Now project. Randy is my boss, but that's not why I'm reflecting on his contribution (I'm pretty sure he does not read this blog anyway). Randy has re-taught me what children's ministry is all about. I say that he "re-taught" me, because before I met Randy I thought I knew everything about children's ministry. Here's what Randy had to say about wonder: I believe one of the most compelling questions in Scripture is the disciples’ asking about Jesus, “What kind of man is this?” After a glimpse of his power, the disciples were driven to discover the answer. Our churches should instill that wonder in children and propel them to a lifelong adventure of finding out the truth behind that question. Read more...

I want to continue our series of posts about What Matters Now in Children's Ministry with a few posts about the answers that really resonated with me. The final submission to be turned in was by my friend and mentor Byron Ragains. If you do not know Byron, who ministers with David C. Cook, just wait - he'll find you. And when Byron finds you, he'll never forget you. Byron writes, "My word is MORE I am almost 50! I recall the days when my two sons were babies. Occasionally, I got the call to feed them a nutritious meal from a jar. I can still hear the click noise once the lid is opened! I creatively tried everything to magically force the boys to eat: Pickled squash, sweet potatoes and even some peas! R

I want to continue our series of posts about What Matters Now in Children's Ministry with a few posts about the answers that really resonated with me. Many weeks ago when I started asking people to participate in this effort, the first person to respond was Dr. Brianne Friberg. I have had the privilege of being friends with the Friberg's for several years and while many of you have not heard of Dr. Friberg, she is probably the most brilliant person I have ever met. Dr. Friberg's one-word answer to the question, "What Matters Now in Children's Ministry" was empowerment. Dr. Friberg reflects, "We need leaders who work under an empowerment model that is strength-based and family-centered. What does that mean? First, our ministries need to be empowered by the Holy Spirit. Read more...

I wanted to post my answer to the question, What Matters Now in Children's Ministry. I chose the word, digital. Here's why… Research makes it clear that the generation of children in our ministries today is vastly different than any other group of children the Church has sought to reach. They engage and edit media, experiment with culture, and experience community in new ways. They are fluent in the language of technology. They collaborate, teach, connect, and relate using a network of individualized digital tools. They prefer a unique learning experience with parallel processing, multitasking, feedback, and relevance. They navigate the digital world deftly and quickly. They blur the lines between the physical and virtual. They are open to the truth of God's Word. Read more...

Several weeks ago I was struck with an epic idea. I wanted to create a book with insight from people across the field of children's and family ministry, education, non-profit, and para-church ministry about what matters now in children's ministry. Like any great idea, it occupied all of my mental space until I finally shared it with others. I am proud today to be part of the release of the culmination of this idea: a free e-book that answers the question, "What Matters Now in Children's Ministry?" The team (Amy Dolan of Lemon Lime Kids, Henry Zonio of Elemental Children's Ministry, and me) have gathered 33 perspectives from a cross section of denominations and ministry contexts to answer our epic question. But we asked every contributor to answer the question with only ONE word. After they honed the one-word answer, they were allowed to support their answer with another 300 words. Not an easy task. Read more...

Fifty Dangerous Things (you should let your children do) is a book by Gever Tulley and Julie Spiegler. The title explains it all as the book contains fifty different dangerous projects for kids to do with care and supervision. The book includes a section for parents because the purpose of the book (according to Tulley) is to "start a deliberate effort to start a national and global dialogue about what we are really doing when we [parents] overprotect children, which is to keep them from having the kinds of experiences that lay the foundations for creative genius."

Legal Disclosure: Baker Publishing provided me with a free copy of Formational Children's Ministry: Shaping Children Using Story, Ritual, and Relationship. Weeks ago while scouring Amazon I came across Formational Children's Ministry and was excited to read it. Several years ago I had the privilege of being in a Bethel Seminary class where Ivy Beckwith guest lectured. Dr. Beckwith walked through the primary themes in her book Postmodern Children's Ministry and her words and work shaped my early understandings of children's ministry. I looked forward to hearing Ivy's thoughts on children's ministry. With the help of some Diet Coke and the natural ambiance of Chipotle, I uncovered several themes in Formational Children's Ministry: Philosophy Clearly the philosophy held about children and the way they are ministered to in the church context is vital. Read more...

I recently guest blogged on Henry Zonio's elementalcm.com, presenting a review of Chapter 4 of Reggie Joiner's book, Think Orange. Check it out! Read more...

If you follow this blog, you'll know that I'm a huge fan of author Daniel Pink. His latest book, Drive, is out now and I wanted to spread the word. In Drive (a book about what motivates people), Pink poses two epic questions: What's my sentence? Was I better today than yesterday? RFor a cool explanation of these questions, check out the 2 minute video. http://vimeo.com/8480171

From the fog of past memories, I recall a televangelist show named the "Hour of Power." I do not recall what happened on the show, probably because I often changed the channel to something more like the "Hour of Cartoons" (which I was obsessed with as a child). Recently my obsession has turned to the subject of productivity. In my ministry context, I try very hard to limit meetings but they happen. Many run long. Some begin with great hopes for future production but end with faint glimmers (and those are often the meetings I've led). So I took a hint from Scott Belsky of the Behance Network and put into practice the Hour of Power. Belsky presents these guidelines: Stop thinking big picture and zoom in on the particular factors that impact outcome on a daily basis. Place an hour on your calendar every day to focus on issues that have an immediate impact and a measurable outcome. Read more...

I've learned so much from the Learning Leaders Fieldbook created by the MASIE Center that I had to create a blog series to share the insights. You can check out Part 1 of the series here. The MASIE Center created the fieldbook to focus on the creation, role and function of a Learning CEO.

Think Orange is a great read, but does the field of children's and family ministry need more than a book about why the partnership between parents and families is crucial?

Is there a reason why the Cory Center has a technology blog for a children's and family ministry website? Find out.

I know, the debate over Harry Potter is essentially over. However the debate comes to haunt those of us who lead children’s and family ministry because the movies are still being released. This debate has a fairly polemical nature to it. The two sides (pro and con) routinely write books and fire away in articles and blogs. But I’m less concerned about the polemic nature of the actual debate. My brother John is.

Kevin DeYoung, author and pastor, took time to speak to our pastoral staff today about the Emergent Church and an Evangelical and Orthodox response.

Shane Hipps, author of Flickering Pixels, has some interesting things to say about technology and faith.