Eugene Cho Chimes in on the importance of impacting children

(picture found at i am eugene cho)

One of my strengths as identified by Strengths Finder is Input. That means I like assimilating lots of information from lots of different sources and from lots of different disciplines. In other words, I’m an information junkie. And, yes, I like Trivia Pursuit.

One of my morning routines is to peruse through the many different blogs I subscribe to via Bloglines. (BTW, if you aren’t using a newsreader to read blogs, then you need to!) Some blogs I simply read through their titles to see if something interesting pops up. With others, I read them regardless of the title. Eugene Cho’s blog is one of those blogs. He is an uber blogger, which means he has at least one post up per day. I am trying to do that. (There’s a secret to it… Write a whole smack of them at once and schedule them to come out once a day!)

Today’s post from Eugene hit a chord in my heart and had me singing Alleluia… OK, maybe I wasn’t singing it loudly, but it sounded really loud in my head. Eugene shared the story of a NYC school kids’ chorus group called PS22 Chorus.

As I perused through their blog and read the comments of the kids in PS22 Chorus, you got the clear sense that “Mr. B” (Greg Breinberg, the music teacher at P.S.22 in NYC) is passionate about teaching music to children and he imparts that passion to the children he teaches through his belief in them as well as modeling it for them. He truly believes that music can change a persons life and that it can permeate all aspects of life, bringing hope and joy when things are down. Here is a New York Times article from December about PS22 Chorus.

Hmmm, isn’t there something else that can permeate all aspects of our lives, brining hope and joy when thing are down… as well as direction when life seems chaotic… as well as a friend who is always there no matter what…??

I don’t know where Greg Breinberg is in his spiritual journey, but we can learn a lot from him in how to bring a sense of life, passion and adventure when it comes to following Jesus to the kids and families we come in contact with.

Eugene quoted noted historical abolitionist Fredrick Douglass:

It is easier to build strong children than it is to repair broken men (grown-ups).

Amen!

Take a look at this video of the PS22 Chorus singing their version of Coldplay’s Viva La Vida (which Eugene posted on his blog as well) and be inspired and challenged by how you can impart that kind of passion about following Christ to the kids and families you come in contact with.

Can Church Be Fun?

Isaiah in a tunnel, originally uploaded by matthewjhale.

Yes. Is it necessary? I don’t know.

I struggle with the whole idea of fun as a stated value in children’s ministry. Should we value fun? Yes. But I’m not so sure that “Fun” should be a core value.

For the sake of full disclosure, one of our rules states, “Expect to learn something and have fun doing it.”

I’m all for teaching things in engaging, memorable and age-appropriate ways. I just wonder what we are teaching children when we list Fun as one of our core values or make “having fun” one of the rules at church.

A little over a year ago, a parent was sharing a conversation she had with her son one Sunday on the way home. He had been “exta active” that morning, which I realted to his mother. When this parent asked her son why he had was being overly active and disruptive, his simple answer was, “But Henry wants us to have fun.” This child wasn’t being a smart alec, he was simply restating the rule I menitioned above.

After hearing this story, I had to give myself one of those “Duh!” slaps on the forehead. Of course this child (as well as most of the other children) would interpret “expect to learn something and have fun doing it” as permission to have fun even if that meant being disruptive while having that fun. Ever since that conversation, I have explained what I mean by “fun.” I mean that we try and teach in fun, enjoyable and memorable ways.

What about you? Do you have “Fun” listed as a core value? Or is “have fun” one of your rules? What do you mean by “fun?” Do the kids (and parents) understand tat is what you mean?

Finger Cramp!!!

OK, there’s been a lot of heavier stuff the past few days… This one’s on the lighter side and doesn’t even really have anything to do with children’s ministry… other than most of us type.

I ran across this post at Human3rror about testing your typing speed. Here are my results:

73 words

I was pretty humbled by those results, and my fingers were cramped after doing the test a few times to get that result.

You can try out the test here. Be warned, stretch out those fingers beforehand and be ready to use self control to stop repeating the test.

What’s your score?

Children's Ministry in a Missional Paradigm: Defining Missional Part 2

This is part of a series, explained in a previous post, to come up with an ethos of children’s ministry in a missional paradigm that can be taken and implemented in a variety of contexts.

I thought it would be beneficial to first take a look at defining missional since that is a word that gets thrown around a lot. In my first post about defining “missional” I used a quote from Alan Hirsch and asked for some feedback.

As I was looking for a different post on Children’s Ministry and Culture blog, I came across this post with another definition of missional. Go ahead and hop on over to read the post and come on back.

 

• Taking into account Hirsch’s and Keller’s definitions, do you agree?
• What would you add or take away?
• What does ‘missional’ mean to you?

My Conspire 2009 Thoughts – Concluding Thoughts

Overall, I think that the Conspire Conference experience for me in 2009 was good. If I were to pick a favourite session or breakout, it would be the general session with Ivy Beckwith and Don Ratcliff. I found myself wanting to hear more from both of them when the time was up. Their simple yet profound insights on spiritual formation were affirming yet challenging. You can check out more of my thoughts here, my summary of the session here, and my live blogging of the session here.

Another thing that was great to see this year was more diversity in topics when it came to breakouts and the special point leader sessions.

One thing that I think the Conspire team needs to consider for future conferences is to find a way to make some sessions (general and breakout) a bit more interactive by allowing for questions and/or discussion. I attended The Idea Camp a few weeks prior to Conspire and was impressed by the concept of an open-source unconference. All sessions were about interaction and discussion. Maybe consider a point leader track that was smaller and allowed for more discussion and interaction rather than your traditional classroom model.

One other thing that I think the Conspire really needs to improve is the use of technology (social media and networking and communication) around Conspire. I know that they tried this year (hey, I got to be a part of some of that with the blogging). A good idea might be talking with the Shift Conference team and gleaning ideas from them when it comes to utilizing social media technology. In addition, I think that live streaming the general sessions would be something really worth considering in order to increase the influence of Conspire as well as widening the appeal of the Conspire brand.

• How about you? Did any of you attend Conspire?
• What were your thoughts about the conference?
• How does Conspire compare to other conferences you’ve attended?
• If you didn’t attend Conspire, is there anything that would make you consider attending in the next year?
• What do you look for in conferences? Are they even beneficial anymore?

My Conspire 2009 Thoughts – Breakout Session C with Larry Shallenberger

(picture taken from LarryShallenberger.com)

The third breakout I attended at Conspire was entitled “Cultural Trends that Affect Children’s Ministry” presented by Larry Shallenberger. You can check out my live blogging of this breakout here.

I’ve had the privilege of getting to know Larry through my online interactions with him online at the Children’s Ministry and Culture blog he and Keith Johnson author as well as emails and Twitter and Facebook. Oh the joys of social networking! I was excited to finally be able to meet and talk with Larry at Conspire as well as sit in on this session.

Larry began this session by asking, “Why would anyone want to keep track of kid culture?” I like his answer. “If you love someone, you keep tabs on their culture.”

Larry shared three cultural trends he has noticed that should affect how we go about children’s ministry. For more detailed explanations on each trend, see my live blogging of the session.

The three trends are:

1. Outsiders view Christianity as the disease and not the cure
2. The changing face of the available volunteer
3. The falling price of technology

For trend #1, Larry cited research done for the book unChristian, which outlines some objections that many people have of the Church. While we can read through the objections and explain each of them away, Larry encouraged us to rather see the objections as realities and areas that we need to repent of and change.

During this discussion, the question was raised about children “being friends” with those outside a relationship with Christ. Is it OK for children to have non-Christian friends? In short, Larry’s answer was, “Yes.” We are called to love others as we love ourselves, so how can we love people if we can’t be their friends?

There were some at the session who stated concerns of children being negatively influenced by non-Christian friends and disagreed with Larry. I think Larry handled the whole situation well and still challenged people to avoid sheltering children. (Larry mentioned the conversation on the Children’s Ministry and Culture blog as well as some further thoughts he did not share during the breakout.)

In talking about volunteers, Larry highlighted two ends of the generational spectrum who are the most time on their hands to volunteer: the Millennials (approx. 20-30 years old) and Retiring Boomers. Larry highlighted the characteristics of each age group and how we can best work with them.

Lastly, Larry talked about the lowering cost of technology and how that affects what we do in children’s ministry. Larry cautioned that while technology is a very useful tool, we need to be careful to not overuse it. He likened the overuse of technology can be likened to the installation of “electronic flannelgraph.” Larry did make it clear that he isn’t against the use of video curriculum (see Larry! I’m making sure to mention it…). Technology needs to be used to enhance relationship and interaction not replace it.

Overall, I think this was a great session. Anyone involved in ministry of any kind needs to be aware of cultural trends and the affect they have on how people respond to the gospel message. Like Larry said at the beginning of this session, “We study culture because God has called us to love the world and we need to be aware of the greater culture around us.”

What do you do to keep tabs on kid culture?
How do you respond to Larry’s answer that it is OK for kids to be friends with non-Christians? What advice do you give parents on this issue?
How do you help parents keep tabs on kid culture?
How are you engaging Millennials and retiring Boomers involved in your ministries?
How do you use technology in your ministries? Do you see a danger of it being overused? Where do you draw the line?

My Conspire 2009 Thoughts – Breakout Session B with Jackie Glass

(image taken from Conspire Conference website)

For the second breakout session at Conspire, I attended one entitled “Helping Early Adolescents Navigate Through Life” led by Jackie Glass. I couldn’t find a website for Jackie so here is her bio from the Conspire Conference website:

Jackie Glass is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Therapist at a private practice in Wheaton, Illinois, in which she continually interfaces with children and adolescents wrestling with spiritual growth. She also works in the Children’s Segment at the Willow Creek Association helping to make a difference in the lives of children. Previous, Jackie was the Assistant Director of Community Care at Willow Creek Community Church serving those in need of resources and spiritual guidance. Jackie has been married for three years and is expecting a baby girl.

You can check out my live blogging of this breakout here. I won’t be going into all of the notes in detail, so you might what to check out that link if you want more of what was said.

I had two reasons for attending this breakout. The first is that we are halfway through our second year of our Grade 5 and 6 program at Redwood called FLIPT. We were finding that the grade 5 kids were too old to be with the other elementary kids and the grade 6 kids were too young for the junior high group. Both grade groups were getting lost in the shuffle so we formed a group just for them. It’s worked really well for us, and the kids love having their own group! In this session, I was hoping to gain more insight to bring back to our FLIPT leadership team.

My second reason is that my oldest son is getting ready to enter this stage of life in the next year or so. I wanted to get a better understanding of his next life stage and how best to navigate through it with him.

I greatly appreciated Jackie’s professional training in counseling as well as her practical ministry experiences. The marriage of the two brought a unique view into relating with kids in this age group. Jackie highlighted three things that pre-adolescents need:

1. People to relate with
2. People to mediate for them
3. People to advocate for them

One of the things that stood out for me was that kids in this stage of life (while they may deny it) need adults who are “safe” to talk to and who are looking out for them and encouraging them to develop their talents and abilities. Jackie encouraged those of us working with this age group to keep being there for these kids in spite of not seeing or knowing if you are making a difference. It is rare to see the affect we have on this age group, so it is important to treasure the moments that we do see those glimpses of life change we get to be a part of.

Another thing that stood out to me was the need for us to help pre-adolescents learn to navigate through their feelings. Pre-adolescents are still learning to grasp abstract concepts so it is hard for them to link their emotions with their actions. Those of us who work with this age group need to help them connect the dots of identifying their feelings and how those feelings affect what they do.

This was a good breakout, not just for children’s ministry workers who interact with pre-adolescents but for parents as well.

• What do you do in your ministries for the pre-adolescent age group?
• How do you create a safe and encouraging environment where pre-adolescents can come, be themselves, and interact with adults who care about them?
• What do you do to connect with parents of pre-adolescents? What do you do to equip them to handle this stage of life with their children?

Seeing Through God's Eyes

(Screencapture taken from YouTube.com)

By the time you read this, you may have already seen this video of Susan Boyle on Britain’s Got Talent. If not, then you can watch it on YouTube by clicking here. Go ahead, click on the link and watch the video before moving on. (Update: This video has been removed from YouTube due to copyright violations.)

Watched it? What went through your head from beginning to end?

I first found out about this video from Sam Luce’s blog, but I didn’t watch it. It didn’t look interesting enough. I simply assumed that it was the typical bad singer thinking she was a good one. I then came across this post from Eugene Cho that talked about being blown away and humbled after watching the same video. I watched it, and I was blown away and humbled!

In addition to Sam and Eugene’s thoughts (I encourage to you to go back and read them), I couldn’t help but think at the criteria we use to judge who is and who isn’t “in” when it comes to being a Christ-follower. We all have our lists and criteria of how to tell if someone is a Christian: they have asked Jesus in their heart, they read the Bible, the follow God’s commands, they don’t drink, they don’t curse and don’t hang with those who do… You get the point.

How many times do we make judgements on someone’s relationship with God because of what they look like, the words they might use, or even the lifestyle they live? Yes, there is something to be said about looking at the “fruit” of someone’s life, but there is also something to be said about grace and the disposition of one’s heart (1 Samuel 16:7).

We are all cracked images of God in need of grace.

Something to ponder.

Sobering Study on Middle Schoolers and Sex

Night Kiss, originally uploaded by Jill Greenseth.

I ran across a sobering post on ChurchRelevance.com about Middle Schoolers and sex. Kent Shaffer cited a recent study released by the University of Texas School of Public Health. In the group of kids the study looked at, 1/3 of them had engaged in sexual touch and 43% of those kids had engaged in sexual intercourse. These are kids in middle school.

So what does this mean for children’s ministries? I think it means that we need to be equipping and encouraging parents to pass on a healthy view of sexuality to their children in an age-appropriate and progressively from the time children are able to communicate. This begins with teaching children the proper names for body parts and their functions. As children get older, children need to be given more and more of an understanding of what sex is biologically as well as an understanding that sex also serves special roles emotionally as well as spiritually.

In a previous post, I mentioned a series that can serve as a great resource as parents impart a healthy view of sexuality to their children. A while back, Larry Shallenberger also wrote a post about a class he ran for parents on teaching kids about sex which has a link to his presenter notes.

Here is a list of the books in the God’s Design for Sex series:

• The Story of Me
• Before I Was Born
• What’s the Big Deal?: Why God Cares About Sex
• Facing the Facts: The Truth About Sex And You

Have you done anything to help parents teach their young children about sex?
What resources and/or advice do you give to parents?

My Conspire 2009 Thoughts – Breakout Session A with Matt Guevara

(image taken from Conspire blog)

The first breakout session I chose to attend at Conspire was entitled Rewiring Ministry for the Digital Learner led by Matt Guevara. You can check out my live blogging of this breakout here. You can also check out my summary on the Conspire blog.

Even after reading the breakout description, I wasn’t sure what to expect from Matt’s presentation. I’ve been around computers and technology my whole life; I’m a computer nerd! My first computer was the Commodore 64! I remember learning to program in BASIC in third grade and making my some fun IF-THEN question and answer games and playing games like Zork… I think I may have just lost 95% of my blog readers due to the nerdiness that I just gave off!

Anyway… when it comes to conversations about digital learners and being “up-to-date” when it comes to ministry, I have some pretty strong opinions.

Matt did not disappoint. It was a breath of fresh air to hear from someone who not only understood technology but also understood the impact it has on culture and development. I think he accurately stated where kids are today when it comes to technology and the need for us in children’s ministry to realize that we have to rethink our educational paradigms.

Here are seven characteristics of digital learners that Matt shared at the breakout session (taken from my summary at the Conspire blog):

1. They are no longer littler versions of us
2. They are digital natives… not digital immigrants (these are terms coined by Marc Prensky at marcprensky.com)
3. They are collaborators. They want to be involved in shaping the teaching environment and how things are taught. We need to kids “be a part of the action.”
4. They are teachers. Matt shared a story of how grade 7 and 8 kids taught him how to do all the lighting and sound tech at his current church when he started.
5. They are connected. We need to realize that kids have a multitude of ways to connect digitally.
6. They are relational. One thing we have to remember with this is that there is no distinction with kids between online and offline relationships; they are all the same to them.
7. They are open. Kids are open to learning new things and open to hearing from lots of different sources. This also means they are open to spiritual things.

Matt also shared a video that is from Digital Ethnography. It’s a great video on how much is different in a digital world.

I thought that this was a great breakout. Matt was well-prepared and shared some very relevant and useful information when it comes to being aware of where kids are now and how they learn and process information.

• What are you doing as someone in children’s ministry to keep up with how children currently learn?
• What are some ways that you have adjusted curriculum, programs, communication, etc.?
• What do you think of Matt’s characteristics of digital learners? Do you agree?
• What are the implications for ministry when it comes to adapting in a digital world?