Staying Dynamic in Children's Ministry – #8 The Holy Spirit is Your Friend

(image originally uploaded to Flickr by bryansclark)

You can read more about this series here.

8. The Holy Spirit is Your Friend

Well, I saved the most important point of this series for last. I wish that I could say that this point is obvious or “goes without saying,” but it isn’t and doesn’t.

It is so easy for us to get caught up in the doing of children’s ministry that we forget that the source for our strength and power is the Holy Spirit. We try and keep up with trends and being dynamic on our own… or we keep doing what we’re doing on our own. We don’t take time to make time for the Holy Spirit.

All of the previous points in this series will only get you so far when it comes to being dynamic. At some point you will burn out or run out of ideas. If you tap into the power source… the source of all creativity… then you can do nothing but stay dynamic.

The trick is that connecting with God takes time. We have to intentionally set aside time to speak with God and hear from God. It can’t be rushed. As you spend time with God, communing with him, you will be infused with supernatural creative power. Does that mean you will have hundreds of children flocking to your children’s ministry? Does it mean that you will be turning away volunteers because there are just too many wanting to be involved? No. What it does mean is that you will be doing all that God is calling you to do? What it means is that staying dynamic in children’s ministry won’t be a drain on you because you will be connected to a source of power greater than your own.

Go forth, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Be creative! Be dynamic! Make God real in the lives of kids, families and everyone you come in contact with!

You can check out other parts to this series:
#1. Creative Space
#2. Cross-Train
#3. Question Everything
#4. Be Involved in Your Community
#5. Futurecast
#6. When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Grape Juice!
#7. It’s Not About You

Staying Dynamic in Children's Ministry – #7 It's Not About You

(picture originally uploaded to Flickr by aeter)

You can find out more about this series here.

7. It’s Not About You

It’s not even about children’s ministry… or the kids, really. We get so caught up in what we are doing that we develop tunnel vision. When that happens, we shut down all that is available to us to stay dynamic. We become blind to all that is around us. We create a bubble of our own reality and, in essence, create a CM-osphere (that’s a cross between a bioshpere and children’s ministry). OK, that’s a bit cheesy and maybe even geeky, but you get the picture.

In order to stay dynamic, you have to realize that children’s ministry isn’t a creature unto itself. It is affected by everything around it. It’s so easy for us to focus on what we are doing and champion only what we are doing and demand resources for only what we are doing. While what we do is important, children’s ministry is only a microcosm of what God is doing in the world. If we become self-centerd and selfish, then we stop being dynamic.

We need to expand our idea of children’s ministry beyond anything we’ve imagined. We need to see children’s ministry as more than just ministry to kids. It’s even more than just ministry to families and the volunteers in our ministry. Children’s ministry involves the entire church… it is part of the entire church. Children’s ministry needs to serve other staff members. Children’s ministry needs to serve the community. As we broaden our view of children’s ministry, then it opens up opportunities and ideas that we would have never imagined on our own had we circled the wagons and listen only to others in children’s ministry.

What are some ways that you have stepped outside of “children’s ministry” and interacted with areas not directly related to children’s ministry? How has seeing children’s ministry as more than just children’s ministry kept what you do dynamic?

You can check out other parts to this series:
#1. Creative Space
#2. Cross-Train
#3. Question Everything
#4. Be Involved in Your Community
#5. Futurecast
#6. When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Grape Juice
#8. The Holy Spirit is Your Friend

Staying Dynamic in Children's Ministry – #6 When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Grape Juice!

(image taken from Zazzle.com)

You can find out more about this series here.

6. When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Grape Juice!

One of my favorite shows for a while was Whose Line Is It Anyway? You remember? It was orginally a British show but like all good shows was co-opted by US networks. (Since living in Canada, I’ve found that many US shows were once BBC shows.) Drew Carey would host a group of special guest contestants on this improvisational acting game show. They created characters, scenes and songs on the spot. One of my favorite games was props. The contestants were given a box of props and had to come up with mini-scenes/uses for that used the props. The challenge was that the props were mostly ridiculous items that had no real use to them, and the actors made up uses for them rather humorously.

Here’s an example of the game… watch and enjoy!

Too many times we stay static and do not change or adapt because we “need something we don’t have” in order to move forward or change. We look around us and are discouraged by the lack of that one tool or volunteer or, let’s be honest, toy that we don’t have that will make it possible for us to go to the next level.

Then there are other times where we hesitate on trying something new or ridiculous or “impossible” because it is… impossible. Again, we don’t have the right tools, people, or enough money or the qualifications to do “that.”

We are asked to or want to or dream about making grape juice, yet when we look around us all we see is lemons. We get focused on what we don’t have. The key to staying dynamic in these situations is simple to take those lemons, make grape juice, and let the world wonder at how you did it.

How do we make grape juice from lemons? Well, it’s easier than you think. You simply need to be OK with failing.

WHAT?!? DID I HEAR YOU RIGHT? BE OK WITH FAILING?

Yes. Be OK with failing. By that, I mean you need to take on the attitude of an experimenter. (OK, experimenter isn’t really a word in your world, but in mine it is!) When scientists formulate experiments, they formulate them to fail. Experimenting isn’t about proving something right; it’s about trying to prove something wrong. I know that might mess with what you’ve assumed about experimentation, but it’s true. I digress, though… When you take on the attitude of an experimenter, you take a look at what you do have rather than at what you don’t have. You try and see how what you have can be used to reach your desired outcome. You also try and see how what you have can be used to accomplish something even better than your desired outcome. Then, you go out and try it: you experiment! If you fail, that is OK. You simply go back and retool, repurpose and retry. You keep trying until you discover something that does work.

In doing all of this, it is crucial to get input and assistance from others. Build a network of people who can cheer you on, resource you, and give you constructive feedback as you strive to be dynamic.

Lemons don’t turn into grape juice instantly. It takes some finagling, a lot of failures and a bit of luck. If you keep at it, you might even make something better than grape juice (I hate grape juice anyway). You could make a chocolate cheesecake… now, that would be heavenly.

What are some ways you’ve created something new with “limited resources?” What are strategies you’ve used to prevent the “I-can’t-do-it-because-I-don’t-have-the-resources” attitude?

You can check out other parts to this series:
#1. Creative Space
#2. Cross-Train
#3. Question Everything
#4. Be Involved in Your Community
#5. Futurecast
#7. It’s Not About You
#8. The Holy Spirit is Your Friend

Contributor Call for Book Blogging Project on Think Orange by Reggie Joiner!

Back in July, we did a group blogging project on Wess Stafford‘s book Too Small to Ignore. With the Think Orange Playbook coming out in March and The Orange Conference at the end of April, I thought it would be great to do another group blogging project and use Reggie Joiner‘s Think Orange as the book.

If you are unfamiliar with what a group book blogging project is, here is the gist of it: different people will commit to reading one of the chapters in the book and writing a review of that chapter, which will be posted here on Elemental Children’s Ministry as well as on the contributor’s own blog. The chapter review is simply a brief overview of the chapter followed by personal thoughts, impressions and/or applications. The reviews don’t have to be worthy of the New York Times. They just have to be honest.

There is no compensation for this group blogging project (I am not receiving any compensation for it, either… this is an independent project.) If you are interested, please leave a comment at the bottom. This project will be limited to 10 contributors. If you do contribute to this project, you will have to obtain your own copy of Think Orange. You also agree to read a chapter that will be assigned to you and email me a copy of your review by the assigned deadline. You cannot post your review on your site until the day that it is posted on Elemental Children’s Ministry. There will be a link to your blog from your review posted on Elemental CM, and I ask that you post a link to Elemental CM from the review you post on your blog. You will retain rights to your review and give permission to me to have the review posted on Elemental Children’s Ministry. The reviews will begin being posted on Monday, February 1. One review will be posted each day for the following 10 days.

If you are interested in being a part of this group book blogging project, please leave a comment or fill out the contact form here.

Sorry to say, but all of the contributor spots have been taken. Thank you to all of you who expressed interest. I’m looking forward to reading and interacting with the reviews!

Book Review: Primal by Mark Batterson

I was fortunate enough to receive a copy of Mark Batterson‘s new book, Primal, as part of it’s book blog tour. Unfortunately, I live in Canada so I did not receive the book until the end of the official time for the blog tour, which was the beginning of Christmas craziness for me. Well, I’ve finally finished the book.

Primal comes on the heels of Mark Batterson’s books In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day and Wild Goose Chase. The back cover of Primal asks this question,

“What would your Christianity look like if it was stripped down to the simplest, rawest, purest faith possible?”

Batterson’s answer is the Great Commandment as stated by Jesus in Mark 12:30, “And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.” The book is broken into four sections taking a look at:

• The Heart of Christianity – Compassion
  
• The Soul of Christianity – Wonder
  
• The Mind of Christianity – Curiosity
  
• The Strength of Christianity – Energy

As I read the book, I found myself agreeing with Batterson on each of his major points concerning being recaptured by compassion, wonder, curiosity, and energy in loving God. I found, though, that compared to Wild Goose Chase, which I thoroughly enjoyed and thought was very well written Primal was a bit of a disappointment. I found the writing to be choppy and had the feeling of being rushed. This book did not flow as well as Wild Goose Chase did from chapter to chapter and section to section.

I am also curious as to why Batterson left out the second half of the Great Commandment, which is “equally important:”

“Love your neighbor as yourself.”

It seemed like Batterson tried to shoehorn that into the compassion part of loving God, but I was still left with a sense of an incomplete exploration of Primal Christianity. I found Scot McKnight‘s Jesus Creed to be a more cohesive and better written exploration of the Greatest Commandment.

Now, don’t get me wrong… I don’t think Primal was a bad book. I think that many people will gain a better understanding of what it means to love God with one’s heart, soul, mind and strength after reading Primal. I also would recommend it as one book to read in 2010. I just think that this was not some of Batterson’s best writing. Wild Goose Chase was much better.

• Did you read the book? What were your thoughts? Do you think I’m off my rocker? Let us know what you think.
• Also, do you agree that the Great Commandment is Christianity at its most primal? How do we teach kids and families with that in mind?

If you are interested in obtaining a free copy of Primal, I do have a copy to give away here on Elemental Children’s Ministry. The first person to tell me who is the author of this quote from the book will win: “A mind streched by a new idea never returns to its original shape.” Leave your answer in the comments.