Hello readers.  Sorry I haven’t posted in a while.  I’ve been busy on various projects.  I’ve actually got a new video podcast I’ve been doing that I want you to check out.  It’s at my children’s ministry website www.parkviewkids.org, or you can just click here to go straight to the podcast.  Let me know what you think.

Well, by now all you leaders at Parkview Baptist Church should be in either Chapter 3 or 4 of The Kidology Handbook: Teacher’s Edition. I’ve been very busy lately and have gotten behind myself, so I’m going to begin my series of comments on Chapter 3 this week.

Hopefully, last week you studied about how to become a Kidologist and have already put into practice some of the steps and suggestions for how to become more like a kid and to learn more about your kids’ world.

This week we are going straight to the heart of those to whom we do ministry. Karl Bastian defines a kid as “a unique, one-of-a-kind individual who wants fun and needs love.” Read the rest of this entry »

Well, I’ve finally done it.  I’ve faced my greatest fear.  No, I’m not terribly afraid of spiders.  My roomate in college had a 7′ ball python, so snakes are no problem for me anymore either.  Heights aren’t especially terrifying, and I love to fly.  It’s really nothing like that.  

Psst…come really close and I’ll whisper it in your ear.  They can smell fear, you know. ………………. Read the rest of this entry »

I was having lunch with a new friend today from another local church, and he asked a question about churches going through change.  He wanted to know my opinion of why it appears that many pastors seem to be leading their churches through radical change in a fairly short time-frame.  Whether it’s a multi-million dollar capital building campaign, a transition toward a more contemporary style of worship, or a physical location move, many churches in our area are indeed going through much transition.  His question was not whether transition was right or wrong, but rather why it seems to happen so quickly, thereby disenchanting many members who somehow feel left behind.  I shared with him the same theory I have shared with others. Read the rest of this entry »

You know, it’s funny how things impact one’s life. We’ve hosted the Power Team at our church for the last five days. The crusade was awesome, and had a dramatic impact on my personal walk of faith. I’ll talk more about that in the near future.  However, something else has had a dramatic, immediate, direct impact on my life today. Read the rest of this entry »

I was recounting a conversation I had recently with a pastor friend of mine about helping church members through times of stress and trouble only to have them leave the church shortly thereafter for “greener pastures.” As I shared this conversation with my wife, I began to imagine our sanctuary as a refuse heap, a junkyard, a room full of garbage. Now, don’t lose me here. I’m not implying that the church is a junkyard. I simply imagined it that way for an instant.

However, is the church a place where we come to unload the junk in our lives and leave it at the altar? Read the rest of this entry »