Be a superstar model

I recently chatted with our worship leader Matt about engaging today’s youth.  Matt leads on Sunday mornings and also Wednesday nights at Fuel.  His heart bleeds passion for God…passion for others to see and understand and “get it”…a desire for others to stand in awe of who God is and have a heartfelt response…WORSHIP.

So naturally, seeing how he attempts to lead youth in this arena, there are frustrations.  There are times when you question if all the rehearsals and lyrics and in-between-songs scripture reading is worth it.  If kids are just going to talk and text, why keep up the sustained effort of leading them to an encounter with Almighty God?

As I stood down front last night at our first Fuel service at the House of Rock, singing out songs of praise as loud as I could, this recent conversation and these recent questions flooded my mind.  I stood among these middle schoolers and high schoolers and one single thought could not escape my heart – It Must Be Modeled For Them.

As with many things in life, if we want young people to grasp something, it must be more than taught, or said, or simply commanded.  We must model what we so crave for them.  If we want kids to have an all consuming love for Jesus and to genuinely engage in worship, then we ourselves need to model that for them.

Bottom Line:  If we are frustrated that kids are not engaging in worship, I think it’s wise for us to first stop and evaluate what kind of healthy examples we see around them.  Is there anyone (adult, small group leader, parent, anyone) modeling a kind of faith for them that will stick?  Is there anyone in their immediate circle that lives audaciously enough?…showing that Christ is relevant on Monday through Saturday too?  Is there an older student or anyone challenging them to get rid of sin so they can engage God with their whole heart?

Step up.
Be a superstar model.

Where Have U Been?

Hubby, Dad, Family Pastor – getting in to a new building.
I Twitter all the time.  Be back soon, maybe. 

Motive Matters

Michael wrapped up Sunday’s sermon by pointing out our motive matters (in regards to drinking alcohol).  I thought about how that applies to education.  My oldest son Braden (7) is finishing up his year end school testing this week.  As great as many of the teachers are in his school and others in this area, I still often wonder about motives during this time of year.  After all, there’s no doubt our education system is flawed.

Everything centers around a test score.  How the students score on this one test can affect salaries, funding, and a variety of other issues.  Perhaps this is the best way to judge whether something is working…don’t ask me, I was educated in North Alabama.    But what I don’t like about this system is how it can shift the motive from caring about the individual success of each and every student to a focus on doing whatever it takes to “get those scores up!”.

But don’t think this matter of motive is restricted to our educational system.  The church struggles with this.  In children’s ministry we have to check our motives weekly.  Am I choosing this particular curriculum because it is the best method to lead kids to Jesus, or is my motive to find something easy?  Am I trying to appease parents, or am I sticking to the God given mission & calling for my ministry?  Do I truly care about the spiritual development of each and every child, or am I more concerned with how things appear to my boss?

Motive matters.

Defender of Kids

Couldn’t shake several thoughts today.  I always want to be a person that defends kids…defends the importance of family.  And let me stop here for a second.  I often feel guilty because I’m not always the best father myself.  I blow it sometimes with my kids.  And we are all a little hypocritical sometimes because we say AMEN when someone exclaims “family first!”; yet if we put our schedule on a spreadsheet it would show some frightening results.

With that said, however, here are some thoughts I couldn’t shake today:

• The Church has a great opportunity to show (not just say) they value kids to the society around them.  Never forget, we live in a time that “endangered” animals often get more sympathy and attention than hurting kids.
• “I just don’t like kids.” I seriously hear this way too much.  I know some people are just…as they put it…trying to be honest, but allow me to translate that statement:  “I’m so self absorbed that I can’t imagine trying to give my time away like that.”  An even better translation:  “I have zero understanding of what the Bible has to say about the importance and role of kids and family.”
• Defend the innocent.
• Protect the abused.
• Feed the starving.
• My great wife and I are re-thinking our current schedule, re-thinking how our kids are educated, and emphasizing to each other the importance of our parenting.

Lastly…

• We are so quick to stand up for so many things, aren’t we?  We will protest taxes (forgot to send my tea bag to Washington…oops).  We will defend our favorite college football team until we pass out.  We will argue for particular worship styles.  And we will easily defend time consuming hobbies or even jobs that rob us of time with our kids – time that is eternally gone.  Maybe we should stop for a sec and remember who we are and what we are called to.  Defend those who are often silenced and “burdensome”.  Defend their importance.  Start with your own.

Psalm 68:5-6 (click it)

Worth A Thousand Words

Recently I captured the above pic on my camera phone.  If there’s one picture that communicates the past 2.5 years of Oak Leaf kid’s ministry, it’s this one.  It’s a bunch of sweaty dudes, stopping early in the morning to pray because they realize their volunteer work goes far beyond the banners and puzzle piece flooring.  They understand that what will take place in the room they helped build is eternal.  And so they pray for God’s favor.

Oh sure, I have plenty of other great pics too.  Kids playing and singing.  Teachers smiling and hi-fiving.  But in our history of being portable, this about sums up our heart.  And no, this isn’t a planned thing.  These guys started doing this on their own.  They are some of the best dudes on planet earth. It’s an honor to serve with them each week.

In KidVenture, we will always strive to improve what is taught.  We will continually improve the environments.  We will push for fun.  And at the core of who we are as a ministry, we will always work hard – having a work ethic like these guys.  Hard work & prayer, love it.

Bored?

Fuel Preservice Loop I HERE

And the 2nd one HERE

(must be really really bored to 1/2 way enjoy them)

OLC’s Preschool Director

Having devoted more than two decades of my life and all of my professional skills to studying and working with ministries of all types, I am now convinced that the greatest hope for the local church lies in raising godly children. Barna

Celebrate with me!  Oak Leaf has a Preschool Director!  Rebekah Britt has agreed to lead this OH SO VITAL ministry of our church.  Below are some fun facts about Bekah:

• Engaged to Matt Warren (cool dude above) – Wedding is in June!
• Primarily grew up in GA
• Both her and Matt are Berry College grads
• Degree is in Family Life Education
• She likes dark chocolate, ice cream and the color green
• Spent a summer in Romania doing missions
• Passion #1:  To see families function together to serve the Lord
• Passion #2:  To see children grow and develop into who God made them to be

This is a huge answered prayer and we anticipate what her and Matt will do for God’s glory.  Be sure to congratulate her on Sunday!

Bekah can be reached at rebekah@oakleafchurch.com

Faith in Action

My good friend Stephen Hauck documents his mission trip to Honduras…on the local Birmingham news (where he is an anchor).

Great story.  Great to see it make the evening news.

Click HERE (video on upper right hand corner)

Fair Weather

I’ve noticed something recently in my beloved town of Cartersville.  It’s hard to miss -  they seem to be everywhere.  What am I talking about?  Church signs? nope.  Easter eggs? nope, not yet.  Banks?  That blog will come later.

Fair weather bama and florida fans.  Oh boy, here we go…an angry Auburn fan. Well just hold your horses cowboy, let me explain.  Here’s why I’m making this claim:  The car tags and flags and logos of these two teams are everywhere (as in you once NEVER saw them around here and now they are on 1 out of every 400 cars).  Seriously, though, with the recent success of the two teams (especially Florida) you have fair weather fans pimpin’ out their rides with all the gator and tide stuff you can handle.

Ahhhh, Jonathan, they’ve always been there, you’ve just never noticed until now. Wrong.  For starters, I’m extremely observant.  Also, you can obviously tell these are brand new tags.  Don’t get me wrong, EVERY team has fair weather fans…even my Tigers.  I just think it’s interesting to see the plethara of “new fans”.

As I was driving down Tennessee street this morning and observing a few of these tags, it got me thinking about the church and it’s fair weather fans (attenders).  It’s rather sad.  The pattern is comically similar.  When the church does something good in their eyes (right song choice, correct paint color) they are quick to raise the church banner.  Things are on a high.  Inviting is easy.  Serving is easy.  The buy-in is solid.  They are one of the biggest cheerleaders around.

But the moment a decision is disagreed with…the car tag comes off.  The flags go back in the garage.  And worst yet, the attitudes flare.  This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t have disagreements.  Believe me, you can’t hang around our staff without seeing healthy disagreements.  But what I am pushing here is when these moments arise, don’t overreact (I’m speaking from experience here).  Don’t discard everything God has done through you at your church.  And don’t immediately dismiss the leadership and call everyone stupid…like being at a Kentucky basketball game when the team is struggling.

So support the mission of your church, even when things don’t make complete sense.  If you’ve bought into the God-sized vision of the church, then don’t jump ship 1/2 way through.  Don’t be a fair weather fan that bases your support off every “play” you see…after all, mistakes will happen…something will rub you wrong…and you won’t always understand the method behind the madness.  But stay bound to the place God has called you to serve & give & worship & lead.

On The Line

I shared with the Theater 12 Production Team this morning a quick devotional thought about what’s on the line.  Last week I was able to meet a dude that had a lot of family issues pressing in on him.  We had a great conversation and I was glad to learn he had been visiting OLC for several weeks.

As we prepped for our service today, God brought him back to mind.  His situation seemed fresh as ever in my head.  I thought about what was on the line for him in these recent days.  I thought about his first visit…and every 1st time guest…and the possible things that hang in the balance: their perception of God and church, their overall impression of OLC, how they are greeted, did they find the grace of God?

It’s so important that we give our best every week, isn’t it?!  MUCH is on the line.  MUCH is hanging in the balance.  And the beauty of it:  God simply asks us to give our best and trust Him with the results.  We can’t save souls or force people to immediatey learn how to worship.  But we can be faithful with giving our absolute best every week, not settle for mediocre, and know that God will continue to use ordinary people to do extraordinary things!

Bonus:  I enjoy working for a pastor like Michael who constantly reminds us of what’s on the line.  He pushes the vision hardcore and preaches that God deserves our absolute best.

KidVenture Feedback

Oak Leafers:  Click on the link below to fill out a KidVenture Feedback form.  Thanks!  We value your opinions ans suggestions.

HERE

On Their Level——————->will look different

One of the things that stood out to me from the Unleash Conference was the emphasis that Newspring puts on teaching kids about Jesus “on their level”.  They have obviously worked very hard to show these kids that Jesus is relevant in their world.

I thought about this principle the other night at my 6 yr old’s soccer game.  The league he is playing in does things very different from a “normal” (adult) soccer game.  Upon first seeing these differences, I was kinda bummed…thinking it wouldn’t work.  After all, it didn’t “look” right.  The goalie does not touch the ball.  The field is 1/4 the size.  There are no goal kicks.  There are no throw-ins…whenever the ball goes out of bounds, one of the coaches simply throws a ball down and says, “play on”.  Instead of 1 hour games it’s always 30 minutes of practice and 30 minutes of a game.

But after a few weeks of being up at the fields, I’m beginning to see the benefits of these actions.  I especially like the no throw in rule.  Having the coaches roll a ball out keeps play continuous.  The action rarely slows down and never stops – therefore keeping the kids engaged and never bored.

Kid’s ministry on a Sunday morning should look different than an adult service.  It should feel different.  Sound different.  And even have different objectives.  We should always resist any temptation to make it look like an adult service.

Yes, they are learning about the same loving God.  Yes, they can worship Him.  Yes, the Bible is still taught.  But it is wise for us to always remember they are on a different playing field.

Family Ministry Model

Why? (good read)

A Parent’s Love

HERE

discipulus

Great read on discipleship HERE

Parent Priority

Good stuff HERE

recap

Since I barely blog anymore (working on that), here’s a recap of recent happs:

Saturday fun at the park + Braden’s soccer game = sunburn for me

Plastic bags + Preschool Coin Drive for Redemption Campaign = $458.87  (Way to go preschoolers!)

70 Oak Leafers + 2 buses + This Thursday! = Unleash Conference

I rearranged my desk at work.  I went from viewing a wall to viewing a door and and a wall. 

9 after 9

For the past 9 weeks we’ve held 4 Services each Sunday at OLC.  I figured I’d take a quick moment to mention 9 things we’ve learned in KidVenture since this grand endeavor began.  (Note:  I almost named this post “10 approaching 10″…but top ten lists are boring.  9 is the new 10.)

1. It’s worth it. Yeah, it’s tough.  Yeah, it’s challenging.  But we are doing whatever it takes to reach more people/kids/students/families in Cville.

2. Our pastor may be on something illegal. Seriously, preaching 4 straight sermons in a row?!  We pray for that dude!

3. OLC volunteers keep stepping up…and then some. No matter the challenge thrown their way, more and more leaders keep rising to the occasion.

4. Teamwork is crucial for survival. This starts with the staff and filters down to every volunteer.  There is no room for “my ministry” vs. “your ministry”.  (We’ve been blessed to see solid teamwork and sharing of ideas and resources.)

5. Don’t forget to double it! With 2 identical adult services and 2 identical elementary services, you have to constantly remember to double whatever (video, illustration, handout) you do.  Tip of the day:  Double your volunteer appreciation as well.

6. Examine numbers and trends. (I’m mainly putting this one in to appease our Executive Pastor…he’s a systems guy.  lol)  Charting attendance patterns with 4 time offers (9:30, 10:00, 10:45, 11:15) can help shape future endeavors.

7. Craziness can drive core basics. In the middle of shuffling volunteers and moving around preschool rooms on a weekly basis (early movie times) and managing 17 toddlers in tight quarters during a hour…you find yourself constantly coming back to the core principles of your ministry and asking, “Are we accomplishing our God given goals in the lives of these kids?”

8. Every service matters. Just because the first service may run x # of kids below the fourth doesn’t mean that it’s less important.  No matter the time or who’s hosting the environment or the attendance in the room, EACH and EVERY moment in front of kid sharing God’s love matters immensely and deserves our very best.

9. Just the beginning. Ok, so we got a slight handle on this whole 4 service gig.  What’s next God?  All move to the House of Rock when it’s ready?  Multi Campus?  You say it, we obey.  Let’s go!

“That Was a Great Day!”

I was showing one of our Fuel students the new City Rules video (here) that I made recently.  It includes some old footage of goofy stuff we’ve done and a quick clip of baptism.  While watching it, she kept saying over and over, “Now THAT was a great day!”

It reminded me that we look for those experiences in our lives…those mile markers.  I’m not trying to say that following Christ can be reduced down to awesome services and creative planning.  We know it’s about discipleship and who you are when away from those things.  However, God uses “those great days” in the lives of teenagers to remind them of His presence and to teach them through experiences about His plans and His love.

Last night was a mile marker for me.  The prayer service we held at the House of Rock was amazing.  We worshipped.  We prayed.  We prayed some more.  We wrote our prayers on the stage…claiming that this ministry would be built on the prayers of it’s people.  We asked God to move in a big way.

That was a great day.

Takeaways, part II

Day 2

Bob Roberts

• 10 years ago in the US there were 300 churches of 2,000+.  Today, there are 1,400 churches of 2,000+….YET, less people attend church today than 10 years ago.
• Preachers and churches will not change the world, disciples will.
• Gal 2:20 When will Jesus be enough for you?
• Is the fuel of my church MY creativity or is it GOD’S Sovereignty?
• No such thing as safe Christianity.  No such thing as a “balanced” life.  Jesus bids us “come and die”.

Tony Morgan

• In the south, sweet tea comes out of the faucet.
• A clear vision:
  sets expectations and fosters community
  facilitates decision making
  attracts time and money
  defines success in ministry
  empowers your leaders
• Great leaders will leave your ministry if you focus on the execution and not the outcome.
• Great leaders within your ministry are asking: Am I needed here?  Will I have input?  Will they keep me in the loop?  Do they care about me, or are they just using me?  Will they let me lead?  Do I get to do something significant?
• Where is the fruit in your church?  What is God blessing?  Then focus on that.
• Personal invite is the #1 reason people attend on Sunday morning…yet we try platform announcements and marketing junk for other areas of ministry.  Keep the personal invite the number 1 tool used.
• John 3:30  He must become greater; I must become less.

Ben Arment

• Most churchplanters get the spiritual and the strategy, but forget about the Social Impact.  You need social momentum.  You need to connect (build relationships) in the community before planting.
• Plant the church the community needs, not the church in your head.

Nelson Searcy

• We don’t need a new vision, God has given us the Great Commission.
• Do both “go tell” evangelism and “come see” evangelism.  Don’t swing to either extreme.

Troy Gramling

• If you listen to everyone, you will hear no one.  Listen to people who:
  love you
  believe in you
  know more than you
• You can use people to build a great ministry or you can use ministry to build great people.

churchplanters.com takeaways

day 1

Reggie Joiner:

• We can’t compete with culture in production, but culture cannot compete with the church in the arena of relationships.
• What if we gauged the health of our student ministries not by the attendance of our large groups, but by the number of students serving.
• (An oldie but goodie.)  The church has about 40 hours a year to invest in a child, parents have 3,000.

Ed Stetzer:

• Churchplanting is simply a tool…disciple making is the end goal.
• The goal is not momentum…God wants your church on a pathway to spiritual maturity.
• You can’t get your people to serve Jesus in the long term if they don’t know him in the short term.
• Don’t be strategy rich but spiritually bankrupt.
• Pastor, if you are always the hero to your people then Jesus can’t be.
• Acts 17:11  Do your people welcome the message with eagerness and examine the scriptures themselves?

Caught By The Train

I think it’s healthy to have a child like perspective on certain things.  (Jesus actually spoke about this – Matt. 18:3)  Us adults can get to be know-it-alls, too busy to slow down, and often lack genuine faith in important life matters.

Today I was driving my two oldest in downtown Cartersville…and guess what…yep, SURPRISE, I got caught by the train.  (For out-of-towners, a train comes through C’ville every 30 minutes or something crazy like that.)  I blurted out, “Ah man, we just got caught by the train.”  Braden and Logan both exclaimed, “Alright!”

Two completely different perspectives, huh?  Mine involved a time schedule and frustration in traffic.  Theirs, on the other hand, involved mystery and excitement:  “Daddy, what do you think it’s carrying?  What would happen if it came off the tracks?  It’s loud, I like it!  Why is it moving so slow?  What city do you think it’s going to?”

So stop and enjoy the train this week.  (Is that possible?)  Pray for your kids while you wait.  Pray for the Redemption Campaign.  Turn around and tell them how much you love them and how proud you are of them.  Enjoy the things kids do and have faith like a child.

Investment Breakdown

A chance to invest in a city, a mission…changing kid’s lives.

HERE

Sunday Recap via my TwitPics

Braden gets up at 5:55am to help out with KidVenture setup.  (I can’t slow him down!)

I realized this morning that this may be why he likes coming early.  (Such a player.)

Lenny & Lee (father & son) ready to greet parents and kids.

These kids have figured out that hot chocolate is not just for adults.  Why we do what we do.This money series has been absolutely terrific!  I’ve heard a bunch of faith stories about money from Oakleafers already.

Nice legs.Madea thanks you for visiting Oak Leaf Church.  (From a hallway display.)

House of Rock Prayer

Driving with fam around C’ville tonight…turned in to spontaneous trip to the House of Rock.

After telling the kids about the 24 inch rat, we decided to pray for the Redemption Campaign.

Oak Leaf Article

Very cool article from a dude who visited a few weeks ago.

HERE

paraskavedekatriaphobia

any guesses?

if you said “the fear of friday the 13th” you are a winner.

more people are cautious on this day.  a lot of superstition.  a lot of fear.  a lot of lost productivity b/c of avoiding certain things in fear that something bad will happen.

so in light of this day, here are a few things that i think we should all be 1000% into, no matter the day, no matter the worries:

^ Redemption Campain - dana and i are sacrificially giving to it cause we believe in it.  KidVenture is doing some things over the next few weeks to scrounge every penny.  this is important.  are you in?

^ Bold Faith - trusting no matter the circumstances.

^ Inviting Mad Man - olc has grown in part b/c of the thousands of invites.  the strategy has not changed:  who have you invited lately?  remember, the worst that can happen is they say no.  ooooo, scary.

^ Family Role - are you a mom, dad, grandparent, sibling, supportive aunt or uncle?  don’t let the economy sidetrack you.  don’t let the fact that your family is dysfunctional deter you.  (ALL families are dysfunctional to a degree.)  play your role in your family well.  don’t sacrifice them for the sake of money or hobbies.  they are God-given and need you.

Don’t Do It

One of the best Valentine’s Day songs ever:

CLICK

Patience

“Patience is the companion of wisdom.”  Saint Augustine

Waiting is hard.  We live in a “On Demand Now” society.  Rarely do we have to wait for anything.  Rarely do we have to show patience.

But it takes time to see your kid’s behavior change…it doesn’t happen overnight.

It may take months to fully implement the new strategy you created for your company…scratch that, it may take years.

You know ultimately what you want to do with your life…but God has you in a particular place right now….requiring patience.

No matter the situation, if we hold out hope for the One who created us and knows us intimately, we will never lose.

Recap

Blogging has been on hold for awhile so here’s a recap of the past couple of days:

>  Spent Friday and Saturday in Buckhead with the wife.  A 2 day mini vacation with no kids.  Nice hotel.  Nice restaurants.  Spending money we don’t have. 

>  KidVenture went well yesterday.  So many leaders have stepped up.

>  Escorting 1st time parents and their kids is one of my favorite things about a Sunday morning.

>  Baptism at the Aquatic Center rocked.

>  In my job I am learning to let go of tasks that others can help with (and are better at) and doing things only I can do (am called to).

>  Michael had a GREAT message about how everything we have is God’s.  We need to be reminded about that on a weekly basis.  Fact:  We can’t expect blessings if we are not faithful with the little.  Great challenge.  Great perspective.