The other day, my son and I were at a community center that had, as part of the building, a small room called the “Children’s Chapel.” Inside the room were a few instruments (mostly drums), a number of boxes that had Bible stories inside of them, and several benches...
The other day I sat down and wrote out a list of all the things that “needed” to be done. The list felt immeasurably long and I quickly felt overwhelmed. I couldn’t even figure out where to start because the needs all felt pressing and demanding of my attention. I...
The packages have been opened, the treats have been enjoyed, trips have been taken, and a vague sense of normalcy is beginning to return to homes. Bedtimes start to be reinforced again. Twinkling lights disappear and houses “go dark.” Slowly but surely we leave the...
“If you could eat dinner with anyone, who would you pick?” Before you keep reading, take a moment and answer the question. Where did your mind go? Someone famous? Someone from the Bible? A hero or a friend? I recently saw a commercial from Australia where this...
Church attendance. Yup, we’re gonna go there. First the good news, because we need the good news. Jesus is Lord. Nothing can change that. And the church is the body of Christ, and nothing can change that. So that alone should stir an undying hope within our...
I love going to conferences for children, youth, and family ministry. Mostly because I love the energy around this particular group of people. Let me explain. These people work with the future. They are constantly immersed in working with “the next generation” so they...
Since I started blogging, I’ve had a number of posts that have gone “Christian viral” and one that went “viral viral.” I’ve received messages from all over the world, positive and negative, regarding what I had written. Some declared support and praise for what I...
“This is the Worst. Day. EVER!” If you have children, I imagine you’ve heard them say this once or twice when things didn’t quite go their way. Like maybe when they have to clean their room or eat all their dinner. We smile, because we’ve all been there, but at...
When you hear the words “family ministry” what comes to mind? What did you picture in your head as you heard those words? Many people tell me that when they think of family ministry, the first thing they picture is, well, a family—dad, mom, kids… you get the idea....
If you are a parent of a young child, you probably have a plethora of plastic plates in your cupboards, with little compartments for each part of the meal, because if you are a parent, you KNOW that the food can’t touch! My 4 yr. old son is very clear that not only...
And with the stroke of midnight and the turning back of the clocks…it happened. Somehow we magically moved into the mysterious time we call the “holiday season.” In just three days my Facebook feed has lit up with posts about Christmas, posts against...
If Jesus were the guest preacher at your church, what would you do with your kids? Let that question sink in for a moment. This question was posed by Rob Rienow to a group of ministers and parents yesterday and I literally watched the reactions go from “Bring them of...