Many of you have heard about Rob Bell’s recent news of his departure as pastor of Mars Hill. Check out his Sunday morning message regarding his new venture and calling.
It’s been a great month of SEEDS! LBC members, spread the word about this great ministry to children and families on Wed. nights at 6:15. And parents, come to Parent Chat on Oct. 5th as Pastor Tony speaks on the Foundations of Parenting.
Student Life started a new blog series called Dispatches from the First Year. It’s all about being a first-year youth pastor: the trials and tribulations, as well as the triumphs.
Four newbies will be journaling for their first year, giving insights to discipling students, as well as being on a church staff, creating relationships with parents, and much more.
Our own Cam Potts, Student Pastor at LaGrange Baptist Church, (pictured) is one of the featured bloggers! Check it out.
Divorce affects the lives of so many children in our society today, but how can the church respond? I appreciate Wayne Stocks and his heart to help hurting children and their families through his new website called divorceministry4kids.com. Here’s why he started the website:
Since 1972, over 1,000,000 kids each year have joined the ranks of the children of divorce. These kids face struggles which are very unique and very real. And, unfortunately, many of our churches are ill-equipped to deal with the special needs of this growing segment of their congregations. Whether they worry about addressing the issue of divorce for fear of alienating their congregations, pretend that the problem simply does not exist, or simply fail to recognize the magnitude of the issue, many churches are ill-equipped to deal with, or minister to, children of divorce.
Read the rest … and check out Tony Kummer’s podcast with Wayne about the website
The family ministry movement in our day is an awakening for sure. I believe it is a gracious move of God in our country to bring us back to His way of living. We, as churches, should implement effective strategies to equip families and minister to them in their brokenness. Never should this effort become an obstacle or an idol that hinders the Gospel. Family ministry done well will propagate the Gospel throughout the generations and it will reach out to hurting and broken people at their deepest point of need. Give people the Gospel they are crying out for and use family ministry as one strategy to do just that.
John Piper: The Sum of Your Word Is Truth from Children Desiring God on Vimeo.
Russell Moore: No Longer Tossed To and Fro from Children Desiring God on Vimeo.
Kempton Turner: Your Testimonies Are My Delight from Children Desiring God on Vimeo.
David Michael: Stand from Children Desiring God on Vimeo.
Check out all the other helpful break out sessions with notes and audio here.
Tony Kummer shares an interesting report here about what might be coming next in kids ministry.
Nelson Searcy on how leaders can raise up new leaders by replacing themselves in 4 steps:
~ Taken from Activate: An Entirely New Approach to Small Groups, p. 66.
A friend of mine put this verse on a post-it note yesterday and laid it on my desk.
“Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart.” ~ 2 Cor. 4:1
What a good reminder. I encourage you to pass it along to someone you know in ministry.
Tony Kummer with a thought-provoking post describing the spiritual dangers over-churched kids can face:
1. Familiar Stories Lose Their Power: When kids hear the same Bible stories year-after-year they can become a little boring. Even worse – these stories are often told without imagination or any listener interaction. Most over-churched kids have heard the same 100+ Bible stories since they were in the Toddler Sunday School. They no longer connect with the characters or feel moved by the plot resolution. Once I was told by a seminary professor, “ It is a sin to make the Bible boring.” I’m starting to think he was right.
2. Knowledge Can Promote Pride: Something happens inside of us when we become the expert. Children feel that same sense of superiority when they have more religious knowledge than their peers. Too often over-churched kids build their identity around that achievement, even when it doesn’t involve a growing relationship with Christ.
3. They Have Learned to Pretend Pray: A real struggle for grown-ups is connecting with God through prayer. Too often it becomes routine and dry. Most younger children learn prayer as an act of imitation. Many don’t even realize that something cosmic is happening when we address our words to God. They don’t feel the presence of God or even expect that they should.
4. They Don’t Feel Their Lostness: Many over-churched kids don’t know what life is like without the comforts of faith. Their brain say ‘forgiveness’ before their heart feels ‘I’m sorry.’ Because they know about grace, they have never really struggled much with guilt.
5. The Ugly Side of Church: Kids who hang around Christians know the yucky side of the church. They hear the complaining. They know Jesus didn’t fix daddy’s temper yet. They know that church is not always the safest place in their lives. Beyond all this they notice when adults are being fake or doing religious role play.
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