Billy Burns Ministries

Notify Your Face!

noreply@blogger.com (Billy Burns Ministries) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:30:00 +0000

Have you ever heard the phrase, "If you are happy, notify your face"? I'm sure that you from time-to-time see people whose face resonates the words from the song from that 70's and 80's television show Hee Haw "Gloom, despair, and agony on me, deep dark depression, excessive misery ..." (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQCzUUWXFdI).

From time-to-time, we need to take a reality check and look into the mirror to see what other people are seeing in our face. What we are portraying through our actions and words just isn't lining up with the way that Jesus said it should be.

Just days before Jesus departed the earth to return to heaven, He huddled His followers together and gave them the game plan for their new assignment. In leaving them, Jesus promised that He would not leave the followers helpless, powerless, and hopeless (King James - comfortless). Instead, He promised that He would send the Comforter (Amplified Translation - Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby) to help them fulfill their assignments.

Tell me, what more do you need? How can things be so tough when you have the Comforter (Amplified Translation - Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby) called to walk alongside you? Is it really that difficult? It is really hopeless? Do you really not have the means to get the job done? Perhaps your face is reflecting the fact that you might be trying to do the job alone and not allowing the Comforter (Amplified Translation - Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby) to do His job.

Come on. Let's change our countenance. Let's demonstrate through our words and actions that the Holy Ghost abides within us and is enabling us to do the greater works that Jesus promised. If you are happy, let's notify your face!

Resident Presence, Resident Power

noreply@blogger.com (Billy Burns Ministries) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:30:00 +0000

A few weeks ago, we did a series called "Get MAD" in which I challenged the children to Make a Difference. In one of the four lessons, I used the verse from Acts 3 in which Peter looked at the man who had been lame for 40 years and commanded the man to get up and walk. In using the verse in our three services that weekend, I noticed a truth that I had never really captured. Look at the verse:

But Peter said, "I don't have any silver or gold, but I do have something else I can give you. By the power of Jesus Christ from Nazareth, stand up and walk!" Acts 3:6 (New Century Version)

The part of the verse that jumped off of the screen are the words "I do have something". Peter didn't say, "I'll go get something" or "I'll find something" or "I'll go find someone else to take care of this". He stated that he ALREADY had what was needed at that exact moment. In each service that weekend, those four words just resonated as the Holy Spirit amplified them in my spirit. Because of the Spirit of God abiding in me, I ALREADY have what is needed. I don't need 45 conferences and 15 books and hands laid upon my head by every Holy Ghost speaker. While the conferences, books, and impartation are great, there is a Person and power ALREADY abiding on the inside of me that enables me to address any and every need presented. Doesn't this cause you to be excited? You don't have to be Oral Roberts or Benny Hinn or Joyce Meyer to see Satan's works destroyed. Capturing that truth will cause a tadpole to beat up an elephant.

Holy Ghost Seismologists

noreply@blogger.com (Billy Burns Ministries) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:30:00 +0000

This week, I feel compelled to combine the thoughts from two recent blogs and challenge you to step into a new, exciting roll. Before reading the following thought, take a minute to reread the posts "There's a Whole Lot of Shaking Going On" (September 29) and "Revival is Voice Activated" (October 4).

Here's this week’s thought ... God has called you to become a Holy Ghost seismologist! What does a seismologist do? This person is one who studies the vibration of the Earth's interior caused by natural and unnatural sources. In all actuality, this person is one who specializes in the study of movement in an unseen realm and often warns or foretells of such movements.

For those of you who believe that you are just a children's pastor or Sunday school teacher or children's ministry volunteer, I have some exciting news for you. You have been given a much higher calling. You, my friend, are a Holy Ghost seismologist. Because of your intimacy with the Holy Ghost, you can sense the shaking of the Holy Ghost. You can see that He is working in your children and ministry. All of His movement might not be easily seen at this exact moment in your ministry with the physical eye, but in the realm of the unseen, the mighty vibrations have begun. And, as a specialist, it is your job to announce your findings.

My thought this week is for us Holy Ghost seismologists to begin to activate with our voice what we have discovered in the unseen realm. Don't be intimidated. You are no amateur. You are a specialist who has findings backed up by the Spirit of God. There truly is a whole lot of shaking going on and you are using your voice to announce what others can't see!

To quotes T.D. Jakes, "Get ready, get ready, get ready." What is happening below the surface is about to make a grand entrance above the surface. Hallelujah!

The Holy Spirit is Awaiting Your Invitation

noreply@blogger.com (Billy Burns Ministries) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:30:00 +0000

If you've been around in the church for any time at all, you have heard many of the same things over and over and over again. And yet, I have found this to be true. We can “hear” things and “know” things and yet still be clueless. To quote my Grandma Burns, "My brain leaks." I find that it is prudent that I get reminded of things that I already “know” so that I can begin to put these truths into practice.

With that in mind, allow me this week to remind you of a thought about children in revival that I know that you already know. In fact, many of you will be able to quote the remainder of the verse after just reading the first four or five words.

"For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him ..." 2 Chronicles 16:9.

Here is this week's thought (reminder) ... God is looking for an opportunity to show up in your children's ministry. He will pass by 100 children’s ministries just to get to yours, the ministry that will invite Him to come and abide. In fact, He doesn't just want to appear. God wants to show that His Spirit is there by doing mighty things. And, He wants to do it on YOUR behalf! Did you catch all of that? God wants to show up and demonstrate His presence in your Sunday school class, mid-week Bible club, or Children's church service and He will do it just because of YOU, the person who has a heart that has "given themselves completely to Him" (New Century Version).

There is ONE Holy Ghost!

noreply@blogger.com (Billy Burns Ministries) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 10:30:00 +0000

Here is a thought that really is a no brainer ... there is only one Holy Ghost. I know that we all know that truth. And yet, our theology and our actions often don't line up. We actually act as if there are two Holy Ghosts, one Holy Ghost for the adults and the other Holy Ghost for the children. Think about it for a minute or two and you'll come to the same conclusion.

If there is only one Holy Ghost (and that's a fact), then He is always the same, no matter the day, no matter the ministry opportunity, no matter the participants. He is ALWAYS that same. He only fluctuates when He is restricted or minimalized.

Are we guilty in our children's ministries of down-sizing and "kidisizing" the Holy Ghost? Are we failing to allow Him to operate in the same manner with the children as He would with the adults? Are we having a "kiddie" Holy Ghost that is only allowed to marginally move in our services?

My thought that week is to remind us all (myself included) that there is ONE Holy Ghost. He is a BIG Holy Ghost who wants to do BIG things at any given time with any given ministry opportunity with any given group of people.

I say, "Come on, Holy Ghost. Be Yourself. Feel the freedom to do what You specialize in. I won't restrict You. I won't minimalize You. BIG Holy Ghost do BIG things!"

Revival is Voice Activated

noreply@blogger.com (Billy Burns Ministries) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 10:54:00 +0000

If revival is seemingly not on the radar screen, I can almost guarantee that I can diagnose your problem. It isn't a location problem or a history problem. It has nothing to do with your gender or age. It has everything to do with the words coming from your heart through your mouth. You see, revival is voice activated!

Often, in our frustration, we begin to let the meditation of our heart and the words of our mouth be dictated by what we see or don't see. Our impatience or disappointment produces words that can thwart God's move. Why? Because heaven is facilitating the words of your mouth.

Let me show you the importance of your words. In Genesis 1, we read that the Holy Spirit had been hovering over a mass that was without form. How long had He been hovering over this emptiness? Before time was time. But immediately upon HEARING the Word of God, the Holy Spirit leaped into action bringing about creation. When did it begin? When He HEARD the Word of God.

Did you know that this is still true today? The Holy Spirit is still waiting to hear a voice. Just as in the days before creation, the Holy Spirit has been hovering over and circling your ministry just waiting on the Word of God to come out of someone’s mouth. When you and I as God's voice in the earth today begin to DECLARE OUT LOUD with our VOICE God's Word about our children in revival, the Holy Spirit will begin to move and bring about the will of God.

Take a minute and examine what has been coming out of your mouth. Begin to declare “This is the generation that will seek His face” (Psalm 24:6) and “I will pour out my Spirit into your children” (Isaiah 44:3) and “Your sons and daughters shall prophesy” (Joel 2:28). Speak this OFTEN, BOLDLY, and SO THAT OTHERS WILL HEAR. In doing so, heaven will respond!

There's a Whole Lot of Shaking Going On!

noreply@blogger.com (Billy Burns Ministries) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 10:30:00 +0000

I love reading the Book of Acts. It is in the Book of Acts that we see the Holy Spirit bursting onto the scene in the upper room and then beginning His heavenly assignment by being large and in charge, transforming a weak, anemic group of people into the Church, a people who powerfully and radically turned their world upside down! (Acts 17:6)

It is also in the Book of Acts that we see the Holy Spirit's MO (modus operandi). Time after time, we see that when He was given liberty, to use a Jerry Lee Lewis' song title, there was a whole lot of shaking going on. At times, places were literally shaken (Acts 4:31 and Acts 16:26). At other times, services were shaken or interrupted (Acts 2 and Acts 10) by His visitation. Then, at other times, the Holy Spirit grabbed ahold of individuals and shook them causing even their very identity and names to be changed (transforming the Christ-hating Saul of Tarsus into the great Paul the apostle).

Have you ever studied to see what preceded the shaking? The key to Acts 2 is found in Acts 1. The key to the shaking in Cornelius’ house is found at the beginning of Acts 10. With the exception of the conversion of Saul (while we won't find a direct reference to the saints praying for Saul, it wouldn't be difficult to assume that this was happening), each and every shaking story begins with a God-connection, prayer. You see, the Holy Spirit comes by invitation.

My cry is for the Holy Spirit to come and interrupt business as usual. First of all, I'm crying for the Holy Spirit to come and shake me, move me out of my comfort zone. I so want the Holy Spirit to shake me to the place that people will have trouble identifying this new person. I am crying out that the Holy Spirit will shake our children's ministry, interrupt our services and in doing so, transform each and every child.

Are you with me? Will you in your desperation cry out for a shaking? Will you grant Him liberty to come and shake you, your ministry, and your children? It is only in doing so that we will turn the world upside down!

The Value of Praying in the Spirit

noreply@blogger.com (Billy Burns Ministries) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:14:00 +0000

Rather than post a long blog entry this week, I just want to interject one simple question/thought ...

Is there a correlation of Paul being able to say that he had "fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7) and stating that he saw the intrinsic value of praying in other tongues "I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than you all" (1 Corinthians 14:18)? Our intimacy with the Holy Spirit which is developed through our communion with Him will allow the Holy Spirit to enable us to fulfill our assignment!

Training Children to Pray in the Spirit

noreply@blogger.com (Billy Burns Ministries) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 10:27:00 +0000

We all know that including a time of prayer is an important element in our children's church service, Sunday school class, or mid-week Bible club, right? It is in this time that we are touching heaven for our children's needs. It is also a time of training our children how to personally touch heaven.

Have you considered that this time of prayer is also an important time for training our children to know the importance of praying in their heavenly prayer language?

Consider this idea. If possible, journal the requests as the children share their personal needs. Write down the name of child giving the request, a brief overview of the request, and finally the date of the request. Before praying for the needs given that week, look back at previous requests and asks for updates for each need. Allow the children to testify about what God has done. Then, before we pray over the new requests, I always love to share a scripture the illuminates and brings clarity to what will happen as we pray. It might be 1 John 5:14-15 or Matthew 18:19 or John 16:23. Then, after praying for the needs, I remind the children that as they gave their requests, they only gave us part of the information. There are often details about this need that we don't know. So, according to Romans 8:26, we can allow the Holy Spirit to pray through us in our heavenly prayer language about these needs. It is as we pray in other tongues that the Holy Spirit helps to pray as we should about things that we have no earthly knowledge.

Here are the benefits of doing this each and every week:
1. We are raising up intercessors.
2. Through our journaling, we are giving the children an opportunity to pray for needs and then come back in future weeks to see how God has met those needs. The old-timers (this includes me) called this Testimony Service.
3. We are instilling in our children the value of praying in other tongues by weekly demonstrating its importance as a vital part of our prayer time.
4. We are providing an opportunity for the children to become comfortable in praying in their heavenly prayer language. This is not something weird or spooky. Praying in other tongues must become a part of our daily lives.

The Importance of Praying in Other Tongues

noreply@blogger.com (Billy Burns Ministries) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 10:30:00 +0000

Recently, I did a brief recap of the previous four lessons about the Gift of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. I believe that this teaching is so, so critical and important. As I concluded the teaching, I mentioned that our battle against the enemy is an unfair battle. In this battle, we aren't fighting against things that we can see. To help make this point clear, I brought two boys onto the platform and informed them that we would do something that we have never done in my 20 years of being a children's pastor. In our service, we would have an all out, knock-down, put the smack on fight between the two boys. To make the fight even more memorable, I then gave each boy a baseball bat to use. Needless to say, our audience went wild about this idea. I then announced that to make this fight even more unforgettable, I would place a blindfold upon one of the boys. Both boys would be fighting with a baseball bat, one with full vision and the other blindfolded. You should have seen the eyes of the child that would be fighting blindfolded. It was a moment that I'll never forget. Of course, there was no fight. It was just a great illustration.

In ourselves, we are no match against Satan. The apostle Paul stated that our enemy isn't flesh and blood, but principalities and powers and rulers of darkness. There is no way that we can compete against an unseen enemy. But, the Helper from heaven has given us tools that gives us an advantage over our unseen enemy. One of these tools is the ability to communicate with God in a language that our enemy cannot understand. This language from heaven, other tongues, enables us to talk the secrets of Heaven and Satan is totally clueless.

I then gave the illustration about how our United States military utilized the Najavo Indian language to bypass the constant surveillance of the Japanese army during World War II. Rather than retell the story, you can go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_talker#Use_of_Navajo. This is an illustration that will make this point come alive.

Thank God for the Holy Spirit. Thank God for the language that He enables us to speak (Acts 2:4) that gives us the ability to "put the smack down" on our blinded enemy!

Leading Children into the Baptism in the Holy Spirit - Help #3

noreply@blogger.com (Billy Burns Ministries) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 10:00:00 +0000

This weekend, we had an awesome time of ministering about the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. It was awesome to watch child after child receive this gift from heaven.

In this blog entry, allow me to share a truth that made a difference for the altar ministry. In the second object lesson we did a segment called "Here's What You Can Expect", we used a bowling ball, chair, balloon, and Bible. In this object lesson, we used a child to help illustrate this point. To each of the following three scenarios, we asked the child the question, "what would you expect?" We told the child that we would drop a bowling ball on their toes. Next, we told the child to stand on a chair and drop backwards. We told the child that we would not be there to catch them. Lastly, we told the child that we would want them to inflate a balloon and then stick their head up into the balloon. After giving each of these scenarios, the child was to tell us what they knew would happen to them after doing the event. It was a great, fun object lesson because the child would be confident of the sure consequences of each action. It is literally a no-brainer!

In the object lesson, we showed a video clip showing what happened in Acts 2:1-4 in the initial outpouring of the Holy Spirit. After the clip, we then focused upon what happened in Acts 2:4 in the upper room. This is the first of many accounts in the Book of Acts showing that when people were filled with the Holy Spirit, they immediately began to speak in a heavenly prayer language. From seeing these accounts, it is easy to know what to expect. Just like the illustrations in the object lesson with the child, this becomes a no-brainer in us knowing what to expect when we are baptized in the Holy Spirit.

Leading Children into the Baptism in the Holy Spirit - Help #2

noreply@blogger.com (Billy Burns Ministries) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 10:00:00 +0000

Believe it or not, one of the greatest challenges of children's ministry is in remembering that we are ministering to CHILDREN ... hence the name "children's ministry". While the obvious should be obvious, obviously it isn't! It is amazing to watch people try to minister to children and see that the children really don't have a clue as to what it being taught.

Since our children would echo the words found in Acts 19 "We didn't even know that there is a Holy Spirit", let me briefly share the three keys to making this message of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit come alive for your children.
1. Be Visual. It is amazing how a few props can exponentially multiply the comprehension level. Use barbells to illustrate how the Holy Spirit builds us (Jude 20), batteries and a flashlight to illustrate how the Holy Spirit gives us power (Acts 1:8), a GPS to illustrate how the Holy Spirit can see things ahead of us that we can't see (John 16:13), etc.
2. Be Relevant. Be sure to use humorous or dramatic personal stories to accompany the Bible stories. Personal stories amplify the biblical truth and makes it an up-to-date truth. The stories could include events from your childhood or in your family's life, etc. I love to tell of the time while Vickie and I were on our way to Africa and had a layover in Amsterdam. (Forgive me for giving a brief man's version of the story. I use the Amplifed Version, aka women's version, to tell the story.) We were carrying quite a sizeable sum of money to give to our missionaries. Before leaving the hotel room to go take a late night walk, Vickie felt prompted to tell me to leave this money in the room. While we were walking, a robber jumped out of the darkness and tried to rob us. Had Vickie not heard the Holy Spirit, we would have lost all of the money. (Illustrating John 16:13).
3. Be Memorable. Be creative. Use characters whose elevator doesn’t make it to the top floor (I R Smart, Not Too Bright, Brain Freeze, Tool Time Tim) or characters who are there to rescue you or help you (Ura Crop, a Personal Trainer, Scripture Man, Bible Blaster, Chef Pierre’).

Leading Children into the Baptism in the Holy Spirit - Help #1

noreply@blogger.com (Billy Burns Ministries) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 10:30:00 +0000

One of the most challenging areas of ministry for many children's ministry leaders is in the area of leading children into receiving the Baptism in the Holy Spirit.

This week, allow me to share an important key in preparing boys and girls to receive Heaven's gift: Help #1: Utilize the McDonald's Happy Meal Principle.

For those of us with children, we know that food inside of the McDonald's Happy Meal bag is the very same food that we adults are eating, just served in smaller portions. In order to prepare a Happy Meal hamburger, McDonald's didn't find miniature cows so that they could produce smaller meat patties. The meat in the Happy Meal hamburger is the very same beef used for the quarter pounder hamburgers, right? But, for the Happy Meal, McDonald's reduced the portion of beef served. The Happy Meal french fries didn't come from midget potatoes, did they? Of course not. The french fries served in the Happy Meal are the very same french fries served with the adult meals. But, for the Happy Meal, McDonald's has provided a kid-sized portion of fries.

Wouldn't it be insane to try to serve a 7-year-old child a double quarter pounder hamburger with a large order of french fries and an extra large soft drink? Even more insane, wouldn't it be incomprehensible to expect the child to eat that meal all in one setting? And yet, in ministering on the subject of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, we fail to see that we can overwhelm the children if we serve them an adult-sized spiritual meal in one service.

This teaching is so very, very important that we can't afford to overwhelm them by serving super-sized portions. Instead, serve this spiritual meal in kid-sized portions. Take what most adults could consume in one setting and serve this message in several class settings. The first week, teach the children on Jesus' introduction of the Holy Spirit. (John 14). The next week, teach on why Jesus knew that His return to Heaven was important. (John 16:7). The next week, teach on what happens when we receive the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2). The final week, teach about the importance of allowing the Holy Spirit to work within us daily. (Jude 20).

Use wisdom. Don't super-size the ministry portions. Utilize the McDonald's Happy Meal Principle (King James - line upon line principle). In doing so, you will see child after child receive this awesome gift from Heaven.

The Greatest Investment

noreply@blogger.com (Billy Burns Ministries) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 02:05:00 +0000

This morning, I am one tired children's pastor. I have every reason to want to crawl back into bed for a few days. Two weeks ago, I oversaw our district Kid's Camp. And, while it was a great week filled with non-stop activities and life-changing ministry, it was still 5 energy-draining days. After getting home late Friday, we raced through Saturday and Sunday trying to catch up on the work that we'd missed while we were at camp. Then, Monday we drove to Orlando for the General Council of the Assemblies of God. After the Council ended Friday evening, we stayed in Orlando so that Vickie could teach at a conference on Saturday. We made it back home Saturday afternoon, did the service that night, and then the two services on Sunday.

Was adding these two all consuming events to my calendar worth the investment? Yes. Emphatically yes. There were plenty of reasons to not make the investment. Like you, I constantly maintain a schedule that stays too full. It would have been easy to not go to the camp or just send our kids to camp without me going. It would have been easy to allow my calendar to preempt me from going to the General Council. But, early in my ministry, I learned that ministry isn't governed by ease or convenience. In each of these events, I saw a golden opportunity to invest in relationships.

In today's hurried lifestyle, we are prone to ignore these types of investments. We have too much to do and too many places to be. Consequently, investing in relationships gets pushed further down our list of priorities. And yet, relationships can yield some of the greatest rewards of ministry.

Investing in relationships is rarely convenient or inexpensive. There is generally a price to be paid. Attending and overseeing a Kid's Camp is far from being on my Top 10 List of fun activities for the summer. It is hard work. But, the 5 days at camp gave this shepherd the rare opportunity to rub up against my sheep morning, noon, and night. Memories were made in our kid's lives that will last a lifetime. Being a part of a 35,000 attendee Council was overwhelming. And yet, I renewed so many friendships and nurtured other relationships as we stood and visited at a vendor's booth or sat a dinner table for a meal that stretched into a 3 1/2 connecting time.

Do yourself a favor. Pick up your telephone right now and connect with another children's ministry leader in your area. Your relationship doesn't even have to be a part of your particular "flavor" of Christianity. You'll thank me for this blog in the days to come!

A Personal Testimony of God's Faithfulness

noreply@blogger.com (Billy Burns Ministries) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 10:30:00 +0000

What a weekend. We came into our three services exhausted from just returning from Kid's Camp late Friday afternoon. Ministering in the services wasn't something that I was looking forward to. To make life easy for me and my staff, I planned our annual Shine Weekend for the services. This is one of our kid’s favorite weekends. After a brief time of praise and worship followed by a brief teaching of Jesus' parable in Matthew 25 about the value of making use of the talents and giftings placed within each of us, the boys and girls get to showcase their talents. It is a great time, and at times, a hilarious time as the talents range from joke telling, gymnastics, playing a song on the piano, performing a magic trick, singing a solo, etc.

Just after the two Sunday services started, I was interrupted by one of our staff and was asked to stand beside Vickie. For the next few minutes, Vickie and I were blown away as our staff honored us on our 20th anniversary of being the Children's Pastors at Trinity Church International. The greetings via video, the surprise appearance of my dearest friend in the world Grant Foster, and the love shown by the staff was at times almost overwhelming. And then, we were presented with an offering with instructions to use it towards a cruise. Again, what a day.

During these past 20 years, God has been so good to us. He has placed us in a great church. While there is no such thing as a perfect church (if there was such a critter, I'd mess it up just by being at the church), God has used this church to change me. A long time ago, God taught me that during difficult times to run to Him instead of the exit door. During those times, the circumstances rarely changed. Instead, God used the circumstances to change me.

We have so much for which to be thankful. God has been so faithful. He continues to outdo Himself for us.

Is it time to leave? Are you kidding? We believe that the best days are ahead. Here’s to the next 20 years!

Dependency Upon the Holy Spirit

noreply@blogger.com (Billy Burns Ministries) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 11:00:00 +0000

Life has so changed when I was a little boy. As a child, I remember that most of my classmates in my small South Texas town went to church every weekend. In our children's ministry today, I have so many children that come every other weekend often due to divorced parents rotating their weekend custodial rights, other children who come once a month, and then there are those who I call CEO's (Christmas and Easter Only). Consequently, with some 1,000 children in our church under the age of 12 and a portion of them with sporadic, inconsistent attendance, knowing every child by name is an impossible task. I find myself walking through Wal-Mart smiling at every child because I don't know whether or not they are one of our kids.

How do I know the children's names? For some of the occasional attenders, I rely heavily on secretly looking at the child's nametag as I'm talking to them. How do I know the names of their siblings or parents? Often in going into the hospital to pray for a child, I first look at the constantly updated Excel spread sheet that I have on my cell phone listing every child's name and age, parent’s names, and the names of their brothers and/or sisters. Without the nametags and the file on my cell phone, I am clueless.

Believe it or not, even after 30 years of being involved in children's ministry, there are so many areas in the ministry in which I am clueless. I have more questions than answers. I only see the surface of the children (their faces, the type of clothes that they wear, the parent who drops them off or picks them up after service, etc.) I don't have a solid knowledge of what is needed in that child's life. I don't know what battles that they are facing.

Thankfully, I have the Holy Spirit to come to my rescue. Romans 8 tells me that when I am in a deficit position and am coming up lacking, the Holy Spirit is there to fill in the blanks as He makes intercession (King James English for stepping up to the plate in my behalf) and cover my inadequacies.

Thank God for the Holy Ghost. Again, thank God for the Holy Ghost. One more time, thank God for the Holy Ghost. I'm not trying to be repetitious or redundant to add to the length of this blog. I am just so dependent upon Him. And, I am learning to unashamedly become more and more dependent upon Him. Thankfully I am learning that I am so inadequate. But with Him, I can fulfill my God-given assignment and see a mighty move of God in this generation.

Stop what you are doing right now. Join me in thanking God for His precious Spirit and then articulate your dependence on Him!

The Intimacy of the Holy Spirit

noreply@blogger.com (Billy Burns Ministries) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 11:36:00 +0000

One of the greatest truths that I share in our Ignite the Supernatural Conferences is that the Holy Spirit will never be real through you until He is real to you. It's not enough to just know about Him. We can actually know the Holy Spirit. There is a place of relationship that will allow us to know Him in such an intimate way that will cause Him to become so very real in each and every aspect of our lives.

Evidently, the great evangelist Kathryn Kuhlman who was used mightily by the Holy Spirit in the Gifts of Healings had tapped into this type of intimacy. She often said, "He is more real to me than you are." The pastor who was very instrumental in stirring up my passion for the Holy Spirit, B.B. Hankins, would often say, "I wouldn't cross the street without the Holy Spirit." Consequently, this intimacy would allow the Holy Spirit to permeate our services in my home church in West Columbia, Texas.

My longing is to know the Holy Spirit in a greater, more intimate way. My longing isn't based upon a desire to be used by Him. The through me is just a byproduct of the to me. The through me will always FOLLOW the to me.

Holy Spirit, I do long to know you in a greater way today!

Another Weekend, Another Investment

noreply@blogger.com (Billy Burns Ministries) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 10:44:00 +0000

It's early Monday morning and, to be quite honest, there's not much energy in me. I know that I'll go back to bed in a few minutes and then hopefully wake up later and find a good Western or WW II movie to watch as I lay on the couch.

It was a typical weekend in many respects ... dealing with tardy staff, helping the nervous mom feel comfortable about leaving her angel in a new setting, dealing with a child that causes me to believe that demons can be children possessed, etc. The logistics of the ministry is enough to tire a person.

It was a weekend that God showed up. I told my son Aaron as we left the church parking lot yesterday that I felt as though we had really delivered a timely message to our kids as we taught on the subject "What's in Your Mouth?" I could sense in each of our three services that the message really hit home in so many lives.

I left our third and final service all "hugged out". Long ago, I learned the power in touching people. I believe that there is a healing and strengthening and connection that come through touch. For some, it might be just a touch on the top of the head. For others, it might be just looking them in the eyes and telling them how blessed that I am to get to be their children's pastor. For others, it might be kissing a baby on the cheek or a young child a kiss on the top of the head and then telling them how much that I love them. By the end of the day, there wasn't too much "hug" left in me. But, both the connection with the child and the genuine appreciation seen in the faces of the parents made it worth it all.

After the last child left, I began to have one-on-one time with my staff. I've purposed to never be in a hurry to leave after church. This is my time to love on my staff. So, yesterday, I met with one of my new staff members and connected with them, then spent time with a group of my staff before Vickie and I headed out to a restaurant with them.

Was the weekend worth it? You betcha. It's weekends like this past one that has caused parents to tell me that their child told them, "Momma, when I grow up, I want to be a policeman, a fireman, or a Pastor Billy" or "Momma, you know that I love Daddy but can Pastor Billy come and live with us?" It's the "hugged out" weekends that produces the children coming up to me like a little boy did a few weeks ago and told me, "Pastor Billy, when I grow up, I want to be just like you."

It is because of weekends like this past weekend that has produced such a tight relationship with my staff that when one of my teenaged staff's parents were going out of the country and they needed someone to stay with the teenager and their younger sibling, my staff asked their parents if I could come and live with them while the parents were gone. It is because of weekends like this past weekend that has taken several of my staff and enabled them to become great children's pastors in their own right across the nation.

Was the weekend worth it? You betcha. I can't wait to see what God will do next next weekend!

Extreme Revival

noreply@blogger.com (Billy Burns Ministries) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 18:47:00 +0000

Here's a fact that you are hopefully well aware of ... revival is never silent or goes unnoticed. As the Spirit of God begins to move among our children, the services will become radically different because both the staff and children are radically different. Real revival will always cause an extreme turnaround from the pre-revival days!

Let me give bullet point thoughts for beginning an extreme Holy Spirit revival in your children's ministry:
* It begins with EXTREME HEARING: While many voices call for you to become discouraged about your ministry, EXTREME HEARING will cause you to ONLY hear what God has to say in your spirit and through His Word about your children’s ministry.
* EXTREME SEEING: Upon tuning out the surrounding voices, EXTREME SEEING will cause you to see and remain focused ONLY upon what God sees in your children's ministry.
* EXTREME BELIEVING: Having heard from God and seeing what God sees in your ministry, EXTREME BELIEVING will cause you to unwaveringly (to quote my friend Mark Hankins) “know in your knower” that each and every service provides an opportunity for a supernatural manifestation of God's presence.
* EXTREME SAYING: It's not enough to just hear and see and believe. Those who are fully persuaded (a.k.a. knowing in their knower) will begin to have EXTREME SAYING ability. You will speak to the mountain (religious tradition, apathy, the "we've never done it that way before mentality, confusion) expecting it to be cast into the sea! EXTREME revival always has a voice!!!
* EXTREME ACTION: In each service, EXTREME ACTION on your part and then eventually your staff's part will reflect what you have read from the Word, seen through the eyes of faith, believed in your heart and said with your mouth. Get radical. Act as though God actually meant what He said and said what He meant!

Come on, let's get radical. Let's get extreme in our pursuit for a move of God in our children's ministry. We are passionate and unrelenting. We won't be denied!

A Well-Balanced Children's Ministry

noreply@blogger.com (Billy Burns Ministries) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 10:30:00 +0000

I learned a long time ago that the adage "He who fails to plan, plans to fail" is so true. With children's ministry, preparation and planning are extremely important. Consistently just "going with the flow" is a sure-fire indicator that you won't be in this ministry very long. Praying and hearing from God and then writing or preparing the lesson before you walk into your classroom will keep your ministry balanced and on-track.

At the same time, if we are hard-headed about just going with the preplanned program, we will often miss what the Holy Spirit is attempting to say and do through us. It is so easy to become so programmed in our ministry that we totally ignore the leadings and promptings of the Holy Spirit. Having the mentality that we've finely tuned this lesson and have 120 minutes of lesson that has to be crammed into a 90 minute time-frame and everything has to be done can cause us to grieve the Holy Spirit and miss out on what could have been THE service that could have changed a child's future and the course of your ministry.

What is the balance? We must walk into the service having prayed, prepared and organized just as though the success of the service depends upon us and yet be vulnerable and flexible knowing that everything depends upon His unction and anointing.

A Call to Fellow Revivalists

noreply@blogger.com (Billy Burns Ministries) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 10:30:00 +0000

This week, allow me to deviate from the typical blog entry. Each week, people from literally around the globe look to this blog to provide inspiration, revelation, and confirmation enabling them to launch a Spirit-filled, Spirit-led, and Spirit-equipped children's ministry in their local church. To that, I am so humbled that you trust me to speak into your life.

This week, I am challenging you to show your desperation and insatiable desire to see a mighty outpouring of God's Spirit upon your children's ministry. I am making a call to revivalists from around the globe to be like the lady with the issue of blood (Mark 5) and put some legs to your passion. I'm speaking specifically to those who long for a spiritual revolution that will awaken children to flow mightily with the Holy Spirit.

I am challenging you to set aside 3 days on your calendar to come and join fellow revivalists at our 2009 Ignite the Supernatural Conference. Imagine what can happen in the realm of the Spirit when dissatisfied, desperate, daring, and determined children's ministry leaders and workers from around the globe come together on November 5 - 7 to the greater Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas area.

I've gathered leaders/teachers who know how to flow with the Holy Spirit. This isn't just textbook information. With 24 workshops and 5 general sessions, times of intercession, anointed times of personal ministry through the laying on of hands and the working of the Gifts of the Spirit ... how can you afford to miss?

Join me. Clear your calendar for three days. Bring your key leaders with you. Your pastor and spouse can attend the conference along with you for FREE!

I guarantee that you won't find another conference like this in the nation! Check out a few of the workshop listings: The Holy Spirit on Assignment, Children and the Gifts of the Spirit, Let's Demonstrate the Supernatural, Power-Packed Preschoolers, Teaching Children to Hear the Voice of God.

Information for conference speakers, workshop schedules/descriptions, hotel rates is available by going to www.ignite-conference.com.

If He Did It Once, He Can Do It Again!

noreply@blogger.com (Billy Burns Ministries) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 23:30:00 +0000

I love reading about what God has done through children throughout church history. Why? Because if God did it once through children, He can do it again!

This week, allow me to share a story from the life of John G. Lake from a book that has long been out of print, Adventures in God. (pages 15 - 16). In reading this account, remember that if God did it once, He can do it again. Here is Lake's story ...

I was sitting one day in the home of the DeValeras in Krugersdorp, South Africa, when a man arrived who had traveled all over the country. He had been following me from place to place, trying to catch up with me. He suffered a sunstroke which had affected his mind and he also had developed a large cancer.

He came into the house and proved to be a friend of the family. In a little while a six-year-old child who had been sitting near me went across the room, climbed on the man's knees, put her hands on the cancer on his face, and prayed.

I saw the cancer wither. In half an hour, the thing had disappeared. The wound was still there, but in a few days it was healed.

After the child had laid her hands on top of his head, he arose, saying, "Oh! The fire that has been in my brain has gone out," and his mind was normal.

Power belongeth unto God. Psalms 62: 11. The simplest soul can touch God and live in the very presence of God and in His power.

Note: I have discovered that this book is available in a pdf format at www.knihy.own.cz/ENG/J.G.Lake%20-Adventures%20in%20God.pdf

The Jealousy of the Holy Spirit

noreply@blogger.com (Billy Burns Ministries) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 10:30:00 +0000

Recently, I was on an outing with one of our ministries and had to return for Trinity's Saturday night service. During the course of the outing, one of my staff had become sick and needed to return home with me. I quickly discovered during the trip that I was transporting a non-talker. Try as I may to engage him in conversation, I was answered with two or three word sentences. After a while of trying to create conversation, I gave up. Needless to say, that three hour trip was a long and most unpleasant drive.

I often wonder if this is the sentiment of the Holy Spirit. At one time, He merely came upon select people for a select job. Now, Jesus promised that the One who was with us is now abiding in us. He has been assigned to be with us 24/7/365 so that we can fulfill our God-given assignments. And yet, in most believers, if He hears any conversation at all, it is in a perfunctory prayer at the beginning of one of our services. While abiding with us and going along for the ride with us, He rarely if ever has the opportunity to engage in conversation with us.

Is our silence deafening to the Holy Spirit? Does He yearn for interaction with us? Is He jealous of our imbalance with being consumed with the things of this world and our lack of time with Him? Consider this scripture:

"Or what do you think the Scripture means when it says that the Holy Spirit, whom God has placed within us, watches over us with tender jealousy?" (James 4:5, The Living Bible)

Come on, let's commune with the Spirit. Throughout the day, talk to Him … know that He is in the car with you, working on the job with you, playing golf with you ... acknowledge and welcome and engage His presence ... and then you and your children's ministry will never ever be the same again!

Be Filled with the Spirit

noreply@blogger.com (Billy Burns Ministries) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 10:30:00 +0000

Am I the only one in children's ministry that knows both the highs and lows of the ministry? There are days in which I'd gladly sign up for another thirty years of service. Then, there are other times that it would be easy to look for the back exit door. Surely I'm not the only one that knows the rollercoaster of the ministry, am I?

Allow me to share with you a secret that I learned from one of my heroes that has enabled me to keep on keeping on. When the greatest evangelist of the nineteenth century, D.L. Moody, was asked why he said he needed to be filled continually with the Holy Spirit, he replied, “Because I leak!”

The pressures of dealing with people and situations can cause us to leak. The "joys" of children's ministry can cause our levels to ebb. Moody gave us the answer to longevity ... continually be filled with the Spirit.

The apostle Paul must have understood the "leaking" for he wrote to the Ephesians to be filled (the literal Greek reads being which is a progressive constant) with the Spirit. So, when we are on the mountain top of the ministry ... ask to be refilled. When the Gilbert O'Sullivan song "Alone Again Naturally" has become a state of mind ... ask to be refilled. If it is good enough for the apostle Paul and D.L. Moody, it is good enough for me. Selah.

Things I Don't Understand

noreply@blogger.com (Billy Burns Ministries) — Mon, 25 May 2009 10:30:00 +0000

In a matter of a few days, Vickie and I will be celebrating our 30th anniversary in children's ministry. On the first weekend of June in 1979, Vickie and left Waxahachie, Texas to become full-time children's evangelists heading off for our very first Kid's Crusade at Mark Hankins church in central Louisiana.

Thirty years have come and gone. You'd think that I'd have a full grip on everything associated with children's ministry by now, wouldn't you? Today, allow me to use this blog to share some things that I still don't understand.

Why is it that most parents in dropping off their child in our classes exit the class while telling their child, "Have fun"? Is having fun the reason that their children are with us? To make matters worse, the parents first words in picking up their child usually is, "Did you have a good time?"
While this doesn't effect me because my ministry isn't operating off of the children's offerings, I don't understand why parents give their child a coin or two for the offering. I know of many children's churches who derive their entire budgets off of what is given in the children's offerings. Let's see ... 30 children each giving 28 cents .... whoa .... we'll get a new DVD .... wait, it will be cheaper to find an old, used VHS tape at Goodwill.
Why this happens ... the more visible the ministry, the more bountiful the number of volunteers. To flip it around, the more hidden or out-of-sight the ministry, the fewer the number of volunteers.
Why is it that midweek sporting activities are more important than midweek Bible clubs? I've never heard of a teenager facing overwhelming peer pressure falling back on truths learned at pee-wee baseball to help them resist the smooth conniving lies of the enemy, have you?

I know that this isn't one of my "usual" type blog entries. This entry won't point you towards having a Holy Spirit service. Believe me when I say that I'm not writing this entry because I am bitter or angry. These are just thoughts that come to me from time-to-time. Perhaps you have the answers to these thoughts, or other thoughts to add to this list. Send me your answers or additions .... billy@billyburnsministries.com.