I was blessed to have this years team almost entirely in place before last summer ended. They were a great bunch to work with and I’m sure they learned a ton, but, for me, they were priceless during the last two weeks of camp.

During week 8 I developed a fever and needed to stay home that Friday. Turns out it wasn’t just a fever, it was pneumonia. I was in and out (and mostly out of it) during the last two weeks. But camp never missed a beat – including the final staff dinner. Side note: That’s why for the first time in almost 5 years I missed posting these last two weeks.

My leadership team knew what needed to be done and found ways to make it happen. That couldn’t have been the case if I was trying to run a one-man show.

Make sure that you have a team in place that can step in and do most of what you can do. You never know when you’re going to be sick, injured, or need to be out for an extended time.

One of the thoughts that struck me as central to Pastor Bob’s message was, “A Christ-like response requires an appropriate posture, not just correct doctrine.”

I also know that many parents, myself included, are struggling with the question, “How do I talk to my kids about this?” In many ways, it’s the new “The Talk.” With the topic all over the news, social media and dominating all sorts of conversations we’re left with wondering how to control the context in which our children learn about and process through gay marriage and homosexuality.  And that means that just as the sex talk should have never been about a single conversation neither should the topic of homosexuality. Likewise, just like the topic of sex this is a topic that we should proactively discuss.

Know Your Children

One of the key habits that we encourage at our church is Dialog. Having at least a weekly conversation where you are listening more than you are talking. One of the reasons for this is to help parents know what is happening in a child’s heart and to be there for encouragement, course correction, and support.

If you’re listening to what your child is encountering on a regular basis you might find that they are not aware of the Supreme Court decision and may not be aware of the subject of “gay marriage” at all. If that’s the case, don’t feel the pressure to bring the topic up just because it is dominating culture at the moment.

However, if you child asks you about it, don’t avoid the conversation simply to avoid the discomfort. I’ll talk about this a little more later, but our comfort as parents is not our highest priority.

You also need to know the context of your child’s life. If they are in upper elementary grades or older, they are going to hear about it – especially if they are part of the public school system. Children love to talk about things that seem taboo and it is better for us to get in front of these topics and help children process these issues. It’s much harder to undo misinformation than it is to shape conversations.

I’ve got at least 4 other things that I think we need to focus on as parents regarding this issue that I’ll cover later in this series. For this week, consider working on making sure that you have an ongoing dialog with your child (about what’s going on in their lives) and that you are listening more than you are talking. I’ll be back next week and talk about how we can begin to shape this conversation in a way that conveys our beliefs as Christian parents.

It’s fun, it’s crazy, it’s full.

I remember as a child that summer is filled with days of fun. Freedom to play, VBS, camp, and vacations.

Summer gives us an opportunity to do some fun and silly things.

And, now I see that it’s also full. Children’s pastors have a ton of planning that needs to happen. Camp counselors days are filled with wrangling. Parents try to squeeze in their own fun while planning for vacation and time for fun with their children.

But you know what? It’ll be gone soon.
So don’t fret, stress, or be grumpy about planning. Enjoy it.

And to all of  you who are adulting during the summer – thank you!

I love the place that God has me but as I mentioned last week, sometimes it feels overwhelming.

For the past two weeks I’ve wanted to grab some time to share my thoughts about Awana’s newest book offering, which I mentioned last week. Sorry, but that’s not going to happen this week….but I am excited to share that I’ll be talking to a friend that works for Awana, so maybe I’ll have even more insight to share.

That being said, if you are in ministry, ask yourself this question: Who am I able to meet with that is outside the context of my own ministry? Keep yourself fresh!

It’s easy to think that your story doesn’t matter – or even that you don’t have a story. Your story may be short, but you still have one. And it matters.

I’ve been reading through Awana’s new book The Gospel Truth About Children’s Ministry which is a summary of answers that children’s ministers have give to their questions. In essence a summation of stories. Through that reading I realized that I’m not the only CM feeling overloaded – most do.

In a weird way, that was an encouragement.

Likewise, while I was camping with some Jr. High students last week, several counselors and me shared our testimonies – our stories of faith. Though we had not talked to one another about what we would be saying, there was a common theme in each of or stories. Struggles with family, struggles with identity.

Again, it’s encouraging to know you aren’t the only one.

So share your story, whatever it is. You may encourage someone.

When children are asked about influence Grandparents come in second only to parents.
When research is done in the area of childhood influence, grandparents rate just as high.

Grandparents have incredible power.

But it isn’t influence that comes easy. Grand-parenting can be a struggle because they’ve passed the baton of parenting on to their own child and they have to resist the urge to manipulate through power, guilt, or another type of control.

Still, you have a story to be told. You have a way you think things should be done.

But you know pushing too hard means loosing influence.

This weekend, Larry Fowler, a leader with Awana and a grandparent himself, will be teaching a webinar on how grandparents can influence three generation.

he’ll talk about:

But not quite.

As part of the review process I gave the series to my oldest son who is an avid reader and in the target age range. He’s read hundreds of books, including many that draw from scripture. As he read the first book, Cottonmouth and The River, he thought he knew where the book was headed. To his delight he was only partially correct.

Although he enjoyed the first book he told me that the second one was a bit all over the place and then the third one fell apart….but came together in the end.

I’m not sure what to make of that, but he says they are enjoyable.

I read the third book first and I’ll say, “Don’t do that.”
It made little sense to me and I found it rather disjointed…but then again, I started at the back.

C.S. Fritz tells an interesting tale in an interesting way. The illustrations are fantastic, adding details to the story while not getting in the way of the reader’s imagination.

If I had to give the book a rating, I’m not sure I could. As I mentioned, I found it interesting. It held my attention. But I didn’t fully understand what was happening….but that, I think, is part of the draw of a good story. It pulls you in, it holds your attention, and it makes you think.

“Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?” – Romans 2:4

A couple of weeks ago I spoke to our congregation about parenting, about delighting in our children, and about God’s kindness. Before doing so I began to change my parenting – I began looking for more opportunities.

I have great kids. They know I think they are great. I tell them I think they are great.

But I began to wonder if I tell them enough.

When they would do something wrong, by accident or intention, my reaction – like most parents – would be somewhere between irritation and anger. And, wanting them to learn to do better next time I would correct them. Sometimes with needed discipline, but more often tones and words which were meant to apply just the right pressure in their lives to mold them into the young men that I knew they could become.

But Romans 2:4.

And the broken spoon. The spoon is a story for another time, but when my younger son broke a spoon and I heard his reaction, I knew that correction wasn’t needed. He needed grace. And when grace came, I think it was confusing which meant that they both needed more grace and more delight.

It’s not that I want them to think of themselves more highly than they should – but I do want them to think of themselves as children of the Most High. I want them to know beyond any doubt that I love them.

So I’ve taken more opportunities to delight in them.
I’ve adapted my discipline so that delight is more obvious.

And they’ve stepped up their game. With my wife on a missions trip for two weeks and, in the midst of those two weeks, the start of the Summer Camp that I oversee, the three of us could have been on course for the hardest two weeks in memory. But instead they have done chores without complaint. They’ve helped with dinner each night. They’ve been asking what else they can do to help. It’s summer, but they are waking up earlier to pack their lunches and be ready to go.

It’s amazing.
But it shouldn’t be.

God gave us His example. He showed how His delight in us lead to our change. He modeled parenthood for us.

Yet somehow we often miss it and when our children err, our tendency is to withdrawal delight.

This week why not look for new ways to delight in your children and see what changes come.