John 3:16 is one of the most well known and reassuring verses in the Bible.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16 (NIV)

The following is a little craft I threw together back in 2010 for my wife to use with her kids in her Wednesday night Awana Cubbies class (ages 3 and 4).  To this day, it remains one of the most popular posts ever on this site.

The verse for the week was John 3:16, so I made a cross with pictures they could color before constructing the craft.  You can click on the picture below or this link for a pdf version of the craft.

Introduction

I love working with kids, and I love teaching them hard concepts in ways they can understand. To that end, for years I have been working on a dictionary of theological terms for kids and teens. In sharing those definitions, there seemed no better place to start than the word doctrine.

Word of the Day

DOCTRINE

Definition

DOCTRINE means teaching or instruction. When people are talking about the Bible or the Church, DOCTRINE refers to those things which are taught in the Bible.

Explanation

When people talk about Doctrine they mean those truths that are taught in the Bible and are always true.  For example, a math book might teach you that 2 + 2 equals 4. In the same way, the Bible teaches us that Christ died for our sins. That is DOCTRINE.

Scripture

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV)

It is important that we understand doctrine because God gave us the Bible so that we could understand more about Him.

He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. (Titus 1:9 ESV)

It’s not always easy to understand the Bible. That means we need to have people we trust in our lives that we can ask questions of. Understanding doctrine allows us to help other people to understand the Bible better.

Activity for Kids and Teens

Read a favorite story out of a children’s Bible or a regular Bible. Look for any doctrine (ideas) taught by the story. Don’t worry about whether you know the name for the doctrine, just look for any doctrines taught by the story. Ask someone for help if you need it.

In all likelihood, you know how the phrase ends:

If you want it done right, DO IT YOURSELF!

This is a bit of a mantra for me, and frankly, something that I struggle with daily both in leadership and in my Christian walk.  In theory, this is easy to accept.  As a Christian, we have to empty ourselves to be filled with the Holy Spirit.  We have to turn our hopes and desires and aspirations over to God to follow after His will.  We need to rely on Him in the big stuff and in the small stuff.  I get it!  I really do…except…it isn’t that easy!  Instead, I fall all to frequently to the lies I tell myself.  I’ve gotten myself into this mess…I need to get myself out.  If I work hard enough, I can do anything.  I don’t want to “burden” God so I’ll just take care of this myself.  That is my daily walk and my daily struggle.  God has been gracious enough to show it to me, and if I’m being honest, my biggest struggle is still in not trying to fix that problem myself.

But, that’s not what I want to talk about.  I want to chat for a second about children’s ministry.  Are you a do it yourself kind of person?  Does that show in your ministry?  Do you have kids involved in all phases of your weekend service.

• Are they involved in large group?
• Do you let them lead worship?
• Do you trust them to keep a small group moving along, or is it all leader driven?
• Are they, wait for it, in the tech booth where all that expensive equipment hangs out?
• Do they lead games?
• Do older kids disciple younger kids or are they all shuffled off to their age specific groups never to mix again?

I was listening to our “big church” service on podcast on the way in this morning.  It was put on entirely by the young adult ministry in our church, and they did an awesome job.  It got me thinking though, “…if the high school ministry takes over the main stage from time to time.  I wonder if our kids could that?”  They would need adult input to be sure…as they do in all things.  But, the question really is, have we enable them and discipled them in such a way that they could do it?  Or, are we too busy trying to make everything “perfect” by doing it ourselves.  Instead of doing it all ourselves, let’s quit underestimating the kids in our ministries.  Whenever I talk about volunteers and children’s ministry, someone mentions that we have to give the volunteers ownership of the ministry so they will buy in completely.  Don’t we owe the same to our kids?

This is the little and humble post that started it all. I happened to be reading through my Bible, and this passage impacted me so much that I posted a little blurb about it on Facebook. That was July 28, 2008, and I’ve been writing and sharing ever since. (Maybe social media really is a bad thing! :)). Other than correcting a couple of typos and some minor wording changes, I have resisted the temptation to edit it too much.

I was reading Proverbs the other day, and I came across Proverbs 6:16-19. It says

16 There are six things that the LORD hates,
seven that are an abomination to him:
17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
and hands that shed innocent blood,
18 a heart that devises wicked plans,
feet that make haste to run to evil,
19 a false witness who breathes out lies,
and one who sows discord among brothers.

These aren’t things that just bother God a little bit. He HATES them! How hard then should we try to avoid those things God hates?

Haughty eyes

Resolve to avoid the pride that convinces us that we can control our own lives and don’t need the living God to guide us.

A Lying Tongue

From little white lies that seem perfectly harmless to the big coverup, God calls us to transparency and integrity.

Hands that shed innocent blood

It is easy for us to proclaim “I’ve never murdered anyone.” Is it any different though if we allow other innocent people to die so that we can live a lavish lifestyle. God help us!

A Heart that Devises Wicked Plans

We should love and pray for those who persecute us. Instead we spend our time planning for or wishing for their demise. When we focus on devising wicked plans if keeps us away from the heart of God.

Feet That Make Haste to Run to Evil

How drawn is our fallen flesh to the things which God hates? We must resist the call of the flesh and focus on the things of God. We will stumble, but we must allow God to pick us back up a keep us from falling.

A False Witness Who Breathes Out Lies

We dealt with dishonesty earlier, and it is interesting that God includes it twice. I think this encompasses falsehoods told about other people either in the form of gossip or malicious speech. Why is it that when people are successful in our eyes, we want to tear them down rather than rejoice with them?

One Who Sows Discord Among Brothers

Speaking of gossip! God hates the one who does not start a fight with someone, but rather pits two people against one another then sits back and enjoys the carnage. God give us the courage to be peace makers rather than people who cause strife!

Have you ever had one of those days?  You know the kind – where you really aren’t “in to” what you’re doing and you feel like you rather be doing just about anything else.  What do you do when those times correspond to your time in ministry. I wrote this article in 2012 follow one of those days.

On Wednesday night, I run the games for our Awana program.  It’s an-hour-and-a-half and something like 200 kids broken into 30 minute game segments.  Usually, it is one of the highlights of my week, but this week  I just felt rather “ho hum” and worn out when I showed up.  It’s bound to happen.  We can’t always be ON!  And, when it comes to ministry, sometimes you just have to put your game face on and trudge through.  Here is what I’ve found works for me.

1. Pray

Working in children’s ministry, I find myself praying “God, give me the strength!” more often than I would like to admit.  When you’re feeling down or just not into it though, it is essential that you turn first to God.  He renews us day by day, and he can renew us minute by minute.  Always start by asking your Heavenly Father.

2. Remember why you’re there

It’s not about you.  It’s not even about the kids.  It’s about God.  Remember that, in your ministry, you are there to serve a God who died on the cross for your sins.  If He can endure that for me, I can make it through a couple of hours of games, or a lesson on Sunday morning, or whatever the situation might be.

3. Plan Accordingly

When I’m not 100% sold out, there are still things I can do that will accomplish the purpose of my ministry.  For example, when I am picking games for Wednesday night, if I am feeling a bit out of it, I try to pick a game where the kids will have fun and there’s not a whole lot of my energy required.  On Wednesday night, we ran relay races of varying sorts.  My job was to explain the rules and say “On your mark, get set, go.”  There wasn’t a lot of “Ra! Ra!” required from me, which was good because I didn’t have a lot to give.  You can do the same thing when you are teaching.  Just gear your activities to work as much as possible.  This is not, by the way, a reason to slack off.  If you’re feeling down one Sunday, don’t throw in a video just because, but if a video actually works in the context of what you are teaching, go ahead and use it.

4. Strive for Excellence

My friend, Jared Massey, is fond of this term, and I agree with him wholeheartedly.  Even when you’re not feeling it, make it your goal to honor God by striving for excellence in all that you do.  Sometimes, this focus alone will be enough to pull you out of whatever funk you’re in.

5. Remember How you Feel, and Check Yourself

If you are tired or grumpy, it is easy to let that seep into your interactions with the kids in your ministry.  It is important to remember going in that you don’t quite feel yourself and try to keep your reactions in check.  If you are irritable, minor annoyances that wouldn’t bother you on a normal day are going to make your skin crawl.  Make sure that your reactions don’t differ just because you feel differently.

6. Fake it Until you Feel it

I probably shouldn’t say this, but the truth is sometimes you have to fake it.  You have to smile when you don’t feel like smiling.  You have to seem excited when you feel anything but.  But, rest assured that God is in control, and if you are seeking his will, he will provide you the sustenance to get through – so fake it!  The feelings are likely to follow.

Note: I originally wrote this post in August of 2013. Much has changed since then, and social media has become even more contentious than it was when I originally penned this manifesto with people abandoning platforms for others where they feel “heard” and “understood.” This fragmentation on social media is indicative of a wider fragmentation in our society. I would suggest though that instead of insisting that others change the way they use social media or asking that social media platform allow us to do whatever we want, perhaps what we need to do is examine how we as individuals use social media. After all, change has to start on a personal level. With that said, here is my personal social media manifesto.

1. Social media should be used to build people up, not tear them down.

If I have a grievance with someone, I should deal with that in person. The internet is not a place to air dirty laundry, and I will not use social media to take shots at any person. Nor will I post things about people just to embarrass them or laugh at them. When my kids were a little younger, I felt free to post their exploits online the same way you might tell your friend about them at a dinner party. Now that they are getting older, I generally seek their permission before posting anything that might embarrass them or that they might get flack from their friends about.

2. Social media can be fun.

It is ok to use social media as a temporary escape. If you want to spend 30 minutes browsing through your friends statuses as a way of amusing yourself, this is no worse than spending that time watching television. However, I will not let social media consume an inordinate amount of my time, nor will the time spent aimlessly floating around social media be a significant portion of the total time I use the services for what I consider worthwhile causes.

3. Social media is not about creating a fake personality.

I am who I am. I will not contrive posts or concentrate on posting things that make me seem different than who I really am. I do not have it all together. I do not have the perfect family. My wife and I do not walk around town holding hands while love songs play and butterflies swoon around us (you try that with four kids). And, despite what I tell my kids, I am not perfect. Accordingly, I will not try to portray myself as such on the internet. I am who I am. It’s not all good.

4. Social media is a tool, not a way of life.

There is nothing wrong with being online and engaging in social media. They are tools the same way that the corded phone was a tool when it was first invented. However, you need only have seen Maximum Overdrive to understand what happens when that which was created as tool beings to rule (yes, I did go there and cite a B-Rate 1980’s movie as support for this point – see number 6 below).

5. Social media should contribute to the greater good.

As a tool, the majority of my time on social media should be used to contribute to something good. For me that means utilizing social media to let people know about the work I do with children of divorce, offering up useful and thoughtful information and sharing things with people that I hope can help them out.

6. Laughter contributes to the greater good.

I believe in the old adage that “laughter is the best medicine.” I like to hear people laugh, and I like to make people laugh. If I can do that in a respectful way online, that contributes to the greater good. This does not mean sharing every funny cartoon I see or videos of double rainbows, but if something funny happens to me or in my family you’re likely to see it online, and I hope it brings you some enjoyment.

7. It’s not about influence.

The day social media becomes about the number of followers I can have or my “klout” with people behind a computer screen, I’ve lost sight of the real reason for using social media. I enjoy connecting with people online, but my sole purposes in using social media will never be because I feel like I’m important enough that people would do well to follow me. Facebook, and the like, are great for connecting with people and reconnecting with old friends. Do that, and stop worrying about how many friends or followers or likes you have.

8. I will know my followers.

Social media is not about followers, but it is important that you know your followers. Because of my work with kids and teens, I have a lot of younger people who follow me on Facebook. That means if something is a little more mature or off color, I might think it’s funny, but I won’t post it on my site because of who is following me. If you choose to post those types of things, more power to you, but don’t accept kids as followers. It’s that simple.

9. The “Walking Down the Street” rule.

My rule for all social media has always been, “I won’t post anything that I wouldn’t feel comfortable yelling as I walk down the street.” This alleviates all kinds of privacy concerns and makes me check myself before I hit the post/send button. If you’re not willing to announce it to your neighbors (those you know and those you don’t) while walking down the street, don’t put it online.

10. It’s all about God.

I am a Christian which means that everything I do good and bad reflects on my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Everything I post on social media provides me with an opportunity to glorify the God who gave himself up for me. Unfortunately, it also allows me an opportunity to tarnish His name if I am not careful. When I remember that God is ultimately my audience of one for all that I do, it changes the way I approach social media.

A while back, I made myself a promise.  I resolved that I would no longer refer to myself as “just a volunteer” when people asked me what my role was in Children’s Ministry.

You see, when people ask me what I do, I don’t say “I’m an accountant.”  First of all, that sounds really boring.  Even as I write this, I struggle to keep my eyes open.  Secondly, whenever I do tell people that they ask for help with their taxes.  I don’t like taxes.  I don’t do taxes.  I usually struggle to get my own taxes done on time.

So, when people ask me what I do, I tell them, “I work with children.”  If they ask how or what it is I do with children, that opens the door for me to talk to them about my passion for children’s ministry.  But, the truth of the matter is, I am a volunteer.  I am not a full-time Children’s Pastor or Children’s Ministry Director.  That is not what God has called me to do. He has call me to volunteer to work with kids my church’s children’s ministry.  I work in ministering to children of divorce, I teach a large group of kids, I lead a small groups, I run games, I work in VBS, and I do whatever else I can to help.

For a long time, this didn’t “seem like enough” to me.  When I decided to start blogging, I naturally started writing about the things that I liked to talk about.  Those were God, my family and children’s ministry.  Then something funny and quite unexpected happened.  People started to respond.  People started to ask me questions about children’s ministry – can you imagine?  I started to have conversations with people about children’s ministry.  People started to send me children’s ministry products to review for the blog.  I enjoyed, and still enjoy, every moment of it.  There was, however, a part of me that felt a little bit like an imposter.  Who was I to talk about children’s ministry?  My experiences paled in comparison to the people I was talking to, collaborating with, and learning from who oversee what seems like an entire empire of children’s ministries.   What could I offer to these people?  What could I possibly have to say that would help, inspire or guide those who do so much more than me when in comes to children’s ministry?  After all, I was “just a volunteer.”

Then, in a moment of clarity that could only have come from God, I realized/remembered something.  The way we are, and what we do, is no mistake.  God made us exactly the way he wants us, and he put us exactly where we are supposed to be.  When I started writing and blogging, I did not do it to influence other people.  I did it to record my thoughts.  God prompted me to put myself out there.  I didn’t know why at the time, but figured being obedient to God is a good thing and maybe there was an outside chance that out of 7 billion people on this planet that someone might find what I was writing to be useful.  My job was to put it out there and let God use it however He sees fit.  Whether I am a volunteer or a guru does not matter to God.

So, I am a volunteer, but I am not JUST a volunteer.  God has graced me with a love for his children and a passion to share his love with them.   He has blessed me with an all consuming desire to see kids enter into his kingdom and accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.  He has tasked me with the responsibility and joy of helping kids to develop a biblical worldview.  That is nothing to feel inadequate about.  It is an awesome opportunity and responsibility to be a part of God’s plan, and I am where God has put me.  I am working for my Heavenly Father who gives me every good thing.  I am a servant of God, and that makes me a whole lot more than “just a volunteer.”

UPDATE: This post was originally written in November of 2013. Over the last eight years, God has led me on a journey that has taken me out of day-to-day children’s ministry and into ministering to hurting kids who have faced all sorts of difficulties in their lives. While the volunteer work I am doing looks different these days, the principle remains the same. So, no matter what you are doing for God’s kids, remember that is you are following God’s lead in your life, you will never be “just a volunteer.”