Kidologist.com

Back from Yosemite Summit 2012

We are back from Yosemite Summit 2012! I’ll be posting pictures and a full report soon. Thank you everyone who prayed for us while we were were away, God showed up in many big and little ways and I’m eager to share the stories!

Goodbye World

Goodbye World! No worries, this isn’t some final post as I depart to my final destination… just as I head off to Yosemite Summit for a week of 100% complete and total disconnect from work, e-mail, Twitter, Facebook and anything that distracts me from my relationship with God. The 5th Annual Summit is Complete: Meet: Tom, Travis, [...]

A Rough First Week in Kids Church

Someone posted in the Kidology.org Forums about a really tough first Sunday as kids pastor with discipline in their first Sunday’s Kids Church. We’ve all been there, haven’t we? I wanted to blog my answer here, and encourage others to jump on over and share their words of advice and encouragement as well: Their Post: I just [...]

Blessing Faith Remembered, 31 Years Later

I’ve been going through some childhood papers, sorting, filing, (pitching!) and it’s been very special (and funny) to get these glimpses into the “young Karl.” Many things I remember, others come as a surprise to me. I was very touched to discover a very simple piece of paper that I had written and colored just a [...]

Helping God Wash His Car

Does God NEED my help? On my podcast today I talked about how to RECLAIM OUR ZEAL IN MINISTRY when we feel it waning. The Theme Verse was: Romans 12:11 Never be lacking in ZEAL, but keep your SPIRITUAL FERVOR, serving the Lord. I used the letters of the word Z.E.A.L. to offer four ways to rediscover ZEAL: Z = [...]

What Makes Kidology.org Different?

What Makes Kidology.org Different? No doubt, there are a LOT of places to interact and get help today on the Internet. Forums and Facebook groups and other places to ask for help and ideas and get resources abound. Twitter, Google+, Instagram, Four Square, Path, and so many other “places” allow us to ’social network’ and [...]

How Much Can You Stack?

My son and I have a favorite game that I have owned for years. It’s simply called Chairs. The goal of the game is to to take turns stacking some colorful plastic chairs in fun, random arrangements until the tower finally collapses under the weight of the unbalanced collection of chairs. Of course, part of [...]

Hungry for a Savior?

Whenever there is a cultural phenomenon like Hunger Games, what is seldom asked is why so many people are drawn to the movie. There has been a great deal of discussion over whether the movie is a good or evil and what the deeper messages of the books and film are, but when James Cameron’s Titanic [...]

Christian Apps 4 Kids

READ HOW TO WIN A FREE iPAD APP! This week on my podcast, KidminTalk, I featured two beautiful iPad Apps for kids and I’m giving some away! I’m delighted to tell you about The Sounds of the Night and The Lonely Stable Both are stunning story book apps for young children written by Jessica Kirkland from ChristianApps4kids.com The [...]

Hunger Games Titled Wrong?

“A little bit of hope,” the President says, is what is needed, “but not too much.” Just the right amount, he says, is far better than fear for controlling the masses. This is one of the many messages of the Hunger Games, a movie that blew away Twilight on its opening night, and in its [...]

Keepin’ It Simple

On Kidmin Talk this week, my focus is Secrets to Keepin’ it S.I.M.P.L.E. in Ministry. Every show focuses on a “Kidmin Keyword.” This week brings us to the letter “S.” There are a host of great “S” words – silliness! strategy! servant leadership! and of course, Star Wars! (LOL) But when it comes to children’s ministry – [...]

Kids Church: Impossible!

I got into cooking shows while researching for the Kids Church Cookbook, and I was amazed at the wide variety of shows on the Food Network. One I discovered was called Dinner: Impossible! Loosely hinting at the 1960’s show Mission: Impossible, the host is given a challenge that includes some kind of meal he needs [...]

MOVIE REVIEW: October Baby

Grace. Forgiveness. Healing. These are words that get tossed loosely around the Church between the donuts and Sunday bulletins. They are often just technical jargon we all must learn to speak in order to fit in with little impact on hearts and souls. We can hide hurt behind smiles and speak the church lingo without really understanding the depth of [...]

Book Review: Emory’s Gift

I am not one to toss around the words “favorite” or “best” lightly or often, so when I say that W. Bruce Cameron’s novel Emory’s Gift is my favorite novel, I mean it quite sincerely. It is TRULY the best novel I have ever read. Never before have I laughed out loud reading a book, turned [...]

Reinventing Yourself

At CPC last month, I did a workshop titled “10 Steps to a Ministry Reboot.” You can listen to it and get my notes for a limited time here: www.kidology.org/cpc12 In short, it was 10 basic areas of ministry / tips you need to address in order to both keep your sanity and have a well [...]

How to Search on Kidology.org

How to Search on Kidology.org I’m often asked by our members and visitors, “How do you find things on Kidology.org?” Like Emily just did at CPC this past week, “I know you have vast resources, but sometimes I struggle to find things because there is just so much.” It’s a GREAT question! Part of the issue is knowing [...]

My CPC’s Are Catching Up To My Age!

UPDATE: INCM informed me there were 3 CPC’s from 2001-2006, so I now know that CPC San Diego was my 40th CPC! I’m enjoying my 38th or 39th consecutive CPC. I’m trying to figure out how many I’ve been to, but in order to get the exact number, I need to know how many years they [...]

LIVE from CPC San Diego

I’m at the Children’s Pastor’s Conference in San Diego, California. The same location as my very first CPC in 1995. (I’ve not missed a single CPC at any location since, and I’ve lost track of how many that is, but it’s over 35 since there are at least 2 a year and some years there [...]

FREE Online Training

Looking for FREE Online Training? Looking for help to be better equipped as a teacher in your Sunday School or other children’s ministry venues? Did you know that DiscipleLand.com offers FREE Online Training Webinars? My good friend and a very wise and experienced children’s ministry guru, Dick Crider, who has decades of teaching experience both as a [...]

Mega-Saurus Dad

Recently while I was in Canada speaking at a conference my wife posted on facebook that the pressure was on her to be “as fun as daddy” while I was away. Well. She pulled out the stops and took Luke to a Monster Truck Rally! Something even I have never done, and it’s all Luke’s [...]

Eat Chicken!

How do you know if someone is a fit for marriage? If they are willing to be the rear end of a cow with you! This is Sara and me practicing in my Cow Costume (which I still have 20 years later!) eight months before we were married. I got it for a Christmas Play where Hark, [...]

Sumu Kids!

Here’s a “Blast from the Past!” I recently had thousands of pictures scanned by ScanMyPhotos.com and am discovering some fun pictures from over twenty years of ministry as a children’s pastor (as well as lots of fun family pics). Several of these kids I still know and some I am friends with now on Facebook, even [...]

Does Anyone Read Blogs Any More?

By friend Glen Woods asked this question over in the Kidology forums recently. And I think its a great question. Here was my answer: I think facebook has hurt blogs as I think people have gotten Internet-lazy. They just stay on facebook and don’t move around the web as much, however, I think a blog [...]

So What’s New?

It can be easy to get stuck in a rut. Routine can settle into our lives and we can find ourselves becoming creatures of habit. Life becomes a matter of daily survival instead of an Adventure. On my podcast today, Nicki Straza, my Canadian sister, joins me as we discuss how to discover NEW things, the [...]

CPC Orlando Highlight Video

If you have not seen the CPC Orlando Highlight Video, it is worth a few moments of your time to enjoy it: If you missed CPC Orlando, you can still join me in San Diego! Wondering what’s so great about CPC? See my post: WHY CPC?