The wisest man of all time said that there is a time or season for everything. (Ecclesiastes 3:1). We've all done something that is perfectly acceptable at the wrong time and died a thousand deaths. There truly is a time and place for everything.
As children's ministry leaders, we need to have the insight and wisdom to do the right thing at the right time so that we can have the right results for our services. If we aren't accomplishing or seeing what we long for in our services, it could be that we are using the wrong service components or possibly we could be doing the right thing at the wrong time.
The desire of every children's ministry leader should be for our children to encounter God in a very real, personal way in each and every service. The launching pad for the movement of the Holy Spirit can be the time of praise and worship. (Note .... the real launching pad is done on your knees BEFORE you get on the church property). One of the greatest things to consider for opening the door for His presence is the songs that you will be using. While songs like Father Abraham and There Was a Wise Old King are classics of children's ministry, they can't be the foundation for launching our children into the realm of the Holy Spirit. I'm not discounting these songs. I'm just reminding you that there is a time and place for these songs.
Allow me to briefly share four ingredients for ushering your children into God's presence.
1. Preparation. Before you ever to your ministry, begin your ministry by ministering to Him in your private time at home. What is done at home will overflow into the service.
2. Explanation. Just don't sing the songs. Explain the songs. Often, the kids don't have a clue as to what phrases or words mean in the song. Just be careful that you don’t become too wordy. It’s not a sermon. It’s an explanation!
3. Demonstration. Just don't sing the words. Demonstrate your passion and hunger for His presence. David couldn't/wouldn't hide his passion. His comment to Michael explained it all. In essence he said, "I can't hide my passion. I'll become even more radical and shamelessly passionate in my display and love for my King." Not only should you demonstrate your passion, your staff must be visible in their love for God. The kids will follow their example.
4. Expectation. Matthew 9:29 reminds us that God moves to the level of our faith and expectation. Are you just filling 10 minutes of your service? Are you just putting a check mark beside another item on your service agenda? Or, are you passionately expecting Him to show up?
Next week, I'll share some THOU SHALT NOT's to avoid as you desire to usher your children into God's presence.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
The Bait, The Tools, The Anointing - Part 2 (aka Trinity's Easter Extravaganza Candy Drop)
If you have ever attended one of our Ignite the Supernatural Conferences or attended another meeting when I've taught on the subject of the importance of the anointing, you've heard me tell about the time that I received a call from a lady asking me to officiate the memorial service for her nephew. In this phone call I learned that just a few days earlier her nephew had been beaten to death by his mother and her live-in boyfriend. The reason for the family to ask me to do this service was due to the fact that the 10-year-old boy had a few weeks earlier attended one of our weekend services. It was in this service, one of our Easter Extravaganza services, that the boy heard a Gospel message for the very first and only time in his life. Up to that service, he had never attended a church service or heard a message about Jesus.
The young boy came to our service because of a unique bait, a massive candy drop from a helicopter. Once at our service, our ministry team used creative tools to share the message An Empty Cross and an Empty Tomb for an Empty Heart. Upon receiving the phone call about the boy's death, I immediately cried out to God longing to have His assurance that the bait and the tools were accompanied with a strong anointing, one that would touch and change this young boy's heart as I led the children in the sinner's prayer at the end of the service.
I love the fact that we do the candy drop and drop 45,000 pieces of candy out of a helicopter in our three services. It is an extremely unusual way to draw a ton of children to church. I so enjoy the creative tools used to deliver the Easter message. It brings out the kid in me. But, the bait and the tools without the anointing is unproductive. It is still true ... it's not the bait or the tools, but rather it is the anointing that destroys and annihilates the yoke of bondage (Isaiah 10:27).
In the April 13, 2009 blog entry The Bait, The Tools, The Anointing I tell about our Easter Extravaganza weekend. This year, I've videotaped a brief overview of this exciting Easter celebration. Take a couple of minutes to watch a brief overview of a service. I hope that this stirs up some creativity in you for your next Easter celebration.
The young boy came to our service because of a unique bait, a massive candy drop from a helicopter. Once at our service, our ministry team used creative tools to share the message An Empty Cross and an Empty Tomb for an Empty Heart. Upon receiving the phone call about the boy's death, I immediately cried out to God longing to have His assurance that the bait and the tools were accompanied with a strong anointing, one that would touch and change this young boy's heart as I led the children in the sinner's prayer at the end of the service.
I love the fact that we do the candy drop and drop 45,000 pieces of candy out of a helicopter in our three services. It is an extremely unusual way to draw a ton of children to church. I so enjoy the creative tools used to deliver the Easter message. It brings out the kid in me. But, the bait and the tools without the anointing is unproductive. It is still true ... it's not the bait or the tools, but rather it is the anointing that destroys and annihilates the yoke of bondage (Isaiah 10:27).
In the April 13, 2009 blog entry The Bait, The Tools, The Anointing I tell about our Easter Extravaganza weekend. This year, I've videotaped a brief overview of this exciting Easter celebration. Take a couple of minutes to watch a brief overview of a service. I hope that this stirs up some creativity in you for your next Easter celebration.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Let's Get Radical!
Isn't it a twisted mindset to expect to produce radical, sold-out children in our ministries when all they see is mealy-mouthed, namby-pamby, lackadaisical attitudes in our services? You know that I am telling the truth. Our kids are direct products of what they see and experience. Radical, Holy Ghost-filled, uncompromising kids come from boys and girls observing and participating in radical, Holy Ghost-filled, uncompromising children's ministry services.
Perhaps one of the greatest things that you and I can do today is to go through and assess and analyze our services. Are our boys and girls seeing intense, passionate prayer or are they witnessing check-it-off-the-list, I've-got-it-done prayer? Are we allowing the children to witness and participate in radical, passionate worship from our entire children's ministry team or are they possibly seeing perhaps the person on the platform half-heartedly singing while the rest of the team is busy looking at the lesson or getting their props together or standing in the back of the room visiting? What about your personal ministry time? Can the children see your faith and confidence as you pray for their personal needs? Or are they watching some exercise in religiosity? Would you even want to think about the platform ministry? Are the children seeing someone who is filled to overflowing with the message and is passionately communicating the gospel or are they seeing individuals who skimmed the lesson just before the service?
If we are going to impact this generation, there must be a change in our mindset and our way of ministry. Let's get radical. Let's become passionate. Let's make our love for Jesus and our desire to powerful demonstrate His presence in our lives and ministry so enormously large and visible that the size of your auditorium or classroom can't contain it all and it will have to spill out and overflow outside of the room ... through your kid's radical daily walk with Christ.
Perhaps one of the greatest things that you and I can do today is to go through and assess and analyze our services. Are our boys and girls seeing intense, passionate prayer or are they witnessing check-it-off-the-list, I've-got-it-done prayer? Are we allowing the children to witness and participate in radical, passionate worship from our entire children's ministry team or are they possibly seeing perhaps the person on the platform half-heartedly singing while the rest of the team is busy looking at the lesson or getting their props together or standing in the back of the room visiting? What about your personal ministry time? Can the children see your faith and confidence as you pray for their personal needs? Or are they watching some exercise in religiosity? Would you even want to think about the platform ministry? Are the children seeing someone who is filled to overflowing with the message and is passionately communicating the gospel or are they seeing individuals who skimmed the lesson just before the service?
If we are going to impact this generation, there must be a change in our mindset and our way of ministry. Let's get radical. Let's become passionate. Let's make our love for Jesus and our desire to powerful demonstrate His presence in our lives and ministry so enormously large and visible that the size of your auditorium or classroom can't contain it all and it will have to spill out and overflow outside of the room ... through your kid's radical daily walk with Christ.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Our Assignment
Here's a great reminder .... as you and I walk into a ministry situation, here is our ministry assignment:
- Provide an atmosphere conducive for the Holy Spirit to minister as He sees fit. Believe it or not, He is anxiously waiting for the opportunity and freedom to demonstrate that He is in your classroom, ready to minister to your children.
- Be prepared enough (study and have everything ready before walking into the classroom) and yet sensitive enough to lay aside whatever is requested so that we might flow together with the Holy Spirit.
- Recognize that our words contain spirit and life. The words and demonstrations of love and affirmation to the individual children before and after the service are just as powerful and perhaps even more powerful than any words said on the platform during the service! A 30 second time of receiving your love might possibly be a child's only "love connection" for that entire week!
- Stand up and minister under the anointing. We aren't in the child-care business. In each and every service, we are providing an atmosphere for children grow in their love for God, shaping futures, coming against demonic powers that would try to prevent children from fulfilling their God-given assignments, stirring up spiritual hunger, ... Why would we want to attempt such a humongous feat with just our strength, giftings, and abilities?
Monday, March 15, 2010
Here's What I See ...
While sitting at our Ignite the Supernatural Conference booth a couple of weeks ago in St. Louis, a children's pastor asked me about what I can see happening in children's ministries across our nation. I replied by saying that I can see a major shift coming. Things are happening below the surface that will affect what we will eventually see in our services.
I keep coming back to the comments that I posted on the 9/28/09 blog entry "There's a Whole Lot of Shaking Going On" and the 10/26/09 blog entry "Holy Ghost Seismologists". There is a definite, defined work of the Holy Spirit that it happening "under the radar" of most in leadership positions in our ministries. This unseen to the natural eye move and shift is about to have a profound affect upon our business as usual mentality.
To illustrate what I see, allow me to use the story that blanketed our headlines for several days, the devastating earthquake in Chile which took place on February 27th. Last month's earthquake did more than kill hundreds and devastate a large swath of Chile. It also hurtled the entire city of Concepcion 10 feet to the west, according researchers at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Santiago, the nation's capital, was found to have moved 11 inches to the west-southwest. Using precise GPS measurements taken before and after the magnitude-8.8 earthquake, associate researchers Benjamin Brooks and James Foster discovered the dramatic shift.
Because of fellow Holy Spirit Seismologists, people who passionately long for a move of God's Spirit in our children and children's ministries, the Holy Spirit is working below the surface, preparing for dramatic shift that will cause monumental movement. I see this move causing entire churches to be moved and shifted, elementary and middle schools across our nation dramatically moved by this work of the Holy Spirit causing revival to break out, the spiritual GPS coordinates of entire cities moved from its present position as the Holy Spirit shakes the very foundation of people groups across that area.
Holy Spirit Seismologists, let's continue to look into the realm of the unseen. Let's prepare ourselves by aligning ourselves to the Spirit's movements. While the movements in your service right now might seem to be almost insignificantly minute, it is through these weekly moves and realignments that is setting the stage for the dramatic, property moving, GPS documented event that will bring to the surface what we have been witnessing below the surface.
Get ready, get ready, get ready. I see a whole lot of shaking is about to be going on in your ministry!
I keep coming back to the comments that I posted on the 9/28/09 blog entry "There's a Whole Lot of Shaking Going On" and the 10/26/09 blog entry "Holy Ghost Seismologists". There is a definite, defined work of the Holy Spirit that it happening "under the radar" of most in leadership positions in our ministries. This unseen to the natural eye move and shift is about to have a profound affect upon our business as usual mentality.
To illustrate what I see, allow me to use the story that blanketed our headlines for several days, the devastating earthquake in Chile which took place on February 27th. Last month's earthquake did more than kill hundreds and devastate a large swath of Chile. It also hurtled the entire city of Concepcion 10 feet to the west, according researchers at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Santiago, the nation's capital, was found to have moved 11 inches to the west-southwest. Using precise GPS measurements taken before and after the magnitude-8.8 earthquake, associate researchers Benjamin Brooks and James Foster discovered the dramatic shift.
Because of fellow Holy Spirit Seismologists, people who passionately long for a move of God's Spirit in our children and children's ministries, the Holy Spirit is working below the surface, preparing for dramatic shift that will cause monumental movement. I see this move causing entire churches to be moved and shifted, elementary and middle schools across our nation dramatically moved by this work of the Holy Spirit causing revival to break out, the spiritual GPS coordinates of entire cities moved from its present position as the Holy Spirit shakes the very foundation of people groups across that area.
Holy Spirit Seismologists, let's continue to look into the realm of the unseen. Let's prepare ourselves by aligning ourselves to the Spirit's movements. While the movements in your service right now might seem to be almost insignificantly minute, it is through these weekly moves and realignments that is setting the stage for the dramatic, property moving, GPS documented event that will bring to the surface what we have been witnessing below the surface.
Get ready, get ready, get ready. I see a whole lot of shaking is about to be going on in your ministry!
Monday, March 8, 2010
Watch Your Shadow!
The other day, I was speaking to the pastor on our church staff who conducts the majority of the funerals for our church. I jokingly told him that I don't officiate too many funerals because the funeral homes have forbidden me to get anywhere near a casket. I continued by telling him that due to the supernatural power on the inside of me the funeral directors are fearful that the church lighting might cause my shadow to fall upon the deceased laying in the casket and cause the deceased to spring back to life.
While I was only joking with my friend, the Holy Spirit later reminded me of the conversation and challenged me in an area of my personal life and ministry. Doesn't Acts 5 tell of people waiting alongside the street just for Peter's shadow to fall upon them so that they might be healed? Peter wasn't preaching or teaching. He didn't walk down the street laying hands upon those standing alongside the road.
Here is what the Holy Spirit told me. We can be so full of the presence of the Holy Spirit that our body can't contain all of His presence. As Peter walked down the street there was the "ooze" or "splash" factor with the overflow that affected all those nearby.
Thank God for the lesson preparation that you and I do each week. Thank God for the extra preparation to make the lesson leap off of the page and become a rhema word from God to our kids. But, there is another factor that we might be overlooking. The filled-to-overflowing presence of the Holy Spirit of the Spirit-prepared teacher will bring about supernatural ministry to "ooze" or "splash" on all those around.
Let's not neglect the teaching preparation. Let's continue to find all of the tools and props that will captivate the listener's attention. Let's continue to feast upon the meat of God's Word so that we can serve our children a solid, balanced spiritual meal. But, now with this new knowledge, let's add the "ooze" or "splash" factor so that the children will be touched by the Holy Spirit from just walking into our rooms and being in our presence! Let's be FILLED to overflowing with His presence. I guarantee that adding the "ooze" or "splash" factor will cause your ministry to never ever be the same again.
While I was only joking with my friend, the Holy Spirit later reminded me of the conversation and challenged me in an area of my personal life and ministry. Doesn't Acts 5 tell of people waiting alongside the street just for Peter's shadow to fall upon them so that they might be healed? Peter wasn't preaching or teaching. He didn't walk down the street laying hands upon those standing alongside the road.
Here is what the Holy Spirit told me. We can be so full of the presence of the Holy Spirit that our body can't contain all of His presence. As Peter walked down the street there was the "ooze" or "splash" factor with the overflow that affected all those nearby.
Thank God for the lesson preparation that you and I do each week. Thank God for the extra preparation to make the lesson leap off of the page and become a rhema word from God to our kids. But, there is another factor that we might be overlooking. The filled-to-overflowing presence of the Holy Spirit of the Spirit-prepared teacher will bring about supernatural ministry to "ooze" or "splash" on all those around.
Let's not neglect the teaching preparation. Let's continue to find all of the tools and props that will captivate the listener's attention. Let's continue to feast upon the meat of God's Word so that we can serve our children a solid, balanced spiritual meal. But, now with this new knowledge, let's add the "ooze" or "splash" factor so that the children will be touched by the Holy Spirit from just walking into our rooms and being in our presence! Let's be FILLED to overflowing with His presence. I guarantee that adding the "ooze" or "splash" factor will cause your ministry to never ever be the same again.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Let Me Introduce You to the Holy Spirit
I am convinced that the reason that many children's ministry leaders and workers fail to flow with the Holy Spirit is due to the fact that they don't truly know Him. They have heard about Him, perhaps read about Him, mentioned His name in the Apostles' Creed, and even taught about Him. But, few really, really, really know Him.
How can this be? I believe that this lack of relationship is a result of the Holy Spirit being identified knowingly or unknowingly as a mystical, indescribable mass or force. Our children's ministry leaders are suffering from a horrible case of the "It Syndrome". Knowing that we can't identify with an "it", Jesus sought to destroy this mentality as He informed His disciples in John 14 - 16 that this invisible part of the Godhead is so desirous of being in a relationship with us that He has taken upon Himself the attributes of human personality. Jesus made it possible for us to understand this in the fact that He refers to the Holy Spirit with the pronouns "He", "Him", and "Himself" nineteen times in these chapters.
The Holy Spirit wants to be KNOWable (while "knowable" isn't a word, it is the ONLY word that is applicable). We see that the Holy Spirit wants to be PERSONALable. HE (a Person) wants to know us and for us to know Him. Now, we can walk with Him, talk with Him, listen to His voice, sense His joys and frustrations, etc. This KNOWable Holy Spirit is able and willing to become CONNECTable to us each and every day!
Are you infected with the "It Syndrome"? If so, allow me to introduce you to my friend, the Holy Spirit. Take a second and be courteous. Introduce yourself and then apologize for having not known Him as you should up to this point. Begin to include Him (the Person) in your daily walk. Talk to Him throughout your day. Make appointments in your schedule to allow quiet, intimate times for the two of you to dialogue. You'll be glad that you did!!!
How can this be? I believe that this lack of relationship is a result of the Holy Spirit being identified knowingly or unknowingly as a mystical, indescribable mass or force. Our children's ministry leaders are suffering from a horrible case of the "It Syndrome". Knowing that we can't identify with an "it", Jesus sought to destroy this mentality as He informed His disciples in John 14 - 16 that this invisible part of the Godhead is so desirous of being in a relationship with us that He has taken upon Himself the attributes of human personality. Jesus made it possible for us to understand this in the fact that He refers to the Holy Spirit with the pronouns "He", "Him", and "Himself" nineteen times in these chapters.
The Holy Spirit wants to be KNOWable (while "knowable" isn't a word, it is the ONLY word that is applicable). We see that the Holy Spirit wants to be PERSONALable. HE (a Person) wants to know us and for us to know Him. Now, we can walk with Him, talk with Him, listen to His voice, sense His joys and frustrations, etc. This KNOWable Holy Spirit is able and willing to become CONNECTable to us each and every day!
Are you infected with the "It Syndrome"? If so, allow me to introduce you to my friend, the Holy Spirit. Take a second and be courteous. Introduce yourself and then apologize for having not known Him as you should up to this point. Begin to include Him (the Person) in your daily walk. Talk to Him throughout your day. Make appointments in your schedule to allow quiet, intimate times for the two of you to dialogue. You'll be glad that you did!!!
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