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.

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?

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!

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.

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!!!

A Reason for Having Shifty Eyes!

Let's face it. It is all too easy to get discouraged as you wait to see with your physical eyes what you can easy see in your spirit. For many, the obstacle of blocked vision has caused children's ministry leaders and workers to throw up their hands in frustration and settle for the status quo.

It donned upon me a couple weeks ago while thinking about Zacchaeus that he too had a sight problem. Too many things (people) were blocking his view. He couldn't see what he so desperately longed to see. Thankfully, he didn't give up. He was intelligent enough to recognize that while he couldn't change his obstacles (the people weren't going to shrink in size and there wasn't going to be some magical parting of the crowd so that he could have a clear view of the approaching Jesus), he could shift his position so that he could once again have a clear vision.

To see this move of God in your ministry, it will be important to do some shifting. What you see in front of you (seemingly unwavering children and staff) is discouraging you. What you see week after week causes you to want to give up and just provide a good, safe, learning environment for the children (aka spiritual child care). It's time for some movement. No, I'm not talking about leaving the ministry or going to another church. I'm talking about doing some realignment; move around so that you can see once again what the Spirit has spoken to your heart. Find someone either in your church or in another locale who will help you once again look through the eyes of faith. Determine that you are going to move your eyes from what you see as obstacles to the place where the psalmist David found his strength and encouragement ... "I will lift up my eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord ..." (Psalm 121:1-2).

Right now, do some shifting. Take your eyes off of the obstacles. For David, it meant shifting his eyes to the hills. For Zacchaeus, the shift meant changing his alignment with people around him. To you, that might mean shifting your time so that have time to look once again to the source of your passion and ministry and/or disconnecting with those around you that are blocking your vision and finding others who will lift you up so that you can once again see the coming Jesus.

God is faithful. What He has promised He is able to bring to pass. Don't be discouraged. If needed, do some shifting. In doing so, you will be able to wait until the promised One is right in front of your physical eyes!

Seal the Deal

It is important to remind ourselves that we have an unfair disadvantage when it comes to ministering to children. Throughout the week, the children are under the influence of the school, the media (television, movies, DVDs, radio, etc.), the internet (email, social networks, chatrooms, etc.), and friends (both local like neighbors, school mates, etc. and global friends through text messaging, Twitter, etc.). Then, there are those few fortunate children who have parents that are influencers. We on the other hand have only an hour to an hour and a half each week to provide a spiritual influence and help establish a solid foundation for our boys and girls.

Sadly, most lessons are easily and readily forgotten. The information that we have provided vaporizes within minutes after leaving our classrooms and auditoriums. With us having a minimal amount of time and an enormous responsibility, we need to insure that the eternal truths that we are teaching need to provide an eternal impact!

How can we make our ministry produce lasting results? Paint a picture. It's true ... a picture does paint a thousand words. Back up the skits, object lessons and Bible verse with a picture that will seal the deal. This picture that I’m talking about is painted stroke by stroke as you create a word picture (otherwise known as a story). Through storytelling, the black letters of the Bible become red (and read) letters!

I saw this happen this weekend. In our Valentine’s Day message "Have a Heart for Jesus" this weekend, our team was doing a great job of teaching. The object lessons were right on target. Then, I sealed the deal as I told the story of the ten lepers healed by Jesus. Like you, I've heard and told this story a million, billion times. But, this weekend, I took the time to research so that I could paint an accurate picture of the leper's dilemma and the problems that Jesus faced in reaching out to them. The severity of leprosy is really unknown to most people today. Now, in telling of Jesus' great love to these lepers, the graphic details learned in my study coupled with each emotion expressed in my countenance and each strategically placed pause caused the story to leap off of the pages of the New Testament and become real and alive. The children sat spellbound as the “artist” used the brush of storytelling to paint stroke by stroke a picture on the canvas of the children’s minds. Our boys and girls will never forget this lesson.

What does story telling have to do with a blog dedicated to ushering in a move of the Holy Spirit? It's quite simple. To many people (adults and children alike), the Holy Spirit is a great mystery. Many within our ministry haven't a clue as to who He is and what He does. To rectify the situation, paint a picture, or even better, a bunch of pictures. Let’s stop just talking about Him. Let’s paint pictures of who He is and what He does. Make it a common practice in your services to honor Him and introduce Him to your children by telling stories about your relationship with Him. Tell accounts of the benefits of walking alongside Him. For example, just yesterday, Vickie and I were working on producing CDs for our upcoming conferences. For some strange reason, the teaching masters were no where to be found. We searched EVERY WHERE multiple times and couldn't locate them. (I'm embarrassed because I know that you've never lost anything, right?) After an hour of searching EVERY WHERE, I turned to my son Aaron and said, "I'm going to ask the Holy Spirit for help" and then called upon Him to fulfill His assignment (John 14:26, 16:13). With God as my witness, within 30 seconds of talking to the Holy Spirit, I walked straight to the CDs. This is just one of many, many stories that I can tell about the benefit of walking with the Holy Spirit. Telling the story won’t take much time. In adding some humor by reenacting the drama of looking for the CDs and the frustration of time after time coming up empty handed, the story could seal the deal and be one that the children tell their parents.

Come on, let's seal the deal. Let’s eliminate our children forgetting what we are teaching. Let’s paint some pictures. After reading this blog, start making this possible by taking a few minutes to list some attributes of the Holy Spirit and then another list of things in His job portfolio (empower us, make us stronger, teach us, guide us, show us things to come, bring things to our memory, enable our praying, etc.). Then, make a list of things that have happened in your life in which the Holy Spirit stepped in to do what only He could do. Then, start telling these stories. Each story will allow the Holy Spirit to be transformed from being a mystical force into a Person who longs to become a part of our daily lives.