Talking to kids about tragedy: The Oklahoma Tornado

Once again we are faced with a tragedy at a national level. With so much news coverage and social media, it is hard to protect our kids from the terrible news. Tom and I, along with Wayne Stocks and Linda Ranson Jacobs recorded a cmconnect radio podcast a while back about how to talk to kids about a tragic event.

You can listen to that discussion here

I have also put together a link of some other useful resources that could help have those difficult discussions. Hopefully they can help you or the families that you minister to.

There are links to focus on the family, Linda Jacobs, Brian Dollar, and more, all articles written to help have age appropriate discussions about tragic events with your children.

 

Follow the link to a list of great resources

 

Be sure to post a comment if you have a resource I can link to.

 

Action Bible review and contest from David C Cook

I had a chance to read and review the comic book style Action Bible (and New Testament, Handbook, and Devotional). In my opinion they are great for boys, all the way through pre-teen age.  I also didn’t want to give you just my opinion on the Action Bible series, so I took them to church to ask the boys their thoughts. I share their response and more—-  If you are interested in reading the review, or a chance to win, check out more details here:

Action Bible Review and Giveaway

My notes from #cpc13 session on God’s Truth with @sheilawalsh

As promised, I am taking notes at the Childrens Pastor Conference. As this is my first conference with a iPad, so I am taking my notes with that, and will post them for you. Keep in mind, these are first draft notes, very raw. I hope they make sense, but keep in mind I have not processed anything. I hope to go back through to expand and add my own thoughts at a later time.

God is doing a new thing–Denomination walls are falling.  It does not matter, God is calling us to rise up

Isaiah 43 God wants us to know how much he loves us
We can’t pass on to others what we do not have ourselves
Sometimes we are overwhelmed by what we do not have, when all that really matters is what we do have

Initiative number 1
Imparting Gods truth
But what is that truth?
   1. We have a great God
   2. We have a real enemy
   3. We are not home yet

#1 We have a great God

Have we forgotten that God loves us? We hear it so much we become accustomed to it, do we ever forget it? Or stop believing it?

We cannot protect anyone from something that God allows.
Before someone can know God loves them or not, there is the fact that he died and rose again for them.

having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. (Colossians 2:14, 15 NIV84)

Jesus canceled the record of out sin.

#2 The enemy is not omniscient 

He is a liar, the father of lies.He brings lies to us, but he has no idea if we will fall for his tricks. He will keep trying, but he doesnt know the outcome. That is why we need to know God’s word against his schemes.

Anyone want FREE access to CM+?

If you are a part of children’s ministry at all there is a good chance you are familiar with cmconnect.org. If you are not, I highly suggest you check it out. It is a great place to share ideas, and the networking aspect is awesome.

This past week, Michael Chanley (creator of cmconnect) and team rolled out a great new training tool called CM+.

CMConnect+ provides an enhanced training group designed to network you with of community of leaders.

Members receive the following:

• access to a growing list of archived trainings (current value over $20)
• a 10 to 15 minute exclusive monthly video from a thought leader in Children’s Ministry
• exclusive weekly discussions hosted by INCM
• bi-monthly MP3 uploads from INCM ($96 annual value)

This content is designed to give members access to exclusive content for developing as a leader in Children’s Ministry. You will not only enhance your CMConnect experience, you’ll also improve your ability to lead in our unique calling!

 

So far there are several audio sessions from last years Children’s Pastors Conference (CPC).  I am very excited since I have not yet been able to attend one of these great annual conferences.  I am looking forward to listening and learning from some great leaders through the audio sessions. I also can’t wait to start the content provided for CMConnect+ members to earn a certificate in “The Basics of Children’s Ministry: The Five Initiatives of INCM.”  I have been told that this is just the beginning of the resources to be added to this group.

I have the special opportunity to give away 10 ‘free one month trial memberships’.  Since I am able to share this learning opportunity with you, I would like you to share something with me.  The first 10 people to comment below and share about a favorite learning experience will win a free month access. It could be your favorite teaching technique.  Or maybe your favorite learning memory from when you were in school. Share something and win!

FamilyTalk ranks #18 on an Amazon best seller list!

You may have seen some earlier posts I wrote about Family Devotion times, or my book- FamilyTalk: a guide to family devotions.  Whether you have seen the posts or not, I have some exciting news to share.

After much reading, learning, and experimenting I finally formatted my book for Amazon.  The link went live on New Years Day, and after a few sales and several reviews from people that already had the print version, FamilyTalk ranked #18 on Amazon’s Best Sellers list for its category.  That means out of over 300 books in the category, it ranked #18 in it’s first day!

Check out FamilyTalk on Kindle!

That may not mean much to you, but that was very exciting for me.  It was not long after that I noticed it was #1 in the Hot New Releases for it’s category.

If you haven’t seen it yet, it is listed at a great price right now on Amazon.  If you have a Kindle, or a Kindle app on an ipad or iphone this would be a great investment for your family.  If you decide to get a copy, don’t forget to leave me a review!  And you are welcome to post your thoughts here too

2012 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 2,000 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 3 years to get that many views.

Click here to see the complete report.

If Christians were birds…..

If Christians were birds—-

Yesterday this was our pastor’s message at church.  There are some very good points, and lots of similarities between our characteristics and those of various birds.  The notes may not be complete, but they are complete enough for you to get the point.  We all share some of these characteristics with birds.  Which are you?
What kind of ‘christian’  bird would you be?
Chickens

• Never reach full potential
• They live and wait to die
• The do a lot of flapping, but never go anywhere
• Live within confinement someone else built…a box or pen
• When there is a storm they run together inside

5 classroom and behavior management tips and tricks

Classroom/Behavior Management tips

School is starting soon, so I thought I would share a little from my days as a teacher.  As you know, many of my thoughts have ministry applications, and this one is no different.  Whether you are a classroom teacher, a home school teacher, a Sunday School teacher,  kids ministry leader, or even a parent, this may be something that can help.  When I was teaching there was something we called ‘classroom management’. I know that you may be in a small group/classroom setting, or you may be in a large group setting, but either way, the principles are the same.

Classroom management (sometimes behavior management) is something that I learned over several years of trial and error. It was a skill that I often make use of in parenting and also in a ministry setting.   A key to remember is the more you are able to identify and reinforce positive behavior, the less you need to try to discourage negative behavior. Most of the time the kids will want to imitate the positive behavior you are rewarding, because they like the reward and affirmation.

In ministry settings I have often divided the group into 2 teams, usually boys against girls.  This may or may not work in your setting, and if it doesn’t you still should be able to find a way to adapt these ideas.

Zonk Board:

This is large felt board with large felt circles. On the back of the circles are various point values. When you want to reinforce a positive behavior you can allow the child to choose a circle. Add the points to that team’s total. On the back of two circles put a ZONK, which means no points are awarded. (see the photo)

What is Family Ministry?

“Dad, will Gilligan be in heaven?” my daughter recently asked as Gilligan was laying on his back and she was scratching his belly.  Gilligan is the family dachshund.  She loves him, and he tolerates her, though he is playing with her more as she is getting older.  She is a huge animal lover, and I would not be surprised if she is a veterinarian when she grows up.  It makes sense that she would be concerned with his eternal welfare.

“I’m not sure, that is something we will find out when we get there.”

That seemed to pacify her for a moment, but then she continued her thoughts.  “If he does go to heaven, I hope I am there to see him.”

3 reasons you should attend CM Leaders Conference

September 13-14, 2012 marks the beginning of something new.  It is the first ever CM Leaders Conference (CM=children’s ministry) .  For any of you involved in children’s ministry, you understand that your ministry is different from any other ministry in the church.  You face many difficulties and issues that are unique to children’s ministry.  While it would be great to attend a general ministry conference, CM Leaders Conference is not only designed specifically for those of us involved with children’s ministry, but will go a step further to discuss the leadership aspect within our ministry.

http://incm.org/cm-leaders/columbus-ohio/

Michael Chanley and his INCM team (International Network of Children’s Ministry) are behind the new conference.

“Everything INCM does stems from our purpose statement: serve | serve | serve. Simply put, we exist to serve God and to serve those called to serve His children. The CM Leaders Conference exists to serve the church by training those called to serve in Children’s Ministry in the arts of leadership specific to our calling.

This new event builds onto the Five Initiatives we launched at CPC:

1.   Impart God’s truth to this generation

2.   Provide a safe and relevant environment

3.   Communicate with families

4.   Network with a community of leaders

5.   Pray for the international children’s ministry community.”