Archive for March, 2010

Family: The Key to Spiritual Growth

By | March 21, 2010 | Parents, Reviews | 10 Comments

What is the Family’s Job?

In his book, Think Orange, Reggie Joiner begins chapter three with a warning  to parents: Don’t live  just to make your kids happy. Of course, parents don’t usually start out that way. We want what is best for our kids. We want them to grow to be healthy and responsible. However, sometimes the line is crossed. We’re become so busy with possessions and experiences that sometimes the truly important things in life slip from view.

How do we prevent this in our families?  By focusing on the right things.  The things that really matter.

What should my family focus on?

Family Value #1 Imagine the End

Ultimately, our goal as parents should be for our kids to love God above all else. When Moses was giving his farewell speech to the Israelites, he reminded them again and again of what God had done and exhorted them not to walk away from the one true God. Sometimes as parents we’re so muddled down by feeding the kids, picking up their stuff, carting them here and there and trying to keep their grades up that we forget the crucial question “Who do I really want them to become?”. Fast forward twenty years and think about what kind of characteristics you want your children to be demonstrating. Chances are, they are godly characteristics. If so, what are we doing today to cultivate that? (Check out The 10 Best Decisions Every Parent Can Make to help with this!)

Family Value #2 Fight for the Heart

Moses is addresses the Hebrew people and says: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength”. Reggie explains, “The only thing that seperates a living faith from a ritualistic orthodoxy is one word, one idea, one compelling force: Love” (p57). If we want to pass on a legacy to our children, it has to be done in the context of relationship. Rules and practices outside this framework of love for God end up becoming empty and often offensive religion. Even explaining the reasons behind rules is not enough — reasons can be debated, but a trusted relationship cannot. Reggie explains, “The most important way you fight for the heart is to build a relationship that is trustworthy” (p59).

(to be continued…)

More in this series:

Putting It Into Practice
The Church’s Responsibility
The Family’s Job
More for the Family
When to Talk to Your Kids about God
Get Others to Help
Think Orange Book Review

The church’s role in spiritual development?

By | March 21, 2010 | Reviews | 3 Comments

What is the Church’s Responsibility?

In his book, Think Orange, Reggie Joiner paints a beautiful picture of the nature of the church, drawing examples from the Old Testament tabernacle and temple as well as the letters to the churches in Revelation. No matter where it is discussed, the Bible makes it clear that the church is to function as a lampstand, a light which points to Christ.

The Job of the Lampstand

In the Old Testament tabernacle, Reggie explains, the lampstand was located in a strategic place. It was directly next to the table which held the “shewbread”, the loaves meant to represent God’s provision and later would symbolize Jesus’ own body. In the book of Revelation, John addresses the seven churches as the seven lampstands. As you read through John’s challenges to these churches, everything makes so much more sense in the light of the lampstand’s original purpose. God was concerned about the church losing its influence and impact in order to shine a light on Christ.

Challenge to Churches

Reggie challenges churches to makes sure the we are illuminated the right things. In order to be most effective for kingdom, we have to make sure the lampstand is illuminating the bread, Christ. Jesus himself said that when He is lifted up, he will draw men to himself. It’s not our job to draw people in — it’s our job to illuminate the only one who can. All our clever programming and fun activities will become pointless if they are not showcasing the Son of God.

Warning to Churches

Beware of  using the lampstand to fight personal battles, make political statements, or make your church look better. All Bible-believing churches are serving the same God — and sometimes we “begin believing our mission is to get people to buy into our version of church”. So instead of getting caught up in the minor issues and things that distract us from our true calling, let’s make it a priority to keep Jesus in the spotlight. Let’s be intentional about keeping the lampstand in it’s proper place.

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More in this series:
Putting It Into Practice
The Church’s Responsibility
The Family’s Job
More for the Family
When to Talk to Your Kids about God
Get Others to Help
Think Orange Book Review

Putting “Thinking Orange” into Practice

By | March 20, 2010 | My Thoughts, Reviews | 4 Comments

Talking with a Parent

I’ve been thinking about praying a lot about this “Think Orange” book.  I’ve often tried to include parents in the ministry, but only if they came to the church already.  Sure if guest parents showed up for a special function I would make my way over (often with high anxiety) to say hi and thank them for coming.  However, I never really sought them out in any other way.  We’re starting an Appleseeds program (mentoring group for preteen girls) and one church member encouraged me to call the parents of one of the girls.  She comes regularly to our Wednesday night program, but her parents have never attended.  I called and talked with her dad about the program and said we’d love to have her.  It was a very pleasant conversation, leaving me to wonder why I had been putting it off so long.  What is it about “outside” parents that leaves me shaking in my shoes?  Why have I become so accustomed to taking the easy way out?  Where is my heart for outreach, for SEEKING and saving the lost.  I’d rather just wait for the lost to wander into the church first, and then I’d be happy to help save them!  Somehow, I just don’t think that’s what Christ had in mind.  I hope this book will help change my perspective, my motivation, and cause me not to be content to wait around for the lost to find me.

More in this series:
Putting It Into Practice
The Church’s Responsibility
The Family’s Job
More for the Family
When to Talk to Your Kids about God
Get Others to Help
Think Orange Book Review

Think Orange by Reggie Joiner: Book Review

By | March 19, 2010 | Parents, Reviews | 4 Comments

I recently started reading the book “Think Orange” by Reggie Joiner.  It talked about the power of combining church (yellow) and family (red) to produce a more powerful force (orange) than either could be alone.  After a funny and offbeat introduction, Reggie begins his dicussions with some “Orange-ology”.  He explains that “The premise of this book is simple: As long as churches do only what they are doing, they will get only results they are presently getting.”  The same goes for the family.  There are failures in both homes and churches — churches are losing influence and families are disintegrating — so what is the solution?  Step up the force on both sides?  Or how about combining forces for a whole new way of thinking?  This is Thinking Orange.  This is not another “family based ministry” approach.  This is a way of thinking that could lead to radical and controversial changes.  Many churches and families are already working on the same thing — trying to raise good and Christ-centered kids.  But, as Reggie explains “working on the same thing at the same time is not as effective as working on the same thing at the same time with the same strategy” (p26).   Join me as I continue to work through this book, review my current methods, hopefully make some more effective changes and see kids come to Christ!

More in this series:

Putting It Into Practice
The Church’s Responsibility
The Family’s Job
More for the Family
When to Talk to Your Kids about God
Get Others to Help
Think Orange Book Review

Other Bloggers Who Have Reviewed this Book:

Children’s Ministry and Culture

Kid Tech Blog

Dan’s Hole in the Wall

Welcome to my Children’s Ministry Blog!

By | March 19, 2010 | My Thoughts | No comments

Welcome to my newly opened Children’s Ministry blog.  I wanted to name it something that conveyed where our church was at right now.  I like Growing Kids Ministry because it can mean so many things.  I don’t want to focus on the growing numbers, but let’s face it, the more kids you get in the program, the more you can share Christ with.  It’s not about the numbers, but it’s exciting when you are able to tell more and more kids about the love of Christ.  So, yes growing numbers are important, but not the only thing we want to see growing.  Most importantly, we want to see relationships growing.  Relationships between kids, relationships between kids and their leaders, and relationships between kids and their Creator.  While we’re at it, it’d be great to see some relationships growing between leaders and parents, leaders and leaders, kids and other congregation members — you get the idea.  I want to see our Children’s Ministry become a place that can facilitate growth spiritually and relationally.  I want to see these kids grow to love Jesus more every time they step through those doors and I want everyone who comes in contact with our Kids Ministry to be inspired to grow closer together as a body of Christ.  Thanks for joining me and I hope to see you here again real soon!

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