Millennials Serving

As I'm preparing for my Point Leader Summit workshop at the Conspire Conference (Willow Creek--April 23-25), I'm intrigued by how the prognosticators of generations nailed it with Millennials.

For years, I've been studying what the experts say about Millennials (born 1982-2002) and it's amazing to see that they were right! (Gives me great confidence in what they're saying about Futuristics--born from 2002 on, too.)

One key factor of Millennials is that they want to change the world together. Did you know that U.S. schoolchildren raised more than $10 million for Katrina relief--more than most corporate giants? And Group's Operation Kid2Kid outreach is the largest kid-to-kid outreach in the world? Hundreds of thousands of children give to children around the world. It's very cool!

How have you seen the truth of Millennials having a heart for service in your community and/or church?

Easter Wow!

Easter services at our church were amazing this weekend. We had five services and we were encouraged to stay away from the 10 a.m. service so guests would have room to attend. We went to the Saturday 4:30 service, and it was packed! It actually blessed me that so many people honored that request. And then in our 8 a.m. toddler room, we had over 20 toddlers (with only 3 that I recognized)...so it was like fruit-basket-turnover this Sunday.

The really cool thing our church did all week long was the Holy Week Experience. My husband, niece and her husband, and I went on Thursday night and for an hour traveled through experiential worship stations. The team did an amazing job with lighting, music, images. We traveled from sounds of people cheering at a large image of Jerusalem and read Scripture about Palm Sunday. Then through worship stations of writing on a brick and carrying it with us through the images and last seven sayings of Jesus on the cross, then laying it down on a huge pile of bricks. We then went to a station where we covered our hands with ash and  prayerfully wiped them on a large white cross and afterward washed them in cool water. At the tomb where the stone was rolled away, we chose the "rock" by writing our names in red ink on a large rock and then having communion. It was so amazing and so impactful to focus on the meaning of Easter--Jesus' sacrifice and resurrection! 

Off for a While

I'm taking the week off...so no blogging for awhile. Back on 3.25. Happy Easter!

Evite--So Cool!

I just responded to my soon-to-be-niece's wedding shower Evite.

If you don't know about evite.com yet, check it out. It's great for recruiting people or inviting people. It monitors your RSVPs and a whole ton of other stuff.

Green! Green! Green!

It's close to St. Patrick's Day. Is anyone else seeing green? Well, if you're not, you're not looking closely enough. Look how our culture has gone green with environmental issues. It's all pervasive.

And no matter what shade of green you are--lime green or emerald green--you have to admit that the environmentalists got it right when they started their movement through children.

Who among us hasn't been corrected by our children--"Don't throw that away! It's recyclable!" "Turn off the water when you brush your teeth." And so on...

What can we learn from these wise-beyond-their-compost-piles environmentalists that would help us get kids to take faith home? To start conversations? To ask questions? To in essence lead their families?

I have a hunch it's more than using "take-home" papers.

Are we helping children at church understand what it means to be a Christ-follower in the context of family? Are we giving them the language they need to ask the questions? What would our strategy look like if we truly understood--like the environmentalists--that "a child shall lead them"?

These are my questions. Anyone have thoughts?

Trends in Children's Ministry

One of the workshops I attended at Children's Pastors Conference was Mary Manz Simon's "CPC Trendwatching: 2008." Here are some highlights according to my notes (and my thoughts, of course)...

* Environments are huge in children's ministries. (But I wonder... Are children's ministries making their ministry areas "new wineskins" but not using the "new wine" of untraditional discovery learning? Who are the ministries that are bringing both "new" things together?)

* Focus on Safety--at home and at church (That's a definite trend. And not one that's going away with our information-saturated culture that makes us more afraid by the day.)

* Luxe Parents--Manz Simon says that parents "feel like a good parent if they spend $." (No comment.)

* Parents are looking for advice/support/mentoring (I don't believe we in the church have yet figured out how to provide that in a non-programmatic way. Except, have you checked out our new ParentLink newsletter? Go to group.com/parentlink. Shameless plug, but it's good.)

* Enviromental Sensitivity--Gotta go green! (If only we could learn the secrets of the environmental movement and launch a generation of children who guide their parents to not only become more green, but to also become more godly!)

* Instant Access Generation--We've got to figure out how to help families be less wired and more connected. (Ok, here's where I think we have to move into the future and instead of railing against "what is," we have to figure out how to communicate in new ways, to access the reality of today's new style of family, and to help parents establish healthy boundaries. My boundaries: no texting during church, meals, or face-to-face conversations.)

How Annoying Are Parents--Anyway?

I'm a parent. And I take seriously my role as my children's primary faith model. We talk about faith issues at different times--in the car, before bed, at dinner, while watching a TV show, after school--but not every day. More so when the need arises. I don't make my 12- and 14-year-old go to every church program every time the doors are open. I don't make them attend Sunday school--they go to "big" church with us unless they want to go to their class. With my 19-year-old, I don't make him go to church at all...he goes when he chooses. I don't make them serve...although they do serve in different ways--preteen week of hope, toddler room teacher, Belize mission trip, etc. I don't lead them in weekly family devotions--although we used to try that. I don't pray with them regularly enough. I don't get them in the Word enough--although they're all going to Christian school now and learning tons about God's Word!

Am I the kind of parent who would annoy most children's ministers--because "I don't care enough"?

I have to tell you something I experienced at the conference that saddened and scared me. In one of the large sessions, a speaker made a disparaging remark about parents (trying to be funny, I'm sure) and over half the crowd cheered. Cheered, I tell you!! Are we really that annoying because we don't fit the mold of what some children's ministers think we should be?

I hear a lot of talk (and I understand that it comes from a good place) about we need to help parents be the primary Christian educators in their children's lives. So we give them educational tools to use at home and when they don't use them, we say they don't care. Perhaps we need to forget the "educational" model at home...and stop and instead say to parents "You are the primary faith model in your child's life--at all times! And we're the primary Christian educators--as you allow us to be!"

How can we help parents in the everydayness of doing life with their children to model faith in a loving God, to create homes that are workshops for grace, to grapple together with who God is and what it means to follow hard after him--not in a programmed way, but in a natural way? Maybe it's as simple as great discussion-starters that get parents and children talking about faith. Or using a strategic curriculum like FaithWeaver so every single person in the entire family studies the same passage (and the pastor preaches on it, too!)--and therefore they've got something to talk about at home throughout the week.

We parents know how you feel about us, by the way. We pick up on the nuances. Rather than being annoyed by us, please advocate for us! Be our biggest fans! Welcome our children--and us--with grace, a hug, and a big smile--after we've made the effort to bundle them up, pack their bags, load the car, get them into the building, and try to be on time to big church.

Thank you for partnering with us--so that you're the primary Christian educator in our children's lives. We need your partnership since we're the primary faith models. That's why we bring our kids to church--because we care so much (not because we're delegating all of it to you). 

Children's Pastors Conference

I'm off to the Children's Pastors Conference in San Diego tomorrow. I'm going to learn and listen and interact with children's ministers. I'm looking forward to workshops, speakers, and time to just hear what's on people's hearts. It's always a great way to find out how we can serve better.