Family Ministry Starts at Home

Joshua Simpson got the heart of Shift...family ministry starts first in our home:

"Recently becoming a father I have realized through this book that there is a heavy weight of importance on being a parent and there are these milestones that will happen throughout my child’s life that I must take advantage of and to teach, learn, and celebrate.  More importantly to everyone in a line of ministry whether it be full-time or volunteer this SHIFT must start in our own home first.  We must be the example that we wish others to be.  This is a MUST read, but after reading do not neglect the action start this process in your home and then introduce it to your church."

To read his entire review, go to http://pjsperspective.wordpress.com/

To buy Shift, go here http://shift.group.com/

Yet Another Ministry Book? Yes!

Tim Inman's review of Shift was fun to read. Like me, he can approach "strategies" that promise the moon suspiciously. Glad to see Brian disarmed him!

Here's part of Tim's review:

Me: “OK you're starting to win me over with your emphasis on family relationships, but isn't this just another strategy? What if your milestones and celebrations aren't as meaningful in my context?"

Brian: (p. 42) “Cookie cutters are for cookies. What I am about to show you is a strategy designed specifically for Kingsland Baptist Church in suburban Houston, Texas. The principles behind this strategy are universal... You're the expert regarding your church and your ministry.”

Me: “I get it. I should get ideas from your plan and let this overarching philosophy guide me as I develop a plan for the people in my life.”

I admit it, this book disarmed the critical-thinking ninja in me just long enough to get through to my heart. Hey, I think I just enjoyed reading a ministry book!"

My thoughts: This is exactly what Brian hoped for...that people would see the pattern and then contextualize it to their ministry since it's so rooted in the biblical model for family ministry!

To read Tim's review, go to http://blog.inmans.org/

To buy Shift, go here http://shift.group.com/

Does Shift Need a Church-Wide Strategy?

As always, Larry Shallenberger has some insightful views. One thing he pointed out as a missing element for Shift:

“Shift” offers a sustainable model for family ministry, but there were some missing elements in the book:

• I was disappointed that there was no discussion on how to achieve alignment across departments. Most mid-sized churches and larger are departmentalized into children, youth, and adult ministries and are managed by an executive pastor. “Shift” lacks help on how to bring those departments into alignment so the strategy can occur. Any family ministry model needs pulpit support as well."

My thoughts: True...to a point. I think Brian would agree that the ideal is complete alignment across all the ministries and from the pastor first and foremost. That's what Brian has experienced in his church. However, just as there are non-traditional families that don't fit the ideal, we've found that most churches don't fit the ideal. When we found Brian, we had listened to other strategies that in our opinion don't seem as workable or sustainable because they require an overhaul of existing structures and philosophies. We begged Brian to make Shift a strategy that would work if only one ministry area bought into it. And it does!  We talk to children's ministers who also beg us to not give them a family ministry strategy that requires hiring new staff, adding new programs, or getting complete buy-in. In my opinion, that's what Brian Haynes has done in Shift!

To read Larry's entire review, go to http://childrensministryandculture.wordpress.com/

To buy Shift, go here http://shift.group.com/

Can All Families Make the Shift?

Lorraine Seaman makes a great point about non-traditional families and how they fit into the Shift strategy:

"My one concern in reading the book, and it surfaced frequently, was what about our non-traditional families?  Our single moms/dads, our infrequent attenders, our children who attend with friends and not their parents?  How do we reach out to those families who do not meet our stereotypical expectations of what a 'church' family is?  Especially when these milestones are so completely implemented within the walls of the church building itself?

I do love that he is so intentional about wanting to create opportunities to equip and support parents.  This book is chock-full of really great ideas and I will admit that I am still processing it, turning possibilities over in my head. 

Overall, I found it well worth the time and I'm looking forward to discussing possibilities with my own church leadership team."

My thoughts: We had lots of discussions with Brian about how diverse families are today. And, he assured us that in his church, it's every kind of family that's following the pathway of milestones and making the shift. Great points!

To read Lorraine's blog, go here: http://www.rockrunner.blogs.com/al

To buy Shift, go here http://shift.group.com/

Shift Transitions a Strength

Here's an excerpt from James' Giroux's review of Shift:

"One thing I really liked was the milestone on helping students graduate from teen to adult.  We don’t have coming of age traditions in our society and I am a huge fan of returning to some form of celebration of that because I think we’ve forgotten how to healthily and helpfully transition our young people from child to adult.  So there are some cool ideas about that.

All in all it was a short and easy read with some solid content.  There’s definitely the tone of American evangelicalism to it which I’m not sure I fully support any more but there’s lots to glean from this book and I would highly recommend it to anyone who works with students or kids or who has some of their own."

Read James' entire review at http://jamesgiroux.ca/ 

To buy Shift, go here http://shift.group.com/

Milestones vs. Age-Specific Ministries?

Hey, if you haven't seen all the reviews of Shift yet, check out my previous post to see what others are saying about Shift. Compelling insights!

I've avoided blogging in response to the reviews, because I don't want to appear argumentative in any way, but I'm going to take time at this halfway remark to also blog about the blogs!

Liz Perraud writes: "The practice that he lays out in “Shift” involves equipping families through seven age-appropriate milestones “that every person growing in his or her relationship with Christ experiences and celebrates.”  The child or youth (or adult) must learn key truths to progress from one milestone to the next.  The church teaches each milestone to the parents and the parents reinforce them through “faith talks” at home and resources that the church provides.  There are church events that teach and celebrate each of the milestones and that connect parents with one another. I see one gaping hole in the plan…the connection to community for the kids.  As it should, “Shift” describes a structure of stability for the family and sets up an environment for the parents to learn and grow together.  But without a strong system of relationships for the young people—in addition to those with their family—there is a lack of connectedness to the wider body of Christ."

My response: Liz, I agree that connection and community in the body of Christ are critical. And Brian does, too. He's a strong proponent of the age-specific ministries that disciple kids and their parents in the church. The Milestones are a strategy that are congruent with all the great things the church is already doing. But great point, Liz, that this point may need to be made more strongly in Shift. Thanks for your review! Check out Liz's full review here: http://thelogosministry.wordpress.com/

To buy Shift, go here http://shift.group.com/

Ride the Shift in Family Ministry

The challenge of ministering to the family is complex for children's ministers. And the more brilliant voices we have speaking into this topic, the closer we'll get to solutions. That's why we asked Henry Zonio to coordinate a Shift Blog Book Tour to create the dialogue around the ground-breaking book Brian Haynes has written: Shift: What it takes to finally reach families today.

Want to find out what some of the best minds think about Shift--and Brian's all-church strategy? Follow these blogs along the tour:

October 1 - Liz Perraud at http://thelogosministry.wordpress.com

October 2 - James Giroux at http://jamesgiroux.ca

October 3 - Lorraine Seaman http://www.rockrunner.blogs.com/al

October 4 - Larry Shallenberger http://childrensministryandculture.wordpress.com

October 5 - Tim Inman at http://blog.inmans.org/

October 6 - Joshua Simpson http://pjsperspective.wordpress.com

October 7 - Micah Foster http://micahfoster.wordpress.com

October 8 - Amy Dolan at http://lemonlimekids.wordpress.com

October 9 - Jesse Smith http://www.sillypuppies.com/bookwormand http://sp_jesse.livejournal.com

October 10 - Michael Chanley http://pureconnect.org

October 11 - Gina McClain at http://www.ginamcclain.com

October 12 - Henry Zonio at http://www.elementalcm.com

Lifesize Noah's Ark

Johan Huibers, a Dutchman, has just finished the world's first replica of Noah's Ark in Schagen, Netherlands. Huigen says, "Nobody learns about Christianity any more. I hope visitors to my ark will be inspired by the experience and want to read the Bible and learn from it. I followed the example of Noah because he, too, was a builder. I want to build another ark - this is just practice. The next one will be the same size as Noah’s, 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high.”

Huibers is passionate about awakening a hunger for God in his country. I'm inspired by him in the same way that I'm inspired by children's ministers week in and week out who perform amazingly big and small feats to awaken in children a hunger for God.

This guy has to be a closet children's minister, don't you think?

What (cough) Would (wheeze) Jesus Do?

Yea, I'm sick. And everytime I get sick, I'm intrigued by how people respond to me. Some recoil and sit on the opposite side of the room (you know who you are!). And I get it; I really do. I wish I hadn't caught this from my family, but would I have given up the opportunities to rub their backs or snuggle with them to warm them up? Nah, I don't think so.

But that's family. When it comes to co-workers or church members or friends, it's easier to recoil. And maybe, just maybe, that's the last thing a sickie needs. A kind touch, a pat on the back, an empathetic "oh, you poor baby; what can I do?" sounds pretty good to me right now.

What would Jesus do? He was fully God and fully human, so he probably didn't relish the thought of getting the flu (swine or any other kind) or a virus or any other contagious germ. Funny that we have no record of him being sick in the Bible. "Oy, Ma! More chicken soup!" (he was a man, after all, and ladies, we know how most guys act when they're sick).

But anyway, what would Jesus do if he encountered sickies? It's something (hack, hack) I want us to think about--especially since we're entering what may be the nastiest flu season ever.

Gotta go...Sudafed calls.

Stay the Course

Recently my 13-year-old told me after seeing the Celebration Station video of the woman washing Jesus' feet that he'd never heard that story before. What!? Never heard that story!? This is a child that's been in children's ministry and in my home for 13 years! What's the deal?

This issue always make me think of something my husband asked me when our oldest was around 6. Grant had brought home a take-home sheet from Sunday school and Mike asked me, "Is there any story besides Noah's ark?"

These are two stories that illustrate a pervasive problem in children's ministry. I wonder if kids are getting the overall scope of the Bible if we're always changing curriculum and starting over from the beginning--year after year after year. So there's lots of Noah but not lots of the Bible in its entirety.

I'm actually at a point where I'd like to encourage children's ministers to spend in-depth time choosing a curriculum--and then stick with it through it's entire scope and sequence (whether that's 2 or 3 years or more). Trust your instincts and God's direction and stick with the plan. Now, of course, I think for all sorts of reasons that Group has all the underlying stuff that makes for great Bible learning, but seriously, even if you don't pick Group's curriculum....stick with what you do choose.

It's the only way for kids to get to walk through the Bible and get the whole of God's story. And there are so many riches beyond Genesis. Let's saturate kids with all of God's Word!