The Christian Educator Newsletter

Roadmap Update

2008-06-18T23:11:00.001-05:00

Several days ago I posted on the CEA blog about Roadmap (Children's Prayer and Mission Adventure).

I received an update from Jennifer Reinsch at the Memorial church of Christ in Houston. They are hosting a Houston area Roadmap on August 1-2. They currently have 5 churches signed up to attend.

I was so glad to receive this news from Jennifer and know that part of the vision we dreamed several years ago is coming true and Roadmap is now in two locations. Wouldn't it be great if it would spread
to every city?? Imagine what God could do if we got that many children praying and learning to make prayer a priority in their lives. It is exciting to think about!

If you are reading this and are close to Houston, contact Jennifer for more information. It is not too late to get on board. jreinsch@mcoc.org.

On another note, I was blessed to go to Richland Hills to see their kick off of their Summer Spectacular on Monday. They did the life of Jonah: "A Whale of a Tale". Patty Weaver told me she had 3100 pre-registered!!! It was such a fun evening. Then tonight I went to Saturn Road and watched Trey Laminack and Cecilia Bingham's production of Elijah: On Fire For God. They had 900+ kids in attendance. You should have seen and heard those kids reaction when Elijah was taken over 10 feet in the sky in his chariot. It was very impressive.

May the Lord bless all the seeds that will be planted this summer from all of the outreach efforts every church will be implementing this summer! Let's remember to pray for one another.

Blessings,
Lynn Leaming
CEA Board Member

Kids Roadmap

2008-06-15T22:36:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to post something about the 8th annual Kids Roadmap being held on July 11-13th at Park Plaza church of Christ in Tulsa. It was in 1990 that a group of us went to the Children's Pastor's Conference together in San Diego. I remember well one day at lunch Patty Weaver and Von Corbet came back to our table and were talking at mach speed about the seminar they had attended on planning a prayer and mission adventure for children. They were so excited about what they had heard and thought we should all get together and plan an event for Dallas. Thus Kids Roadmap(Mission and Prayer Adventure) was birthed. This event is for children entering 3rd through
6th grades. Each church that particpates agrees to have an 8 week (8 hour) teaching session on prayer. All the children that will participate in Roadmap agree to attend the 8 lessons on prayer. The curriculum teaches children how to pray covering aspects of prayer such as: prayer walks, intercessory prayer, journaling the meaning of the Lord's prayer and praying through your hand and several other topics.

On Roadmap weekend all those principles are put together to make for an incredible weekend. The kids and their sponsors all arrive on Friday night. Prayer groups are set up all around the sponsoring building and the kids have different prayer experiences. Then on Saturday we do a prayer walk around whatever town we are in. The kids load up in buses or vans and travel to different locations and then surround that location and pray for it. Such as: a children's hospital, an abused women's shelter, a firehouse, police station, government offices, nursing home, schools, Ronald McDonald house, etc. Each participant is given a book with scripted prayers and they all unload off the buses and surround the facility and say the prayer. This last for about 6-8 hours on Saturday with a break for lunch.

Saturday night then is a "fun night" with games and a movie. Sunday morning we worship and have another prayer time before heading for home. Some of the churches that have hosted this event have been Altamesa, Saturn Road, Ennis, Bammel Road in Houston (2 times), Heritage and Richland Hills. This year as I mentioned earlier will be at Park Plaza in Tulsa.

Of all the programs I had when I was in Children's Ministry, I considered Roadmap to be the one with the best eternal reward. It was amazing to watch our children capture a true spirit of prayer. Adults could not believe that children (ages 9-12) would pray for an hour. The biggest blessing is after Roadmap was over these children continued to be prayer warriors. They continued to make prayer a priority in their lives. Because of them our church became a better house of prayer than it had been before. In 2005 when I would be involved in a life altering accident, the sweet children at my church prayed for me constantly. One night they had a prayer service and the children lined the pews at the front of the building and one after another for over 45 minutes they said prayers for me.

When we first started Roadmap our vision was to do it a few years with a combined Dallas/Houston effort and then break off and each city do their own event and then eventually each church do their own event and involve other churches in their communities. This year Oklahoma is joining in with hopes of having Oklahoma churches get involved on their own. I am hoping that if you are reading this you see a potential for your city and your children. If you have any questions you can contact Will Spoon at Park Plaza in Tulsa (wspoon@parkplaza.org) for this year's event, or Patty Weaver at Richland Hills,patty.weaver@rhchurch.org.

Curriculum Evaluation Resource

2008-05-20T16:16:00.003-05:00

Kim Shimer from Judson Press sent me a copy of a book entitled "Christian Educator's Guide To Evaluating and Developing Curriculum" by Nancy Ferguson in hopes that I would post a review of the book here. I have read the book and have to say I wish it had been available for our team when we were looking at our curriculum and trying to develop goals and objectives for the spiritual transformation of our children.

Before we began that process at Richardson East the right hand had no clue what the left hand was doing. There was no coordination between Sunday morning and Wednesday night teachers, nor was there any coordination from grade to grade. Everyone just chose what curriculum worked for their particular class and we discovered our kids had major gaps in their Biblical knowledge. This book would have been very helpful when we began that process because we just walked through it on our own. If we had this resource on hand it would have helped us complete our evaluation in a more educated manner.

Ms Ferguson ascertains that there are Six Key Elements to a congregation's educational program. These elements transcend age groupings and can be used for children, youth and/or adult programming. She has designed worksheets that a designated team of people can spend time completing to help your congregation determine what the definition of these six elements would be for your educational program.

Once you have determined those six elements Ms. Ferguson has more worksheets to help you in using those elements to aid in the evaluating and choosing of curriculum resources. She also has informative chapters on how to write your own curriculum or how to adapt your current curriculum to meet the six elements.

The Christian Educator's Guide To Evaluating And Developing Curriculum is written in a way that is very easy to follow. It gives you practical advice on how to begin your curriculum review process and how to bring it to completion. When you have finished walking through the steps you will have identified, created or adapted a curriculum that fits the beliefs and goals of your congregation.

You can find this book for a very reasonable $13.60 on the Judson Press website http://www.judsonpress.com/. Nancy Ferguson welcomes your emails and discussions about curriculum at her website at http://www.bluetreeresources.org/

On a side note while on Judson Press website I saw a fun book entitled "The Gospel According to Dr. Seuss" (Relate the Horton Hears a Who movie to lessons on Christian living with the help of this book!...) Sounded fun to me!

Church Marketing

2008-03-08T19:50:00.004-06:00

You may have read this article by Matthew Streib about church marketing - specifically about a website that addresses church marketing. The most interesting thing to me in the article was this paragraph:

"If churches were doing what they're supposed to be doing, they wouldn't need advertising,” site founder Brad Abare said. He contends that if churches were more active in the community and addressing its needs, they would grow naturally from the original form of marketing: word of mouth.

It reminded me of the "original church marketing plan" found in John 13:35 - "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

Fellowshipchurch.com

2008-03-03T22:10:00.002-06:00

I don't know how familiar you are with Ed Young Jr. and his church Fellowshipchurch.com in Grapevine, TX., but I was watching him on T.V. Sunday morning as I was getting ready for worship and he had a great lesson on Lust. Yes, you read that right lust. He didn't just mention lust, the entire 30 minutes he was talking about the sin of lust. I thought to myself when was the last time I heard a sermon on that subject? But in typical Ed Young style he did the lesson in a creative way.

He used 6 points all ending in "ize" to represent eyes. He showed the progression from first being Tantalized (tempted to look), then Plagiarize (Satan takes what God has made good and puts his own spin on it), third is customize (Satan knows what is the weakness of each person). I liked how he compared Satan's strategies to fishing lures each meant to attract a different type. Then he said "but Satan does not practice catch and release." Fourth was vandalize ( God's best is taken from us) Then he talked about positive actions we can take: Mobilize (do not let your eyes linger) He used Job 31:1 "I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl". He actually had the boldness to suggest that people not subscribe to movie channels and said he does not channel surf as a way of guarding his own heart. His final point was Realize. His text was I Corinthians 10:13 that we realize that with every temptation God provides a way out.

You can actually view this sermon at http://www.edyoung.com/watch.php

Several years ago our staff at Richardson East went to the Creative Church Conference that Fellowship Church has each year (and is now taking on tour). I remember that Ed showed a video of a sermon that he gave in which he told his congregation that over the weekend while he and his wife were at a spa they had a chance encounter with Celion Dion and she had told them she was looking for a church to attend while she was in Dallas. So as he started introducing her and showing her picture on their large screens, the crowd was going wild and standing on their feet applauding. He then said "Not". He said "imagine if you can get that excited about a person like Celine Dion what it should be like to know that Jesus Christ is here in this building today how will you celebrate His presence?"

If you are wanting some insights into how to "think outside of the box" you might want to check out Ed Young's website at www.fellowshipchurch.com. His Creative Church Conference tour dates are also available on the site.

Poll: America Adults Claiming No Specific Religion At Record High

2008-02-27T22:17:00.002-06:00

03:21 PM CST on Monday, February 25, 2008

By JEFFREY WEISS / The Dallas Morning News
jweiss@dallasnews.com

A major new measure of religious belief in the United States confirms trends shown in earlier polls: The percentage of adult Americans claiming no particular religion is at an all-time high. The percentage of Protestants is dropping. And the percentage of Catholics is stable — but only because the overwhelming majority of immigrants is Catholic.

Also Online: http://religions.pewforum.org/

Link:http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/02/highlights-from-the-new-pew-st.html

Religion blog: Highlights from the new Pew study on religion and America

The poll released Monday was taken last year by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. More than 35,000 adults were asked about their beliefs — an unusually large sample compared with most national polls.

According to the survey, Texas has a higher proportion of evangelical Protestants and a smaller percentage of the “unaffiliated” than the nation as a whole.

But the survey also indicates that many Americans aren’t all that focused on the particular variety of church they attend.

“A significant percentage of Americans have only a vague denominational identification (that is, they tell us they are “just a Baptist” or “just a Methodist”),” the report said. “In fact, many Americans are simply unclear about the religious group to which they belong, ensuring a degree of ambiguity in any survey-based measure of affiliation.”

According to the survey, 44 percent of Americans over 18 say they have changed religious affiliation. More than half of that total have either shifted to a significantly different faith or to no particular faith. The remainder say they have changed form one kind of Protestantism to another.

HIGHS AND LOWS BY STATE
Highest percentage of members of Evangelical Protestant churches: Oklahoma, 53 percent

Lowest percentage of members of Evangelical Protestant churches: Utah, 7 percent

Highest percentage of members of Catholic churches: tie, Connecticut/Rhode Island, Massachusetts, 43 percent

Lowest percentage of members of Catholic churches: Arkansas, 5 percent

Highest percentage of unaffiliated: Oregon, 27 percent

Lowest percentage of unaffiliated: Mississippi, 6 percent

Source: U.S. Religious Landscape Survey 2008, Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed - The Movie

2008-02-26T08:11:00.004-06:00

Ben Stein has a documentary movie due to be released in April. The title - "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed" The subject - the scientific communities suppression of expression in the belief in intelligent design and questioning Darwinism.

It will be quite interesting to see what kind of reception this movie gets. From what I read about the movie, it is not a thesis for belief in intelligent design, but instead a look at the scientific community and why they try to silence those who believe in a God created universe. I'm looking forward to it's release and hope that it will be a good resource for those of us who work with a generation of kids that have been taught Darwinism as the truth and that if they believe otherwise, they are the unintelligent ones.

Everything Must Change Tour

2008-02-25T19:11:00.003-06:00

My husband Steve and I were privileged to attend Brian McLaren's Everything Must Change Tour this past weekend in Dallas. Through conversation, presentation, art, music, and reflection, we explored how the way of Jesus can bring transformation in our contemporary world...locally, nationally, and globally.

In McLaren's new book "Everything Must Change" he says " 'We Are In Deep Shift'--A time of transition, rethinking, re-imagining, and re-envisioning. A time for asking new questions and seeking answers that are both new and old fresh and seasoned surprising and familiar."

The weekend attempted to answer these questions.
What does it mean, in today’s world, to be a follower of God in the way of Jesus?

What does it mean to be a faith community engaged in the holistic, integral mission of God in our world today?

How do we, as individuals and organizations, respond faithfully to the crises facing our world?

What is our duty to God, ourselves, our families, our neighbors, our enemies, and our planet in light of Jesus’ radical message of the kingdom of God?

How can we engage in personal formation and theological reformulation for global transformation?

Living in "deep shift" can be exhilarating and energizing, but it can also be disorienting and frightening.

Deep Shift was created to provide spiritual guidance for organizations. Deep Shift provides support as leaders make their own personal deep shift and guide their organizations through the transition and transformation necessary to ignite the loving energy of people to work for the good of the world: coaching, consulting, and resources for people leading in deep shift — faith community and church leaders, nonprofit leaders, ethical business leaders and others.

For more details, visit the website at: http://www.deepshift.org .

There is also a video of Brian McLaren explaining the tour available at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3QpTQfENoY

Power of Testimonies

2008-02-19T23:18:00.000-06:00

Last night we had a couple come and speak to our Life Group who are not part of our church family. Their friend Randi attends our Life Group and has had us praying for this couple for 3 years. They came last night to talk to us about the journey they have been on the past 15 years.
While they had some significant events test their faith earlier in their marriage, the past three years they have spent 361 days of their 3 year olds life in the hospital. She has a very rare eating disorder. They have been told that she is not the only child to have had this problem, she is the only one who has lived. Avery has not been able to ingest food or drink since birth. She is fed through a tube in her intestine. Listening to this couple share their walk of faith touched all of our hearts. They have learned so much about God that they would not have known if they had not endured this journey. They helped us all to see what surrender looks like in the flesh.

I am not sure why we don't share testimonies more often? Everyone has a God story to share. Testimonies help to authenticate faith. Testimonies are not meant to glorify the testifier but God. I pray more and more that churches will be open to creating an environment where testimonies are shared and God is glorified.

Psalms 145
I will exalt you, my God the King;
I will praise your name for ever and ever.

Every day I will praise you
and extol your name for ever and ever.

Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom.

One generation will commend your works to another;
they will tell of your mighty acts.

They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty,
and I will meditate on your wonderful works. ^[b]

They will tell of the power of your awesome works,
and I will proclaim your great deeds.

They will celebrate your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

The LORD is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in love.

The LORD is good to all;
he has compassion on all he has made.

All you have made will praise you, O LORD;
your saints will extol you.

They will tell of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might,

so that all men may know of your mighty acts
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
The LORD is faithful to all his promises
and loving toward all he has made.

The LORD upholds all those who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down.

The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.

You open your hand
and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

The LORD is righteous in all his ways
and loving toward all he has made.

The LORD is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.

He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.

The LORD watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.

My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD.
Let every creature praise his holy name
for ever and ever.

Reggie McNeal

2008-02-13T22:17:00.003-06:00

My husband Steve and I are still talking about the impact that Reggie McNeal had on us at the CEC conference. He has really pushed our thinking outside of the box and has helped us reevaluate our own roles in the kingdom. After the conference we ordered a couple of Reggie's books. The one that has really shaken up our thinking is The Present Future: Six Tough Questions for the CHURCH. We agree with George Cladis' evaluation of the book "Be prepared to be turned upside down and shaken loose of all your old notions of what church is and should be in today's world."

There are six chapter headings and in each of the six chapters Reggie poses and discusses the "wrong question" and the "tough question". Here are those titles and questions:
New Reality Number One: The Collapse of the Church Culture
Wrong Question: How do we do church better?
Tough Question: How do we deconvert from Churchianity to Christianity?
New Reality Number Two: The Shift From Church Growth to Kingdom Growth
Wrong Question: How do we grow the church (how do we get them to come to us?)
Tough Question: How do we transform our community? (how do we hit the streets with the
gospel?)
New Reality Number Three: A New Reformation: Releasing God's People
Wrong Question: How do we turn members into ministers?
Tough Question: How do we turn members into missionaries?
New Reality Number Four: The Return to Spiritual Formation
Wrong Question: How do we develop church members?
Tough Question: How do we develop followers of Jesus?
New Reality Number Five: The Shift From Planning to Preparation
Wrong Question: How do we plan for the future?
Tough Question: How do we prepare for the future?
New Reality Number Six: The Rise of Apostolic Leadership
Wrong Question: How do we develop leaders for church work?
Tough Question: How do we develop leaders for the Christian movement?

You can order this book and learn more about Reggie and the Leadership Network at www.leadnet.org.

CEA Regional Workshops

2008-02-12T15:54:00.000-06:00

One of the great resources that the Christian Education Association has to offer is the Regional Workshop. Those of you who were able to attend the CEC know what a blessing it can be to attend a workshop. But not everyone can spend the time or money to go to a larger conference. Plus sometimes the topics just aren’t what you or your volunteers need at the time. That’s one of the wonderful things about Regional Workshops. They come to you and you pick the topics!

I have been blessed to have my home congregation host three of these workshops. We have had quality speakers cover a variety of topics for age groups from cradle roll through adults. It would be hard for me to contact the speakers we needed for specific topics. That’s one of the real blessings to hosting a workshop through the CEA. The leg work of contacting speakers and getting them lined up is done for you. The speakers donate their time for these workshops. You are responsible for their travel expenses. We charged participants a small fee to help cover some of the expenses.

So, what responsibilities do you have as host? You determine the topics what format to follow. We offered 4 sessions with each track and allowed our participants to have the option of attending all sessions within one track or switching between them. We also provided brunch foods and a lunch. Our workshops have been from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. You can have more or less sessions for a longer or shorter period of time. You determine what is best for your region.

You are responsible for advertisement. This involves contacting the area congregations and informing them of this wonderful opportunity - letters, calls, bulletin articles, newspaper, etc. You know the routine. You are responsible for the registration and the finances. Then of course, you are responsible for the actual physical running of the conference. You determine where to have it, when to have it, you’re responsible for setting up, providing resources that may be needed by the presenters such as AV equipment, arranging a place for the presenters to stay and other little things such as that. For the quality workshop that is put on, it is a small price to pay.

I can’t express how great these workshops have been for us. In Louisiana, there is not the number of congregations as there are in other areas that many of you are from. (Read Texas, Tennessee, Arkansas, etc.) These have been a way for us to connect to other congregations while growing in ways to minister. They have been such a blessing to other congregations that I have had them contact me asking when we are hosting another one.

If you are interested in hosting a regional workshop or would like to learn more about them you can contact Pat Malone, Mike Malone or Charles Wilson. I would also be happy for you to contact me if you have any questions about our past workshops. Please consider taking advantage of this wonderful resource.

Prayer Resources

2008-02-06T23:54:00.000-06:00

Steve and I subscribe to a magazine entitled "Pray" that has really blessed our lives and deepened our prayer lives. When I was a children's minister there was a section in it each month called "Pray Kids" that helped me teach children how to have a deeper prayer life. If you haven't checked out their website www.navpress.com/Magazines/Pray! you are missing out on a great resource. One of the things Steve and I particularly like are the prayer cards. They give us great ideas for guided prayers with several areas that we may not think of praying on our own. Here are some of the available titles.

Interesting Website

2008-02-04T23:09:00.000-06:00

Someone forwarded me an article entitled "Christianity vs. Jesusanity -- The Postmodern Temptation" I found the article interesting and then in exploring the website that it came from discovered several more articles of interest, so thought I would post the site in case anyone would be interested. www.albertmohler.com. The article I mentioned is the January 18th post.

Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr., serves as the ninth president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary-the flagship school of the Southern Baptist Convention and one of the largest seminaries in the world.

Ladies Retreat Idea

2008-01-30T22:52:00.000-06:00

We just had a blessed ladies retreat at Richardson East and I thought I would share the theme idea just in case it could bless someone else. Our starting off place was Ken Gire's book Windows of the Soul. We called the retreat Open Windows/Encounters with God. We then developed nine windows where we can encounter God. We decorated each room and had experiences in each center that were multi-sensory.
-The Kitchen Window focused on encountering God through serving.
-The Bedroom Window focused on encountering God in rest and dreams
-The Patio Window focused on encountering God in nature
-The Parlor Window focused on encountering God through our gifts and talents
-The Dining Room Window focused on encountering God through communion and feasting
-The Living Room Window focused on encountering God through relationships
-The Game Room Window focused on encountering God through entertainment
-The Bathroom Window focused on encountering God through cleansing and forgiveness
-The Nursery Window focused on encountering God through childlikeness
Each woman had the opportunity to choose five of the windows during the weekend. If anyone is interested in the specifics of what we did in each window and the guided experiences you can email me at lynn_leaming@tx.rr.com and I will be glad to send them to you. We received a lot of positive feedback from the women in attendance that it was a blessed time.

How important are camp crafts?

2008-01-29T14:56:00.001-06:00

I'm not much for poetry. Particularly if it doesn't rhyme predictably.
But here is a poem by Billy Collins I heard on Prairie Home Companion the other day about Camp Crafts.

"The Lanyard"
The other day as I was ricocheting slowly
off the pale blue walls of this room,
bouncing from typewriter to piano,
from bookshelf to an envelope lying on the floor,
I found myself in the L section of the dictionary
where my eyes fell upon the word lanyard.

No cookie nibbled by a French novelist
could send one more suddenly into the past --
a past where I sat at a workbench at a camp
by a deep Adirondack lake
learning how to braid thin plastic strips
into a lanyard, a gift for my mother.

I had never seen anyone use a lanyard
or wear one, if that’s what you did with them,
but that did not keep me from crossing
strand over strand again and again
until I had made a boxy
red and white lanyard for my mother.

She gave me life and milk from her breasts,
and I gave her a lanyard.
She nursed me in many a sickroom,
lifted teaspoons of medicine to my lips,
set cold face-cloths on my forehead,
and then led me out into the airy light
and taught me to walk and swim,
and I, in turn, presented her with a lanyard.

Here are thousands of meals, she said,
and here is clothing and a good education.
And here is your lanyard, I replied,
which I made with a little help from a counselor.

Here is a breathing body and a beating heart,
strong legs, bones and teeth,
and two clear eyes to read the world, she whispered,
and here, I said, is the lanyard I made at camp.
And here, I wish to say to her now,
is a smaller gift--not the archaic truth

that you can never repay your mother,
but the rueful admission that when she took
the two-tone lanyard from my hands,
I was as sure as a boy could be
that this useless, worthless thing I wove
out of boredom would be enough to make us even.

Nashville Recap

2008-01-28T20:43:00.000-06:00

So I am hoping that some of you that attended the Christian Education Conference will dialog via this blog about something that blessed you about your time in Nashville this year. Personally as I mentioned in an earlier post I was really challenged by the presentations by Rick Rusaw on how to be an Externally Focused church. I was also challenged by Reggie McNeal in being more missional. The statement that has stuck with me the most is that Jesus commanded us to "Go and make disciples of all nations..." so why have we spent so much time and energy building programs in hopes that they will come?? I know that he gave me a lot to think about in regards to me getting more involved in my community and taking advantage of the opportunities that I have to join God in the work He is doing outside of the walls of my church building. So how about you? Share a nugget you received and bless those who were not able to attend this year.
We also want to take this opportunity to congratulate Tom Tignor for receiving the 2008 Holbert RideoutExcellence in Christian Education Award. Tom has spent his life dedicated to Christian Education and has filled the roles of youth minister, adult education minister, singles minister, pulpit minister as well as his current role as Vice-President of Publications for 21st Century Christian Publishing. We were all blessed to hear the testimonies of those closest to him.

We've Missed You!

2008-01-22T14:44:00.000-06:00

If you are not currently here in Nashville with us, we are missing you. But more important you are missing some great speakers!! Tim Woodruff has really challenged all of us in the worship times to see what it means to have ministries that are spirit filled and spirit led. He has personally led me to rethink my own theology in regards to the Spirit and question whether I have allowed His presence and power to be unleashed in my own life.

Yesterday, I heard Susan Lingo for the first time. I have used various books of hers for years and years, but it was refreshing to see how the Lord continues to bless her with new ideas in how to be intentional in the way we use crafts and object lessons to teach our children. She definitely helped unleash the creative spirit in each of us. Then Eddie Plemmons shared with us how he is using the 252 Basic curriculum at his church in Franklin Tennessee. He showed us the importance of shepherding children in small groups. How he recruits adults and teens to fill the roles of shepherds each week in groups of 4-6 children.

Today I heard another great lesson from Rick Rusaw on how to help our churches become externally focused. His church in Longmont Colorado focuses on serving their community and are known in the community for their service. When the mayor needs a task force he looks for members of the Lifebridge church to fill those positions because he knows they care about the city. Rick explained how when they first approached schools about getting involved they were leery, but they began asking teachers how they could help support them and then became so involved in the schools that when a high school student committed suicide the Lifebridge people were invited to come and just be listening ears to those students because they had already had a presence in that school. The stories went on and on and it was convicting to hear that he is not at a church where 80% of the people are doing 20% of the work, but they have found a way to get most of their members involved in some area of service.

Then this afternoon I got to hear Larry Fowler. A couple of months ago I mentioned I was excited to hear Larry because I had read his book Rock Solid Kids. He did not disappoint. The session I sat in on was how to get our kids serving in the kingdom. He startled us all with the statistics that depending on whose research you are reading the minimum amount of our kids that are walking away from church at graduation is 50%. He said most research shows it is 70% to 90%. Is that perhaps because we have convinced our children that they are the church of tomorrow and they see no purpose in today? (that is my question not Larry's) But he did cause us to think about what the church would look like if our children were involved in ministry in every area the adults were.

Then if all that was not good enough, it has been great to be with old friends and here what God is doing in their ministries and it has been great meeting new friends. Although, I have to admit the older I get the younger these new friends seem! I met one girl from Lubbock (yes I should remember her name) that when she heard my name said "oh, we prayed for you". To which I got teary eyed just having another opportunity to learn about all the people that have been praying for me on the road to recovery I have been on. And there has been great materials that our vendors have supplied. We got a look at some David C. Cook materials that are not even released as of yet!

So once again, we missed you! We hope you will make plans to meet us in Glenn Eyrie next year! It is always an added blessing to be there where God has also given us such a beautiful surrounding of His nature. I have had trouble with the Internet connection in my hotel room and came down to the lobby just so I could post this and forgot to bring the media form with me, but will get back on tomorrow and let you all know how you can order CD's of the presentations.

10 Reasons To Attend CEC

2008-01-07T16:44:00.000-06:00

The other day I was on a website that listed ten reasons for Children's Ministers to attend the Children's Pastor's Conference, so I thought I would borrow the idea for this post. The conference is only 13 days from now. Hope you have made plans to join us!!

10 Reasons to Attend the Christian Education Conference

1. You’ll spend three days learning from experts in various fields of education ministry

2. You’ll bring back new ideas for enhancing your ministry and have a refreshed vision.

3. Explore the hottest products in the market with our vendors. There’s a lot to see from over 10 companies! You’ll return to the church with some free samples, a long list of ideas, plus contact information from a variety of people who can help your church.

4. You’ll have an opportunity every day to spend some uplifting times in worship.

5. You’ll receive a conference notebook, ready to be packed full of ideas you’ll start getting the very first day. If you bring back just one awesome idea, the conference will be worth it.

6. Have some fun time in Music City USA and time to tour some of the Nashville scenes.

7. Host an “everything I learned at CEC” presentation when you get home. Show your elders, deacons, teachers or ministry team leaders the new ideas you have.

8. Does your church have an open job position? Post the position on the message board and then scout out potential candidates at the conference. You could even screen possible hires on-site.

9. Come celebrate with us as we honor this year’s Excellence in Christian Education Award.

10. Great networking opportunities! You will have many opportunities to make long lasting relationships.

Ready for Nashville

2008-01-03T17:23:00.000-06:00

I hope that you all got your hotel room booked and are looking forward to the Christian Education Conference. Mostly I hope that you were not any later than I was booking the room because if you were, then you missed out on the great conference rate! I was probably the last one to reserve a room before the deadline arrival.

With everything going on, I should be wondering if I can fit the CEC into my schedule. We all know how busy Christmas time is and it seems the first of the year does not bring any kind of slowing down. Those of us who work with kids that participate in LTC are really seeing the pace pick up I know. However that is one reason I enjoy the CEC so much. It is a time of renewal and re-focus of sorts. I enjoy being with others who are focused on the ministry of education – whether to kids, teens, adults or everyone in between. It fires me up to hear new ideas and also to be reminded of things I’ve heard before. It’s encouraging to me to be around those younger than me – with fresh ideas, enthusiasm, the newness of ministry – and with those older than me – with knowledge I don’t have, the example of not giving up and the love of the ministry they are involved in.

I am thankful for the CEC. I’m thankful for the countless number of volunteer hours that are put into the planning, the advertising, the program and everything that goes on behind the scenes. I look forward to seeing you all there!

Hotel Reservation Deadline

2007-12-27T21:09:00.000-06:00

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas celebration.

Just a reminder that today is the last day to be guaranteed the conference price of $119.00 a night for the Sheraton Nashville Downtown ((615) 259-2000).

Countdown to CEC Nashville

2007-12-17T16:50:00.000-06:00

Well Steve and I mailed in our registration for the CEC conference today making sure we made that December 21st deadline to receive the early bird registration price. Hopefully you have registered as well?
We posted some information about some sites to see in Nashville in early November, but thought we would share some more from two sites that actually provide different tours of Nashville. There are several tours that are the perfect way to spend your free time on Tuesday afternoon. There are also some downtown tours that would be easily accessible from our motel. Don't forget those reserved rooms will also be released by December 28th and then you may not get the discounted price so if you have not made your reservations do so today.
Also, in researching these sites, I discovered there is also a shuttle service from the airport to the motel for anyone interested. Click on these links for times and prices.

http://www.nashvillesightseeing.com/tours/tourDetail.cfm?tour_id=177
Known as the Queen of the Tennessee Plantations, Belle Meade Plantation was the centerpiece of a 5,200-acre plantation, world-renowned as a thoroughbred stud farm and nursery in the 19th century.
The present 30-acre site features 10 outbuildings, which include an 1832 slave cabin and a colossal carriage house and stables.
Your next stop will be the stately manor of Andrew Jackson, The Hermitage. This was the home of our seventh president, and a favorite son of Tennessee. You will view the formal gardens, visit the slave quarters, the original 1804 cabin of the estate, and the sight where our president and his wife were laid to rest.

http://www.nashvillesightseeing.com/tours/tourDetail.cfm?tour_id=176
On the Nashville Homes of the Stars Tour, you will see the homes of Alan Jackson, Brooks and Dunn, and many other stars as you enjoy a driving tour through the neighborhoods of the elite country music artists.

http://www.nashvillesightseeing.com/tours/tourDetail.cfm?tour_id=7171
Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum in Nashville -- The Musician's Hall of Fame and Museumis a 30,000 sq. ft. multipurpose complex. This unique facility includes not only stellar exhibits of superstar musicians but also studio musicians, producers and engineers who have created the music that has become the soundtrack of our lives.

http://www.nashvillesightseeing.com/tours/tourDetail.cfm?tour_id=9213
Take a little journey through entertainment history with a Guided Backstage Tour at the Historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville - the "Mother Church of Country Music" and home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974. Sit awhile in the original pews and take in a short film that features the people and events that shaped the Ryman's past and present. Step onto our historic stage and have your photo taken. Then spend some time on your own, strolling through the halls filled with fascinating memorabilia from the Ryman's storied past.

http://www.nashvillesightseeing.com/tours/tourDetail.cfm?tour_id=1132
On the Nashville City Tour, you will see the major sights in Nashville, including the Parthenon, Music Row, the State Capitol, Ryman, Auditorium, and the Country Music Hall of Fame. Discover Nashville on this all-inclusive tour of the best that Nashville has to offer. The Nashville City Tour is a sightseeing tour of historic Nashville, the State Capitol, the Parthenon, Music Row, and much more. Also included is a tour through Nashville's finest attractions including the Ryman auditorium and the Country Music Hall of Fame. Finish our tour with live Country Music and a refreshment at a downtown Honky Tonk.

http://www.nashvillesightseeing.com/tours/tourDetail.cfm?tour_id=182
The Nashville Opry Mills Shuttle provides shuttle services to Opry Mills daily.
Opry Mills combines outlet, discount and specialty retailers, themed restaurants and fun-filled entertainment venues in an energetic and exciting environment with more than 200 places to shop, eat and play. Our service includes pickup from most Nashville hotels.

Shuttle Service
http://www.nashvillesightseeing.com/tours/tourDetail.cfm?tour_id=190
Round-trip transportation to and from the airport and your Nashville hotel. Service begins at 5:00 am and runs until 11:00 pm. We depart every 15-20 minutes from the airport and every 30 minutes from most hotels. $23.95 ($18.95 online)

The following tours are all available from Grayline Tours at http://www.graylinenashville.com/tours.cfm

Discover Nashville
Enjoy this 3 1/2 hour tour of Music City USA. Enjoy a narrated tour of Historic Downtown, Fort Nashborough, the State Capitol, The Parthenon, Vanderbilt University and Music Row. Your tour will also include entrance into theRyman Auditorium the Mother Church of Country Music, long time home of the Grand Ole Opry and recently voted the finest concert venue in the United States. You will also tour the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. This 37 million dollar facility is a beautiful tribute to Country Music and the artist who have made it great. End your touring day at a Nashville Honky Tonk with live Country Music and a refreshing soft drink compliments of Gray Line Tours. This is a fantastic and affordable way to get to know our city.

Making of Legends
Nashville has been one big Jam session over the last century. This tour will play back the history of the artists, the instruments and the music that was made inNashville. The Fisk Jubilee Singers, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Berry Gordon of Motown, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Chet Atkins and these are just a few of the greats who cut their craft and created music for the ages while they were in Nashville. Rewind in time as you learn the orgins of the title "Music City", and tour the famed Jefferon Street, known as the musical Harlem of the south for its R&B performers. Tour the United Record Pressing Company, one of the few remaining vinyl record companies and manufacturing partner of Motown. Enjoy a sidewalk tour of historic studios on Music Row and hear the stories of the greats who recorded there. Your final stop will be the Musicians Hall of Fame. The Musicians Hall of Fame is a one of a kind collection of instruments and musical memorabilia from the country music of the Grand Ole opry, the English invasion of the Beatles, the freedom days of Bob Dylan & Hendrix, Motown, R&B, and Rock & Roll.

Grand Legends
Opryland and Music Valley are the home of entertainment and hospitality in Nashville. Explore the beautiful gardens and waterfalls of Opryland Hotel while you ride on the Delta boats through the hotel's breathtaking Delta addition which features 4.5 acres all under a domed ceiling fashioned in glass. Your tour will include a viewing of the Country Music Sidewalk of Fame. Admissions to your choice of the Music Valley Museums, Visit the Grand Ole Opry Museum, and the plaza of the famedGrand Ole Opry House.

Homes of the Stars
Your tour will include a drive through downtown Nashville,including Historic 2nd Ave., the State Capitol, Fort Nashborough and the Ryman Auditorium.You will enjoy a driving tour through the neighborhoods of the eliteCountry Music artists who call Nashville their home.While on your tour, you will the homes of Country Music Greats such as Alan Jackson, former home of Vince Gill and Amy Grant, Ronnie Milsap, Dolly Parton, Bryan White, Martina McBride, Ronnie Dunn and Kix Brooks, the late Web Pierce, the late Hank Williams, Trisha Yearwood, the late Tammy Wynette, Lori Ann Crook and Little Jimmy Dickens.

Opry Mills
Includes Pickup Service from most Nashville hotels and coupon book for big savings. Ask for hotel pickup. Call for pickup time.
Shopping and Entertainment
Shoppertainment at its finest. Opry Mills combines outlet, discount and specialty retailers, themed restaurants and fun-filled entertainment venues in an energetic and exciting environment with more than 200 places to shop, eat and play including:
Rainforest Cafe'
Alabama Grill
Applebarn
IMAX 3D Theatre
Regal Cinemas
Bass Pro Shop's Outdoor Worldand much more........Pickup Times at Hotels
9:00 AM 1:00 PM 5:00 PM

Walking Tour
Hear the unpublished stories, "Naughty and Nice" about these great streets, buildings, songs, events and people that have made Nashville a city whose name is known throughout the world.The lyric of Nashville's history is composed of romance and tragedy, heroes and villains, civil and war, southern belles and Brothels.The stories you will hear while on tour read like a John Wayne or Randolph Scott movie, with characters such as Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, Andrew Jackson, Granny White, Fannie Battle (arrested by the Union Army for compromising their soldiers and the Army's secrets at the same time.) All of these characters will come to life with stories of time spent in Nashville. I can assure you that the fictional stories of "Gone with the Wind" will have nothing on the true stories of Nashville!While on tour you will experience a Behind the Scenes Tour of the Ryman Auditorium. Known as the "Mother Church of Country Music", these walls will tell the stories of Nashville's modern folk heroes of Music. Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Hank Williams Sr., Patsy Cline, Tootsie Bess and countless others whose songs and lives shaped the image of this city and molded the music "home-grown" in Nashville, "Country Music

Downtown Trolley Tour
Tour departs from the Hard Rock Visitors Booth on 2nd Avenue. The tour includes a drive by sightseeing tour of Historic Downtown, Ryman Auditorium, State Capitol, the Parthenon, Vanderbilt Museum, Country Music Hall of Fame, Fort Nashborough, Bicentinnial Mall, and Music Row.

One Week And Counting

2007-12-14T00:41:00.000-06:00

Would you like an extra $50.00 to do Christmas shopping with?? Well register for the CEC conference by December 21st (exactly one week from today) and you can save $50.00 on the registration fee.

If you are a Children's Minister then you are bound to have at least one copy of a Susan Lingo book in your library. She has written so many resources giving teacher's ideas for lessons. Paul Learned (long time CEA friend and Director of Business Development for Standard Publishing) graciously submitted these quotes in regards to Susan Lingo and Rick Rusaw (both speakers at our conference this year).

"Susan Lingo ministers to children's ministers because she can perceive the way children think and thus design learning activities for concrete minds. This is why Standard Publishing has been thrilled over the years to publish Susan's outstanding resources for children's Christian education. Her object talk books, her craft books, her stories for children, her activities to develop Bible skills -- all these are effective because they connect with the way children think and learn about God! So Standard is glad to sponsor Susan Lingo at the 2008 CEC to help others who minister to children teach the way God made children to learn!"

You can find more about Susan Lingo's resources at http://susanlingobooks.com.

"Rick Rusaw is traveling around the nation helping churches become externally focused by linking with the service organizations in their community and providing valuable volunteers for meal-on-wheels, Big Brothers, Habitat for Humanity, etc. By benefiting and improving their communities, churches earn the right to be heard when they speak the Gospel of Christ's salvation. Standard Publishing is pleased to bring Rick to the 2008 CEC so he can share his vision of churches that communities cannot be without."

Sure hope you are making plans to be there. This year is going to be our best conference ever! I can just feel it!!

Adultolescence and the Church

2007-12-10T11:59:00.000-06:00

Doug Brown posted a question to the forum a couple of weeks ago regarding a class on "God and Pop Culture". Several posted some ideas for Doug. Along that same I found this post and hoped some would find it beneficial. You can find this article and more at http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/TasteAndSee/ByDate/2007/2487_A_ChurchBased_Hope_for_Adultolescents/

A Church-Based Hope for 'Adultolescents'
John Piper
"Christian Smith, professor of sociology at Notre Dame, wrote in the most recent Books and Culture a review of six books that deal with the new phenomenon of "adultolescence"--that is, the postponement of adulthood into the thirties. I want to relate this phenomenon to the church. But first here is a summary from Smith's article of what it is and how it came about.

What is Adultolescence?
Smith writes,
'Teenager" and "adolescence" as representing a distinct stage of life were very much 20th-century inventions, brought into being by changes in mass education, child labor laws, urbanization and suburbanization, mass consumerism, and the media. Similarly, a new, distinct, and important stage in life, situated between the teenage years and full-fledged adulthood, has emerged in our culture in recent decades--reshaping the meaning of self, youth, relationships, and life commitments as well as a variety of behaviors and dispositions among the young.
What has emerged from this new situation has been variously labeled "extended adolescence," "youthhood," "adultolescence," "young adulthood," the "twenty-somethings," and "emerging adulthood."
One way of describing this group is to highlight the tendency to delay adulthood or stay in the youth mindset longer than we used to. Smith suggests the following causes for this delay in arriving at mature, responsible adulthood.
First is the growth of higher education. The GI Bill, changes in the American economy, and government subsidizing of community colleges and state universities led in the second half of the last century to a dramatic rise in the number of high school graduates going on to college and university. More recently, many feel pressured--in pursuit of the American dream--to add years of graduate school education on top of their bachelor's degree. As a result, a huge proportion of American youth are no longer stopping school and beginning stable careers at age 18 but are extending their formal schooling well into their twenties. And those who are aiming to join America's professional and knowledge classes--those who most powerfully shape our culture and society--are continuing in graduate and professional school programs often up until their thirties.
A second and related social change crucial to the rise of emerging adulthood is the delay of marriage by American youth over the last decades. Between 1950 and 2000, the median age of first marriage for women rose from 20 to 25 years old. For men during that same time the median age rose from 22 to 27 years old. The sharpest increase for both took place after 1970. Half a century ago, many young people were anxious to get out of high school, marry, settle down, have children, and start a long-term career. But many youth today, especially but not exclusively men, face almost a decade between high school graduation and marriage to spend exploring life's many options in unprecedented freedom.
A third major social transformation contributing to the rise of emerging adulthood as a distinct life phase concerns changes in the American and global economy that undermine stable, lifelong careers and replace them instead with careers of lower security, more frequent job changes, and an ongoing need for new training and education. Most young people today know they need to approach their careers with a variety of skills, maximal flexibility, and readiness to re tool as needed. That itself pushes youth toward extended schooling, delay of marriage, and, arguably, a general psychological orientation of maximizing options and postponing commitments.
Finally, and in part as a response to all of the above, parents of today's youth, aware of the resources often required to succeed, seem increasingly willing to extend financial and other support to their children, well into their twenties and even into their early thirties.
The characteristics of the 18-30 year-olds that these four factors produce include:
(1) identity exploration, (2) instability, (3) focus on self, (4) feeling in limbo, in transition, in-between, and (5) sense of possibilities, opportunities, and unparalleled hope. These, of course, are also often accompanied by big doses of transience, confusion, anxiety, self-obsession, melodrama, conflict, and disappointment.'

How Should the Church Respond?

How might the church respond to this phenomenon in our culture? Here are my suggestions.
1. The church will encourage maturity, not the opposite. "Do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature" (1 Corinthians 14:20).
2. The church will press the fact that maturity is not a function of being out of school but is possible to develop while in school.
3. While celebrating the call to life long singleness, the church will not encourage those who don't have the cal to wait till late in their twenties or thirties to marry, even if it means marrying while in school.
4. The church will foster flexibility in life through living by faith and resist the notion that learning to be professionally flexible must happen through a decade of experimentation.
5. The church will help parents prepare their youth for independent financial living by age 22 or sooner, where disabilities do not prevent.
6. The church will provide a stability and steadiness in life for young adults who find a significant identity there.
7. The church will provide inspiring, worldview-forming teaching week in and week out that will deepen the mature mind.
8. The church will provide a web of serious, maturing relationships.
9. The church will be a corporate communion of believers with God in his word and his ordinances that provide a regular experience of universal significance.
10. The church will be a beacon of truth that helps young adults keep their bearings in the uncertainties of cultural fog and riptides.
11. The church will regularly sound the trumpet for young adults that Christ is Lord of their lives and that they are not dependent on mom and dad for ultimate guidance.
12. The church will provide leadership and service roles that call for the responsibility of maturity in the young adults who fill them.
13. The church will continually clarify and encourage a God-centered perspective on college and grad school and career development.
14. The church will lift up the incentives and values of chaste and holy singleness, as well as faithful and holy marriage.
15. The church will relentlessly extol the maturing and strengthening effects of the only infallible life charter for young adults, the Bible.

In these ways, I pray that the Lord Jesus, through his church, will nurture a provocative and compelling cultural alternative among our "emerging adults." This counter-cultural band will have more stability, clearer identity, deeper wisdom, Christ-dependent flexibility, an orientation on the good of others not just themselves, a readiness to bear responsibility and not just demand rights, an expectation that they will suffer without returning evil for evil, an awareness that life is short and after that comes judgment, and a bent to defer gratification till heaven if necessary so as to do maximum good and not forfeit final joy in God."

CEC 2008 News from Conference Chair Pat Malone

2007-12-05T17:13:00.001-06:00

In our monthly archives of "The Christian Educator Newsletter" are several posts designed to provide the CEA community with valuable information regarding CEC 2008. In October, Lynn Leaming posted several messages regarding our conference speakers and some helpful web links about their ministry background and current ministry work. Also, in last month's archives is a nifty downtown Nashville map posted by Trey Laminack showing us places of special interests and all the restaurants, coffee houses, and ice cream shops Trey plans to visit while in Nashville. Personally, I see this map as a sort of location finder or schedule key of Trey's where-abouts during the conference so we can easily track him down and request special delivery of a cappuccino when we are too lazy to walk there ourselves (of course, he may expect us to buy his coffee too).

There are other CEC-related posts in the archives and several more posts about our conference will be showing up as we grow closer to January 20. I believe almost all your questions will be answered (or at least addressed) by visiting this site at least once a week. As a bonus, you may also learn about the latest ministry resource on the ministry market or discover a great idea that will help you in your ministry.

Since blogging sites make archiving past messages so much easier to find and read again (compared to traditional listservs), I decided to add a portion of a CEA Forum email message from Pat Malone to this post (regarding our upcoming 2008 Christian Education Conference). You can read it below my signature. I hope we have a big group this year since many of us were snowed or iced out last year in Texas. See you in Music City! -- Eddie Mathews

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The following is an excerpt from an email sent to the CEA Forum on December 5 from Pat Malone (CEC 2008 Conference Chair)...

Good afternoon to you all,

Registrations are rolling in! I get some in the mail each day. Let me remind you that the Early Bird Registration Fees are good through December 21^st (means your envelope is post marked no later than the 21^st). I am trying to save you (or the church) some money, but I understand that some of you have to wait for the new year in order to have church budget funds available. Just a gentle reminder in case you can take advantage of the Early Bird fees.

Two things concerning our conference hotel, the Sheraton Nashville Downtown. (1) Our block of rooms and the room rate are good through December 28^th. After the 28^th, we must release all rooms not booked and regular rates at the hotel will apply. I was able to negotiate a little later deadline date than usual which gives you a couple of days after Christmas to take care of business. If you fail to get your reservation made on time, you are on your own. (2) Saturday night, January 19^th. Several of you have indicated a problem booking Saturday evening. My fault; I take full responsibility! I failed to include Saturday evening in our contract. Ordinarily this would not be a problem. But there is a major city event in Nashville that concludes the 19^th. The hotel has promised to work with us as much as they can since they anticipate some cancellations for that night, but they won't know for sure until the end of December (the rooms are under contract like our rooms are under contract). But they will give us every consideration they possibly can.

Or sponsors mean a lot to the financial stability of our conference! Long time, faithful supporters are 21^st Century Christian Publishing (Tuesday evening CEA Banquet) and Standard Publishing Co. (Sunday evening reception). Standard also sponsors presenters each year which is a real boost to our program. Needless to say, I was elated when contacted by David C. Cook Co. about sponsoring a breakfast. So when you enjoy breakfast on Monday morning, it will be courtesy of David C. Cook Co. And other vendors are important as well. Four J Pro Sound and A/V provides the audiovisual equipment we need for our classes, saving us a lot of expense. Last year Karyn Henley was one of our presenters. This year Karyn Henley Resources will be one of our commercial vendors. ALL of these good people make contributions for which we need to be grateful and support their companies whenever we can. If you were responsible to pay all of the conference bills, you would appreciate them as much as I do.

Jonathan Seamon, Site Chairman, is working on some extra special touches which will make our conference and our time in Nashville more enjoyable. More about some of these next time. For now, you will just have to speculate. And Cheryl Chase, our Notebook Chairman, is working diligently with Jerry Bowling, Program Chairman, to produce the best possible notebook for our conference.

Do I sound excited? Well I am! Our conference is now just 6+ weeks away. So get your registration in (if you have not already done so), and make your hotel reservation (if you have not already done so). As a car dealer here in the Metroplex says, "Come by plane, come by boat, come by donkey. I don't care how you get here, just get here!" Looking forward to seeing you in Nashville!

With peace and blessings to you all,

Pat Malone, Conference Chairman

Family Christmas Devotional Idea

2007-12-03T22:44:00.000-06:00

I found this idea for counting down the days till Christmas at http://www.teachingmom.com/features/adventhistory.html and sent it to our Children's Minister Jami Bell. She in turn did a great job in implementing it by making boxes for each family at church with all the individual items in them and an explanation laminated so that each family could use it asa family devotional time as they countdown to Christmas. I realize it is too late for many of you to implement this but perhaps you could put it in your folder of ideas for future reference. If you need more information about where Jami found all the ingredients I am sure she would not mind you emailing her at jbell@carechurch.org.

Here is a list of small gifts you can give as you countdown to Christmas:
1. Quarter--A quarter! That equals 25 cents. But 25 also stands for the number of days till Christmas, when God gave us His best present. Jesus told about one woman's gift and the way she gave it. Read: Mark 12:41-44
2. Grape Gum or Candy--Grapes make jelly and juice, raisins and wine. But Jesus didn't need grapes to perform His first miracle. Read: John 2:1-10
3. Smiley Face--Here's a smile! A smile usually expresses happiness. Jesus gave us many instructions to keep us happy. Read: Matthew 5:1-12.
4. Swedish Fish candy--Well, if you were surprised to find these fish, wait till you read the story today! Others were surprised to find fish, too. Read: Luke 5:4-7.
5. Birthday Candle--As you know, we are getting ready to celebrate Jesus' birthday. However, Jesus talked about something else that is related to this candle. Light! Read: Matthew 5:14-16.
6. Small Bell--You could make some noise with this. But it would not have bothered a certain man--until he met Jesus. Read: Mark 7:31-37.
7. Goldfish Crackers--These would not go very far if you were really hungry! But Jesus could make much out of little. Surely He knew how to multiply! Read: Matthew 14:13-21.
8. Cotton Balls--These cotton balls would be helpful in a thunder storm, wouldn't they? We could use them for ear plugs to muffle the loud noises that thunder makes. But we know someone who doesn't need cotton. Jesus can control the weather. Read: Matthew 8:23-27.
9. Piece of Map--People needing to use the other parts of this map are in trouble! Don't you get lost today! Read: John 14:1-6.
10. Soap--Do you like to wash? Behind your ears? Washing turned out to be a happy time for a man who met Jesus. Read: John 9:1-7.
11. Heart Candy or Sticker--Hearts. Wordlessly, they speak of love, don't they? Jesus spoke some commands about love. Read: Matthew 25:17-41.
12. Small Cross--We use the cross as a symbol, representing Jesus. Do you know why? Read: Phillipians 2:1-11.
13. Packet of Salt--Ordinary salt. Yes, Jesus related salt to us and our behavior. He also gave us some advice. Read: Matthew 5:14 and Colossians 4:6. (Notice that He doesn't recommend pepper!).
14. Sand--Don't try to eat this! It's sand. It reminds us that Jesus knows something about architecture, about buildings--and building lives. See His instructions: Matthew 7:24-29.
15. Silk Flowers--Flowers are pretty, aren't they? Jesus used flowers to teach us a reassuring lesson. Read: Matthew 6:28-34.
16. Raisins--Raisins! Many children are given raisins instead of candy for a snack. That's because they are a health-promoting and delicious fruit. Jesus told us how we can produce good fruit. Read: John 15:1-5.
17. Seeds--Jesus told a story about seeds that man planted. Then He explained it, revealing its deep meaning. Read: Matthew 13:3-8 and Matthew 13:18-23.
18. Christmas Carol--Christmas is just about a week away. And here is an appropriate song. Sing it loudly! Read: Psalms 100.
19. Rock--A hard stone! Can you change this stone into a piece of bread? Do you think Jesus could? Jesus was asked to do just that. Do know how He handled it? Read: Matthew 4:1-4.
20. Crumpled Foil--Try to smooth out this piece of aluminum foil and use it as a mirror. It's hard to see your reflection plainly, isn't it? Many circumstances are hard to understand, but someday everything will be clear. Read: 1 Corinthians 13:12.
21. Mustard Seed (or packet of mustard)--The mustard seed is the smallest there is! When it sprouts, it grows into one of the largest plants! See what Jesus said. Read: Matthew 17:20.
22. Dove--We've learned that the cross represents Christ, but do you know what the dove stands for? Read: Matthew 3:13-17.
23. Scrap of Wool Material--The threads that compose this fabric came from the wool of a sheep. Jesus called Himself the good shepherd. Do you know who His sheep are? Read: John 10:7-18.
24. Marble--A marble! Do you know what is sometimes called the "Big Blue Marble"? The world. God made the world for us. What does God continue doing to the world? And who is the world? Read: John 3:16.
25. Picture of Baby--Isn't this baby cute? When he was born, he made a whole family happy. Jesus was born a baby, too. He came to make the whole world happy. Read: Luke 2:1-20. Enjoy your celebration today. Continue to learn about Jesus--and love Him forever!