Week six!  How are you doing?  Are you keeping up with the daily readings?  If you’ve kept up, is there any strategy you use for staying on top of it?  And if you’ve fallen behind, what did you do or will you do to catch back up?  I’m curious to see how everyone else is doing.

Also, have you been challenged at all by the readings?   Please share in the comment sections what God is speaking to you.

Monday (February 7, 2011)

• Exodus 25-27

Tuesday (February 8, 2011)

• Exodus 28-29

Wednesday (February 9, 2011)

• Exodus 30-32

Thursday (February 10, 2011)

• Exodus 33-35

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Welcome to another week of the Kidmin1124 Bible Reading Challenge.  So far, I think this has been an exciting opportunity of reading through the Bible together with many of you in this community.  We have completed (nearly) our first full month of readings and have also completed two complete books of Scripture.

I hope you are continuing to stay up on your readings.  I fully believe that we should read the Bible for its content, not just to get it done, but I also think that it is important to read the whole Bible through from time to time.  It is a good opportunity to view the full context of Scripture.

As always, continue to offer your insights in the comment section.  I look forward to hearing what God is speaking to you through this process.

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Well, we’re almost through the first month of our Bible reading challenge and I would venture to guess that all of us have fallen behind at one point or another.  Even though we are only a little over six percent complete, I think one thing is already apparent, redemption is messy business.

I want to continue to encourage you to use the comment section to leave your thoughts about the readings and to share insights with us.

Monday (January 24, 2011)

• Genesis 35-37

Tuesday (January 25, 2011)

• Genesis 38-40

Wednesday (January 26, 2011)

• Genesis 41-42

Thursday (January 27, 2011)

• Genesis 43-45

Friday (January 28, 2011)

• Genesis 46-47

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There are only a few hours left in one of the biggest kidmin sales of all time and you do not want to be left behind when it is over.  Until Thursday at noon EST, you can purchase $1,112 worth of kids’ ministry material for only $97.  In order to view the full list of materials you would receive, please visit only144.com.  This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime sale for those in children’s ministry.

No matter where you do ministry, one of the most common struggles is purchasing quality resources at a decent price.  (Naturally, it takes more money to produce higher quality resources).  This is especially true for those who volunteer and often bankroll much of the kids’ ministry out of personal funds.  Well, this deal helps soften some of that by providing a wide range of resources, all high quality, for a ridiculously low price.

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In an effort to alleviate some responsibility from Wayne’s shoulders, I will be taking over posting the weekly Bible readings.  I will continue to post them on Sundays, though I hope to have them in at the beginning of the day instead of in the waning mintues of the evening.

I also want to encourage discussion and accountability in the comments section.  Reading daily according to a set plan can be especially challenging for some of us, but I know that it is a lot easier with others involved.  I also hope, as I alluded to in last week’s comments, that the Bible is still read for its content, not just to achieve a goal.  If discussion happens, that will more likely be the case.

Blessings in your endeavors to grow in God’s Word. 

Monday (January 17, 2011)

• Genesis 16-18

Tuesday (January 18, 2011)

• Genesis 19-21

Wednesday (January 19, 2011)

• Genesis 22-24

Thursday (January 20, 2011)

• Genesis 25-26

Friday (January 21, 2011)

• Genesis 27-29

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Welcome back to the Non-Negotiables series.  It has been a while since our last post.  In this series, we are examining a variety of things which you must make time for in your life regardless of how busy you think you are.  Whether you are a full-time children’s pastor, a bi-vocational children’s pastor or a volunteer, these are the things that must remain top priorities in your life.  So far in this series, we have looked at:

• An Introduction to the Series
• Prayer
• Time in God’s Word
• Church
• Your Spouse
• Your Children

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During Orange week, many bloggers are writing about all of the great things they learned and gained while at Orange conference last year.  Not being there myself, I thought I would share what I learned despite my absence.

I find it ironic that being in ministry to families makes it more difficult to minister to your own family.  I say difficult, but that isn’t totally true.  You really just need to be more intentional about ministering to your own family.  Doug Fields addressed this in his session at Orange.  The thing he said that stuck with me the most was letting your family “have dessert.”  Your family should BENEFIT from you being in ministry.  They should get privileges that others may not.  While this type of thinking could go too far, I’ve already begun looking for ways to make sure that my son (and other children not yet born) get to have some dessert, and this means more than just getting leftover pizza after youth group.

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From the very first moment after being hired to work at the church I am currently serving, we have forced ourselves to do things differently.  The process has been constantly changing and evolving, but the goal has always remained the same.  From day one, our church has attempted to reactivate and engage the family – the entire family.  We have done a number of things that have worked, and we have done many things that have flopped miserably.

One of our greatest “Orange” moments so far was this past Easter.  In brainstorming for our Easter service, we came to the conclusion that we really wanted to do a service that spanned multiple generations.  My pastor thought it was impossible, or at least a lot more work than either of us had time to dedicate to it.  Nonetheless, he was willing to give it a shot.

We designed a service around a costumed character that the people in our church are familiar with.  The idea of the service was that this character had built a time machine, and he was going to go back in time to meet Jesus.  Each time he left in the time machine he returned with someone who was not Jesus, but is a central figure to the Easter narrative.  These included Mary Magdalene, Thomas, and the two men who met Jesus on the road to Emmaus.  (Think Biblical Bill and Ted if you will).

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I’m a bi-vocational pastor.  I do receive a little compensation for my work done at the church, but I still need to work full time outside the church to make it work.  As any of you who are bivo or volunteer know, that means you can shave 40 hours per week right off of the top of what I am able to get done for the church.  Plus, when I do get home from work, the last thing I want to do is work.  I want to be with my family, be entertained, or maybe even hang out with friends.

For probably six months early on in my ministry, there was a lot of stuff that needed done and it was not getting done.  It was becoming a major problem.  I would constantly say, “There isn’t enough time.”

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