One of the things I love about my blog is I get the opportunity to review books before they are released by the publisher. I like it because I get the book for free, but even more so I get to read the book without a lot of people telling my why I should read it. It allows me to engage the book solely through my own context and I value that. When I was offered the chance to preview Mark Holmen and Brian Siewert’s new book Faith @ Home Revealed…
Category: Children
One of the biggest challenges for parents in the digital age is how do they control and limit access onto the internet for their families. Right alongside this is how as adults is there accountability in how technology is used to ensure that it is not being used inappropriately by adults. This blog post will examine a number of options out there for families that are effective and hard to work around when setup properly. One key to do this is if men want their wives to ensure their access…
You mentioned in the Sunday service that separating the children from the service is a form of exile. Your comment seemed to be a bit of an exaggeration to me, not to mention a misuse of the meaning of an exile. Are the ministries at the church meant to help people relate to and learn about God at a level for them to understand? FBC has Sunday school for children, youth, and adults, small groups for adults, young adults, support groups for those who have experienced miscarriage and loss, get togethers…
From Table to Table is a passionate look at the image of the table in scripture and the value table fellowship and shared meals offer to us as individuals, as families, and as community. Leonard Sweet reminds us of the table ministry Jesus had. We are given a chance to step back and see how much food played in Jesus’ ministry and in his stories. So often when we read these stories we see the food and table as common everyday items, rather than clues to understanding the ministry of…
Principle #8 – No Cold Calling We do not act like telemarketers trying to fill roles in the church. The more you cold call, the less trust you have with those you recruit. I think my first year or two of ministry I tried recruiting for people by phoning through the whole directory. I talked to a lot of nice people. A lot of nice people wondered why I thought they would be useful in the infant nursery. I was left with a lot of holes in my nursery schedule. Epic.…
Normally I don’t get my eye caught by children’s Bible storybooks, however The Christmas Story for Children stands out for a few reasons. First, it’s a part of the The Story project, and my favourite children’s story author Max Lucado is a part of this project. The Christmas Story for Children is what you would expect – the Christmas Story with the appropriate artwork. Yet there are some qualities to this book’s storytelling that stand out. First, they don’t try to mix all the Christmas narratives into one. The story…
It always seems to me there is an endless supply of parenting books available. Being the father of four girls, Be the Dad She Needs You to Be grabbed my attention from the many other titles I know are available. In his book Dr. Kevin Leman lays out his position on how important fathers are in the lives of daughters. The topics he discusses range from understanding birth order, how girls relate compared to guys, discipline ideas, to sexuality, right through the teenage years. Dr. Leman reminds us that we…
Over the past decade and a bit of ministry I’ve had a growing desire that now requires a confession. I love recruiting for ministry. No, I don’t need therapy. No I’m not crazy. I believe one of the most important pieces that we need to develop in our churches is to effectively equip the body of Christ to serve one another and the world around us. I wasn’t always this way. I use to dread my need for more volunteers, spots on schedules to be filled, Now? I love seeing…
As I looked over the web page of the Edmonton journal an article caught my eye entitled “Edmonton Hospitals provide drop offs for for unwanted newborns”. It would be an easy article to miss. The general idea is that two hospitals in Edmonton, both Catholic run, are making space for babies to be dropped off, no questions asked. It’s a safe place for a mom, unable to cope, to go and leave her baby safely and know it will be cared for. Will it be used a lot – doubtful…
Can you imagine the story of the good samaritan, but instead of him stopping and helping he kept going? He just walked by… despite the need for help. The man would be dead in the ditch. That happened. Not in the story in scripture… but in real life… watch this video… The second last sign – “I have nobody. I need somebody.” It was reported this morning that Amanda Todd took her life. At some point I’ll post my view on what builds up to this – but for now…