I'm a child of the King

From Previous Blog:

Children and Youth committees need to have someone who has a child that is full time in their home in that age group. A senior or junior in high school should serve on the committee (rules can determine if they have a vote or not) so that the young people have a voice in what happens in their ministry. Kids know what kids want. Adults can decide if it is appropriate or not.

I have known churches where the only people on a Youth/Children’s committee were on Social Security already, and some didn’t even have grandchildren active in the church. The problems manifested themselves tremendously and they showed like eyesores. Activities from 50 years ago were suggested and given, and the attendance lacked because of it. Young families pulled out and took their kids to another church where the offering was more up to date.

Now I’m not saying that you can’t use the things of old. I think some things should be put back.

For instance, bible drills. One of the best ways to get a child to learn the books of the bible is to have them do bible drills. In case you are not familiar with them, this is what you do:

Have the children/youth line up in a row facing you. One hand is underneath the bible, one hand is on top of the bible. The adult calls out a book, chapter and verse. When you say the info, the child/youth searches for the scripture and when they have it, they step forward. Give a few of them time to find it, and then call on one of them randomly to read it. That way you know that they have found the actual correct scripture and it also gives them practice speaking in public. Two great lessons, and hopefully something about the verses will stick with them too.

Okay, back to the topic. Find out what children/youth like and incorporate it into your time with them. The best way to know what kids want is to have a parent/guardian on the team/committee that works with them. They see what their kids spend time doing, and they know what will reach out to them.

And kids/youth aren’t stupid either. Put an older youth on the committee. Let them have a voice in ideas that you may not think of, especially if it has been awhile since you were in that age group. They do not necessarily have to be given a vote, but draw ideas and input on your ideas from them. Two things are accomplished.

They learn how committees work. They feel that they are being a part of the church, and not just an attendee. This also gives motivation for others to aspire in the church so that they can serve as well.

Our children/youth of today are our leaders tomorrow. Don’t keep them in the dark until they get a plate full shoved at them with no utensils to use or choose from. Quality leadership is taught, not given. Let’s start now before it’s too late!

Why are we such a failure?

Okay, back to why our so called Christian churches have failed Christianity. They have turned it all upside down. The church is standing on their heads, and a lot of things are falling out.

Let me get one thing straight. There is no perfect church. There will be sinners present (I hope) in every church, as this is the great commission, to save the lost from dying and going to Hell.

But there will be Christians present too (I hope), though I wonder sometimes at some of the churches that have made latter day news, particularly a certain church and their warped views on war and God.

Churches base their programs on what they can do to draw in membership. Youth programs, small group programs, ministries that are age/gender related, Praise bands with full instrumentation (someone forgot that David only had his harp), elaborate dancers and costumes, and many more things that the attention is focused upon.

HEY CHURCH! DID YOU FORGET THE MOST IMPORTANT PART?

Worship! Telling God “Thank You” for all that He has done. We put more emphasis on what we DO to Worship, rather than ACTUALLY Worshipping. Did the band play the right music? Was the speed fast enough? Slow enough? Were the costumes clean and modest? I could go on and on. But you get the picture.

Do you ever walk out of church and make a checklist of whether you REALLY worshipped? Have you ever asked yourself if you felt like you were in the presence of God today in church? Or do you find yourself thinking about how cool the video is that goes along with the song, or how the fried chicken at the local mom and pops will be good today? Or that cute dancer in the front row of the line?

I want to start looking at WORSHIP. What it is, Why we do it and How we do it in my next few blogs. Let’s get the church back on track to where it is supposed to be. Before you blow up about this blog, let me say this. I am not opposed to anything that I have mentioned in this blog. But I AM opposed to making these the priority, and not the means through which worship happens. Let the singers sing, let the musicians play, let the dancers dance. Let us have our eyes and ears toward Heaven, worshipping with the others as they perform their tasks before them.

What is Upside Down Christianity?

Upside Down Christianity ... What exactly is meant by that?
It means to turn Christianity on its head and shake out all of the bad things that have latched on to the faith. We wonder why most churches don't grow, and if they do, it is usually from "stealing" other members from other churches to theirs. Start a youth group. Hire a band. Serve some pizza. The kids fill up the place. Have no substance. Band gets old. Pizza gets old. Soon the only people at the church are old. The young ones are gone in search of the newest trend in the newest church.
FOR STARTERS:
It's time to turn everything upside down and shake out the misconceptions of what makes a church grow.
How do you measure church growth? By the number of people on Sunday mornings in the pews? It certainly isn't the number of rear ends in the chairs on Wednesday night. Have we forgotten that we need to turn back to what really matters. Having a relationship with Jesus. Quit selling Fire Insurance and start showing people how to have a Higher Assurance!
I was raised in church all of my life. My family attended church so many times in a week that if the Janitor left the door open while he/she was cleaning, we sat in the pews and watched. (well, not really, but you get the idea! LOL)
I believed that you went to church because that was what you were supposed to do. The other days we read the bible and had devotionals each morning with breakfast.
I learned about all of the people in the bible, and all of the things that happened. I would sit there, saying to myself, "Well, that's nice." I looked at it the same way as I looked at learning history in school. I was sure I would need to know it at some point, and if not, it was possible useful trivia for down the road.
NO ONE explained that the events could still happen today. NO ONE explained that I could put to use in my daily life the lessons learned. Salvation was just that. Being saved from burning in Hell for eternity. Once saved, I just needed to attend church and act my part, and everything would be fine.
WRONG! (Stay tuned for my wakeup call)