Ask, and you shall receive. Bible works, doesn’t it? Here’s the pictures you all requested from our rock climbing wall, as well as a couple more from our Easter celebration this morning! These pictures were taken by Aaron Pickering and his wife, Briana , both volunteers in our Liberty All Stars children’s ministry. Enjoy.
Yep, you read that right. Ryan and I have lost it. It’s been in progress for a few months, but it finally happened. We put up a rock climbing wall in our Kids Church room.
I know. You just read that and went “WHAT?!?!? They are crazy!” Yes, we know. It’s a small one, and you have to climb on it horizontally instead of vertically, but the kids love it. And amazingly, they’re actually not too rough with it. (Yours truly has not yet attempted the wall. I don’t think it would be pretty.) It is a lot of fun for the kids. This last Sunday, all in all, reminded me of a few things:
1. Kids love having fun. What’s coolest about the rock climbing wall is that the kids are enthralled with it. They’re going to find their friends and telling them to come see the new rock climbing wall. The line can get really long. It’s something that’s just so cool for them they have to remark about it to someone else.
“Among young outsiders, 84 percent say they personally know at least one committed Christian. Yet just 15 percent thought the lifestyles of those Christ followers were significantly different from the norm.” (Page 48, unChristian, Baker Bookhouse, Grand Rapids, MI)
The first time I read that statistic it hit me hard. It’s really something to think about. According to Barna Research, approximately 120 million Americans are true born-again Christians. Think about that fifteen percent. That means that out of the 120 million Christians in America, just 18 million of those live like a Christian.
Let’s visualize that number. Say that everyone living east of the Mississippi River was Christian. Based on 2005 population estimates, the only region within that area that would be living for Christ would be the New York City Metropolitan Area. All I have to say is wow. That’s pathetic. Puny. Miniscule in proportion.
According to Barna Research, statistically speaking, Christians live very similar lives to non-Christians. Just as many view pornography. Just as many are adulterous. Just as many get drunk. Just as many use illegal drugs. Just as many get divorced. For all intents and purposes, as far as scientists are concerned, the modern Christian lifestyle is identical to the secular one. We’ve got a problem.
We can’t just ignore this. We may not like it, but it’s simple truth. Our job: to raise a generation of Christian children who don’t have that problem. To make them part of that fifteen percent. To be in the world, not of it. To reverse the problems Christianity has. To remind the world that Christians are true, loving, real, transparent people. You, as a children’s minister, have the task of fixing it. It won’t be easy, but one child at a time, we can change that with God’s help. That’s not the way I see it. That’s the way we all need to see it.
You. You know who you are. The person who sits in coach class and puts your seat allllllll the way back. Hence, the person behind you sits cramped and uncomfortable while you lay in comfort. Yep, you’re a layer-backer.
No one likes the person who puts their seat back like that. Unfortunately, I spent three hours on a plane from Dallas to San Diego this week with a person like that in front of me. That person was more concerned with his comfort than the comfort of those around him.
If, in all your days of reading this blog you haven’t noticed that I like to use random things to make ministry analogies, this is going to be one of those posts. So what does it have to do with children’s ministry? Simple. Many times we, as humans, choose to ignore the comfort of others in favor of what makes us feel better. We come up with this “cool” idea that we are totally sold out to, but our volunteers aren’t. We just insist on pushing through with it, because we’re convinced it’s what we need to do. In the process, we totally alienate all of those around us and end up trying to run our ministries all by ourselves.
Sometimes you just need to take a step back. Let go of your emotional attachment to something and simply look at it through the eyes of another person. There may be this sudden realization that what you are convinced is good, is not really that good.
That’s not to say that you should ignore God’s will for the favor of man. That’s also a dangerous place to be. If you are sure, beyond a shadow of a doubt that what you are doing is right, do it. God will help you with that.
Let people know you really care about what they have to say. Accept input from others. It’ll really help for you to communicate with those you serve and that help you to serve.
