Every time I attend a conference there are some guarantees that I know will happen. First, I will probably run into someone I know at the airport, but can’t remember his or her name. Second, I will eat more food in that one-week conference than I have in the month prior. Lastly, and almost assured to happen is that I will commiserate on some level with people that share my burden for children and their families. It’s not all bad, it’s just refreshing to be in a room with people that dread the Saturday night phone calls as much as I do!
Over their years, I’ve collected my long list of things that I wish parents would do to make my job easier. When I share my list with other Children’s Ministry Leaders, I find a common pain in all of us. We wish parents would take their kids to church EVERY week. We wish that parents would stop ARRIVING so LATE for the environments we’ve worked all week to prepare. We wish that parents would STOP GROUNDING their kids from church when they get in trouble at school, especially in those pre-teen areas. We wish that parents would take the time to TALK AT HOME about what their kids are learning at church. You agree, right? I’d dare to say that I’ve never met a Children’s worker that wouldn’t want to stand up and wave his Bible at that wish list.
However, at some point we have to begin to look at how easy we make it for parents to fulfill these wishes. Remember the old saying, “While you’re pointing one finger at them, you’ve got 4 more pointing back at you!” (I never understood that as a kid, I mean can you really point with your thumb?) It’s oh so true, isn’t it? For me I have to start evaluating my own ministries and my own leadership to see if I’m truly making it as easy as possible for parents to connect with what I’m doing for their kids. It’s on me. It’s on us.
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