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Terrific Tuesday

Today I had the opportunity to take the kids at the church to Joyland Amusement Park. It was for the first Summer 2007 Terrific Tuesday at Trinity church. It’s a cool event, and we do 3 each summer. Anyways, I took 60+ kids to Joyland today. It was my first visit to this old amusement park, and I walk away being slightly impressed with how nice it was. Of course, we had the entire park to ourselves, so it couldn’t help but look slightly clean.

I’m not much of the coaster and spinning ride fan; but I rode a few coasters and mostly watched kids have a blast. About 2 hours in, we had our first puker. She rode the ‘spider’, which is basically a spinning, twisting, and nausea inducing ride. She felt bad, and tried to fix it with some snack bar food. What follows was predictable, and gross. I love kids, really I do. One of the things I love about kids is there unbelievable ability to bounce back from things. Within minutes our puker was back on the rides, and going 100 mph. I asked her if she was all right, and her response made me laugh.

“Pastor Jonathan, I’m fine… really. But I won’t be getting on the spider again!”

Leader’s Luncheon

Today I attended a lunch for the 15 or so staff pastors at the church I work at. The lunch was held at the Lubbock Club; It’s a nice place to eat, at one of the highest places in Lubbock. The lunch was special because we had a guest speaker there, Charles Neiman, to say a few words to us as church leaders. These kind of meetings are new to me, and I really enjoyed my time.

Here are some quotes that I remember from the talk:

  • “We shouldn’t put the heaviest burden of our ministry on our weakest leaders.”
  • “Stop expecting an infantry of Navy Seals to run your ministry. Navy Seals are a specialty group, and were never designed to be a large force.”
  • He spoke for a long time on taking down the barriers in our church that make it hard for people to become members. His church in El Paso, personally only has 1 membership class then gets these new members involved in some area of ministry ASAP. Granted, they won’t be counseling or teaching a class; but they learn and grow by finding a place to serve.
  • “What in your church says ‘Not Welcome’?”
  • He compared the simple business practices of Starbucks to church ministry. Starbucks makes it as easy and quick as possible to become saturated in their ‘coffee environment.’ But often times in churches, we make it almost impossible to join our church, unless you commit large amounts of time to our ministry jobs.

Overall it was a great time. And get this, the church paid for child-care so my wife could attend!

Polls: Most believe Bible as God’s word

More than three-quarters of Americans believe the Bible is literally the word of God or inspired by the word of God, according to a trio of Gallup surveys, with 19 percent saying the Good Book is a compendium of myth and legend.

The breakdown of beliefs has not changed much recently: The average number of people who take the Bible literally, in fact, has remained steady since 1991.

The rest of the report can be read here.

I can’t figure out if us pastors have done an allright job that the numbers have stayed the same since 1991, or if we should be reprimanded for not increasing…

The Calling

Most of those who know me know this fact. I am a pastor. The blog title gives it away, I know. What many might not know is that I am a Children’s Pastor. Over the years I’ve held different jobs, and had many different responsibilities. However, at this point in my life I am fully devoted to ministry aimed at Children. After years of dealing with college students, teenagers, and newlyweds it’s refreshing to spend time with kids.

Roger Fields has easily summed up how I feel about my job. For all my CP comrades, I know you’ve read this before…

The Calling

I am a minister. I minister to the largest mission field in the world. I minister to children.

My calling is sure; my challenge is big; my vision is clear; my desire is strong; my influence is eternal; my impact is critical; my values are solid; my faith is tough; my mission is urgent; my purpose is unmistakable; my direction is forward; my heart is genuine; my strength is supernatural; my reward is promised; and my God is real.

In a world of cynicism, I offer hope. In a world of confusion, I offer truth. In a world of immorality, I offer values. In a world of neglect, I offer attention. In a world of abuse, I offer safety. In a world of ridicule, I offer affirmation. In a world of division, I offer reconciliation. In a world of bitterness, I offer forgiveness. In a world of sin, I offer salvation. In a world of hate, I offer God’s love.

I refuse to be dismayed, disengaged, disgruntled, discouraged or distracted. Neither will I look back, stand back, fall back, go back or sit back. I do not need applause, flattery, adulation, prestige, stature or veneration. I do not have time for business as usual, mediocre standards, small thinking, outdated methods, normal expectations, average results, ordinary ideas, petty disputes or low vision. I will not give up, give in, bail out, lie down, turn over, quit or surrender.

I will pray when things look bad. I will pray when things look good. I will move forward when others stand still. I will trust God when obstacles arise. I will work when the task is overwhelming. I will get up when I fall down.

My calling is to reach boys and girls for God. It is too serious to be taken lightly, too urgent to be postponed, too vital to be ignored, too relevant to be overlooked, too significant to be trivialized, too eternal to be fleeting and too passionate to be quenched.

I know my mission. I know my challenge. I also know my limitations, my weaknesses, my fears and my problems. And I know my God. Let others get the praise. Let the church get the blessing. Let God get the glory.

I am a minister. I minister to children. This is who I am. This is what I do.

Cell Phone Worship

Most people who attend weekend worship services are used to being asked to turn their cellphones off (which doesn’t stop the confounded things from ringing at the most inopportune moments). According to the Dallas News Religion Blog, At Pathway of Life Church in southeast Dallas, worshippers are asked to turn their mobile phones on. Each Sunday during the 10:30 a.m. services, the congregation is asked to call people in need of prayer — including those who cannot be at church. The lights in the sanctuary are dimmed, and the hundreds of lighted cellphones make quite a sight…

I’m actually quite familiar with this church. In fact, a few weeks ago I got a paycheck from them on a weekly basis. :)

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