Do you see it?  The new jonathancliff.com is being released today.  I want to apologize in advance for those of you that will miss the old website, and loved that little blue bird up at the top.  I’m sorry.  (You can visit the Wayback Machine and look at old posts in their original format whenever you want!)

I’ve moved over to the Standard Theme, and it is still a work in progress.  I’ll be tweaking things here and there, so I would appreciate your feedback throughout this process.  You can reach me at jc@jonathancliff (dot) com.  I promise, you can’t hurt my feelings.

Let me answer the big question.  Why would I change?

I wanted a change because the template that I was using was buggy.  I know that many of you liked it, and I received compliments on it often.  However, it was extremely hard to get things to fit in the sidebar, and the main post section was always giving me problems.  It was also not a great SEO-optimized platform, and there were very little customizations allowed in it’s design.  It was great while it lasted, but for a free Skinpress.com WordPress theme it was limited.

So here we are with the new jonathancliff.com.  Along with the new design, I will also be making a few subtle changes to what I write about.  You can expect more of what you like, but I’m going to be expanding into more product reviews, sharing more examples of the behind the scenes way we do things in my current positions, and sharing some new voices from in and around my world.

You might have noticed that there are a few business, and organizations that I would recommend; and therefore allow them the opportunity to sponsor space on this here website.  Today I would like to introduce you to the newest sponsor at www.jonathancliff.com.

I recently did an interview with ChildrensMinistryAcademy.com about ways that my team and I are transitioning our established church to be a more modern family-friendly environment.  When the interview was over I was given an opportunity to learn more about what Children’s Ministry Academy offers those of us out here in the world of Children’s Ministry.  I have walked away impressed!

Here is how www.childrensministryacademy.com would describe themselves:

The CHILDREN’S MINISTRY ACADEMY was created to aide leaders, pastors, teachers, volunteers, and parents in their efforts to nurture faith in youth. We are strong believers that faith doesn’t grow in a vacuum; instead it requires a community of support and encouragement. If you are in a position of authority in a Children’s Ministry program, it is your job to lead your community.

All too often, Children’s Ministry Leaders are tossed into a classroom with little else than a “good luck” pat on the back. Seventy one percent of the teacher’s we’ve certified received NO FORMAL TRAINING prior to enrolling in our program. This is a dangerous statistic. Children have little patience for “on the job training”. In this day and age, when Sunday School is competing with sports, video games, and violin lessons, can we afford to let teachers struggle along until they discover how to manage a class on their own?

It’s time for a change.

I took the class titled, “Secrets to Effective Classroom Management” and I must tell you that it was well worth my time.  The material was presented in a very real-world type of situation.  The entire class is taught while you pretend to be a Children’s Director at a fictitous church.  Your Senior Pastor even sends you emails with advice, and it’s through these that the lessons and materials are taught.  After reading through your Senior Pastor’s advice, you are then given a scenario of a situation happening in a classroom.  After observing (or more honestly reading) you take a quick 3 question test to see what you would recommend to your teachers.

After going through 7 different teaching segments (all outlined on the left), I took a 30 question test about all that I had learned.  I had to score 24 out of 30 correct to PASS the course!  (No worries, I passed.)

I must say that I had a recurring thought as I read through the materials and browsed through their website…I sure wish I had this when I started in Children’s Ministry!  I can think of three distinct Children’s Ministry Leaders that need to look into this resource:

1. NEW Children’s Pastors.  If you are new to what you’re doing, then take the time to invest in yourself by getting a subscription to CMA.  Just lock yourself in your office for a day and a half and learn, learn, learn!

2. Ministry Leaders. I think this material would be fantastic for the person leading others within my ministry.  I often struggle to find time for my leaders to learn, and this might be a great go-between.  It would be an answer for the question I get sometimes from my leaders, “How can I get better at what I’m doing?”

3. Part-Time Children’s Pastors.  I know you are out there!  There are 1,000′s of lay staff working with kids all across the country.  They struggle to have budgets to travel and learn, and CMA might be your fix.

So what’s next?  Children’s Ministry Academy is currently offering a $50 scholarship for sign-up, thereby reducing their enrollment fee to only $50.  After that you pay $20/per month to continue learning and taking new classes.  They will even send you a ton of free stuff just for signing up!  Go today and visit www.childrensministryacademy.com and see if it would be a fit for you and your ministry.

Have you met the guy that tries too hard? He’s the guy that is always angling for attention, always trying to hit a home run, always wanting to be the most important thing around. The guy that tries too hard is rarely happy just being himself. He has failed to realize that all anyone wants from him, is for him to be himself. He works so hard to think “outside the box” that he often times fails to do anything “inside the box.” I’ve been this guy, and at times I still revert back to this shallow character. However, I’ve learned that being myself is my greatest asset. In fact, it’s the only thing that only I can do.

I’ve learned over time that success breeds an atmosphere of change. I’ve learned that working “inside the box” really, really hard will eventually lead to me having opportunities to work “outside the box.” I’ve learned that when I try too hard, I actually limit myself. I’ve learned to just be myself. It’s scary, no doubt. But being myself is going to have to be enough!

Deuteronomy 31:8 It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.

Last week I did a special interview with Children’s Ministry Academy.  They spoke with me at length about some of the things we are doing at Trinity Church in Lubbock to reach parents, kids, and our community.  It was a great conversation, and you can go right now and listen to a few minutes of our talk today.  If you sign up with Children’s Ministry Academy, then you’ll have the option to listen to the entire talk.

Visit http://bit.ly/CMA_Interview today to give it a listen!