When we were hit with the pandemic in March 2020, I researched the Spanish flu. I found that the space of time from beginning to no longer making global accommodations was 2.5 years. Christmas 2022 was right there at the tail end of that period and offering a Christmas gathering not ‘in rows’, ‘kid-friendly’, nostalgic with Christmas carols, and a ‘chaotic-on-the-spot-Christmas program’ is where we started planning.

We planned for an outdoor service with firepits, roasting marshmallows (s’mores have too many pieces), a short message from the senior pastor, an acoustic guitar to lead the caroling, stick-masked costumes for all kids, with a program base from which to edit for our context from a fellow kidmin colleague in our networking group.

THEN the temps were anticipated to drop to zero with wind gusts of 35-40 mph was forecasted. THEN our guitarist had an accident with his hands requiring stitches the week of. THEN the adjacent building was torn down days before (we’d been waiting for over a year) covering the entrance with orange barrels, yellow caution tape, and two dumpsters we had no idea when pickup would be arranged. AND there was mud where the building used to be. Now frozen mud.

In true kidmin fashion, we pivoted with the couple of days the Lord gave us.

One firepit and a scout dad served as our firepit master outside at the entrance for the entire service time we were inside.

We cleaned a nearby, indoor space for a full day which hadn’t seen a broom nor trash bag in months. Thankful now for the dumpsters for the building tear-down which were removed the day of the event.

A team of visual artists turned the space into a warm, welcoming, sacred space. Bathrooms were loaded with appropriate welcome supplies, large banners were hung with mega magnets to the metal walls, battery-operated fire pots (from previous VBSs) were arranged in the seating area, luminaries purchased by a generous church for $5 each in honor or memory of a loved one, a hot chocolate bar (we ran out of three gallons of hot chocolate and hot apple cider in less than twenty minutes), and indoor table firepits to roast marshmallows with big blankets along the floors.

Activity bags were prepared with four marshmallows (in separate snack bags), a birthday candle and party blower to be used on Christmas Day to celebrate Jesus’ birthday at home, a jingle bell used for a ‘Joseph Says’ game as part of the service (think Simon Says), an LED finger light (to guide to the car in the dark since none of the outdoor lights/signage were working either), and a glow stick candle to use for singing Silent Night.

Each child, youth, whoever wanted to, picked up a mask on a stick to be part of the Christmas program and waited to be directed. Complete chaos and complete fun! We had a stage manager on the stage and on the floor. We had two Ambassadors serving as Mary & Joseph to set the stage for what the others were supposed to do on stage and two Ambassadors who engaged the audience in sounds and responses with cue cards prepared by a fabulous Sunday school teacher who has an eye for what is kid-friendly and beauty.

Activities started at 6pm, program started at 6:30pm, and we were finished by 7:30pm.

The last hiccup: I placed the event’s trash bags onto the hood of my car to drive to the trash dumpster near the main building. By the time I got there, bag had busted and frozen hot chocolate covered the hood of my car. It stayed until the temps rose above freezing four days later. Yet I was SO happy!

Families came out to celebrate a new tradition: A Christmas Adam family worship service completely led by the children and youth departments of the church less than a week after leading the charge and a year’s planning for an all-hands-on-deck Live Nativity and Bethlehem Experience the Sunday before.

The Campfire Checklist I gleaned last year from a church in Evans, Georgia who modified theirs this year to have the service inside with their firepits under their covered portico. The checklist built energy and let folks know that ‘though the weather outside is frightful, the fire is so delightful…’

Next year, Christmas Eve is on a Sunday and there are five Sundays after Thanksgiving. We will present Campfire Christmas again on the first Sunday in Advent, hopefully outside which was the original plan. Have you looked at your Advent calendar for next year yet? Having conversations and making decisions now while everything is still fresh will help guide you to lead your volunteers and families through a smooth, engaging, and well-planned-though-delightfully-pivotable Advent next year.

“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12:28-29

Attending a conference with friends is the best way I’ve found to learn and sharpen my skills as a professional Christian educator. I’m a verbal processor so asking questions and hearing the take-aways from those I trust will fill my creative bucket quickly. Last week at Children’s Pastors Conference sponsored by INCM (International Network of Children’s Ministry) proved even more fruitful when I shared a house with twelve other kidmin leaders from twelve local churches attending the same conference for the entire week.

CPC does a fabulous job of intentionally adding to my resource shelves and providing content to do my job better through various breakout sessions. CPC especially pours into us as disciples in the general sessions with incredibly effective communicators.

One of the most impactful for me was the general session with Bo Barredo, an attorney and native missionary to the Philippines. He and his attorney wife co-founded Advancing Native Missions. He shared, “Hope is anticipating the best of what’s good.”
“Mamas are a child’s first Children’s Pastor.”
“Those in Christ share in His story therefore we will share in His suffering.”
“Until Christ returns or we return to Him, we must work and suffer.”
“How do I stay in my hope in the middle of my journey and remain alive and vibrant until the first moment of eternity? JOY!”
“Do not have a poor joy.”
Brother Bo offered four places where I can find joy in the waiting and even the suffering. He is spot on.

Regarding content, I thoroughly enjoyed and got my sword sharpened by the following:

Gender-Specific Ministry Matters led by Cindy Bultema (GEMS for girls) and Adam Sculnick (CIA for boys). Backed by research, we explored…
86% of teen girls say they would feel more confident if they had a mentor
The average church offers 3-6 ministries for women and girls, but only 1-2 ministries for men and boys.
Church has become A place to go rather than THE place to go to learn to follow Jesus.

Family Ministry: A Holistic Approach led by Kathleen Jaoudi sharing, “Don’t re-invent the wheel; just add the layer.” I’ll save greater details about this breakout in a separate blogpost.

Equipping Parents to Navigate Technology and Their Kids led by Ela Hammond. She shared all her resources of books, links, a musical game, QR codes, takeaways, through a parent workshop model. Ela offered breakout information for (1) Screen Time for Littles, (2) Should I give my kid a phone?, (3) Pornography Prevention, (4) Social Media Strategies, and (5) Video gaming/YouTube.
“Today’s families have food boundaries, why not technology boundaries?”
“Our kids will be discipled by something.”
“In West Virginia, the majority of kids’ caregivers are not parents, but grandparents.”

Reaching the Families in Your Community led by Jennifer Edwards gave multiple, easy ideas for being a good neighbor in Jerusalem (inside the church) and in Judea (outside the church) in the community where we live. She’s presenting at the She Leads Church Online Conference and I can’t wait! In the mean time, I’ll be implementing several of her ideas within the next six weeks.

Holidays and Holy Days: Hands-On Celebration Ideas led by Emily Snider walked us through the seven festivals God called His people to celebrate in the scriptures. The four spring festivals celebrate Jesus’ first coming. The three fall festivals remind us of what will be fulfilled upon Jesus’ second coming. For this gal who has no trouble celebrating Jesus, this breakout just added more confetti to this amazing walk with Jesus. Watch out February!

Engaging the Grandparents in Your Ministry was led by Jill Vogel, a representative of the amazing folks at Legacy Coalition. The resources abound there and are fantastic. Their blog is great, their resources are great, their books are great, and their people are great. I found Legacy Coalition at my last in-person CPC2020. It gave me everything I needed to start a new ministry with grandparents during the shut-down which grew by leaps and bounds. I came back this time with lots of resources to gift to those involved in our Grandparenting With A Purpose team, to add to our Faith Grandparenting Facebook group, and share with churches where I lead workshops on this very thing.

The greatest content? The chats around tables, pizzas, Walmart & Publix & Bucc-ee’s runs, hallways, benches, beignets, walking trails, and Animal Kingdom ride lines (2.5 hours for the Avatar ride!) with my housemates who share the trenches in ministry from Georgia to Ohio. The discounted rate for CPC24 is good until January 20th and worth every penny. We’ve rented an even bigger AirBnB and we have four extra spots because sharing together is the best way to go.

My Spirit is full, my mission is clear, my joy can’t be contained, and I’m coming in hot to share the unending hope I have with whomever will listen or not. 2023, I’m coming for ya with my hands raised high!

“Surely you have granted him unending blessings and made him glad with the joy of your presence.” Psalm 21:6

As a young adult, I experienced great opportunities with college, new schedules, new co-workers, jobs, used cars, living on $25 for two weeks and lots of mac-n-cheese. Snail mail of love from home was a precious gift. That’s why our children’s ministry began serving our young adults 18-24 year olds who call the church I serve their ‘home church’ with monthly prayers and connections with Jesus Loves You Boxes.

Each fall and spring we invite parents and grandparents to register their young adults to receive a Jesus Loves You Box. When our CLUB345 and K2Club meets each month, we fill a priority mail box with goodies, or sign a Christmas card or postcard, and lay hands of blessing and prayers for each one.

The registration form: Let McEachern Kids send some love to your young adult this fall. If your son or daughter is between the ages of 18-24, we will reach out this fall to share the love of Jesus. Complete the form below and we’ll be in touch.

The form includes: Young adult’s name, mailing address, tell us something about them, allergies, person registering the young adult, and an optional donation to offset postage. Almost all registrations include a donation of some sort, but are not required. It’s part of my missions budget.

We include seasonal decorations, squishy and inflatable Jesuses, markers, office supplies, candy, and a gift card. Christmas cards went out in December with signatures written by students who participated in the Stuffed Animal Sleepover and a gift card. Gift cards have been RaceTrac (gas $$), Walgreens/CVS (office supplies; personal items), and Starbucks/Dunkin’ Donut (especially now that it’s cold). We even included this outreach as part of the kid’s active service on our annual Great Day of Service last Spring.

All of the small touches from a home church can go a long way to loving our young adults. Why children’s ministry? Why not! Next level? Invite a small group, Bible study, or Sunday school class to ‘adopt’ a registered young adult for a season. #2023goals

“Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.” Proverbs 20:11

Arrival Activity: Draw a picture of your house; Make a model of your house with playdoh or clay.  

We talked about Jesus’ homes (heaven, stable, cave, heaven) and his beds (manger). We shared about our homes and our beds. We talked about our favorite rooms in our houses. We talked about what we do in each room.

When we believe that Jesus is a gift from God who died for the sins of the whole world, God sends a helper to us, the Holy Spirit, to live inside of us to show us the way to please and obey God, and share God’s love to help others.  WE are the house of the Holy Spirit.

The Bible says one more important thing about houses. It says that Jesus is preparing a house for each one of us in Heaven! He says that one day, we can all live forever with Him there in that perfect, wonderful place! (Luke 1:31-33; John 6:38-40; John 14:1-3)

ASK: Where do you live? (My house) Where in your house do you spend the most time? What is your favorite room in the house?

In the book of Deuteronomy 6:5, God directed His people (are we also God’s people?, so can this apply to us?) He said…

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at HOME and when you walk along the road, when you lie down, and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates.

Where do you SIT AT HOME?

Where do you WALK ALONG THE ROAD?

Where do you LIE DOWN?

When do you GET UP?

We brainstorm some creative ways to bless our homes using our sight (hang artwork that honors God), sounds (speak prayers out loud – there is power in the spoken word), touch (physically lay hands on the walls, chairs, carpeting, etc.), smell (light a scented candle or bring an open orange because citrus smells make us happy).

Activity:  Wrap crosses with wire and beads to be artwork to hang in your home that honors God.

Personal Testimony:  I would pray through my kid’s rooms often when they were growing up, especially in middle school.  When we purchased a new home, my Emmaus Reunion group came to pray through the house from my son’s bedroom (he asked if his room could be the starting place) out to our mailbox on the street.  When #1 Son moved into his new place after graduation from college, he asked if I’d come to pray through it, as well, and every home since then.

We prepared a pamphlet with short prayers that apply to each room of the house and we read some of those prayers together, out loud holding onto our crosses or placing our hands on the walls/doorframes.

One of the youth shared how she’d just gotten the acceptance letter she’d been waiting for from the college of her first choice.  She shared how she plans to pray through her home now and her dorm next fall.

Everything about the Christmas story speaks to home, a place to rest, a place of shelter, a place of hope, a place of safety, a home for now. Let’s use this new year reset to lead our littles to a holy habit of praying and the laying on of hands to bless and be a blessing wherever they call home.

Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”  John 13:17

As the local church I serve dedicates January to personal stewardship, a recommitment to holy habits, we will invite families to read through the book of Proverbs and pray through each room of their home as a practice to claim their home, their family, and all aspects of their lives for the Lord. The new year is a perfect time! It’s standing up and physically proclaiming, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)

We prepared a brochure for students to easily carry from room to room as they blessed each space with family-friendly language with these prayers for various rooms.

AT THE FRONT DOOR
Touch the front door, and pray by saying: In Jesus’ holy name, let there be peace in this house and to all who live in it. Bless this house and all who enter it. Amen.
Matthew 18:5 

IN THE HALLWAY
Pray by saying: Loving God who sent your own Son to be born in a stable, bless this house and may it always be a place of love and peace. Amen.
Luke 2:16

IN THE FAMILY ROOM OR LIVING ROOM
Pray by saying: Lord God Almighty, we ask you to bless this room so that those who live together in this house love you Lord with all their heart, soul, and mind. Let us see what is good in each other and live together in goodness and love. Amen.
Hebrews 3:12-13

IN THE DINING ROOM
Pray by saying: Heavenly Father who sent Jesus to share food and drink with his friends, we ask you to bless this dining room so that all meals will be shared with each other in delight and thanksgiving. Amen.
Luke 24:30 

IN THE KITCHEN
Pray by saying: Lord Jesus, who generously serves others with kindness and joy, bless this kitchen and all the work that is done here. Just as you made breakfast on the beach for your friends after you rose from the dead, let us make our meals and clean up with a sweet spirit of helpfulness. Amen.
John 21:12

IN THE LAUNDRY ROOM OR UTILITY ROOM
Pray by saying: Heavenly God, just as you feed and clothe the birds of the sky and the flowers in the fields, let us put on clothes of helpfulness, compassion, clean talk, and respect each other. God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Amen.
1 Peter 5:5

IN THE BATHROOM
Pray by saying: Creator God, bless this bathroom so that everyone in this house may be pure and clean both outside and inside. Amen.
Isaiah 1:16

IN THE BACKYARD
Pray by saying: Lord, from the very beginning You have been like a home to us where we feel safe and loved. Before you created the mountains, from the beginning to the end of time, you are God. Bless this backyard that it would be full of life and beauty. Let everyone who lives here always care for Your earth and do all we can to take good care of Your creation. Amen.
Psalm 90:1

IN THE GARAGE
Pray by saying: Thank you for the blessings of cars, trucks, vans, and all the ways we have to get to and from our home. May the Lord keep us kind, wise, safe, and patient as we go out and come back home. Amen.
Psalm 139:3

IN THE BEDROOMS
Pray by saying: It is the Lord who makes us sleep in safety even though He never sleeps or naps. Lord God bless the one(s) who sleep here. Protect us from all evil and temptation so we will be ready to serve you every day. Amen.
Psalm 120:3-4

FINISH IN THE AREA THAT IS FAMILY CENTRAL
Pray by saying: Most gracious Father, this is our home; let Your peace rest upon it. Let love live here, love for one another, love for others, love for life itself, and love for You God. Let us remember that just as many hands built this house, so many hearts make a home. Amen.
Proverbs 3:33

Praying through our home is a holy habit we practiced when we moved into a new home, at the beginning of each new year, and whenever prompted by circumstances. Teaching children to pray for their homes and each other is a holy habit that can carry through life and an amazing offensive weapon against family strife, contention, and even the occasional contrariness.

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” Colossians 4:2

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him.” Romans 8:28a

Deuteronomy 6:4-7 reads ““Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home . . . “

We’ve gone a step further when we sit at our home . . . we regularly pray through our kid’s bedrooms. This is not a superstitious little ritual. This is a powerful claim of your home, your children, and all aspects of their lives for the LORD. It’s standing up and proclaiming, “As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15) Stormie Omartian, author of Power of a Praying Parent, is quoted as saying, “Everyone’s house needs a spiritual housecleaning from time to time, especially in the rooms where our children sleep and play.”

A holy housecleaning is done periodically as a matter of principle, but definitely whenever we feel troubled by something in our child(ren). If he/she is becoming fearful, rebellious, angry, depressed, distant, strange, a disciplinary problem, or having bad dreams and nightmares, sometimes simply praying through the room can change things quickly. I have seen a change in spirit in my children after every time I have done so. My prayer always started, “LORD, if there’s anything in this room that shouldn’t be here, show me.”

As we entered the teen years, I explained that for his/her own peace and blessing, we would clean the room of anything not of the LORD. Did she/he like it? No, not always. Did we have to remove anything from his/her room? Yes, sometimes. We removed anything that promoted drug or alcohol use, violence, disrespect to family members, or anything we knew would encourage disobedience to God’s word. It didn’t take long for them to welcome it, even ask for it.

We found that music was the most common item of removal because kids trade and copy. So no headphones, no tvs, nor computers were ever allowed in bedrooms. That way I could hear what was being sung and I would ask God for the discernment of what battles to pick.

And when we still struggled through a season, I enlisted the help of his/her small group leaders, my prayer group (who could pray for my children when I was in such distress I couldn’t pray beyond, “Help!”), and their youth pastor. Their spiritual leaders maintained their loyalty to my kids and I never did anything that would harm their need for confidentiality. Youth culture and children’s issues are what they dealt with daily and they were our greatest resource. These folks are here to help us be the godly parents God intended. It’s the personal relationships we have with real people just a bit further down the road of parenting than we are who will set up our kids and us for the greatest possibility for success to navigate a real world for a real God. Today, I get to stand in that role for others. To God be the glory!

“Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.” Psalm 24:8

(This updated posting was originally posted September 2011)

Inspired by my local Chick-Fil-A, we invited littles to bring a stuffed animal to the Sunday afternoon CLUB345 & K2Club for a Stuffed Animal Sleepover at the beginning of Thanksgiving week.

Preparation:
* Registration form designed to clearly share this was for stuffed animal and not little people.
* Ordered sleep masks for party favors.
* Provided supplies for a holiday simmering potpourri for each participant.
* Secured roller cart for easy transportation.
* Name tags for our stuffed friends.
* List of photos to be taken.

Soon after the students left, we began rolling our stuffed friends all over campus to stage photos on one phone. It took about two hours. Once I edited the photos, I scheduled them on our closed McEachern Kids Facebook group every 20-30 minutes from 6pm-11pm, then at 7am-8:30am. The interactions on Facebook by the adults was often and hilarious.

The next morning, we greeted our friends in pajamas with donut holes, birthday cookie cake (our intern and photographer’s birthday was the previous Friday), and cereal leftover from the time-change Sunday cereal bar. So many opportunities for parents and kids to chat, play games, and share breakfast 9am-10am.

We took more pictures and lay hands on our stuffed friends to offer a blessing before dismissal.

Goals: Increased social media traffic, time for bigs to engage in holy play with their littles, bigs to learn their little’s church friends. All goals were met. Next year we’ll include the Ambassadors in the staging and photography.

“For the sake of my family and friends, I will say, ‘Peace be within you.'” Psalm 122:8

It’s a huge responsibility and honor to be given space in a worship service to speak to littles. With 2.5-3 minutes, the intentionality must be clear, practiced, and developmentally appropriate. Anytime I can involve the whole congregation, it’s a win. The congregation needs to see the faces of the littles and the littles need to see the faces of the bigs who vowed to so order their lives to provide great Christian education and training at their baptism.

I’ve started planning beyond week to week with a monthly theme for the children’s moment. With costumes on-hand, I spent a month sharing “Christians are peculiar for Jesus. We’re supposed to be.”

Christians are supposed to be peculiar (odd, strange, unusual). We wear the name of Jesus Christ when we call ourselves Christians no differently than we carry our last names signifying what family we belong to.

In KJV days, peculiar meant “belongs exclusively to some person, group, or thing” or to refer to “a property or privilege belonging exclusively or characteristically to a person.” The word ‘peculiar’ is used seven times in the King James Bible.

With a love for scripture and costumes on-hand, I wore a different costume each week explaining I needed their help to decide what to wear to the Fall Gathering at the end of the month.

Week #1 – Minnie Mouse
Costume is peculiar because the gloves have four fingers on each hand.
Read Romans 12:1-2

Week #2 – Traffic Light
Most people think to live a life for Jesus, I have to say NO like a red light or be fearful living like life is always a yellow light. But our faith in Jesus gives us liberty and a desire to be wise in our freedom. We are indeed peculiar because we are free to doing everything, but to be wise we must ask, “Is it good?”, “Is it beneficial to others?”, “Is it helpful?”, “Is it wise?”, “Is it God’s best for me?”
Read 1 Corinthians 6:12 and 1 Corinthian 10:23-24

Week #3 – Mrs. Potato Head
We are all part of the Body of Christ and all body parts are needed in every local church community. As a Christian everything should be done so that the church may be built up. Every gift and treasure we have is to be used to grow God’s kingdom here on earth and that’s through the local church.
Read 1 Corinthians 14:26b, 1 Peter 2:9-17, and sing “O Be Careful Little Eyes What You See….” Christians are peculiar people because they look for Godly wisdom to discern what is good, true, and beautiful.

Week #4 – S’mores (Graham Cracker)
Graham Crackers are fabulous and enjoyed by preschoolers and babies. But O the yumminess when we gather and join together with a Chocolate Bar (intern) and a Marshmallow (assistant).
Read Hebrews 10:24-25 We spur one another on (spur=kick ourselves into gear). Christians are peculiar people because we make stuff happen and do good in the world best when we work together.

“Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” Titus 2:14

Carey Neuhoff is a prominent church-life thinker of today. His team produces amazing, thought-provoking content almost daily to both encourage and challenge those involved in faith-based organizations. His blog last week spoke of asking good questions to help narrow the navigational beacons of focus for a new season. These were really good questions. Here are the five he wrote and how I’m processing them in the context of ministry with families as a professional Christian educator:

How much of the current change is permanent?
Huge numbers to any special event isn’t reasonable, but setting the table for more small groups is building more intimate, lasting, helpful Christian friendships.
Sunday mornings aren’t the only day and times I’m getting traction.

What do I have permission to stop doing?
Kid drop-off VBS and camps were not fruitful for growing my church before 2020 yet multi-generational experiences for the whole family throughout the year and the week is indeed setting the table for inviting friends into Christian community and growing my church today.
Operating in a silo. Better together is the better ministry.
Accepting the first NO.
Waiting.
Scheduling everything around a full school year. I get a better response when the seasons are in 60-90 day planning blocks.

What would I do if I was leading a startup? (Be still my heart!)
“Existing organizations that behave like startups will have a much better future than organizations that don’t.”
“Old models rarely do well in new eras.”
I’d roll out Family Ministry (multi-generational ministry) on a discipleship pathway to move disciples of all ages from rows into circles, from high chairs (being spoon fed) to wearing aprons (serving from the overflow of discipleship), and rediscovering the historical practices of holy habits in new rhythms of life.
I’d roll out content and material in small bite-sized pieces, over time. Drip, drip, drip into buckets which leak a little, slosh a little, and require a little more intention to help God’s people live in a world which has always been against the things of God.
“People during a revolution often don’t realize they’re in the midst of a revolution.”

Where are we seeing real momentum?
Followup question: Momentum about what? Just filling seats or starting/building new relationships-in-Christ? Status quo or ‘going back’ is NOT Momentum.
“If you want to get your mission going, fuel what’s growing, not declining.”
Where I’m getting traction for new families? Scout badge clinics; Family VBS in the summer on Thursday nights in June; Tuesday PM Bible Study for kids when parents are in one-hour Bible study; Project managers for special events; Popping into neighborhoods with an ice cream truck or dance party; Collaborating multi-generationally with developmentally appropriate pieces; Offering participatory discipleship and worship; Teaching in small groups; Loving on one another in community rather than by program.

How will I find a sustainable pace?
I don’t really know. My congregation is on fire for trying new things, but the systems in place that should be resources and support are not. Lots of distractions, bad habits. For example: I was a jerk at last week’s lead staff meeting. My response to the kindest person in the room was not my best moment. Here we are a month away from Christmas and the expectations for me and my team set last October-before-last (Live Nativity ‘cuz booking animals is an over-a-year-out thing) and January (Campfire Christmas on Eve’s Eve specifically for kids to invite neighbors) were about to change and I was guarded. I was guarded based on the last thirty years of children’s ministry experience where the best laid plans over the course of the previous eleven months were about to be ‘added to’ or hijacked. I pushed back to guard my heart, my mind, and a sustainable pace. Ugh! I don’t like having to be guarded. I definitely don’t like being a jerk. A reasonable, sustainable pace I’m working on, but it’s probably going to cost me.

Patrick Lencioni, the great author and pioneer of organizational health writes, “Every team will experience bumps in the road.” I feel like I’m off-roading a lot of the time. Lord, tapping the brakes is not an option. Too many little people and their bigs need to know you are enough. So, let me know when I’m to let off the gas and when I’m to put the pedal to the metal.

“So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle.” Exodus 13:18