Janine McNally wrote When You See Fireflies to effectively equip leaders and parents to serve Generation Alpha. Generation Alpha are those born between 2010 and 2025 and the first generation to be born only within the 21st century. With each generational cycle lasting around 15 years, Generation Alpha are those who make up our current nursery, children’s, and youth ministry through middle school. These are the kids we’re serving today!

There is a lot of really good info here, but I’m going to focus on two items: 

1. Who is Generation Alpha?
2. How do we effectively stay the course with sharing the gospel as the goal?

With full bibliography notations of research in the back of the book, this is the Generation Alpha we serve:

• They are predicted to become the largest generation in the history of the world by 2025.
• They will be more educated.
• They will have increased wealth.
• They will reflect increased racial diversity.
• They will have a greater global influence for fashion, food, entertainment, and communication.
• They will have a more mobile lifestyle resulting in more than 18 different jobs over the course of their lives.
• They will be technology addicts and experts.
• They will have shorter attention spans, delayed social development, and a greater lack of exercise.
• They will have unlimited access to information they will not be able to process or emotionally handle. They will need guides from the side rather than sages from the stages.
• Their parents are in their 20s, 30s, and 40s; including Tiger Parents (driving academic and social success of their children spending more than 10% of their annual household income on registration fees, travel, camps and equipment resulting in all-consuming busyness) and Helicopter Parents (driven by an all-consuming desire for their child’s safety and protection as well as protecting them from all pain and disappointment, and doing a lot of their kid’s homework).

This is how we respond for greater Christian education effectiveness:

• Guide parents/caregivers to lead diligently (repeat, repeat, repeat) as commanded by Deuteronomy 6:4-9.
• Don’t shy from reminding parents to make church attendance not only a top priority, but a non-negotiable. Weekly choices make for lifelong habits. The most amazing Jesus guys and gals we want speaking into our kid’s, and their parent’s, lives are in the local church. Ex: Elizabeth, Anna, Simeon. The best models are there!
• Address the hard questions of culture from the pulpit and the adult/children’s small groups. Ex: When we teach littles about Moses’ rescue from the Nile River by the Pharoah’s daughter we indeed speak to the Pharoah’s horrible edict to kill babies. Killing babies is wrong.
• Restore trust by purposing to live a life worth watching. Only Jesus is perfect, but we local church leaders can so purpose our lives to live in obedience to the scriptures to the best of our abilities, without compromise. Ex: Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, Joseph purposed to live their lives in obedience to God’s commands and God blessed them with His presence. All who are in Christ, are charged to live honorably—holy and worthy of our calling before a watching world. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and King, we are no longer our own. My preferences and inclinations and feelings should no longer drive my decisions. The Holy Spirit is ON to change us through His sanctifying grace leading us to Biblical holiness.
• “While Hollywood can capture their attention for a few moments, caring adults can engage them in a way that’s personal and meaningful.” (p 93) Relationships! Relationships! Relationships! Focus on intergenerational people interactions over programs.
• Use visuals, experiential, active learning, not linear lecture in our teaching.
• Keep the goal THE GOSPEL: keep it simple, keep it free, keep it clear, keep it concrete, keep it Biblical.

Janine has a slew of other books which are now part of my personal library especially as I design our local church’s Faith Milestones.

I encourage every Christian Educator to evaluate how we can serve the Generation Alpha families well in our contexts. I read When You See Fireflies from a hardcopy (seriously marked-up) and listened to it on Audible and I’m so glad I did both.

How are you best serving and sharing life with Generation Alpha?

“However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.” Acts 20:24

Riding the shuttle bus from the Atlanta airport terminal to my parking spot, I started a conversation with another passenger. We shared about the heat as we both returned from Texas. She asked why I was in Houston and I enthusiastically shared, “The New Room Conference.” When she followed up with, “What’s the New Room Conference?” I clumsily tried to explain my previous three days in language that I had yet to process. So it was the perfect transition to ask questions of how and where she practiced and strengthened her faith.

The New Room Conference is a gathering of Christians and leaders who sow and practice the ancient holy habits for a great awakening. New Room is not so much about new things as it is about new discoveries of ancient things.

Our pastors had just returned from teaching Christian to the Core in the Czech Republic the week before, and they picked me up from the airport late Tuesday afternoon. My roommate from our amazing and gifted leadership team arrived early Wednesday morning. We headed to The Woodlands Methodist Church that afternoon, where I was warmly greeted by a fellow H.L. Bourgeois High School (down the bayou) graduate, who I recognized only because of the “-eaux” in her last name.

Throughout the conference, I kept bumping into familiar faces and meeting wonderful new friends in the Lord. I sat next to the niece of one of my church’s beloved members, which helped me stay calm instead of fan-girling over the lab speaker like a middle-schooler. I also shared a discussion table with the children’s ministry lead team from The Woodlands, who were in their 20s, 30s, and 40s, while I was the oldest in the group. We discussed the “Timothy mandate”—the importance of not only training young adults to implement Christian education programs with excellence but also spiritually parenting them, nurturing their Christ-like character. The session was led by a remarkable young woman I’ve known for years.

I reconnected with a fellow kidmin lead and preschool director from North Georgia, and we talked about how she answered her call to ministry at a previous New Room Conference. At the Houston airport on the return flight home, we prayed with a pastor, who later returned to chat more when he found out we knew his incredible kidmin lead when he sat by us on another shuttle. A divine appointment indeed.

“I can’t know the will of God unless I know the Word of God.” Rev. J. D. Walt, The Wake Up Call

Don’t let anyone tell you the church is struggling. She’s doing just fine and in the most amazing and unexpected places.

We were surrounded by…

• Believers obsessed with the Word of God.
• Believers fanning the flame of faith in the young in London, Ireland, Houston, Uganda, Chad, and universities around the world.
• Believers with a humble heart who will at any moment step up or step aside.
• Believers who pack flags, streamers, sign language, and tissue ready to worship with whatever is in their hands or bags unashamedly. 
• Believers who journal not their own thoughts, but what they discover who our great God is.
• Believers who step into the Gen Z & Gen Alpha hunger to know the real Jesus coming from a pre-Christian context.
• Believers who find Wesleyan Bands the safest and bravest place to be each week.
• Believers who mix travailing prayers with spiritual disciplines setting Holy Spirit spot-fires around the world. 
• Believers who are hungry for maximum, fanatical Christianity.

The New Room Conference is different from any conference I’d been to before. And I want more of it! This worship festival will be in Montgomery, Alabama next year. Checkout early registration here.

And if you’d like to see how the gospel is reaching the creatives of Houston, check out Urban Hymnal on Instagram. This is a Monday night worship community seeking communion with Jesus. They gathered for a prayer walk through downtown Houston last weekend.

Holy Spirit bonfires are being set all around the world for a great awakening and I’m incredibly grateful to be invited to fan the flames and join my friends as we carry wood.

“The Lord’s right hand is lifted high; the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!” Psalms 118:16

Family Bible study on Sunday afternoons brings me so much joy. This week, we discussed the importance of family worship at home. Learning to navigate family worship with realistic expectations (it won’t look like a perfect picture) will help families:

• Meet regularly and intentionally to pass on faith.
• Prepare for mission work if needed, even outside traditional church buildings.
• Avoid the mindset of just consuming worship.
• Create informal, regular moments for faith discussions, sacred conversations, and even kitchen praise parties while making pizza.

In Grow at Home: A Beginner’s Guide to Family Discipleship, author Winfield Bevins writes, “Worship is not just something we do on Sunday mornings, but something that should take place in our homes…Family worship involves prayer, reading Scripture, and singing songs.”

Jonathan Edwards reminds us that “Every Christian family ought to be as it were a little church.”

The key to family worship is to start small and grow over time. Children really do want to learn about God. Family worship isn’t difficult—just keep it simple: prayer, Bible reading, and singing.

Everyone in the family can take part in prayer, scripture reading, and singing. In Sunday’s class, we sang “Jesus Loves Me” and asked, “What does this song tell us about God?” We asked this question repeatedly, digging deeply into the simple words. Scripture reading and singing are great ways to prompt these kinds of faith conversations.

Next week is fall break, so we won’t meet, but after that, we’ll dive deeper into family Bible reading. The Bible was always meant to be read together in community. (Deuteronomy 31)

I remember a conversation at the Children’s Pastors Conference where a colleague said, “My parents would never do something like this.” It saddened me, but it also strengthened my resolve.

God wants boys and girls to love their families. Families are His gift and the place where children learn to practice and live out loving God with their whole hearts for their whole lives. International Leadership Institute, Christian to the Core: Eight Core Values

Making Jesus the center of family life won’t happen by accident. From personal experience, I know the power of guarding family worship time and practicing faith at home through prayer, Bible reading, and singing. The temptation to give up will be strong, especially with the distractions of secular culture, media, busy schedules, and “She’s looking at me!” But making Jesus the King of our families is an eternal decision, and we have a real enemy trying to distract and defeat parents.

My role is to equip families to navigate these challenges as citizens of God’s Kingdom here on earth. We will teach, practice, and model discipleship at home because that is God’s plan. It’s our plan too, and it’s a biblical command to teach children of all ages and stages. May we be found faithful and obedient.

“Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress.” 1 Timothy 4:15

Audible has become my constant companion while driving. Over the past month, I’ve listened to A Rebel’s Manifesto by Sean McDowell, Practicing the Way by John Mark Comer, 50 Women Every Christian Should Know by Michelle DeRusha, and Shepherds for Sale by Megan Basham. But my daily routine now includes listening to God’s Word through Audible.

The Bible is life to me. The words, the names, the history, the accounts of God’s goodness and faithfulness to His people then and now jump off the page. But what do we do when the season calls for less ‘sitting’ and more ‘moving’? Listen to the word!

Though it takes up a lot of phone memory, listening to the Bible on Audible has been a great way to stay in the Word while driving or doing chores. Currently, I’m listening to the Listener’s Audio Bible (NIV) read by Max McLean, which is 75 hours and 14 minutes long. Listening to larger chunks of the scriptures, over time, have me picking up on common phrases and words that are specific to each book of the scriptures.

I’m preparing for a trip next month to explore Paul’s journeys, so the New Testament book of Acts is a regular listen this month.

There are many apps available which offer God’s Word read aloud, like Audible, Bible Gateway, YouVersion, Spotify and more. We can choose different voices, translations, and even the speed of the reading.

Before the smartphone God’s people, especially the children, listened to the scriptures read aloud. Before a lot of folks could read and before the printing press, the scriptures were read, memorized, and sung aloud as a means of grace to pass along our faith to the next generation.

The Old Testament book of Deuteronomy is less an action book and more a book of Moses’ speeches meant to be read aloud. According to chapter 31, read aloud every seven years during the Feast of Booths inviting the people of God to a do-over, a reset, a reboot, a jubilee to let go of regret, debt, and turn our eyes, focus, and priorities back on leaning into loving the Lord our God with our whole hearts for our whole lives. This instruction right after Moses tells Joshua to “Be strong and of a good courage… Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged.”

Listening to the scriptures aloud just might be the proper equipping today to combat fear and discouragement offering a do-over to turn our eyes upon Jesus.

If the noise of the news, the hallways, and even the music are plentiful and constant, listening to the scriptures read aloud can turn just about any space you are into a sanctuary.  

¹⁰ Then Moses commanded them: “At the end of every seven years, in the year for canceling debts, during the Festival of Tabernacles, ¹¹ when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God at the place he will choose, you shall read this law before them in their hearing. ¹² Assemble the people—men, women and children, and the foreigners residing in your towns—so they can listen and learn to fear the Lord your God and follow carefully all the words of this law. ¹³ Their children, who do not know this law, must hear it and learn to fear the Lord your God as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.” Deuteronomy 31:10-13

Watching the Olympics and Paralympics, I’m reminded of how every athlete trains with purpose to excel in their sport:

• They have a coach, either individually or as a team.
• They carefully choose what they eat to fuel their bodies for the best performance.
• They practice daily.

When I think about soul training to become more like Jesus, I see that God has given us much. Like an Olympian, I also need (1) a coach/team, (2) to be mindful of what I take in—both physically and mentally—and (3) to practice every day.

The goal of the International Leadership Institute (ILI) is to change history by accelerating the spread of the Gospel of Jesus. Wes and Joy Griffin are the international directors of ILI. Wes prayed with me and sat beside me for an entire day on one of the most pivotal days of my career. Joy shared a message about Rahab during Advent at my new church. These two have equipped men and women worldwide to effectively share the Gospel.

“A God-shaped life is like a tree planted by God’s hands, flourishing and strong. Those who trust in God and find their confidence in Him are like a tree planted by water, with leaves that stay green and always bear fruit.” Always green. Always bear fruit.

Christian to the Core is a curriculum to guide disciple-makers to discover eight core values for a transformed life in Christ Jesus. There is a curriculum for adults, youth, and children. Christian to the Core is grounded in expectations for the future. 

• Christian to the Core
• Christian to the Core to the Youth: Rooting in a Deeper Life
• Christian to the Core to the Kids: Sprouting in God’s Love

Each core value is backed up with scripture and begins with 

• “God is looking for men and women who….”, 
• “God is looking for young men and women who…”, 
• “God looks for boys and girls who…”

The youth and kids curriculum guides are not an add-on to tie a bow on an adult curriculum. All the curricula for adults, youth, and kids are offered as a free pdf here. The materials are thick with developmentally appropriate language and sticky storytelling from life and the scriptures, guided object lessons and discussion, and filled with clear, impactful teaching for leaders to lead littles and bigs to sold-out living for Christ Jesus. 

Too many disciples never fully develop into transformed disciple-makers thereby suffering the consequences of a shallow life. Our great God invites us to be involved in His Kingdom here on earth. Ready to transform your life, relationships, and legacy? 

Let’s go!

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10

Faith Milestones are key “firsts” in our spiritual growth, reminding us that faith formation isn’t limited to Sunday mornings. For the past ten years, I’ve made Faith Milestones a central part of our discipleship journey for children with their families.

These milestones, like delightful stepping stones on a path, are customized for each stage of development, from preschool through youth. They mark special moments and developmental markers where the local church and families come together, creating a shared journey of love and devotion to our triune God. Together, we help nurture a love for the Lord that flows into every area of life—within the church, at work, at school, and at home.

Last Sunday, we offered Hard Questions Faith Milestone for 7th and 8th graders, along with an adult who loves them. In 90 minutes, we tried to tackle 28 of the 56 questions from Janine McNally’s Understanding Hard Questions: I Need Answers. We had to skip about a dozen questions to ensure we finished on time and wrapped up as planned.

I prepared a Google slide deck with one question per slide and the corresponding page number from the book. Each student and adult received a book and a pen or pencil for note-taking.

We started by sharing our goals:

• It’s okay to ask questions.
• The answers should make sense, be reasonable, and offer the best explanation that aligns with reality.
• We want to want to give God our minds, as in Luke 10:27.

To break up the 90-minute session, we took a five-minute break halfway through and included in the slide deck two videos from Pursue God Kids that answered the questions “Who is God?” and “What is Salvation?” After the last video, we turned to Romans 10:9 to continue the conversation.

We saved the dinosaur questions for last, which was a fun way to end since our first class was all boys.

Middle schoolers have big questions about faith and life. We want their parents, in partnership with their local church, to be their first source for answers and from a Biblical worldview.

What Faith Milestones would you provide for your middle schoolers?

“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9

After three decades in professional ministry, I think I’ve finally figured out how to make reporting to church council meetings more effective. I’ve tried everything from handouts and newsletters to color-coded stats and even skits.

Here are three key things I’ve learned:

1. Be Prepared – Speaking off the cuff often leads to rambling and going over time. Instead, write down your points. After you present, hand your notes to the church council secretary who is furiously taking the minutes of the meeting. They’ll appreciate it and can fill in the minutes with the data you’ve provided.
2. Be Brief – I now focus on sharing three things, thanking three people, and making three big requests.
   • 3 Things to Share – Though there are a bunch of great things to share, choose two past celebrations and one upcoming event with purpose to highlight.
   • 3 People to Thank – Mention three people who have made a significant impact, sharing a quick story about each. Everyone enjoys being honored by name and it highlights the wins of your disciple-making team.
   • 3 Big Asks – (1) Request prayer for specific goals (e.g., a number of kids to reach by Christmas); (2) Ask for prayer for a champion to step up for a future ministry; (3) Encourage everyone to pray about who to invite to the next Family Ministry event happening in the next 30 days.
3. Be Part of the Team – In our Leadership Council (using the One Board Model), Family Ministry has a named representative. Collaborate with this person to prepare and present the report. This partnership helps keep our message clear and consistent.

How do you prepare, and present ministry reports to the congregation you serve?

“On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.” Acts 14:27

Every year after Promotion Sunday, Mr. Bob and I take a break and head to the beach. It’s a time to rest and reflect before the busy fall season begins, especially since the families I serve are adjusting to new school routines and have little time to even check church emails.

Rest involves sleeping until I wake up and reading biographies of the saints who’ve gone before my generation. This year we also enjoyed the stories of the Olympic athletes. Forty years ago we shared the Los Angeles airport with Olympic families coming and going as we passed through on our honeymoon.

Reflecting involves sharing together the stories and answered prayers of God’s goodness and faithfulness over the last year before setting goals for the next year.

My August prayer from last year:

Lord, Creator, Director of my life. As I stand on this beach the sand is wet, mushy, and the waves are strong. As my feet sink they only sink so far because You make the boundaries and I submit myself to You.
By the time we return in a year You will have settled what unsettles us now and I’m grateful. Let me not sin in any of it. Let me please You in all of it. Let me stand in obedience to Your word. Give me the courage of Daniel, the wisdom of Solomon, the hospitality of the Shunamite Woman, and the courage of Peter. Let me remember I now speak as a Paul, I’m to fast and pray like Mordecai, and tell the stories of Your goodness and faithfulness to Your people like Luke so that the generations coming behind me will know the true, real, mighty You.
Thank you for letting me be born at this time. Make super fruitful Your gospel from my little offering.
Give me peace like a river, love like an ocean, and joy like a fountain as You lead me on the paths of righteousness for Your name’s sake.
Amen

This last year has been the most exciting time in ministry ever!

Our team is on a first-named basis with Panera staff where we first met last December, gathered, planned, prayed, and laughed our heads off. Today I celebrate and submit to a humble and gifted leadership team on fire for the things of Christ, who work hard, and serve with the greatest integrity.

We’ve witnessed physical healings, new and deeper relationships, great outdoor weather providing safe and peaceful spaces for our littles, finances generously provided, and new sacred spaces, Wesleyan small groups, and new community partnerships only the Lord could have led us to.  All miracles. So many miracles!

Messages of life and God’s love taught in a funeral home offered by a generous family. This teacher-not-a-preacher gave her first message from that pulpit on New Year’s Eve and will humbly share again next month. Sharing the hard parts and confetti parts with a prayer partner and the family ministry leadership team who love Jesus and His people with their enthusiasm, ministry of presence, and creative teaching. I’m honored to play in their sandbox.

We’ve also faced open hostility and repeatedly turned the other cheek. I’ve let go of people-pleasing and instead embraced compassion and hope, rooted in a long history of trusting in a great God. I haven’t gotten everything right, and I still don’t. But my mistakes were never out of malice or anger. I’ve submitted to the authority over me, and the Lord has blessed it. Silence or cutting people off isn’t an option because we are called to love our neighbor especially those in the family of God. We serve a God who calls us to sacrifice and trust. He is so good.

All the grandkids are being homeschooled this year, so our Mimiland Fridays might expand. The youngest is enjoying preschool at the local church in our neighborhood. I’m trying to guard my schedule to spend more evenings with Mr. Bob. His partnership, support, and prayers have talked me off the ledge so many times.

This fall will be busy: the New Room Conference, Baby Girl’s birthday, a home LSU game in September, a trip to Turkey in October for Paul’s Journeys with folks from our church, Mr. Bob’s and our #2 son’s birthdays, hosting a Spirit & Truth Conference, sponsoring pilgrims on The Walk to Emmaus in November, and then Confirmation Sunday and Campfire Christmas with Live Nativity in December. January brings the Children’s Pastor’s Conference.

Oh, and there’s gonna be this amazing first birthday party of the church I serve come Wednesday, November 20, 2024. Oh the stories we have to tell!

“So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant. Now fear the Lord and serve Him with all faithfulness.” Joshua 24:13-14

I’ve been captivated by the stories of the world’s best athletes during the 2024 Olympics this past week. As I watch these events unfold while Tropical Storm Debby hits the southern coast, I notice several similarities between the Olympics and effective local church ministry.

In the Olympics, athletes of all ages and sizes compete at the highest levels. This is a great analogy for multigenerational ministry in the church, where faith formation can be shared across generations. Instead of just offering a backpack blessing for young children, we extended our blessings to everyone involved. First, we prayed for the leaders in nursery, children’s, and youth ministries. Next, we blessed the children, teens, and young adults. Finally, we prayed for their parents and grandparents. A special thanks to Christina Embree of Refocus Ministry for this inspiration.

At our grandson’s church, senior members invited middle schoolers to their July luncheon to play board games, with the students bringing dessert. Our church’s empty nesters’ Sunday school class also supports and mentors a new young adult class, offering them fellowship, easy relationships, support, and leadership each week.

Just like athletes who compete individually in their countries come together as a national team in the Olympics, building teams in ministry makes us stronger. During the busy summer months, coaching and training interns allowed us to offer more faith formation opportunities. The youth intern handled Wednesday night programming, the summer mission trip, and designed the upcoming Confirmation cohort. The nursery intern focused on recruiting and orienting new leaders, while the children’s intern directed day camps and planned ministry activities for families with preschoolers.

A laity-driven initiative led to the design of a new church building, where middle schoolers played a key role in assembling furniture, hanging wall pieces, and building standing desks. Each member contributed their unique skills, from art teachers to national designers, making the project a success. Thank-you notes are going out tomorrow.

The Olympics showcase incredible stories of physical struggle, obstacles overcome, joyful surprises, and unlikely partnerships. Similarly, in our spiritual journey, we undergo “soul training.” Our spiritual diet, influences, and the guidance of mentors are essential in helping us grow and achieve our goals in faith. Just as an athlete needs a supportive environment, we too need to encourage each other, celebrating our successes and cheering each other on as we would a family member in the Olympics.

If you are in the path of Tropical Storm Debby, I pray that you find help or become a helper. As we watch the final week of the Olympics, let’s be inspired by these amazing athletes and motivated to achieve great things in our own lives, for the cause of Christ.

“Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.” Psalm 31:24

The history of the Lego brick dates back to 1932 in Billund, Denmark, where Ole Kirk Christiansen opened a carpentry business making stepladders, ironing boards, and little wooden toys. He named his toys “Lego,” derived from the Danish words “leg godt,” meaning “play well.”

In 1942, a fire destroyed the LEGO factory. However, this unfortunate event led to a positive change. When Christiansen rebuilt, he chose to use a plastic injection-molding machine instead of wood for making his toys.

In 1961, when the LEGO bricks were introduced to North America, they were an immediate hit. In 2000, Fortune Magazine named LEGO the “Toy of the Century.” (information gleaned from Toybox Leadership by Ron Hunter and Michael Waddell) 

Serving in a local church, Lego bricks offer valuable lessons.

Lego bricks emphasize the importance of connections. Just like Lego bricks build structures from the bottom up, we build relationships from the bottom up. Unlike Velcro, which latches randomly, Lego designs are intentional in their connections.

Family Ministry relies on intentionally building relationships from the bottom up for and with all of the demographics of a local church. Senior Saints with youth, children in corporate worship, women’s ministry partnerships with missions, and men’s ministry providing the burgers for a family night. Operating in silos is not an option for a robust exercise in Family discipleship. 

What makes these connections possible? Two key reasons:

1. Reliability: LEGO bricks can be trusted before you start to build. Similarly, trust in relationships is built when our ‘yes’ means ‘yes’ and our ‘no’ means ‘no’. Trust is established when we emphasize relationships over tasks, adhere to systems and processes that support collaboration, and clearly define and repeat ad nauseum the core values of the organization. We can’t be all things to all people, but we can be reliable.
2. Compatibility: LEGO bricks fit together well because of their studs on the top and tubes on the inside. When pressed together, the tubes grab the studs, creating a friction-based connection. While we may not like friction, it fosters a deeper connection when worked through. Friction invites us to willingly and through the power of the Holy Spirit turn the other cheek, not be easily offended, flee from a critical spirit, offer the benefit of the doubt, and live as a grace-filled people for the glory of God.

No matter what we are building, we do it one brick at a time, intentionally focusing on our relationship connections.

Two of our greatest multigenerational connections of my local church are blended worship (prayground family tables, shared sacred holy habits) and community partnerships (offering Jesus-es and hand fans to our neighbors at city movie night, making lunches and placemats for a local mission partner, painting wooden Easter eggs for the city-wide Easter egg hunt, walking in the community Christmas parade, hosting planning meetings for a local elementary school, collecting teacher supplies, etc.).

May we build well, and play well.

“We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” 2 Peter 1:19