Kingdom Building and Succession Planning

In a recent Harvard Business Review article, I read that many Fortune 500 companies are incorporating a practice called Succession Planning. This process starts with high level executives within a corporation and putting them through a series of “tests” to begin preparing them for the possibility of potentially moving into the role of CEO once the current executive officer moves on or retires.

Even though the process is quite a bit more complex than how I defined it, it made me think about what Jesus began to do early in his ministry when he went out and gathered the disciples together. He spent quite a bit of time preparing and praying through the men that he chose to be His apostles. Then three years were spent investing into their lives and teaching them everything that they would one day need to know. Then when he ascended into Heaven they were left with a pretty hefty task ahead of them:

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

(Matthew 28:19-20 ESV)

What if Jesus would have done things like some organizations? What if he never took the time to sharpen the “next guys”, the guys that would ultimately be responsible to continue the teachings that He started? Some people have the mindset of “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” The problem is that sometimes we don’t realize that something is broke until it is too late.

As leaders we should be promoting the fact that “The Kingdom” is bigger than us. We should be developing the leaders that are under us to develop the leaders that are under them. In a practical sense, if something happens to me then there should be someone that is capable to step right up and continue the process of Kingdom building without a hesitancy with what needs to be done. Whether it’s a pastor, Sunday school teacher, discipleship training coach, assistant, welcomer, door holder, or nursery worker the kingdom must continue.

So how are we doing? Are we developing those that are under us and creating an environment that produces leaders developing leaders? Or are we creating a system that relies completely upon ourselves?

There’s an App for that!

Our lives are busy. As parents, we want to prioritize our children. We want to do everything we can to invest in them relationally, to guide them developmentally and to help them grow in their faith in Christ. But it’s just so easy to get caught up in the urgent day-to-day business of life.
This Parent Cue App provides you with simple CUES throughout the week that remind you to pause and make the most of everyday moments.
Every month, Parent Cue will focus on one specific virtue, or life application. You will receive prompts for videos, activities, discussion questions and more that will help you connect with your child around this one key virtue. These prompts will come in the form of Drive Time videos, Hang Time activities, and Meal Time discussion starters to help you fit them into the day-to-day moments of your routine. There’s even a section just for you called Parent Time that’s filled with parent blogs, podcasts and more.

You’ve Won A Brand NEW Blog!!!

Well, at least the Children’s Ministry here at FBC Millington has.  I wanted to let all of our readers know that the Children’s Ministry now has it’s very own blog.  Make sure you check it out at FBCKidz.org to stay up to date with all the goings on of FBC Kidz.  You use the subscribe button at the upper right on FBCKidz.org to continue receiving email updates about what is happening.

As for this site, it will continue to act as a resource for families, churches, and leaders.  Thank you for your support and Happy Reading!!

 

Teaching Our Children Theology

Bibliology.  Theology Proper.  Christology.  Pneumatology.  Angelology.  Anthropology and Hamartiology.  Soteriology.  Ecclesiology.  Eschatology.  Wow!  What an incredible array of Doctrines that we hold so preciously.  But what do each of these doctrines mean?  It is easy to pick up on a few of them, i.e. Bibliogy, Christology, or Angelology.  While some of the others are a little more elusive in their descriptions.  These words can be quite intimidating to any individual, but especially a new believer.  Even as parents we have a tendency to look at these doctrines and think that there is no way we can learn them, much less teach them to our children.

While the task may seem daunting, it is essential.  Many of these doctrines are the very foundation of our faith.  In order for us to cultivate and disciple our children to have a “grounded in the word” faith we must be willing to teach them these essential truths.  Luckily, we are able to get a lot of help in this area.

Bruce A. Ware, author of Big Truths for Young Hearts, has done a magnificent job of breaking down these doctrines so that they are easily understood and explained.  He handles difficult topics such as the Trinity, Sin Nature, and The Holy Spirit.  There are ten different sections in the book and each of the sections is broken down into five or six subsections which help explain the doctrine taught in that section.  Each subsection is made up of only one or two pages.

This book can be used as a daily or weekly devotional for you and your children.  I would encourage any parent that wants to teach their children the essentials of the faith to purchase this book and use it throughout their childhood as a means to cultivate a right understanding of God.

But can get it at one of these places:  Here. For a taste of the book go here:  Sample

February 2012 is Coming Up!

If you haven’t already, sign up for the Parent Cue and get it Free February 1st!

According to Ephesians 4, one of the key purposes of ministers is to equip saints to do the work of the ministry. As a children’s pastor it is my responsibility to not only teach children but to also equip parents with some of the tools they need to cultivate Jesus into the life of their child. In an effort to do that I will begin providing parents with a Parent Cue at the beginning of every month via email. Each Parent Cue will highlight what we are learning in the TreeHouse throughout the month.

It will also contain “Meal Time/Drive Time Questions” to help jump-start a conversation about the lesson for the following week. I would encourage you to use this as a tool to guide you in the teaching of your children and discuss the lesson for the following week. It is the church’s desire to be secondary in the discipleship of your children not primary. This is a means by which we are able to work as a team instead of two separate entities.

To subscribe to our mailing list for the Parent Cue email me (creinolds@fbc-millington.org) with “Parent Cue” in the subject line.

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Hey Parents!  Here is a fun activity to do with your kids to start the conversation about how the Bible helps guide us.

Unscramble the bold words to see how the Bible helps guide us!

Your word is a palm for my tefe, a glith on my thap.

lPmsa 119:105

What we put into our minds and our bodies lead us to how we, feel, speak, and act!  If we put God’s good Word into us guess what will come out when we are sad or upset?  That’s right God’s Word!  But if we don’t know God’s Word and don’t read or study it then when life gets hard or when someone does something to hurt or upset us there is no telling how we will act.  Yikes!

Take a few minutes after your family activity and thank God for His Word and praise Him for the good things in your life!

Use the Bible to Guide Your Thoughts

Do you know what can really get us in trouble? It’s not just our temper or our words or our choices like we’ve talked about these other weeks. No, it’s what comes before all that and can happen so fast that it’s hard to catch. Our thoughts lead to all our actions.

That’s why we’re finishing this month on self-control by talking through the biblical principle in Philippians 4:8 of watching what you think about. Whatever we focus on most will take over and fill our minds. Sometimes one or two negative things might even stand out and stick more than all the other positive things going on.

That’s why it’s important to think even more about what’s true and right, what’s excellent and worthy of our praise. That’s why you should (Bottom Line) use the Bible to guide your thoughts. What a great way to review what we’ve learned about the faith skill—personalizing scripture—from Proverbs and other verses that encourage us to grow in wisdom.

This week, guide your children to fill up their brains with God’s Word and the good things that are all around them and see what happens!  Maybe they can even use some of the things that we have learned over this past month:

• Proverbs 25:28 – God can give you the power to control yourself.
• Proverbs 16:32 – Pause before you lose your temper.
• Proverbs 12:18 – Select your words carefully.
• Proverbs 25:16 – Know when to stop.
• Philippians 4:8 – Use the Bible to guide your thoughts.

Great Books/DVDs

These are great books/dvds that provide valuable insights for famlies and ministries alike.  Interested in one?  Click on the picture it and you can get it from the same place I got mine!

Families and churches are each working hard to build faith in kids, but imagine the potential results when the two environments synchronize, maximizing their individual efforts. What can the church do to empower the family? How can the family emphasize the work of the church? They can Think Orange. Former family ministry director Reggie Joiner looks at what would happen if churches and families decided they could no longer do business as usual, but instead combined their efforts and began to work off the same page for the sake of the kids. Think Orange shows church leaders how to make radical changes so they can:

• Engage parents in an integrated strategy

• Synchronize the home and church around a clear message

• Provoke parents and kids to fight for their relationships with each other

• Recruit mentors to become partners with the family

• Mobilize the next generation to be the church

With a transparent, authentic approach that gives every family and church hope for being more effective in their common mission, Think Orange rethinks the approach to children’s, youth, and family ministry.

Children’s pastors and ministry leaders consistently point to recruiting and retaining dedicated volunteers as their number-one challenge. How can they keep volunteer workers engaged in ministry that will change peoples’ lives?

Larry Fowler, Director of Program and Training for Awana Clubs International, believes that there are seven biblical principles, drawn from the book of Nehemiah, that will help pastors and leaders more effectively motivate and manage volunteers. Rock-Solid Volunteers looks at the obstacles Nehemiah and his volunteer workers faced – fatigue, weakness, loss of vision, peer pressure and opposition, just for starters!—and examines the seven steps Nehemiah took to lead his volunteers to success. Pastors and ministry leaders will be equipped to attract, inspire and keep talented, committed volunteers, no matter the challenge!

The Revolution is underway, but in this new era, how can parents make a lasting impact in the spiritual lives of their children? To find the answer, George Barna researched the lives of thriving adult Christians and discovered the essential steps their parents took to shape their spiritual lives in childhood. He also learned surprising truths about which popular parenting tactics just aren’t working. Revolutionary Parenting goes beyond youth group and Sunday school and shows parents how to instill in their children a vibrant commitment to Christ. Parenting is more than using your power to get children to behave in certain ways. Parenting is all about the exposure and change of the child’s heart. When the heart of a child changes the behavioral change that is needed will last. This is a great conference for parents raising children from age toddler through teen.

Learn how to be an instrument of heart changing grace in the little moments of life that God will give you with your children. Paul Tripp will begin with giving you a picture for God’s design for the family. Because if you don’t understand the family; you will never understand parenting. Then, Paul will help you to understand the life transforming and agenda setting things that the Bible says about the heart. Then, he will apply the principles about the family and the heart to the three primary stages of parenting.

In each stage Paul will give you the key issue of focus and practical steps for achieving what is important, at that particular stage of the child’s growth and spiritual development. Paul will also help you to identify those places where you are in the way of what God is calling you to do rather than being part of it by helping you to locate your own heart issues.

When parents work in tandem with the faith community to raise their children, they increase their parenting capacity exponentially.

Most parents have so many demands on their time that they can’t be the kind of parent they desire to be. They need to know the Orange Factor: Two combined influences will make a greater impact on kids than just two influences. And it’s true. Parents who partner with the faith community are the best way to bring the next generation into the family of God-and keep them there.

Talk it Over

Love cake? How about ice cream?  Donuts? Cookies?  Pie?  Butterfinger? KitKat? Snickers? Root beer floats?  Not sure if you love these things but I know I do.  I love any and all tasty treats that I can sink my teeth into.  Problem is that if I have too much of these wonderful delights I end up having some unwanted side effects.  Maybe you don’t have this problem but when I consume too many of these delectable temptations my shirts stop fitting, particular in my waist and arms.  Then my paints stop buttoning as easy as they once did.  Then, for whatever odd reason, my feet seem to shrink because they get more and more difficult for me to see them when I look down.

Obviously, they effects are self-induced by my own poor choices in what I am eating, but sometimes I don’t realize the effects of my decisions until after it is too late.  Funny thing is, God’s Word tells us that too much of a good thing can sometimes be bad.

Have you found honey? Eat only what you need,
That you not have it in excess and vomit it.

Proverbs 25:16

This week in the TreeHouse, we are discussing that just because something is good doesn’t mean we should over-indulge.  Ever heard of the Kudzu plant?  Take a look at what it can do:

Although the plant could be something very good and beautiful it is unfortunately something that is now very difficult to get rid of.  Too much of a good thing can sometimes be a disaster and it is important for us to talk to our children about how imperative it is that we watch for signs that we need to stop a “good thing”, before it takes over and starts to control us.

Talk it over with your kids and discuss some “good things” that can become “bad things” if we let them control us.  Let us know what they come up with, I am sure they will have some pretty interesting insights.

Meal Time Discussions – Self-Control

Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

1 Peter 3:9

Here is a good conversation started to discuss self-control over a meal:  Ask your child have they ever had anyone call them a name or insult them.  Then ask them how they responded to being called that name.  After they give a few explanations, discuss what they think God’s word says about how we should act when someone insults us.

It is easy for all of us to “payback” someone after they have offended us, but God wants us to pay them back in a different way.  We offend God and he still loves us, forgives us, and helps us.  He doesn’t “get even” with us.  Instead of looking at how we can “payback” someone who has hurt us maybe we can come up with a few ways to use self-control to respond rightly.  Planning ahead will help us respond the correct way.