A young minister in his early 20’s came to visit me recently. He spent most of our time together telling me how hard ministry is. I told him it’s not as hard as it might seem, just love the kids, give them the Word in a way that they can understand and remember and build a team. He then told me that building a team was the hardest one of those for him then rather than pick my brain, ask me how to build a team, look for tips he could apply he changed the subject. I think God sends people into our life to help us and teach us all the time but we are too busy complaining and saying what we can’t do that we don’t take advantage of the opportunies we have to learn. I would have stayed up all night with this young man, given him books, CD’s and coaching if he had pressed in and showed a hunger to learn. What opportunities to learn has God presented you that you missed out on because you weren’t looking to learn? Show up with questions and an agenda when God gives you learning opportunities. I’m always on the lookout for opportunities to learn. How about you?
Monthly Archive for May, 2007
One thing all of us here at The Way We See It share in common is a love for reading. We’d all love to share the great books we read with you. So we’ve decided to create something totally super-ultra-amazing. It’s called:
The Super-Ultra-Amazing-Must-Read Book List
Creative, huh? But besides that, the list will have its own special page, available from the “Categories” list on the side of the homepage, as well as being part of our regular blog postings. As we read these books, we’ll write up short reviews and ways they’ve touched our lives with you, so you can enjoy them too. You’ll see some reviews coming up soon.
To make sure you’ve always got the latest posts, you can do one of two things:
1. Use our email subscriptions. On the right hand side of the blog homepage, enter your email address in the “Email Notification” box and press Subscribe.
2. Use an RSS feed (advanced users). At the bottom of the blog homepage, click then click this link, and save it in your RSS reader of choice. Want to learn how to use an RSS feed? Check out this page.
P.S. Don’t like reading books? Buy the Cliff’s Notes. It’s just as good, in half the time. But reading is good for your brain. And in the words of a great man, “If it wusn’t fur [books], all my sintinces wud look lyke this!”
Last week my wife and I watched “A Night with the King.” Since I was a child, I have always loved the story of Queen Esther. What an amazing adventure. Young Hadassah, an orphan Jewess, becomes a queen with amazing power.
Most of us know the end of the story. Esther was placed in a leadership role for “such a time as this.” She was God’s tool to save the Jewish people from extermination. In the book, All the Women of the Bible, Edith Deen highlights the leadership strategies that Esther modeled. They are excellent strategies for anyone who leads people.
1. She gained favor with the people.
2. She used sound judgment.
3. She always thought of others first.
4. She offered to sacrifice her position and even her life to save others.
5. She was dedicated and loyal.
6. She exhibited virtuous character.
7. She was fearless.
8. She was prudent.
Esther’s life is a pattern of leadership we can each follow. Is there something in your church that has been bugging you? Is there a volunteer or staff member that has been pushing your button? Is there a mountain you can’t seem to climb? Perhaps one of the characteristics above could help resolve that situation.
Esther changed the world. Which of her leadership strategies will change yours today?
After 30 years of serving on staff in the local church, 17 of those at the greatest church in the world (Church On The Move) under the greatest pastor in the world (Pastor Willie George) I am going full time with Jim Wideman Ministries. That’s right, you read correctly. My pastor is in agreement with this and I have his blessing. I’ll still base out of Tulsa and my family and I will still attend COTM. I believe this is God’s plan for my life and that I have a mandate from God to help other churches go to their next level of ministry. How am I going to do this? In 3 main ways:
1. Consulting- I’ve had the privilege of being exposed to every area of ministry in a local church in addition to leading one of America’s leading children’s ministries. I’m available for on-site consulting in any area you need help. Whether you want me to come in once or once a month, I want to help you gear up for growth and excellence. Special rates are available for multiple visits. If you need another perspective put me on your staff as a part-time employee.
2. Conferences & Training- I’m available to hold a Children’s Ministry Conference at your church as well as seminars on Time Management, Volunteer Recruiting, Leadership & Parenting.
3. Speaking at churches & conferences- Need a guest to challenge people to get involved, or to teach on the importance of children & the family. I’m available.
Contact me today at brojim@jimwideman.com or give my assistant Sheila a call @ (918) 477-2268 ext. 1. I’m now booking for the rest of 2007 & 2008 and I’d love to help you and your church.
Excited about the future,
Bro. Jim
It’s relationships, not programs that change children. A great program simply creates the environment for healthy relationships to form between adults and children. Young people thrive when adults care about them on a one-to-one level, and when they also have a sense of belonging to a caring community.
-Bill Milliken, founder of Communities in Schools
The Way I See It #237 off a Starbucks Cup
I attended a wedding the other day in a church I had never been to before. It was built in the early 80’s, it was decorated like the late 70’s but the children’s classrooms could have been a sceen from a movie where we went back in time to the 60’s. If we are ministering to today’s kid’s why do our churches look like yesterday. Paint is not expensive. Graphic artists are a dime a dozen. I know you don’t have to have to be “Chuck E. Church” to be effective but shouldn’t we at least reflect this current decade? My question for thought is if we carbon dated your ministry (not just your rooms) what decade would they reflect? In 30 years of ministring to kids at church I’ve learned something very important “Every few years you have to update what you do if you want to or not because culture and kids are constantly changing. My daughter Yancy just produced a new preschool CD. One of the songs came from Amy Grant’s “Songs From The Loft” a project made for Youth worship in the 90’s. The same song that was for teens 15 years ago was a perfect preschool praise song. What changed? Culture did we need to change with it.
Did you know that? Have you ever been blamed for kids acting up because of “all the sugar you are giving them”? Kids love candy. I love candy for that matter. But most scientists agree that sugar consumption does not effect the behavior of kids.
You might find the following study humorous. A group of children thought to be “behaviorally sensitive” to sugar were studied. The children were divided into two groups. The mothers of one group were told that their children were given a drink with a lot of sugar. The mothers of the other group were told that their children had been given a drink that did not contain sugar. All children had actually been given a drink sweetened with Nutrasweet. The mothers who thought that their children had had sugar rated them as more hyperactive than the other mothers.
Don’t feel so bad tomorrow when you give out those Dum Dums and Tootsie Rolls. Have a great weekend.
Starbucks is one of the most successful companies around today. It has grown from a single coffee shop in Seattle to a multi-billion dollar international company. One thing is sure about Starbucks - they have great coffee. The reason they have great coffee is because Howard Schultz (the company’s CEO pictured above) loves coffee. He spent months in Italy drinking coffee and learning.
You can learn a lesson from Starbucks about your ministry. Remarkable ministries come from people who are passionate about what they do. Occasionally I get a muffin from Starbucks. The muffins are good, but they aren’t great. That makes sense because Howard Shultz isn’t passionate about muffins.
Are you passionate about your ministry to kids or are you just making a living? Is there a burning in your soul to make an impact in the hearts of kids this weekend or are you going to let this be “just another weekend”?
One thing that my dad passed on to me was a love for sweets. I love bakeries. Beth and I have always wanted to open a bakery of our own, maybe we will one day.
Tonight Luci and I were making some Betty Crocker chocolate chip cookies in the kitchen. You know, the mix where all you do is add an egg and butter. A few weeks ago I realized why I like her cookies so much. The recipe requires a stick of butter!
Back to the story. The one thing I hate about making the Betty Crocker cookies is stirring everything all together. It’s a lot of work! You have a whole bag of cookie mix and only one egg with a stick of butter. As I was stirring that batter, trying to get it mixed, I remembered doing this as a kid.
Continue reading ‘My dad and cookies’
Tonight I was coming home and had the local Christian radio station playing. I just caught the end of yesterdays’s Adventures in Odyssey episode by Focus on the Family. I would normally just change the channel to another Christian station, but a couple of quotes from the episode roped me in. They were:
“The problem is what is exciting and trendy now probably won’t be tomorrow. What I saw…was timeless, going past the trends and the fads, to reach kids where they are.”
“We work hard, and we do our best, but we don’t feel like it’s enough. Then we begin to second guess what God wants us to do. We wonder if we should make changes, or do things the same way. The answers aren’t always easy, and can only be found through prayer and God’s Word.”
Many ministries have been dumped by many local churches as “irrelevant”, though they still hold amazing power with kids. There are many things in the church like this. While it is important to keep up with times and not simply ignore them, it is also important to not forget the timeless things that kids always enjoy. For kids it’s not always the latest and greatest, but relationships and things that may seem trivial to you that are most important.
I like to put major ministry initiatives that I see through my “timeless” filter: In 5 years, will this initiative be relevant barring unforseen circumstances? In 10 years, will the kids still be standing up for Christ? In 20 years, will anyone remember it?
So how do your initiatives stand up?