Do you know how to know when the economy really, really stinks?  When college students are so poor they can’t afford wiper blades.  Today I was out at our local university doing some work.  (They have faster internet!)  As I got ready to get in my car, I noticed that the car next to me had a sock over both wiper arms.  After a little bit of sleuthing, I determined that the wiper blade had finally given up the ghost and in place of a blade, they were now using the closest thing that was most absorbent: a sock.  I was so humored by this that I completely forgot to take a picture to share, so I recreated the situation using my own car.  It’s not nearly as funny, but it communicates my point.

That got me to thinking: that guy would be a great children’s pastor.  He could probably rebuild the entire used sound system from “big church” using gum, duct tape, and some old socks.  (Admit it, you’ve used creative tools before.)  Children’s pastors seem to have a unique knack for making something out of absolutely nothing.

So in celebration of that spirit, we want to know what the most creative thing you’ve ever done to stretch your ministry budget was.  Whether it was giving every kid half a Tootsie Roll Midgee for being quiet to building a new children’s ministry building using only popsicle sticks and glue sticks, we want to hear about it.

As a little incentive to get you to share, we’re going to have a giveaway!  Just put in your name and email below (your email won’t be seen but anyone but us!), then tell us your budget-stretching story.  On March 7, I’m going to pick the most outrageously creative story.  You’ll win a children’s ministry music prize pack, containing at least 6 CDs, and more if we randomly decide to!  Make sure your submission is in by 11:59 PM EST on March 6, or it doesn’t count.  We all look forward to seeing your crazy ideas!

Have you seen the new Apple Fries at Burger King? I did today. Burger King is making it easier for kids to eat healthy. An apple disguised as french fries – what a genius concept.

Wouldn’t it be nice if getting kids to eat spiritually was so easy? While it’s not always easy, it’s very possible. Consider what you are going to teach this weekend. What could you do to make it like Apple Fries? How can you slice the same apple (the message) a new way?

Have you seen the new website with free countdown timers? No memberships. No hidden fees. Just free countdown timers.

Check out www.freecountdowns.net.

I’m real excited about the new cmconnect.org. Today I talked to Michael Chanley on the phone for about 30 minutes. He’s the guy who got the idea to start the site. Bravo. He’s an elementary children’s pastor at SouthEast Christian Church. The social networking available on this site is great.

Join Jim Wideman, Roger Fields, and a bunch of other great people on cmconnect.org. Once you’ve joined, be sure to join the K! Magazine and the KidzMatter groups.

Same action brings same results… I’ve found out these past 53 years on the earth you can’t keep doing things the same way you have always done them and get different results. For the last 12+ years I have been teaching a monthly audio leadership lesson that I call the children’s ministers leadership club or theClub for short. Every workshop, book chapter, magazine article and blog post I do has come from a club lesson. TheClub has been a blessing to me and the lifeblood of income and support for JWM. They have also blessed a lot of leaders. In January I made the Young Guns Program available to CM Leaders under 30 so they could get theClub lessons free. I’ve had a great response. But I feel led to do something crazy over the next 3 months I’m going to give my June, July, and August club lessons away free to anyone of any age who signs up for my newsletter on jimwideman.com. Call me crazy, call me generous, call me a nice middle age gentleman who looks a little like the guy on the chicken bucket. Hurry and sign up before June 15th so you won’t miss a single lesson. I’m excited to see the growth that will happen when you dare to expand how you think about leadership.

Now…”that’s the way I see it!”

It’s scary what some idle time in the car will do to the mind of a children’s pastor. Here’s an example. I came up with 15 ways for a senior pastor to lose his children’s pastor in 10 days.

1. Tell him that if he keeps up the good work you’ll promote him to youth pastor.

2. Base her pay on a commission from the weekly kids church offering.

3. Call on Friday night and tell her that the ladies need a babysitter at the church on Saturday morning.

4. Tell him the board voted that goldfish crackers are banned from the building.

5. Make him to spend twelve weeks in kids church teaching through the book of Leviticus.

6. Blame him for every new carpet stain in the fellowship hall.

7. Encourage the parents to peak their heads in the door at least twice each service to check on their kids.

8. Announce to the church that VBS will be outside this year.

9. Ask him to babysit your kids while you go on vacation this summer.

10. When he says he needs more nursery workers, tell him that running an announcement in the bulletin should be good enough.

11. Tell him that if the old metal chairs were good enough for him when he was a kid, then they’re good enough today.

12. Encourage the kids church leaders to join the choir.

13. Give her a gift card to Sam’s Club as a Christmas bonus.

14. Tell the ladies ministry that they can start using the resource room for storage too.

15. Decide to start a new weekend service without talking to him.

Ask, and you shall receive.  Bible works, doesn’t it?  Here’s the pictures you all requested from our rock climbing wall, as well as a couple more from our Easter celebration this morning!  These pictures were taken by Aaron Pickering and his wife, Briana , both volunteers in our Liberty All Stars children’s ministry.  Enjoy.

Tina Houser (K! Magazine contributing editor and friend) just brought a gift to my house tonight. It’s her new book, hot off the press from Thomas Nelson! It’s called “Building Children’s Ministry: A Practical Guide”. It has a beautiful cover and is jam packed with 200 pages of great tips. Jim Wideman and I had the opportunity to write the endorsements on the back of the book. Don’t wait, get your hands on this book now. I just bought 20 copies to give the leaders in my church.

Great work Tina! Keep writing!

If your 30 or under and in full time ministry you can get theClub monthly audio leadership resource at no cost.
Log on at www.jimwideman.com/theclub for more information

January 31 is a very, very important day. It’s Justin Timberlake’s 27th birthday! Aren’t you excited?

OK, so yes. It’s his birthday. But you could care less. However, I just so happen to share a birthday with Justin Timberlake. Yes, that’s right, today is Evan’s 17th birthday!

We’re just so excited, we wanted to share the birthday joy with you through the first-ever Way We See It Blog giveaway! Each of us here on the blog have something that we think is cool we’d like to give away.

All you have to do is send an email with your name, address, and a reason you love the blog to contests AT thewayweseeitblog DOT com. (You’ll need to change those ATs and DOTs to actual characters. Spam stinks.) You’ve got a week (3 PM 1/31 to 11:59 PM 2/6) to send us an email. Next Thursday, we’ll announce the randomly chosen winner here on the blog. You have to live in the 50 United States or District of Columbia. (My apologies to our international friends.) Other than that, no strings. No catches. Just free stuff. How cool is that?

That’s all well and good, but here’s what we’re sure you want to know: What do you actually win? Here it is:

From Evan:
a. A copy of unChristian, a revolutionary new book from Barna Research, the Fermi Project, and Baker Book House. Here’s what the book is all about: “Christians are supposed to represent Christ to the world. But according to the latest report card, something has gone terribly wrong. Using descriptions like ‘hypocritical’, ‘insensitive’, and ‘judgemental’, young Americans share an impression of Christianity that’s nothing short of … unChristian.”
This book will give you a terrifying yet motivating look into the minds of America’s kids and teens. Even if you don’t win, it’ll be a book you’ll want to check out!
b. A bag of Dale and Thomas Popcorn, which is only the best popcorn ever!

From Ryan:
One copy each of KidzMatter’s Home Run Sermons Volumes 1 and 2. Just need a quick lesson? Just grab these off the shelf, throw in some games and songs, and you’re ready to go! Volume 1 is all about the life of Christ and basic Christianity. Volume 2, MythBusters, covers 12 questions that every kid wants to know.

From Jim: 
a. A free MP3 membership to “The Club”, the monthly coaching and training subscription from Jim Wideman Ministries. Designed especially for children’s ministers and those who want to take advantage of over 30 years of children’s and family ministry experience without taking 30 years to learn it.
b. Two books: Volunteers That Stick and Children’s Ministry Leadership: the You Can Do It Guide, both by Jim Wideman. You can check these great books out by going to kidzmatter.com.

All in all, you’re receiving around $290 worth of free stuff to use in your ministry. So get to sending those emails. You don’t even have to pay any shipping.

Important stuff: Be sure to read the obligatory Official Rules. You can check them out here.