Honor “The King”

  

I stopped by a car wash to have the church van cleaned out and while there, the TV screen grabbed my attention with a line that read: “Crowds Brave Deadly Heat to Honor the King.”

Of course, know that Jesus is my King I immediately wondered what they were talking about. Intrigued I listened more intently, only to discover that they were speaking of a ‘king’ who has long since passed away – you got it “Elvis” was the the king they were speaking of.

How is it that such a ‘legend’ is still able to have crowds of people endure swealtering heat – uncomfortable weather conditions just to pause to celebrate the life and music of their ‘king?’

The King of all who would call themselves king – Jesus, the One and Only deserve that much and so much more. However, I’m not sure we are as willing to endure the physical heat, or maybe even the heat that comes into our lives as we serve in ministry. But maybe you’re one of the ones who is willing.

But if you’re not, the question remains – what “deadly heat” are you willing to “brave through, to honor, not “A” king, but THE King of all who would call themselves king. Jesus deserves more honor than Elvis doesn’t he?

Tools that Work

 

Well, it finally happened – the thing that’s sometimes in the back of my mind when I go to places such as the hair salon the doctor or the dentist.

I journeyed to the dentist on Monday, praying as I went because I hate to go (yes I handle this worse than kids do). I arrived to discover that once again they did not have me down for an appointment, even though they scheduled me for it over two weeks prior. And I prepared myself to not take no for an answer and my disposition displayed this.

Finally, I sat in the dentist chair and as the dentist began drilling, etc, in the middle of the procedure she discovered that her tools were not working due to a loss of power. I did my best not to panic or worry only to discover that though the dentist had the right equipment, the equipment had completely stopped working due to a loss of power.

I wondered what her plan was going to be. Would she send me out of the office with the work incomplete or something else. It turns out, she had a back-up plan – a plan that was not very effective or efficient and a plan that produced a huge amount of anxiety.

As I was preparing to leave the office, the administrative assistant mentioned that she had contacted someone to come and fix the equipment. He arrived not long after and repaird the problem within 5 minutes and back into the chair I went. The dentist was now able to use the same tools as before, but the difference this time is that they worked properly.

Of course I left the dentist wondering about how this applies to Children’s Ministry. I wondered how often we have all of the right equipment and creative tools at our disposal to do children’s ministry, but due to lack of power or unexpected malfunctions we find ourselves not as effective as we could be.

So, do you have what you need to help children get to know Jesus? Do you have the right tools? And if you do, are they working properly or do they need to be repaired so that they work properly for you and the kids you minister to?

Balance

Craig Jutila, former Children’s Pastor of Saddleback Church shares his heart on leadership and his jorney to a more balanced ministry life. View the video for a limited time only. http://empoweringkids.net/downloads/Houston_320×240.mov

The insight he shares are worth taking to heart now – before hitting the bottom in ministry.