Seminaries for children? That sounds like cruel and unusual punishment–almost child abuse! First graders poring over Greek and Hebrew verb tenses. Kindergartners subjected to medieval church history and systematic theology. Second graders forced to preach on the circuit and visit the sick. How is a seminary any place for a child? By definition it’s a…
Welcoming Children with Special Needs into Corporate Worship
On the surface, it seems like a no-brainer that we would welcome children with special needs to the regular worship of God’s people. Don’t we want all men and women, boys and girls to be included in the community of worshipers? Isn’t this what Christianity is all about? But when we dig a bit deeper,…
Are Parents Creating a Generation of Narcissists?
Recently, a pair of connected research studies were released dealing with the apparent increase of young narcissists in modern society. The researchers’ conclusion? Well, while there are several factors that combine to make a narcissist, the chief culprit appears to be the parents. Specifically, parents who “overvalue” their children and dole out too much praise may unleash a raging little…
Grieving Forbidden
We are edging ever so close to living in a world where grieving is forbidden–if the modern mental health establishment has anything to say about it. While that may sound wildly paranoid to you, consider the historic changes to the DSM (the diagnostic manual for mental health professionals) reviewed in an article in USA Today…
The Problem of Spiritual Short-Term Memory Loss
We were just innocently waiting for one of our favorite TV shows to begin. I made the mistake of flipping the channel to a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie. I should have known better. Those four words are almost as pleasing to my wife as Based on a True Story. And, if the Hallmark Hall of Fame movie is…
Is Your Church Keeping You Too Busy?
As a longtime church staff member, I have been both overtly and much more subtly accused of being part of a modern church system which just keeps busy people even busier. The local church, these folks would say, offers too many activities which fill our evenings and weekends and thereby take away from essential family…
Help! There are Pharisees in my Youth Group!
In another post, I dealt with the temptation to pull our children out of youth group due to the influence of non-Christian peers [Help! There are Pagans in my Youth Group!]. Thankfully, in a Biblically sound youth ministry, there are also many of our covenant children, growing in grace as young Christians. These young people are…
Help! There are Pagans in my Youth Group!
When my oldest daughter was ready to enter our church youth group, I found myself in a series of discussions with members who had decided to not allow their children attend. Maybe it shouldn’t have, but this caught me off-guard. Was it because they disagreed with what was being taught in our youth ministry? No….
Entertainment Now, Sound Doctrine Later?
I was recently speaking with a member of a church who recently joined their children’s ministry committee. Her church uses a broadly evangelical Children’s Sunday School curriculum, focused more on fun and fluff than the sound teaching of Scripture. So, she recommended to the committee that they take a look at our One Story Ministries materials. The…
When the Selfie Obsession Would Come to a Screeching Halt
Do you think the inventor of the forward-facing cell phone camera imagined the “selfie” craze of the past decade? If he (or she) knew anything about human nature, this obsession with taking and posting endless pictures of ourselves was clearly predictable. What else would I want to do with a camera on my phone? And,…
Teach your Children the Twelve Truths of Christmas
Our children learn a whole lot about life during the Christmas season. They learn how to indulge themselves. They learn how to be demanding and self-centered. They learn works-righteousness from Santa (Good=presents; Bad=lump of coal). They learn that getting new stuff equals happiness. They learn the secret of discontentment. They learn that our American economy…
Ordinary Children’s Ministry
Ordinary. Adjective. The opposite of exciting. That’s what you’re thinking, isn’t it? Why in the world would we want to be a part of anything ordinary? The last thing we want in our church is just a plain old, ordinary, boring children’s ministry! After all, we live in an age where most people expect–even demand–events…
Longing for Diversity? Reach your Disability Community
If you looked out from the pulpit in our church sanctuary on any given Sunday morning, what would you see? Hopefully, faces of people who love Jesus and are joyful worshipers of the God! Yet, if you focused primarily on skin color, you would see about 96% Caucasian, and the rest a smattering of Africans-Americans,…
Tinkering around in Children’s Ministry
Our pastor used a true story about the great American automobile giant, Henry Ford, as a helpful sermon illustration. Naturally, I thought of how it applies to Children’s Ministry as well as raising children in general. Here’s the story… There is a wonderful story of Henry Ford and Charlie Steinmetz. Steinmetz had one of the…
Facing the Falsehood of Fake News
True or false? There was once a time where you could fully trust that the news on TV, radio, and in print was all completely true. False! But with the recent overuse of the term “fake news,” one could easily get the impression that this is a totally new phenomenon. News networks, social media sites, and…
On Presidential Inaugurations and True Unity
The world has just witnessed the inauguration of the 45th President of the United States of America. Much of the commentary surrounding this historic event has highlighted how the supposed “united” America is more divided than ever, creating the need for the new President to unite this country. Competing throngs of supporters and protesters seem to bear this…
Increasing Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is not the normal human heart condition. If newborn babies could talk, they would not immediately give thanks to God for giving them life. They would not offer up praise to their parents for all the amazing food, toys, shelter, and onesies. As these youngsters grow up, parents fight the constant battle of grumbling, whining, complaining,…
One Story Ministries 