Posts Tagged ‘Leader’

Posted on February 22, 2010 - by rfrank

Preaching with the help of a mind map

The past two months I have been afforded the opportunity to preach in “big church” a lot more than normal. Most years, I speak in big church probably four Sundays a year. Recently, our church agreed to provide the preaching/teaching and pastoral support at another church. Consequently, I’ve had to preach more to the adults at my own church. In fact, I’ve preached four of the past five Sundays between both churches. I’m thankful for a strong team of volunteers in my children’s ministry (guys like Evan Doyle, for example) that step up the plate and hit it out of the ballpark in my absence.

All of that to say this: I’ve been forced the past few weeks to sharpen my communication skills. Before I tell you about a communication technique that I’ve been using, let me preface this by saying that preaching must start with an anointed, God-called person who has a message from the Word of God. You can be a dynamite communicator but without the anointing and power of God you won’t have fruit that remains.

Once you have that message from God, I want to share a tip that will help you communicate it with excellence. It’s called mind mapping. (more…)

Posted on February 16, 2010 - by rfrank

Leadership in two words

How do you define leadership? Google it and you’ll find somewhere near a bazillion definitions. How would you define leadership in just two words? I am anxious to hear what you have say.

And while we are talking about leadership, watch this video. It’s been around for a while but it’s one of my favorites. You’ll see some leaders here – even some unexpected ones.

Once you’ve watched the video, define leadership for me in two words. Let’s see what kind of list we get.

Posted on February 6, 2010 - by rfrank

What I remember about Veggie Tales

I remember the first time I heard about Veggie Tales. It was 1994. I was in college and a children’s ministry director named Jaena told me I need to check them out. She had a story about how her cousin (or friend of a cousin, or friend of a friend of a cousin) was a college roommate with the guy who started making these cartoons on his computer. She introduced me to Bob and Larry for the first time.

I remember the first time I showed a Veggie Tales movie to the kids in my church. They loved it. My adult workers loved it even more. Back then you could show Veggie Tales to a room full of kids and most of them had never heard of it. Good luck doing that anymore.

I remember the first Bob and Larry stuffed toys I bought for my office. My office was a baptism changing room at the time, but gosh was this young children’s pastor excited to have Bob and Larry sitting on my shelf. Why? I was relevant.

I remember when 3 2 1 Penguins hit the market in 2000. Man was I excited to see a new line of videos. I was so bored with Adventures in Odyssey and McGee and Me.

I remember the first time I heard that Big Idea Productions was being sued by Lyrick over distribution issues. This was before K! Magazine and before I had “connections.” I couldn’t pick up the phone and call someone to see what was happening, I had to rely on Google, and Google confirmed the story.

I remember the spring/summer of 2003 when the court found in favor of Lyrick and awarded them $11 million in damages. I remember hearing the news that Big Idea (as it had been known) was dead.

I will always remember hearing Phil Vischer speak at Children’s Pastors’ Conference 2009. Since I’m on the board at INCM, I had the opportunity to meet Phil before the session when he spoke and talked to him for a few minutes back stage. What a great guy. I remember sitting in that room with 2,000+ other children’s pastors with my wife one one side and Evan Doyle on the other side. There, Phil shared his story. He shared the tough lessons he had learned about business – but most importantly – the lessons he had learned about his relationship with God. I bought the DVD of that session and have shared it with so many people.

Is Veggie Tales over? Obviously not. The company has new leadership and they are cranking out new products  like mad. I got something in the mail at the church this week about their new DVD called Pistachio.

Is Phil Vischer done? Nope. He has a new company called Jelly Telly. That’s another blog post of it’s own. I’m real excited about a new DVD series that Phil is creating called What’s in the Bible. It’s designed to walk kids and families through the entire Bible. The 13 DVD-series will release beginning March 1, 2010.

Some of my friends (Todd and Sean at Timbuktoons) have been working with Phil and the team on this project. Timbuktoons is the company that does the animation and video enhancements on our Kitchen videos. I got a sneak peak at What’s in the Bible a few weeks ago when I was meeting with Awana. It’s going to be great stuff that every Christian parent and children’s pastor will want to snatch up.

Enough rambling about Veggie Tales. All this food talk has made me hungry. I better hit the fridge.

Posted on February 1, 2010 - by rfrank

American Idol and Children’s Ministry

Season 9 of American Idol is underway. Thousands of people are lining the streets of cities like Dallas and Chicago for their once-in-a-lifetime shot at an American Idol audition. This show has taken off like mad and has thousands of would-be stars giving it their all for that lucky golden ticket and a shot at fame. They range from awesome to awful and from fabulous to foul.

Over the next few days, I’m going to share some leadership tips that we can all learn from watching American Idol.

Idol Lesson #1: Everyone wants to be a somebody. A high-point in the season for many viewers are the first few shows of each season when thousands of high-hoped contestants are shocked to discover they don’t have what it takes to be the next star. They line up a mile long and a mile deep to get their chance to be the next American Idol only to be told they don’t have what it takes.

Everyone wants to be a somebody. This is a basic need that everyone has. Ready for the good news? Everyone can be someone in Christ! What a prime opportunity we have to share this with people when they are little – in children’s ministry! Do your kids know that they are special? Not because of what they do, but because of who they are in Christ?

Idol Lesson #2: Everyone wants face time with the leader. Tens of thousands line up hoping to show their goods. What a lot of TV viewers don’t realize is that less than 100 are actually permitted to stand in front of Simon, Randy, Kara and the guest judge. Those 100, as well as their other thousand-plus competitors, actually begin their audition process over a week prior, auditioning before several other layers of judges. They each want face to face time with the judges – the Supreme Court of reality TV.

Your volunteers, your kids, your parents, your staff share this in common: they want face to face time with you. Are you giving it to them? Unfortunately, you don’t have the option of picking and choosing on this one. After all, pastoral work is about people. Giving your people face to face time is vital to your ministry. When is the last time you stepped into every classroom at the church to spend a few minutes talking to your leaders? Have you been getting on your knees to talk to the kids that call you their pastor?

There you go – the first two lessons from American Idol that I’ve been thinking on. I’ll post the next two in a few days. Oh, in case you are wondering, I won’t be making any connections between children’s ministry and Pants on the Ground. Don’t even ask.

Posted on January 26, 2010 - by rfrank

Kaleidoscopes and Kid’s Ministry

The kaleidoscope is perhaps the most well known of all optical toys. It was invented by Sir David Brewster (a Scottish scientist) in 1816. He named his invention after some Greek words that mean “the beautiful form watcher”. Brewster’s kaleidoscope was a tube containing loose pieces of colored glass and other pretty objects, reflected by mirrors or glass lenses set at angles, that created patterns when viewed through the end of the tube.

You can learn a lot from a kaleidoscope – even about children’s ministry. Here are five lessons I’ll share with you.

Change things up.
What’s a kaleidoscope if you look in it and never twist the tube and change it up? Your ministry needs to change. In the last 15 years, I have changed the way I do Kid’s Church about 15 times.  Never be resistant to change. You need it.

No two kids are the same.
A kaleidoscope is nothing more than a tube containing loose colored little objects. These different pieces are blended together to create something beautiful. Similarly, no two kids are the same. Everyone looks different, acts different, and learns different. This is one of your greatest tasks – blending a group of kids together and creating an environment where they can all learn and grow.

Children’s ministry is blending.
The coolest part of a kaleidoscope is seeing all those colored pieces blend together. Think of everything you have to blend in children’s ministry. There’s learning styles, behavioral needs, personality differences, social and economic backgrounds, just to name a few. This is cool though because this is how God works – He is in the blending business. God said that one day “every kindred and tongue, and people, and nation” will stand before the Lord (Rev. 5:9).

Kids want to move.
Your kaleidoscope works best when you put it up to your eye and begin to move those small objects around. Sure, you can look through the kaleidoscope without moving the tube and it’s going to be pretty, but it pales compared to what some movement will bring. Your kids want to get up and move. They want to do something. This is why you can ask for a volunteer and every hand will go up even before they know what they have to do. Let them move.

Everything is beautiful when you look through the light.
That kaleidoscope sure isn’t worth looking at in a dark room. You have to look at it through the light. Did you know that every one of those kids in your ministry are beautiful when you look at them through the Light (capital L). They are special people, created in the image of God Himself, and He has a plan for their life.

So, what did I forget? Are there some other ministry lessons you can learn from a kaleidoscope? Tell me what you think!

Posted on January 18, 2010 - by rfrank

Helping Kids Cope with Disaster

My friend Kurt Jarvis emailed me a great article today and told me I could post it on my blog. I think this will help you as you help kids cope with disaster in light of Haiti. I hope you find this helpful.

When global tragedy happens it is not uncommon for Christians to wonder why God allows such things to occur. Children often have the same question. The Bible, God’s Word, can help give us understanding of these situations.

In Luke 13:1-5 we read an account where this very issue of tragedy is discussed. This account is of a time when Pilate had murdered many from Galilee and had used their blood in pagan sacrifices. Jesus answered the questions asked by many if this was God’s punishment by posing a question Himself. He asked those around him “Do you think these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered these things? … Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them, do you think they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem?””

Here are two examples of tragedies, one that was the direct action of a person (Pilate). The other tragedy might have been from a natural disaster such as an earthquake or negligence by those who constructed the tower. In both incidences people died. Jesus clarified that it was wrong to think that these people died because they were worse sinners than others. Jesus also said that when these things happen it should be a wake up call to everyone to consider their own relationship with God.

If we think global disasters are God’s judgment on people we are going against the very words of Jesus. Earthquakes happen because this is the way the earth was created; they are part of nature and what makes life. Scripture does not support that they are events triggered by God against certain nations or people. It is part of nature, part of life and part of death. Jesus calmed the storm when he was in the boat with His disciples but Jesus did not end storms forever. Storms, earthquakes and tsunamis are all part of nature. (more…)

Posted on January 11, 2010 - by rfrank

90 second book review: Leading on Empty

Browsing our Christian bookstore a few weeks ago, Leading on Empty caught my eye. Every leader struggles with maintaining the energy and passion needed to lead. Face it: the demands of ministry are overwhelming. This book addresses this challenge.

Leading on Empty: Refilling Your Tank and Renewing Your Passion is written by Wayne Cordeiro, a hip pastor in Honolulu, Hawaii. He experienced burnout and candidly shares his experience. Here are a few things that stuck out to me in the book:

1. A leader’s greatest asset isn’t time, it’s energy. A person with energy can do in four hours what would take another four days.

2. One of the best ways to avoid burnout is to start young. If you wait until it’s too late you’ll be in trouble. Listen all of you “young guns” (thanks Jim Wideman for coining that term) – start refilling your tank now!

3. Friends and intentional relationships play an important role in keeping your tank full. Friends are rare these days, but not because they aren’t important. It’s because we have increased in speed. Friends are made in the margins of life.

4. Schedule time alone with God. If you’re like me you’ll understand what I’m about ready to say. If you don’t schedule it, it won’t happen. Schedule time to spend with God, to renew your soul, and restore your hunger for what he has called you to do.

These are just a few of the big things I am taking away from the book. If I loaned you my copy, you would find stars and underlined sentences on nearly every page. This is one of the better books I have read in a while. Stop right now and buy it while it’s on your mind. You’ll be glad you did.

Posted on January 7, 2010 - by rfrank

CPC week at a glance

I had a great week at Children’s Pastors’ Conference in Nashville. We have been home for a few hours. Luci is in bed, Jay Leno is on TV, and I need a break from catching up on email! I thought I’d let you know what the week was like.

Are you ready? Here we go!

Sunday

• We did week one of The Kitchen in my kids church. The kids ate it up! It was the first week in a long time that I ran out of time and didn’t get everything done.
• After church, we met at my house and headed south to Children’s Pastors’ Conference. We had seven KidzMatter staffers at CPC this year. The van was so packed with stuff that Tina, Evan and Lara had to follow four of us in the van.
• We ate dinner at Cock of the Walk in Nashville and then found our rooms at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel.

Monday

• Monday was set up day in the exhibit hall (see picture above – more on my facebook page)
• Monday was also registration day for the conference!
• The resource center opened with a bang Monday afternoon followed by a great general session with awesome worship and comedian Tim Hawkins.

Tuesday

• I started the day by checking out the breakouts. I managed to pop my head in every breakout the first two breakout hours. Needless to say, I was tired after all that walking! There were some awesome breakouts this year.
• I also talked to a good 500 people on Monday. I had several scheduled meetings but a majority of my conversations were informal chats with heroes that faithfully teach kids week after week.
• The night ended with an INCM Board of Directors meeting.

Wednesday

• My parents were at CPC today! They drove down to see what CPC is all about. They’ve heard me talking about it all of these years and were able to experience it for a day themselves! Beth and I enjoyed having them around.
• I taught a workshop in the morning and then spoke to 330 children’s pastors at lunch about excellence in ministry.
• Wednesday afternoon my staff worked hard at the KidzMatter booth in the resource center. They talked to a lot of people and encouraged them in their ministry.
• I spent a good part of the afternoon networking with the resource providers. CPC was “a great show” (using their language). It’s no wonder why there’s a waiting list for resource center every year.
• I had a few meetings in the afternoon with some people like Larry Fowler and Scott Turansky.
• Wednesday night I heard from Austin Gutwein, a 15-year-old hero who has raised over 2 million dollars for orphans in Africa. Wow, what an inspiration!
• Wednesday night I helped the staff tear down the booth and load up the van. Then I started to get nervous about our drive home after hearing about the snow storm coming.

Thursday

• After Tina’s workshop, we headed home! Praise the Lord the roads weren’t too bad. The 5 1/2 hour drive took us 7. I won’t complain!
• When I got home, I managed to get the van into the driveway. But after moving my car in and out of the garage, I managed to get stuck. I was kicking myself in the butt. 30 minutes later (and with the help of my father-in-law across the street) I got un-stuck!

Whew, what a week! This was a great CPC! If you want to look at the twitter chat about the conference, click here. If you were there, let me know how your week went!

Posted on December 1, 2009 - by edoyle

Look what we’re serving up

Today is a big day for the KidzMatter staffers here in Indiana. We are launching a new product called The Kitchen.

The Kitchen is a quarterly kid’s church curriculum that is Bible-based, teacher-driven, video-supported, and has tons of extras. I do mean tons of extras. When you download a sample lesson and check it out for yourself, you’ll see what I’m talking about! We hope you’ll be bummed that you didn’t get to everything you wanted to at the end of kid’s church.

The Kitchen is a dream come true – and not just for me. Last summer (2008) on our strategic planning day I announced to our staff that I wanted to start publishing curriculum. We decided we would start with elementary kids’ church.

Earlier this year (in May) I called Tina Houser on the phone and shared my vision with her for the curriculum. Tina was a full-time children’s pastor at the time where she had been serving for 17 years. I made the big ask and asked her to pray about joining my staff where she could focus her attention on making this curriculum a reality. It didn’t take long for her to say yes.

Bill Hybels talks a lot about hiring “tens.” When we got Tina, we got a ten. Tina has jumped in the driver’s seat and has pushed hard since July on The Kitchen. She has been writing like mad, hired a branding company, hired an animation studio to help with the videos, developed a great marketing strategy, and so much more.

Enough of the story, let me tell you what it so great about the curriculum. I’ll use bullet points to keep it simple.

• Teacher-driven. We know that most of you do kids’ church the traditional way with a teacher up front leading the action. We like that.
• Bible-based. This curriculum is not virtue or character-trait based. We figure as important as character traits are, kids learn those at school. This curriculum is about building a solid Biblical foundation in kids’ lives.
• Video-supported. We know today’s kids connect with videos and media. The Kitchen is video-supported, not video-driven. Each week you get a fun video to support your lesson.
• Extra galore! I’m talking puppet skits, games, object lessons, science experiments, Bible verses, take-home ideas, worship videos, PowerPoint slides, blessings, plus more! There’s plenty to pick and choose from.
• Subscription-based. Buy it by the quarter or by the year – it’s up to you.
• Electronic. Sorry, no thick notebooks or teacher manuals coming to you in the mail. Everything is downloadable.
• Affordable. All of this costs less than 10 bucks a Sunday.

Get to the website and learn more about The Kitchen for yourself. I can’t wait to start using it myself the first Sunday in January! You’re going to love it too! Be sure and let me know what you think.

Posted on November 21, 2009 - by rfrank

My Coffee Table: Strengths Based Leadership

A few months back I read this somewhere: Stop reading, stop leading. I won’t go as far as to say that you have to be in a book to be a good leader, but I can tell you from personal experience that books stretch my leadership. Books improve my serve.

Right now I am reading Strengths-Based Leadership by Tom Rath and Barry Conchie. I took the Strengths Finder 2.0 test online several weeks ago and bought the Strengths Based Leadership book that same day.

Although I am still reading this book, I can tell you the gist of the book in a few bullet points:

• The best leaders in the world don’t try to copy other leaders. They discover their own strengths and build on them.
• The best leaders in the world discover the strengths of their team (employees, volunteers, or whatever) and allow them to focus on what they do best.
• The best leaders in the world know the needs of their team.

This is a great book. I plan to buy it and work through it with our team at KidzMatter. I will leave you with this thought: You cannot be anything you want to be – but you can be a lot more of who you already are.

Click here to get the book for yourself!