confessions of a church planter

Confession: I’m tired today. This season of life has been exhausting. Actually, since the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, it’s been crazy. I’ve probably had more pastoral care in the last 3 months than the previous 3 years. I’ve got more leadership decisions concerning vision pulling at me than I’ve had in a long time. To top it all off, I’ve got 4 kids between the ages of 3-7! Things are crazy right now, and yesterday didn’t help…sort of. Actually, yesterday was really helpful in some ways. Here’s a list of the ways it was helpful:

1. I got to worship with other believers! When the Bible talks about not forsaking the fellowship of the believers, I think that ultimately we’re not forsaking ourselves. I need corporate worship. I need to know that there are others pressing into the presence of God. God’s presence inhabits praise. Something happens when we go all-out for him, and I love what happens when I get to worship with other believers.
2. I got to belong to others! I belonged to a group of people yesterday who have a common interest-Kingdom of God. It feels good to belong.
3. I got to express my spiritual gifts! I can’t express my spiritual gifts by myself. They’re meant for the body of Christ. They’re meant to be given away. I got to give mine away yesterday. Some might’ve preferred I kept it to myself, but nevertheless, I gave it away.
4. I got to benefit from other people’s spiritual gifts! I need edification. I need to built-up. I was b/c others were leveraging their spiritual gifts for the building-up of the church.
5. I got to meet with 10 other pastors yesterday! I got to help connect pastors together in order to better lead their church and increase in effectiveness as leaders.
6. I met w/ some critical leaders in the church! I got to thank some leaders in the church. I got to hear why they loved The Vine. I got to share with them ways they can continue to lead the church, especially in the next season of life.

That’s helpful! How did yesterday help you?

Confession: Pastors need expressions of appreciation.  I could spend a whole lot of time explaining why.  In fact, maybe I’ll just do that in a future post, but for now I’ll just use a few words: 24/7; tragedy; death; conflict; counseling.  You get the point, right?  So, pastors deserve expressions of appreciation.  Last night after a Financial Learning Experience taught by Joe Sangl, I had a woman in our church say, “David, I appreciate you.”  I told her that was actually the first verbal expression of appreciation I’d received this month, which just so happens to be Pastor Appreciation Month.  It got me thinking about the ideal Pastor Appreciation gift.  This morning, I had the privilege of reading this article by Steven Furtick.  Your perception of your pastor might be the greatest gift (if it’s a positive one) you could ever give him/her.  It might be the greatest gift you could ever give yourself too!  Furtick doesn’t discuss the Scriptural reasoning behind the Principle of Perception, but the article brought a specific passage to mind.

In Mark 4, Matthew 13, and Luke 8, Jesus talks about seed that falls on four different types of soil.  The first soil was a path that allowed birds to come and eat it.  The second soil type was rocky and the seed couldn’t get depth to grow.  That soil was receptive, but the growth was scorched by the sun because it didn’t have any roots.  The third soil was also receptive, but had thorns among the good seed, and the thorns choked out the good seed.  The final soil received the seed, and it grew a bountiful harvest.  Jesus later explains that the seed is the word of God.  Interestingly, Jesus never says whether the seed is good seed or bad seed, just that it’s the word of God.  you’d have a hard time making a case that the word of God is bad seed.  Furthermore, we learn in Isaiah 55:11 that God’s word never returns void.  So, if the seed’s not bad, then what’s the problem?  The soil determines whether the seed produces a harvest!  Guess what the soil is?  YOU!  You’re the soil!  It’s pretty clear that the responsibility is upon the recipient.  Could it be that your perception of your pastor determines the fertility of your soil?  What if you gave your pastor the gift of receptive soil this last Sunday?  Your gift could result in bountiful harvest!  It might just be the best gift you’ve ever given yourself too!

P.S.

I’m sure your pastor would love a Starbucks gift card too, but if you had to decide between two, go with the receptive soil!

Confession: I like food!  In fact, I like food so much that I schedule my day around it.  I’ll quit work for it.  I’ll schedule meetings w/ people over food.  Food is good.  Not only that, but God gave humans taste buds.  One of my former pastors, when he “blessed” food, would always thank God for our taste buds!  Not only is food tasty, but it give you the stuff you need to survive.  Now, some of the things you get from certain foods can actually cause the reverse to happen, but that’s a different subject for a different day.  As much as I like food, there are times when I’m called to give it up or to fast from it.

Fasting is an interested word to describe abstaining from food.  When you fast, everything slows down, including but not limited to metabolism, the pace of the day, etc.  In Hebrew, the word “fast” literally means to “cover the mouth.”  So, technically speaking, fasting from t.v., facebook, or anything technological isn’t fasting.  That’s not to say that abstaining from those things can’t benefit person spiritually.  I’m just saying that it’s not a technical fast.  Furthermore, abstaining from certain types of food while eating others technically isn’t a fast.  It’s a diet.  I’m not saying that certain “diets” won’t benefit a person spiritually.  I’m just saying that it’s not a technical fast if the technical term means “cover the mouth.”

This month at The Vine Church, I’m challenging people to FAST.  Call it “Octoberfast” if you will.  This Sunday we’re beginning a brand NEW series called “Don’t Be Afraid.”  Many people are limited in what they experience in life b/c of some systematic fear.  I’m not talking about fear of spiders or roller coasters.  I’m talking about fear of the future, change, failure, finances, death, or culture.  Fear is the direct opposite of faith!  One of the best ways to grow in our faith is from the discipline of fasting.  Well, if we’re growing in our faith, then we’re also shrinking our fear.  That’s the point of the “OctoberFAST.”  It’s a fast from fear.

Whether you attend The Vine or not, I want to invite you to join us for “OctoberFAST.”  Perhaps, you’ll consider fasting one day each week of October.  Perhaps, you’ll consider fasting one meal every day during October.  Perhaps, you’ll consider fasting for an extended amount of time (1+ days).  Whatever you decide, I simply pray that you’ll consider fasting!  As you fast, you might want to pray the following:

• God, reveal any hidden fear in my life that hinders my faith?
• God, reveal the root of that fear?
• God, by the power of your Holy Spirit, remove the root of my fear!
• God, by the power of your Holy Spirit, replace that fear w/ truth!
• God, by the power of your Holy Spirit, let me trust in that truth!

Confession:  Our church throws a lot of parties!  Well, I say “a lot,” but that’s a relative term, I guess.  I’m not sure what the “a lot” is really compared to at all.  In my mind, I’m thinking most churches.  I’m sure there are some that throw more, and we intend to throw more parties.  In fact, Jason Sebren and I were just talking about another party the other day!  This past Saturday, The Vine threw a huge party for the greater Braselton area.  It cost a few thousand dollars.  We sent out 12,000 invites.  We gave away free candy, prizes, and food.  We didn’t charge a penny.  In church world this is called “Servant Evangelism.”  In our world we call this “Outreach!”  Here are a few reasons why we throw parties:

• Jesus came to serve!  He didn’t come to be served, but to serve.  I’m not saying that not throwing parties means churches are being served.  I’m not saying that at all, but I am saying that we like to serve at The Vine because that’s what Jesus did.  One way for us to serve is to throw parties!  There are other ways, of course.  In November, we’ll be feeding the poor in our community.  In December, we’ll be providing homeless boys/girls w/ a Santa’s secret shop for them to get their parents a gift.  We’ll also be clothing the poor through our annual Coats for Christmas.  Throwing parties is just one way for us to serve the Community.
• Jesus’ grace is free!  So are the parties.  Well, it costs us something, but it doesn’t cost the attendee anything.  This messes people up.  They want to pay.  They want to donate.  We won’t let them.  When they say, “Nothing’s free,” we say, “Uh-huh, God’s love!”  When they say, “Why are y’all doing this,” we say, “because God’s love is free!”  It’s the easiest entry point into a conversation about Jesus!
• It’s simply and fun!  It’s not complicated.  We just organize primarily around our small groups and youth ministry for people.  We get some inflatables, get some candy, rent some equipment, get a band, buy some hotdogs, and people show up.  Not only that, but who’s going to argue that it’s not fun seeing the pastor of the church get repeatedly dunked in a tank for 45 minutes!  In all seriousness, the joy that a kid experiences through face-painting, winning a prize, or something else is awesome!  Because it’s simple and fun, many people will participate.  Servant Evangelism is often an entry point for people who are on the sidelines or hesitant about evangelism or missions.  In fact, I know many folks who know are involved in some pretty intense mission opportunities b/c they got their start in servant evangelism.
• It’s a great way to invite your friends to experience your church!  I love the story of Matthew/Levi.  Jesus calls him out of the tax collectors booth, and the very next verse says that Jesus was eating w/ Levi’s friends.  BTW, they happened to be more tax collectors and sinners.  Love that picture of how easy it is to invite people to a Jesus party!
• It can correct misconceptions about church!  So many people think the church is all about the church.  Well, no one can argue w/ a free party!  There’s nothing in it for the church.  If someone shows up on Sunday, great!  If they don’t, great!  There’s nothing in it for the church, outside of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Confession: I suck at Quiet Time!  I hope I don’t offend anyone with my word choice, but sometimes there are only certain words that communicate how you feel.  I often feel that I suck and that I suck at Quiet Time.  That is, when I hold myself to some standard of Quiet Time that was passed down to me by some well-meaning disciple-makers or Sunday School teachers who probably had a really good Quiet Timer pass it down to them.  When I was able to identify some myths about Quiet Time, all of the sudden I didn’t suck anymore…well, at least at Quiet Time.  So, I thought I’d share some myths with you today, but before we begin, let me define Quiet Time.  Quiet Time is the time that you devote exclusively to the LORD.  Simple enough? Here we go!

• Myth #1-Quiet Time is quiet!  Some of my best time is spent worshipping out loud!  Currently, the refrain that is playing in the background as I work on this blog is “I’m a lover of your presence!”  In case your wondering, that refrain is from a song on Brian and Katie Torwalt’s cd “Here on Earth.”  I’ve discovered that there are actually quite a few songs that help usher me into my time with the Lord with a little more ease and quickness than if I sat quietly.  That’s not to say that sitting quietly doesn’t have benefit.  I, in fact, have learned the value of listening prayer, silence, and contemplative prayer.  BUT, to say that your time with the Lord has to be quiet is a myth.  It’s myth #1!
• Myth #2-Quiet Time is a set amount of time!  I get it.  I completely understand why teaching pastors and youth pastors talk about an amount of time spent with the Lord.  Often the reason is to implore a person to begin spending time with the Lord, which obviously has to include time.  I remember my first challenge as a teenage Christ-follower was called “First and 10!”  Yep, Fellowship of Christian Athletes came up with that one.  First thing in the morning, spend 10 minutes with God.  I remember when it was somehow implied that a 10-minute Quiet Time was inadequate for a Christ-follower.  I would argue that, more than likely, it is.  However, what’s the threshold of time necessary to come into God’s glorious presence?  Is it 10, 15, 30, an hour, or more?  When I heard stories of great men and women of the faith who used to arise at 4:00 a.m. to spend hours in prayer and study, I used to be filled w/ admiration and despair.  Once again, I sucked. The reason I sucked is because Quiet Time isn’t a set amount of time and I didn’t go to bed as soon as it got dark outside.  I also have electricity unlike those great women and men of the faith!  Quiet Time is NOT a set amount of time.  It’s ALL the time!  If you’re in Christ, you and I don’t have the luxury of an ON/OFF switch when it comes to God’s presence.  God’s presence is promised 24/7, wherever we go.  To me, that’s a more valuable lesson to learn and to impart b/c anything else is a myth!
• Myth #3-Quiet Time is the best title for quiet time!  We’ve already discovered that Quiet Time isn’t a set amount of time.  We’ve also already discovered that Quiet Time isn’t a set amount of time.  So, what is quiet time?  Well, we’ve already determined that too.  It’s time devoted exclusively to the Lord.  When Liz and I first got married, we were invited by an awesome couple (The Terry’s) to attend a marriage conference.  At the conference we were introduced to Gary Chapman and his 5 Love Languages.  One of the things I learned about Liz is that she’s wired to give and receive love through a thing called “Quality Time!”  You know the definition of Quality Time?  Quality Time is time devoted exclusively to the object of your love and affection.  So, may I propose to you that we create a movement of calling Quiet Time Quality Time or QT for short, unless that makes some of you think of gas, corn dogs, and coffee?  And that, my friends, directly leads me into myth #4!
• Myth #4-Quiet Time (QT) has a set time and a set routine!  You know what happens if I ONLY do the same thing at the same time w/ Liz over and over and over?  I get bored!  She gets bored!  Yet, many of us suck at Quiet Time b/c we attempt to ONLY do the same thing and the same time over and over and over!  We get bored and I wonder if God gets bored too!  I wonder if God even takes notice of our routine.  Now, theologically I know that’s not true, but come on!  For so many of us, Quiet Time became a time of checking off a list of things to do and don’t do.  Do get up 30 minutes earlier in your already sleep-depraved life.  Do pray for a 10 minutes before you read the Scriptures!  Don’t let your mind stray to menial things during that 10 minutes.  Don’t fall asleep even though you got up 30 minutes earlier and your sleep depraved.  Do make sure you ask for God to speak to you through the Scriptures!  Do spend 15 minutes reading the Scriptures.  Do read an Old Testament, Psalms, Proverbs, Gospel, and an Epistle.  Don’t read Leviticus or Numbers. Do end your Quiet Time w/ 5 minutes of prayer and meditation on what you’ve just read.  Again, I get it.  It’s a decent starting point.  It establishes the discipline of devoted time to the Lord.  It can’t be the end point b/c if it’s the end point, it leads to feelings of suckiness!   Jesus clearly spent time by himself in the morning.  Jesus clearly spent time studying the Hebrew scriptures.  However, Jesus went away after ministry moments to be alone with the Lord.  Jesus prayed in the evening.  Jesus prayed all night on at least one occasion.  Jesus listened when prayed.  Jesus had QT with the Father without indication that he read the Torah.  Jesus never journaled in a moleskine.  You get it!  Quality Time is quality time, and quality time is fresh, exciting, often predictable, but sometimes spontaneous and new.

Confession: I lack peace when I forget that God’s God and I’m not!  Yep, that happens to me.  So, this morning I was challenged in God’s presence to reflect on God’s peace.  It does go beyond understanding.  It goes beyond visibility.  It resides deep within the recesses of the heart and soul.  It must be awakened by His presence and the reminder of WHO God is!  Here’s what God reminded me this morning:

• He is Jehovah-Jireh!  God is Provider!  God’s my provider.  I’m not my own provider.  The church isn’t my provider.  Hey, you know what else? Dave Ramsey’s “baby steps” aren’t my provider either.  God’s my provider.  He’s always been my provider.  I’ve never without.
• He is the Head of the Church!  I’ve been asked to help, but I’m not the head.  Jesus is the one, true appointed leader of the Church.  Now, maybe I’m the neck or the spinal cord, but Jesus is the Head.  If I’ll slow down enough to listen to the Holy Spirit, He’ll tell me what to tell the rest of the body!
• He is Liz’s Lord!  I’m not in charge of Liz.  Even though I’m called to love Liz as Jesus loved the Church, I’m not her Lord.  I’m not now and never will be her Lord.  I pray I look more like Jesus to her after 40 years of marriage than I do now, but I need to release control to Jesus.
• He is the Heavenly Father of my kids!  I love my kids.  I’m blessed to have been entrusted with four awesome kids.  I have big plans for my kids.  I want the best for them.  However, all of that can’t compete with the love, plans, and best that God has for them.  Their best chance in life is complete surrender and dedication of their lives to their Heavenly Father.

Confession:  I’m not trying to play favorites, and I’m certainly not looking for a debate, but Small Group leaders have the most important job in the church.  Now, I know I’ve already blogged about other people having the most important job in the church, but I mean it this time (as I did each day last week).  When it comes to small group leaders, I’m also including small group leaders for children and youth, which means that those folks already have the most important job and are doubly important to the work of Christ through the church!  Here’s why small group leaders have the most important job in the church:

• Jesus was pretty clear that the mission of his followers is to “make disciples of all nations!”  There are a number of ways to make disciples.  It could be through evangelistic ministries, Sunday morning services, and outreach opportunities.  These are great opportunities to make disciples. However, if a church wants to accelerate discipleship, I personally believe that small group ministry is where that takes place.  From there, relationships can be built so that one-on-one or even smaller groups of people can meet further accelerating the discipleship process.  Small group leaders bear the responsibility of this accelerated discipleship process.
• The mission and mantra of The Vine is “making disciples making disciples.”  ”Making disciples making disciples” doesn’t end with one person leading a group of a people that keep getting larger and larger.  The end result of discipleship is to reflect God to a person’s greatest potential and to make more disciples.  Small group leaders carry the responsibility of drawing-out a person’s potential in Christ, which means they become disciple-makers.  In today’s churches, there are too many consumers. By that, I mean too many people come to church on Sunday mornings to consume.  Enabling that behavior creates either stagnant Christ-followers or Bible nerds.  There’s nothing wrong with Bible nerds as long as they connect their biblical knowledge with practical faith and ministry.
• Small group leaders can multiply their leadership by cultivating future leaders!  A long time ago, I read that a leader’s greatest influence is demonstrated in his/her ability to replicate as a leader.  This is true of the small group leader.  A result of this is that it exponentially impacts the discipleship culture of a church.  Imagine if in my small group, I identified one potential, future leader.  I think invest my leadership into that person.  At our next semester, both of us commit to lead future groups.  If six people from our previous group signed-up for my group and six people signed-up for his/her group, both groups can add six more people each.  Instead of reaching 12 people, we’ve been able to reach 24 people.  If we both repeat the process that semester, we can reach 48 people in one year.  Now, imagine that multiplied through each group that exists within a church!
• Imagine if the above scenario was continued by the original disciples!  Every person on the planet would have been discipled in Christ at this point and time.  If that were the case, there’s no telling how things might be different right now.  Would there be unrest in the Middle East?  Would Jesus have already returned?  Would we be living in perfect fellowship with God?

Confession: I’m not trying to play favorites, and I’m certainly not trying to cause a fight or debate, but worship teams have the most important jobs at church.  By worship teams, I’m including the band, all things technical, and design/creative teams.  Here’s why:

• The chief end of man is to glorify God!  I’m not all that familiar with w/ the Westminster Catechism and I’m not Presbyterian, but I’ve been around long enough to know that one of the most famous quotes about why a person exists comes from the 300+-yr-old document!  The full reason we exist is to glorify God.  To glorify means to treat w/ great splendor, honor, or praise.  If that is the chief end of man as defined by a number of scripture passages, then it is also the chief end of a church.  If it’s the chief end of the church and there’s a role w/in the church that clearly identifies the facilitation of worship, it’s the worship team.  Whether it’s leading a song, creating a project, or creating an environment for worship, worship teams create an environment for a man and church to do exactly what man was created to do as the end result of his life.
• God is searching for those who worship in spirit and in truth!  I won’t get into what worship in spirit and truth looks like in this point, but I will say that Jesus is very clear that his Father is looking for a specific type of worship and more importantly, a specific type of worshiper.  Worship teams provide the environment for a person to worship in spirit and in truth.  It goes beyond what that looks like to the condition of a person’s heart, but they can’t express that tangibly without an environment of expression.  Now, I’m not arguing that corporate worship is the only place or way a person can worship in spirit and in truth.  In fact, that can take place w/ or w/out song, w/ or w/out anyone, anywhere at anytime.  What I am saying is that if a church is going to “worship” corporately, attention must be given to the worship environment and the authenticity of the worship.  I’m grateful for those who serve in worship arts ministry at The Vine b/c they provide room, space, and an environment for people to worship in spirit and truth.
• It impacts the most amount of people at any one time within a church!  That’s right, whether you like it or not, it has the greatest amount of impact at one time.  Think about this: Where else do all the participants (well not all b/c you can never get all the people to show up at one time, except Easter and Christmas Eve) have an opportunity to be in one environment, except through worship services?  Think about this: Every song that is sung, every prayer that is prayed, every gift that is offered, and every message that is preached is multiplied exponentially by those in attendance.  Think about this:  When I preach a message that’s 30 minutes long, it’s not a 30 minute message, but a message multiplied by the amount of attendees.  So, in a church of 500, that’s 15,000 minute long sermon.  I better with the weight and responsibility of that exponential influence!  The same is true of the sound team that magnifies the voice of the worship band, the pray-ers, and the preacher!  The same is true of the cameramen/women and ProPresenter technicians who project the visuals who assist worship.  The same is true of the band who probably contributes to the majority of time in a service.  Their service exponentially influences and impacts the church!

Confession: Right now at The Vine, we’re going through the “5 in 5″ Challenge.  It’s a challenge to read through the first five books of the Bible in 5 weeks.  It’s an extension of our Sunday morning message series “Old School” where we’re studying the first five books of the Bible.  Anyway, every time you read Scripture, you get new insight and things stand-out to you that you’ve never seen before.  Well, here are a few for me:

• Exodus 2:24-25:  God heard their groaning!  I’m not sure exactly what groaning to God sounds like or how long it continues, but they groaned and God heard it.  I also don’t want to go too far w/ this, but I wonder if our prayers are simply a laundry list or wish list we hope God will meet quickly.  I wonder if as the people of God we need to groan more.  I wonder if our nation will heal if groan (I seem to recall a passage of scripture pointing out the necessity of humbling ourselves, repenting for the healing of our land!)!  I wonder if we need to move being the quick, off-the-cuff prayers to groaning more.  At what point in process, God became concerned I’m not sure, but it’s clear that God was swayed at some point.  Now before my Calvinist friends get their underwear all bunched up, I don’t this takes away from God’s Sovereignty!  They groaned, God remembered, and was concerned.  I’m just sayin’!  It’s right there.
• Exodus 3:4:  When the Lord saw that Moses went to look, God spoke!  Hmm…As a kid, I seem to remember the story going like this:  God spoke to Moses from a burning bush.  That is, in fact, what God did, but I think we’ve removed the human part of God speaking through weird things.  The human response is to look into mystical moments.  It’s not until Moses goes over to LOOK at the burning bush that God speaks.  How many times have we passed by a burning bush, but we didn’t press in?  Moses pressed and he was blessed!  Hey, I should twitter that and I shall!
• Exodus 3:21:  God made the Egyptians favorably disposed!  I like that two-word combination, don’t you?  There’s something I regularly pray for me, for my kids, for our staff, and for our church:  May I/we/they grow in favor w/ God and man!  I invite you to start praying that too!  How cool would it be to be favorably disposed by neighbors and people you’re around, especially your OIKOS!
• Exodus 4:10:  Moses said he was slow of speech!  Could it be that Moses didn’t have a stuttering problem, but that he was from the South…South Egypt, that is?  It fits perfectly, he’s not eloquent and slow of speech and tongue!
• Exodus 4:24-26:  I could write a whole paper on this one, but that wouldn’t be a blog, would it?

Confession: I’m not trying to play favorites, and I’m certainly not trying to cause a fight or debate, but children and youth leaders have the most important job in the church!  That’s right, you heard me!  People that work with anyone under the age of 18 have the most important job in the church.  Now, you might be saying, “Hey, what about the parking lot greeters and hospitality team that you blogged about yesterday?”  Well, they have the most important job in the church too.  You see…there’s room for two roles to have the most important job in the church, and today I make room for all the people who work with kids ages Day 1-18 years!  A lot of these people go unseen by the majority of the church.  In fact, because of not having kids, security, or youth meeting at an off-time, most people probably don’t think about the folks who serve in Children’s and Youth Ministry.  At our church, The Vine, we’ve got approximately 100 adults and youth who work w/ people under 18-years-old.  That’s the largest area of service in our church.  Bigger doesn’t mean better, but it just so happens to be the most important job in the church.  Here are 5 reasons why:

• Most Christ-followers commit their life to Jesus before the age of 18!  After turning 18-years-old, the percentage of people becoming a Christ-followers declines drastically with each year that passes.  Now, I don’t have any current study or research to site.  I could go out and look for it, but I’m not going to-just saying!  When I was a youth pastor, back in the early part of the 2000s, the percentage was somewhere in the 80th percentile.  That’s huge!  What’s the message?  Teach kids about Jesus early, invite them to Jesus early, and grow them in Jesus early.  It’s critical to a kid’s life, both here and for eternity!
• Jesus rebukes those who prevent kids form coming to him!  In Matthew 19:14, Jesus rebukes his disciples.  That’s right, he did and he was indignant.  Your precious, sweet, loving, and kind Jesus actually rebuked the very people who followed him the closest.  Why?  They thought Jesus was above the children and rebuked people bringing the children to Jesus.  However, Jesus says the Kingdom belongs to them.  He blesses them.  He appropriately places his hands on them.  So, by the very action of children/youth leaders bringing these kids to Jesus and Jesus to these kids, blessing them w/ their prayers and words, and appropriately showing affection, the workers are being Jesus!  To any children’s worker or youth worker who thinks your job isn’t important.  I rebuke that!  It’s of the greatest importance.  You might be the only one who introduces a kid to Jesus.  You might be the only voice of blessing in the child’s life.  You might be the only source of proper, healthy, and appropriate affection to a child!
• Jesus says that children are examples of the Kingdom of God!  In Mark 10:15-17 and Matthew 18, Jesus says that anyone who doesn’t believe or change like little children cannot enter into the Kingdom.  Wow!  Modern Christianity has made entrance into the Kingdom as easy as praying a prayer.  Call it the “sinner’s prayer,” “prayer of repentance,” or “prayer of salvation,” but Jesus is pretty clear, unless you’re like a child, you can’t get in.  Now, it would’ve been better if Jesus had said, “Unless you’re like a little kid b/c you say your prayers at night, are completely naive, or completely dependent for everything, you can’t get in,” but he didn’t.  So, all I know is that if I want to get in, I’ve got to be around kids.  Fortunately for me I have 4 examples at my house.  Fortunately for The Vine, we’ve got an average of 170 kids each week plus 33 youth to learn from.  The best job in the church is learning from the people who are entering into the Kingdom.
• Children and youth can change the world!  Thanks to Ray VanderLaan and Rob Bell, we now know that Jesus’ disciples were probably in their early teens.  Because he chose them and after 3 years and a resurrection they changed the world.  I’m thinking that as long you have 12 kids or 12 youth, you can change the world.  Hey churches and church leaders, if you want to change your church, put resources into children and youth.  If you want to change schools, invest in your children and youth.  If you want to change communities, invest in your children and youth.  If YOU want to bring change, work with kids!
• I have kids!  I’d do anything or spend any amount of money to ensure that my kids are in the Kingdom.  I love my kids’ small group teachers, large group leaders, check-in greeters, and security (can’t forget the SECURITY).  Because I have kids, this is the most important job in the church!