I’m a children’s pastor in a small town. And I’ve been here in Hayward for almost 10 years now. This longevity has afforded me some credibility in relationships, mainly with kids. Whether I’m shopping at Walmart, going for a walk, or visiting the school lunchroom, I always have kids saying hi to me. Almost 6 […]
This series of posts comes from a workshop / seminar I gave to a collection of youth leaders in Superior, WI called: Discipline w/ the Gospel in Mind. // Discipline Tips I’ve Learned Along the Way Help your children or students own their own problem. Hold them responsible for their problem. Never get angry. It’s the student’s […]
This series of posts comes from a workshop / seminar I gave to a collection of youth leaders in Superior, WI called: Discipline w/ the Gospel in Mind. // What if a kid doesn’t learn from discipline? A while back my daughter told me that: You Can’t Make Me (in a humorous way). That taught me a […]
This series of posts comes from a workshop / seminar I gave to a collection of youth leaders in Superior, WI called: Discipline w/ the Gospel in Mind. // God Seems to Provide Boundaries and Tutors A while back I blogged a Story about Boundaries which beautifully illustrates the benefit of boundaries and tutors. God provides […]
This series of posts comes from a workshop / seminar I gave to a collection of youth leaders in Superior, WI called: Discipline w/ the Gospel in Mind. // Intentionality Discipline (or maybe we should just say: DISCIPLESHIP) does not happen accidentally in parenting. Actually, you know what! It does! Natural consequences! The intentionality comes […]
This series of posts comes from a workshop / seminar I gave to a collection of youth leaders in Superior, WI called: Discipline w/ the Gospel in Mind. // How does God parent? How does God discipline and disciple His people? “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in […]
This series of posts comes from a workshop / seminar I gave to a collection of youth leaders in Superior, WI called: Discipline w/ the Gospel in Mind. // Join God’s work in their lives through prayer We have to join God’s work in their lives, not manufacture our own. In order to do that […]
This series of posts comes from a workshop / seminar I gave to a collection of youth leaders in Superior, WI called: Discipline w/ the Gospel in Mind. // You have to believe the Gospel That statement may sound a little facetious. Or have some shock value to it. It has neither. It is a […]
This series of posts comes from a workshop / seminar I gave to a collection of youth leaders in Superior, WI called: Discipline w/ the Gospel in Mind. // What is the goal of discipline? Is it the goal of discipline just to make it through an hour or two of youth group? Is the […]
HT ChurchMag
// Heads-Up Discipline happens in a variety of contexts. The context this topic comes up most often is in parenting. But discipline has to happen in Youth Groups and small group contexts as well. In this conversation, you’ll hear me changing contexts often. Sometimes I’ll refer to parents, sometimes I’ll refer to a youth ministry […]
My apologies. Sometimes links and videos get taken down or turned off, and it looks like that is the case here. Sorry about that! Woah. Grace and Gospel centered parenting. Wow. To be honest, I’ve got some talking to God to do about how I parent… HT Lifetogether source Vimeo
“A mom at church recently asked me for parental advice. Specifically, she wanted to know how to make her young son stop a pattern of inappropriate behavior. “I sipped my coffee as she described his actions, concentrating on how I might help her. Actually, I strained to understand the complexity of her situation, but none […]
School is starting soon and this year will be our oldest child’s first experience in the public school: Kindergarten. I imagine students and teachers are mentally preparing themselves for 180 days worth of intentional instruction over the course of the next 9 months. My daughter has no idea what to expect, but she is really […]
Samuel Clarkson wrote a book called The Church at Home: A Plea for Family Religion (available for free @ Google Books) circa 1860. I wrote a post called Do As I Say, Not As I Do a couple of days ago with a quote from the author of this book. Clarkson has some great things […]
A while back, Doug Fields witnessed a parent “smack their kid when he messed up.” This caused him to reflect on how he would have engaged her in a conversation had he had the chance. I think we’ve all been in this situation before. We witness someone do something and we wish we could either […]
I’ve been reading a couple of books from the late 1800’s lately. They have offered me an interesting historical perspective on family dynamics. One common, historical fallacy that I have learned thus far is that things “back in the day” were not rosy or perfect by any means and the very things that are deficient […]
Common Sense Rules Guard your privacy Protect your reputation Nothing is private online Assume everyone is watching Apply the Golden Rule Watch the clock Choose wisely Don’t hide Think about what you see Be smart and safe HT Digital Kids Initiative via Common Sense Media source YouTube
Ranked Methods of Communication for Teens Meet in person = 58% Texting = 28% Talking on mobile phone = 5% Facebook = 5% Talking on the home phone, email, Twitter = 1% Who would have thought that the majority of teenagers want to communicate face-to-face instead of through technology? I wonder if technology has provided […]
I love stories! They have the capacity to call forth all kinds of emotions. Stories can make you cry, laugh, scream, even change behavior. Here is one such story that any seasoned parent will appreciate: “Why is it that kids will do just about anything in their capacity not to admit to certain things? It’s […]