"He who has God plus many things has nothing more than he who has God alone." C.S. Lewis
I was privileged to attend a childrens ministry conference this past weekend at Elmbrook Church in Milwaukee (Stuart & Jill Briscoe's church). Phil Vischer was the keynote speaker and I was eagerly anticipating hearing his story. Veggietales have always been highly amusing for our entire family and many of the nuggets of truth they encapsulate have come up again and again ("The Thankful Song" being one of my all time favorites). I went to the conference expecting vision, passion, and ideas. I came away with a head full of thoughts but only one front and center...experiencing God alone, apart from a conference or fabulous ministry vision, is the only way to truly share Christ.
He talked about growing up with phrases like "God can't steer a parked car" and "Only one life will soon be passed, only what's done for Christ will last." He was from a family with large evangelical zeal who had great "success" in ministering to large numbers of people. He always felt that same urgency but it was only after the bankruptcy of BigIdea that he got the bigger picture. After watching every story, character, song, and rhyme he'd ever written become sold on the auction block to the highest bidder, he realized ministry was never meant to be about him, his efforts, his dream, or his ego. It's not about our strivings for Christ, but about our resting in Him.
In the second session he talked about burdens we carry unnecessarily as childrens ministry workers (and even in life in general):
1. Do you carry the burden of other people's expectations? *ouch!*
2. Do you carry the burden to entertain? "You can't compete with Nickolodeon and Disney but you can do something they can't--you can love kids!"
Ministry = making an invisible God, visible to the world (you don't have to insert yourself into that process at all, it's really not about us)
Real ministry starts not with God's love for kids, God's love for the world, but His love for you! Unless you are experiencing (really experiencing) that truth on a daily basis than all your striving are just about you.
Live and minister like you cannot lose ANYTHING you actually need.
I was privileged to attend a childrens ministry conference this past weekend at Elmbrook Church in Milwaukee (Stuart & Jill Briscoe's church). Phil Vischer was the keynote speaker and I was eagerly anticipating hearing his story. Veggietales have always been highly amusing for our entire family and many of the nuggets of truth they encapsulate have come up again and again ("The Thankful Song" being one of my all time favorites). I went to the conference expecting vision, passion, and ideas. I came away with a head full of thoughts but only one front and center...experiencing God alone, apart from a conference or fabulous ministry vision, is the only way to truly share Christ.
He talked about growing up with phrases like "God can't steer a parked car" and "Only one life will soon be passed, only what's done for Christ will last." He was from a family with large evangelical zeal who had great "success" in ministering to large numbers of people. He always felt that same urgency but it was only after the bankruptcy of BigIdea that he got the bigger picture. After watching every story, character, song, and rhyme he'd ever written become sold on the auction block to the highest bidder, he realized ministry was never meant to be about him, his efforts, his dream, or his ego. It's not about our strivings for Christ, but about our resting in Him.
In the second session he talked about burdens we carry unnecessarily as childrens ministry workers (and even in life in general):
1. Do you carry the burden of other people's expectations? *ouch!*
2. Do you carry the burden to entertain? "You can't compete with Nickolodeon and Disney but you can do something they can't--you can love kids!"
Ministry = making an invisible God, visible to the world (you don't have to insert yourself into that process at all, it's really not about us)
Real ministry starts not with God's love for kids, God's love for the world, but His love for you! Unless you are experiencing (really experiencing) that truth on a daily basis than all your striving are just about you.
Live and minister like you cannot lose ANYTHING you actually need.
6 comments:
These thoughts are powerful..thanks for summarizing so well. It's good when events like this turn out to be even better thn we expected...and for different reasons. "God alone"...how well am I really living that? What a way to live..and truly impact others with the difference of a life based in a relationship. Love You!
Lots of ouches in there.... Lord Help me.
Yes, lots of *ouches* in there. I have struggled with this many times , especially in the youth ministry. How many times have I tried to compete with what is modern? When they really just need to see a reflection of Christ and experience His love. Even though well intentioned, too many times it's about meeting expectations, which really boils down to being more about me. Yes, Lord help me! Thank you so much for these thoughts!
It reminds me of what I heard someone very wise say to me once: We need to stop doing things "for" God and just do them "with" Him. It all comes down to a life that is in tune with its creator. There is no greater witness than a life that has the settledness of the soul that only comes from, as the Apostle Paul said, "knowing Him in whom we have believed."
Press on!
Wow. Thank you for that focus. Karissa was very happy to see Bob the tomato.
Oh - I wish we could work something out to get together! We'll have to keep looking for a window of opportunity.
So glad you enjoyed the conference! We really enjoyed putting it together...but who knew that Phil was going to be so amazing! It truly was an annointed appointment!! Blessings :)
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