What does your discipleship model at your church look like?  Do you have a model of spiritual formation from birth to young adults?  Have you considered the power of what can happen when churches and parents partner together?

Brian Haynes is a voice of reason, wisdom, and authority on this topic and I am becoming more and more impressed with him and what I see coming out of Kingsland Baptist Church in Katy, TX.

I was thrilled to see that Children’s Ministry Magazine chose to do a story on Brian, the Legacy Milestones model, and his church.  It’s in the June/July issue if you have not read it.

I also would like to recommend Brian’s blog and his churche’s Legacy Milestones website.

Check out the map below.  We have groups from over 33 states who have registered.  The cool thing is that this image is at least 2 weeks old.  Since then we have had several groups register for the D6 Conference from areas where we do not have may people registered.  Check it out!

In light of yesterday’s post, I highly recommend this book.  Although this resource is not exhaustive and it does not cover everything, it is a helpful tool in processing what it takes to be a spiritual leader in your home.

Check out this video.  Sorry about the music…get’s a little interesting near the end.  Never the less the interaction between the Croc & the Otter family is pretty cool!

Last night the boys, Katie, and I were watching one of my favorite DVD’s, Planet Earth (the Fresh Water episode) and I saw one of the most interesting encounters I have seen in a long time.  A family of otters took on an 11 foot crocodile…and the crocodile backed down!

Have you ever watched otters?  They are not the most threatening creature in the animal kingdom, but when it comes to standing up against a giant predator, they seem to have no fear.  I was really impressed with this…it sort of gave me a little more sense of pride for being high on the “otter scale” on John Trent’s Leading From Your Strengths assessment…but that’s not the point.

Anyway, what really intrigued me (as someone who spends a great deal of time thinking about family, parenting, and what the next generation will look like) was the power of a united family of otters.  As a group, they had power and authority.  As a family, they had confidence to take on the hostile environment around them.

Forgive me for offending (sometimes the truth can be hurtful for all of us…I know it can be for me), but I see far too many Christian families who are just going through the motions, doing little to nothing intentional to raise up spiritual champions for Christ.  If we are not intentional about helping our kids see a clear division between what is going on in our culture and the kingdom that is in the next world, then we stand a great chance of losing them.  How can we expect our families to stay tight and united in Christ when we do little to nothing to disciple our children at home?  If parents are not leading their kids spiritually at home (conversations, talks, teachable moments, faith breakthroughs, spiritual milestones…a whole mixed bag of opportunities to impress Christ on the hearts of our kids), then why should we expect them to be passionate about following Christ as an adult?  What do they see in you? Why would they follow you if it’s not important enough to you to take time to talk about your relationship with God at home?  Why would they grow up to be a Christ follower if it’s not important enough to you to plan time to invest in them spiritually at home?  This is the breeding ground for lukewarm/nominal Christianity. Read the rest of this entry »

Interesting email that went out from Focus on the Family last week…worth reading/sharing if you did not receive it.  See email/letter below:

Dear Friends,

In the past few days, the intolerant nature of the homosexual agenda has been on open display. This time that intolerance has been exposed for what it is by one of our Focus on the Family® events.

Orchestrated Attempt to Undermine Our Efforts
We are hosting a “Love Won Out” conference Saturday in Grand Rapids, MI., to help Christians
in that area manage the issue of homosexuality in
a Christ-like manner. Over the last 10 years, these conferences have equipped thousands of Christians to become voices of God’s love and liberty to homosexuals.

As often happens wherever these conferences are held, gay activists spare no invective as they denounce the idea that Christ can help someone struggle free of unwanted homosexuality. Just two days before our conference, Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids hosted a seminar entitled, “Religion and Homophobia: Spiritual Violence in our Community.” (Doesn’t that sound tolerant?). The conference was stacked with gay activist speakers, and it was held under the auspices of–are you ready for this?–the Vice President of Inclusion and Equity, Dr. Jeanne Arnold. So we phoned Dr. Arnold and we asked to have one of our speakers included in her conference.

bet you can guess how the “Vice President for Inclusion and Equity” responded to our request to be included! For more on this latest tribute to the intolerance of the homosexual agenda, watch the newest Focus Action Update video.

The Goal: Imposing Their Agenda And Suppressing Opposing Ideas
It’s becoming more and more obvious that the homosexual agenda isn’t really about tolerance after all. It’s about imposing a radical agenda on our society and using nasty rhetoric and the force of law to suppress opinions that oppose their agenda. Anyone who dares to stand for Biblical notions of sexuality will face the intolerance of homosexual activism.

Well, we will stand! And I am encouraged that you are standing with us. Your prayers and your financial support are a great encouragement to our team. May God richly bless you as you bless our nation by the stand you are taking.

For faith and family,

Tom Minnery
Senior Vice President, Government & Public Policy

1.  Central-Texans must love Dairy Queen a lot.  Even in the middle of nowhere, you can always find one.

2. It doesn’t matter how stinkin’ dirt poor the town is, it will have one kickin’ football stadium.  I drove through a town today where each of the houses looked worse than my neighbors shed. Few business existed, and the ones that were still standing were falling apart and sold livestock feed.  The local school was in bad shape.  However, just at the edge of town was a brand new high school football stadium with plush, artificial turf.  The turf alone values more than the entire fiscal county budget.

3. Every few miles there is a Ranch.  “What’s that off in the distance? Is that the gate to a new subdivision?  Nope, just another ranch.”  In TX, a ranch is not the place where Michael W. Smith goes to spend the weekend to write music…it’s the real deal.  A way of life.  I’m talkin’ real, live animals!

4. Two lane state highways in TX are the equivalent to the German Autobahn.  The posted speed limit is 70 mph.  The average, actual driven speed (I kept a tally) was about 80 mph.  Now this, I can get used to.

5. Storm clouds in TX really are larger, closer to the ground, dark black, and totally wicked (in the traditional sense).  I saw a tornado firsthand (no joke).  UPDATE: read in the news paper that what I saw was rotation but not a tornado.  I stand corrected!

6. All TX men who live outside of the city limits of a major city such as Dallas, Austin, or San Antonio are required to where coyboy hats.  I almost stopped to buy one our of pure peer pressure, but since I was driving 80 I felt as if no one should notice me.

7. Cars have recently been outlawed in TX rural counties, for I did not see a single car after I left the Austin city limits (which is on PBS on Saturday Nights at 10 PM Central, BTW).  Good thing Hertz gave me an Explorer.

I look forward to learning even more on my drive from Abilene to Dallas on Friday.

Man!  If you are going to have a blog, than please update it, for goodness sake!  I may as well have fallen off he edge of the earth the last six week.  Enough of that…

Well, it’s been a crazy six weeks with the D6 Curriculum name change (from CLEAR Curriculum to D6), 607 development meetings, pre-convention campaigns, D6 Conference planning, travel to Dallas, then California, then back to Dallas, then Branson, MO, next Atlanta, now I am headed to Austin, Abilene, and Dallas yet again.  Somewhere in there I earned another SWA Rapid Reward ticket that will come in handy for family vacation in August.

Ron Hunter (Randall House CEO) and I went to Atlanta last weekend to meet with Reggie Joiner about the Orange Conference and the D6 Conference.  We discussed brand distinction and introduced the topic of possibly trying to find ways to create synergy together in the future.  Regardless of whether we ever collaborate in any capacity, we began a friendship, and that seemed to be most important to both parties.  Reggie, Brad and Reggie Goodin were incredibly hospitable, and the turkey dressing was amazing (I think there was a hint of cinnamon in there somewhere)!  May God continue to bless the ministry of the reThink Group.

Well, my SWA flight to Austin has been delayed twice tonight…still waiting.  I fly SWA almost exclusively, and let me say that this is a rare experience.

If you are involved in children’s ministry in any way, you need to check out CM Connect.  Well, it’s actually CMconnect.org (Children’s Ministers Connect).  It’s the best way to network with others involved in children’s ministry.

It doesn’t matter if you are a volunteer, a part time children’s ministry director, a preschool coordinator, or a children’s minister in a mega church.  No matter your ministry context, CMconnect is the place to rub shoulders and network with others who have the same concerns, interest, passions and challenges that you experience on a daily basis. Learn, exchange, resource, meet, share…do it all at CMconnect.

I am on this site weekly…sometimes daily.  As a member of a children’s ministry team myself,  CMconnect.org has been a huge help to me.  Check it out!

Know anyone who is involved in CM in any capacity?  Be sure you tell them about CMconnect!

Today marks your last chance to use the registration discount code KWHD6!

Register today and you will receive $25 off per person on groups of 2 - 9.  That’s a savings of $100 with a group of four people!

This discount code is perfect for:

• registering your entire team/staff
  
• adding additional registrations
• inviting 2 or 3 key couples or ministry volunteers
• sharing with other churches in your network or association

You can register now at D6Conference.com.

Just found this old Mac ad.  Sure it’s old, the computer looks like a dinosaur, the music sounds different, etc. However, notice a few things:

• the camera angles
• the basic computer system (monitor/tower, keyboard, & mouse)
• simplicity
• clear message

Mac is using the same formula that they were using in 1984 & it’s still working.  Some things have changed, but the basic formula of the way they communicate a clear message has remained the same.  Brilliant.