Big Hair/No Hair

Flip the Script: A Lesson from Outdoor Games

As most of you know, we’re at Student Life for Kids Camp this week. We’ve had a great time so far and have just about 21 hours left.

Our them this week is FLIP, and we’re learning about how following Jesus requires our lives to be flipped upside down, opposite of the world. I had a great opportunity to point this out in a real way at Outdoor Games this morning.

As you can imagine, it was very hot. Our boys were doing a fantastic job working together and won most of the games against our girls the other two family groups we were competing with. As long as they were winning and everybody was doing a their best, spirits were high. But one of our guys made a mistake or two and began to get really frustrated at his own mistakes. In his frustration he began to get angry with the other boys. In their excitement and drive to win, all the boys were yelling at each other, not necessarily insults or encouragement, just general yelling. The one whose attitude began going downhill started to let his attitude change his hearing. He began hearing them like they were yelling at him, taunting him, making fun of him. I was there playing with the boys the whole time and never heard the boys make fun of each other. But nevertheless, this particular boy did.

So what did he do? He lost his temper, threw his hat, yelled at the other boys, and stalked off. Basically, he did what all boys do at one time or another. Heck, most men do this regularly too. He blamed others for his own mistakes and frustrations.

So this boy and I had a little come to Jesus meeting where I reminded him that everyone was playing and yelling together. Nobody was yelling at him. But then here’s where the advice and “discipline” happened. Instead of making him sit out, skip pool time, etc. as punishment, I encouraged him to FLIP his attitude. Instead of blaming other boys, I asked him to encourage the other boys. Instead of being a spoil-sport, I asked him to be a cheer leader. And then I told him the greatest secret to success I’ve ever learned. “You will not be successful unless you help others succeed.”  Did you know that’s exactly what Jesus did.  His purpose in life was to help us succeed.  He became last so we could be first.  He came as a servant so that we could be served.

So this boys job for the rest of the day is to cheer and encourage the other boys, not blame them.  When they succeed, he will too!  That’s the greatest thing about serving Christ, no matter your age.  When you become a servant of other and see them succeed, you will have fulfilled your God-given purpose.

So my encouragement to you all is to be passionate about serving others.  Love them.  Encourage them.  Even when they take advantage of us and our generosity, we must still be like Christ (but that’s another story for another post).

See you on the FLIP side!

        

Big Stuff

BEFORE YOU READ THE REST OF THIS…I need several new leaders to step up as we start the new Sunday School year. We will be having a meeting for ALL Preschool and Children Sunday School teachers on Sunday evening, July 12th at 4:30pm in theHub. Please call or e-mail me if you are interested in working with our kids. Just off the top of my head, I know we need at least 6 NEW preschool teachers for the first hour, a handful for the second hour, some more help during theFuze at 9:00, and 12 total leaders for 1st-5th grade at 10:30. We have some ambitious new plans for school-aged kids for Sunday mornings. No job is difficult. Some jobs require no preparation. And only a handful of positions actually require you to teach anything. Whether you’re a good storyteller, enjoy crafts, like to play games, enjoy getting hugs and high-fives, or can make phone calls and send cards, I’ve got a position for you in our children’s ministry!

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It’s been a while since I’ve visited all of you in the blogosphere. It’s been a super busy last couple of weeks, and the near future promises to be even busier.

I think the last month of INFUZED Clues has gone relatively well. Don’t forget we’ll be wrapping that up this Sunday with our grand finale decoding. We’ll also be handing out a huge grand prize worth about $100 to one winning family! So we’ll see all of you at theFuze at 9:00 this Sunday morning for that special service!

We’ve also had two successful weeks of the Fantastic World! I was just corresponding with the FW crew. We’ve got them coming for a live stage production on Friday, August 21st in the brand new Fuzion Theater! You can check out the weekly audio message by clicking here. Let me also remind you that we won’t have any kids’ events at church this Wednesday night. There will only be childcare for kids 4 and under. We’ll resume our adventure in The Fantastic World with Molly and all her friends next Wednesday night at 6:00.

I’ll bet your wondering why we’re not having stuff this Wednesday night. Well, most of us (leaders anyway) will be out of town. A group of us are heading to Student Life for Kids Camp at Shocco Springs Conference Center in Talladega, AL. We’ll be there from Monday through Thursday. You can look for us by clicking here. You can also listen to live audio of our worship services on Tuesday and Wednesday nights about 7:00pm by clicking here. Pray for us while we’re gone!

After all of that, we’ve got to get back to the business of moving into the new building. The current plan is to kick off the new Sunday School year by being in our new classes on Sunday, August 2nd. Between now and then we’ve got to get new furniture in place, hang bulletin boards, build sets, move existing furniture, and about a million other things. If any of you want to help out, give us until about July 13th and then I’ll be able to give you a list of things to do probably every day. Just call or e-mail me.

Along those lines, we’ll be having a clean up day on Saturday, July 25th. I’ll give you more details closer to time. We’ll also be moving all existing furniture during the week of July 27-31. Also during that week, I’ll be leading a prayer walk around the new buildings at 10:00am each day Monday-Friday. You are all invited to join me as I lift up our new building to be used to bring glory to God and peace and salvation to kids and their families.

In the middle of all that, I’ve got two more camps in July. I’m the camp pastor at Whitesburg Baptist Church’s Jr. Boot Camp on July 13-15 at Shocco Springs. We’re also all working together through CMX in partnership with Connect Ministries and Chick-fil-A’s Winshape to create an awesome C3 Camp experience for kids in our church and community. That camp will be July 20-24. Sign up online today at www.winshapecamps.org. Just look for the C3 link and then choose the camp in Decatur.

As you can see, there’s BIG STUFF going on this summer. Bro, J-Lo, Dewie, and the rest of the Parkview Staff are going to be very busy during the month of July. Pray for us. Come along side us. Feed us. Love us. Worship with us. Let’s do life together as we work to build the Kingdom of God in Decatur and around the world!

        

When he is old…

I came across this is in the Orange Leaders blog this morning.  Why reinvent the wheel?  This is for all of my volunteers who would rather be at the beach this summer, but continue to come to church every Sunday morning to work in our children’s ministry.

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.
- Proverbs 22:6Proverbs 22:6
English: World English Bible - WEB
6 Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.

WP-Bible plugin

Almost everyone involved in children’s and family ministry has pondered this verse at some point, if not printed it out and hung it on the wall. It bears repeating that this is why we do what we do: so children grow in the knowledge and love of Christ upon a firm foundation. How many times have we heard stories of people who grew up in church, went to the “far country,” and returned later in life to the wisdom they were taught as a child? (Mind you, the verse doesn’t say “when he is in college he will not turn from it.”)

What you do this Sunday matters. What you do with and for families every day of the week matters. Don’t be discouraged if you feel like you aren’t getting anywhere – you are being obedient to the Word of God!

Thank you so much for everything you do for our kids!  While I may have been elected “leader,” we could not be effective in this ministry without all of you!

        

Aim Lower, Think Smaller, Give Up, Go Have a Cup of Coffee

Did you know that God doesn’t just live in the Parkview Baptist Sanctuary on Sundays? Amazing, I know. Sorry about the sarcasm. Actually the Kingdom of God encompasses each of us and all of us and we seek to serve Him.

One of the many things I’ve learned in children’s ministry over the years is that it is super important to network with other children’s pastors and ministry leaders. These relationships are often mutually beneficial. I have much to teach and also much to learn.

Some of you may be surprised to hear that I help coordinate a ministry network called CMX or Children’s Ministry eXchange. We have a small website at www.cmxnet.org. We are a cross-denominational group of churches that work together to build the kingdom of God in Decatur through outreach to children and their families. We all have at least two things in common. We love kids, and we love Christ.

I love the fact that I get to fellowship with other Baptist, Bible, Lutheran, and non-denominational leaders on a regular basis. But not only do I connect with leaders here in Decatur, I do my best to connect with other children’s pastors and worship leaders around the country and the world. Just a couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of vision sharing over the phone with Brent Weber. Brent is a kids’ worship leader and children’s pastor. He serves at Perimeter church in Duluth, GA, as well as playing at conferences and concerts around the country. Just talking with guys like Brent help kindle fires of passion within me for creating dynamic children’s ministry events.

I’ve also had the pleasure of running across Andy Johnson, children’s pastor at Grey Stone Baptist Church in Durham, NC, and blogger at www.freecmstuff.com. Some of you have been the beneficiaries of Andy’s work as I’ve passed along information about things like free bowling that I got directly from his website. Andy is currently featuring me and my personal site, www.csykes.com, on his blog. My design services are the topic of his Wednesday Give Away this week.

In these and other small ways, I am working hard to put the children’s ministry at Parkview Baptist Church on the ministry radar of leaders around the country. It will be a long term benefit to us and to everyone I come in contact with.

For most of my life and all of my ministry career, I’ve followed the motto “Dream Big. Trust God.” Someone told me once to stop thinking in terms of big church, medium church, small church. God owns all the resources, no matter the size church. And as a joint heir with Jesus, I have the same access you or anybody else has to the storehouse of riches of the Grace of God.

Remember that this week. And be encouraged to step outside of your normal routine to connect with someone else who may be just the resource we need to get a job done. You never know, you may be an answer to prayer to them as well.

        

INFUZED Clues Week Two

This week we decided to create an interactive Family Bible Study. Check it out!

INFUZED Clues FX from Christopher Sykes on Vimeo.

        

J-Lo’s thoughts…

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged.  Not sure exactly what my agenda is, so I’ll just type.  Zoey’s sleeping after having surgery today and I’m watching one of my new favorite channels, HGTV.  Since buying a house, I’ve become crazy about making it even better than it was.  I’ve had a couple of set backs, but overall it’s been great.  It’s been difficult to resist the urge to get it exactly how I want it within the first month.  So far I’ve managed to stay debt free during the process (thanks to an advance on my stimulus check via my dad).  I wouldn’t be where I am today without Financial Peace University.  I will be completely out of debt by the time I’m 30 (except a mortgage).

For those who participated in the Think Tank today, I want you to know how much we appreciate and value your opinions.  The only way change will be successful is if YOU are excited about it.  You all fit in the larger picture and without you, something is missing.  In children’s ministry, no one works as an island.  What you do builds the foundation for the next step in a child’s life.  I’m excited about raising a generation who stand in awe of who He is, know who they are in Him, and are passionate about serving Him.  Your commitment is a reflection on how you value the spiritual growth of children, preschool and school-age.  IMAGINE what these kids can do in the next ten years.  IMAGINE what kind of church (the people, not the building) we are bringing up.  I pray that your passion is to see our kids develop a relationship with God that is unshakable.

As the new Sunday school year approaches, I want to challenge each of you to evaluate your role in children’s ministry.  There are SO many ways to serve, all you have to do is ask.  Also, if you are already involved, begin creating relationships with people you think would be a good fit.  Let them join you when you volunteer and share with them how they can be involved.  You’re excitement will peak their curiosity.  Alone, our circle of influence is small, but if each one of us recruits at least two people we could double and even triple the number of volunteers involved.  With all the new avenues of service, EVERYONE can find a place where they belong.

        

Rainy Days and Mondays always get me UP!

OK, yesterday was a little different. For the most part, it was a pretty typical Monday. It was difficult to get in gear for work, especially since I didn’t have any power in my office when I got there. Shelby and I got a few things done, including the video I posted last night.

I came home a little earlier than usual, chatted with Stephanie a little bit, and prepared for an evening among friends. Now this is where the story gets more fun. Debra Hewitt invited us to a picnic with some other couples at the park last night. We got the kids up from their naps, packed their PB&J, swung by Subway, and got to the park in Priceville about 6:45. There were several of us their, along with our kids. Grayson had a great time riding his scooter around. Caitlyn immediately fell in with Meredith and Ellie. Life was a peach.

Then we brought all the kids in to eat dinner. Just as the kids were finishing up and beginning to go back and play again, it began to sprinkle. That was a lot of fun, watching the kids play and laugh in the rain. But in about 5 minutes, that sprinkle turned into a thunderstorm. And before we knew it, the wind was blowing so hard that nobody under the pavilion could stay dry. Fun and laughter turned into cries of fear and shivers.

It wasn’t long before we were all huddled together, wondering how long we were going to have to wait for the storm to blow over before we could get to our vehicles. I pulled a balloon out of my pocket to attempt to entertain the kids with a game of hot potato as we sang “If You’re Happy and You Know It.” We finally gave up on waiting for the storm to blow over and one after another all the husbands raced through the downpour to get into our cars and drive them through the grass to pick up our families.

Now, as bad as it was. We were all laughing at each other. Best of all, we were all laughing at Debra. We get to blame her for the most disastrous trip to the park we’ve ever had. We also get to thank her for a fond memory that few of us will soon forget. What a great church family I have!

        

The Intern Has Been Named!

Meet Dewie, the Children’s Ministry Intern.  Congratulations to her sister for submitting the winning name!

        

PBCinterns

Check out the very first PBCinterns VLOG! (video blog)

        

New Summer, Fresh Start

Hey Guys! So this is my first blog ever. Yay!  This is one of my “assignments.” Today was also my first official day of interning this summer. Chris left my license  in the copier and sent me to Staples without it. And there are a ton of PO PO’s over there!

One thing I would like some feedback from has to do with the summer curriculum we are doing. It is called “Molly Pickens and the Rainy Day Castle.”  Just from the little bit that I have seen of it seems great. It tries to teach the kids different ways love is shown. Each week is something like Love is Faith, Love is Strength, Love is Sacrifice, etc. But eventually by the end of it they will know what love is and know how to show love in many different ways, and also learn of the amazing love God has for them.

I want to have a song to go with each week and each topic and also a theme song for the entire thing. Right now I have “Love is Here” by Tenth Avenue North as an option. If you have any songs that we could play that would go along with love, that would be great!

Also something I need help with is my quiet time. Ever since the end of the semester it has slowly dwindled down to nothing. I want to start fresh this summer. I want to focus solely on God and being on fire for him without having to go to a camp and being hyped up. The EC Joey provides is great! But I also want something to go along with it. So, if you have any suggestions for quiet time material I would greatly appreciate it.