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  • Oct 11

Coming Soon to a Bookstore Near You

Reposted with permission from Sharon Ely Pearson, RowsofSharon.com https://rowsofsharon.com/2019/10/10/coming-soon-to-a-bookstore-near-you/ Whether you frequent your local bookstore, library, or Amazon for your reading pleasure bookmark this page for titles to look for in the first six months of 2020. This time of year (autumn) I am steeped deep into projects that will publish in the spring (January through June) as an editor. Spring 2020 will bring some (I believe) great tit
  • Sep 21

Reframing the Search Committee Process

….asking the right questions when interviewing for children's ministry workers by Robin Turner Last week, I was chatting with a seminary student applying for a children’s ministry position. This particular student has an M.Div., multiple years working in church and para-church ministries, and coursework in catechesis from her denomination’s seminary. As she reflected some self-doubt stemming from conversations with one search committee, I pointed out, “I think you’re competen
  • Sep 21

Receiving Sabbath: Finding Quiet in a Crazy World

by Dana Kennamer Pemberton Receiving the gift of Sabbath is difficult. Even in our churches, we often find ourselves so busy with all the good stuff to do, it is difficult to find time for the best stuff – relationships, rest, and renewal. The following books are wonderful resources to think about the gift of Sabbath and the things that get in the way. They all use wonderful humor to articulate a strong and poignant message. In our frenzied world, it is easy to miss what real
  • Sep 21

Children’s Spirituality, Trauma, and Resilience

By Holly Catterton Allen Children around the world have survived school shootings such as Sandy Hook, natural disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, and the terrors of war (e.g., Syria and Yemen). Other children have endured long-term personal or family traumas such as living with physical or sexual abuse, with parental addictions or mental illness, or in chronically violent neighborhoods. While some children come through such traumatic circumstances remarkably well, ot
  • Sep 21

Hidden Curriculum

by Robert Keeley When we use the term “curriculum,” we tend to think about the “stuff” that we teach – the nuts and bolts, the content, of our coursework. Teaching the Bible to children is a complex proposition. - How does one start? - Do we give them all Jesus stories for the first few years? - Do we start with creation and then hit some of the popular stories like Noah or David and Goliath? - If we have these kids for only five mornings for VBS, for example, what do we want
  • Sep 4

“...One Hundred Times as Much, In the Present Age”

by Jared Patrick Boyd Some of the most excruciating moments of parenting are also some of the best. And tears are usually involved.  I had one of these moments recently when my teenage daughter sat on the kitchen counter while I was washing dishes. I had just preached a sermon to our little faith community on the west side of Columbus, Ohio. A church we started with a handful of families in the spring of 2016. I don’t remember what I said exactly— like most everyone else who
  • Sep 4

It's ALL about the Kids . . . or is it?

by Henry Zonio I’ve been involved with children’s ministry for over 20 years, 10 of those years were as a full time children’s pastor at two different churches in two different countries. When I first started out in Children's Ministry, it was all about the kids. I remember being a large group communicator when I was fifteen years of age for a group of 200+ kids at the church I attended. My focus was on the children and teaching them about who God was, how much God loved them