It wasn’t until after our daughter was born that I realized exactly why fathers cry at their daughters’ weddings. I was rocking our daughter late one night as the rest of the world slept and I realized that one day as we walked down an aisle together I would be remembering this moment. I would be remembering her tiny fingers … Read More
I lead worship at Salem Lutheran Church in the Houston area. Recently, like many of you, we began singing the song “Reckless Love.” It’s a provocative image – calling God’s love “reckless” – that comes out of the parables Jesus tells in Luke 15, most specifically the Parable of the Lost Sheep. If you haven’t heard it, take a listen: … Read More
I’ve been on staff at my church in preschool ministry for 13 years. When you’ve been in the same place doing much of the same thing for so long, it’s easy to get in a rut, stay in your bubble, and forget what it feels like to walk into your building and experience your children’s ministry for the first time. … Read More
I am the Children’s Ministry Coordinator at City Church Houston, which is a fairly young church plant. Our vision is to renew Houston by bringing beauty into broken places, and it just so happens that we have church in a bar. Since day one our church has met at the House of Blues in downtown Houston, and our children’s ministry … Read More
We all know parents are intended to be the primary spiritual leaders for their kids. In fact, a study by the Barna Group indicated that 85% of parents with kids under the age of 13 believe exactly that. And yet the same study also found that “a majority of parents do not spend any time during a typical week” (emphasis … Read More
A cosmic paradigm shift has occurred in the worship and children’s ministries of many churches. And though somehow this shift seems to have occurred under the radar, church leaders are awakening to its true significance. For a large and vital segment of our congregations, the role of worship leader has been transferred out of the worship ministry and given to … Read More
Bible songs are an awesome way for kids – and adults – to learn Scripture! Songs have a unique ability to get stuck in your head, which makes them great for helping us remember important information. That’s why the very first step in teaching kids to read is singing their ABCs. In fact, you can probably think of several important things you learned … Read More
I watched this video for the first time with tears streaming down my cheeks in the lobby of an Orlando hotel. We have been so blessed over the years to have our songs travel all over the nation and even occasionally around the world. (I’m not exactly sure how it happens, I just know that my ASCAP statement includes royalties from Norway.) … Read More
The Creator The darkness must have been impossible to comprehend. It wasn’t a darkness like we experience, a temporary veil that hides imperfectly objects which we know will reappear with the sunrise. It was the darkness of a world that had never known light. It was the deep darkness of nothing. And then, in the beginning, a single word was … Read More
A Head Above This wasn’t the way it was supposed to be. God had rescued his people from slavery in Egypt. He had parted the sea and destroyed the pursuing Egyptian army. He had endured their idol-making and their incessant complaining, though he had provided for their needs at every step of the way. He had fulfilled his promise though they … Read More
