Summertime!

Time to start thinking about summer plans!  What will you be doing with your family this summer?  Big vacation?  Time at the pool?  How about VBS and summer camp?


We're working on the final touches to a couple of incredible experiences for kids this summer.  VBS is happening at LSCC, June 18-21, with a special kick-off in the main service on Father's day, June 17.  Registration details will be on our web page this weekend.  VBS is for children entering first through sixth grades this fall.  Don't miss out on a week of fun.  Invite your friends!


Summer camp will be held at Windermere Conference Center on the Lake of the Ozarks, July 12-16.  Click HERE for online registration.  Camp is for children entering fourth through sixth grades this fall and the cost is $325.  For questions please contact the children's ministry office.


Don't forget this week's edition of HomeFront!
Kid's Summit HomeFront Weekly HERE.
Kid's Safari HomeFront Weekly HERE.

Orange, Day 3

We heard from Andy Stanley this morning.  Andy is a strategic leader.  Leadership oozes from him.  His messages are usually quite simple but most profound.

His big idea was this:  Healthy, productive cultures are characterized by MUTUAL SUBMISSION!

This isn't limited to the professional sector.  It also works in the home.  Think about it this way.  If I, as a husband and father, model a behavior that says, "You're here to serve me!" my children will resent my leadership and rebel.  But if I model a behavior that says, "I'm here to help you succeed regardless of your position in this family," then my children are much more likely to accept my guidance and follow my lead.

Jesus led his disciples this way.  He told them:  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Mark 10:45)

Mutual submission asks the question:  How can I help?  This is a game changer.  (We'll talk about more game changers on Mother's day at LSCC in our main services.)  When you ask this question often enough you'll get answers.  Be patient.  If it's not a part of your family culture it may take some persistence to get an answer (let the initial shock of hearing the question wear off).

When you begin to see acts of submission, reward them.  When you do you are reinforcing this behavior.  Remember, what gets rewarded gets repeated.

Orange, Day 2

Thursday morning we heard from Craig Groeschel, founding pastor of LifeChurch.tv.  He asked the question:  "What would define success for the next generation?"  Here's a summary of his message....

For the most part, our culture says success is raising well-rounded, well-educated, happy kids; kids who experience several different activities and educational experiences and grow up enjoying life.  Sounds good, but consider this....

Jesus asked: "What good is it if a person gains the world but forfeits his soul?" (Matthew 16:26)

Gut check time.  God didn't call us to be happy!  God didn't call us to be super educated.  Nor did God call us to be culturally well-rounded.  There is nothing wrong with these things, but they don't fill the commission that God has given to parents.  Instead....

God calls us to unleash single-minded, Christ-centered, Biblically anchored world changers - kids who know God's Word, proclaim it to others, and are able to defend their faith.

You might want to read that again.

Christianity isn't something we do.  It's who we are!  We're going to unpack this on Mother's day, May 13, 2012, at LSCC.  We will begin a special six week series focusing on the family, finishing on June 17, with a special VBS kick off Sunday that is one you won't want to miss.

So, take a deep breath, pick yourself up off of the floor and pray.  Pray that God will fuel the passion you have to be the best parent you can be, then resolve to create rhythms in your personal and family life that help your children grow a passionate, lasting relationship with God.

Orange, Day 1

T.S. Elliot said, "Think not forever of yourselves, O Chiefs, nor of your own generation.  Think of continuing generations of our families,think of our grandchildren and of those yet unborn, whose faces are coming from beneath the ground."

Every generation has two critical responsibilities:

1.  To leverage the efforts and ideas of the generation that came before it

2.  To fuel the innovations and faith of the generation that is coming behind it.

Psalm 78: 4-7 says:

We will not hide them from their descendants;

we will tell the next generation

the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord,

his power, and the wonders he has done.

He decreed statutes for Jacob

and established the law in Israel,

which he commanded our ancestors

to teach their children,

so the next generation would know them,

even the children yet to be born,

and they in turn would tell their children.

Then they would put their trust in God

and would not forget his deeds

but would keep his commands.

We are called to carry on and pass on a passionate faith.  The fuel to press on comes from our calling to be a link in the faith chain that not only maintains our closeness to God but expands to those who don't know Him; in this generation and those yet to come.  That means we must get out of our comfort zone and into the messiness that happens when we spread the Gospel.

We must design a strategy that combines family with the faith community to demonstrate the message of God's story, in order to influence the next generation.  That's exactly what we are in the process of doing at LSCC.

We already have a mission.  Now we need a strategy.  I ask you, parents, grandparents, children's ministry volunteers, to pray that God would give us a sense of urgency and clarity on what our strategy is.

More to come....

HomeFront for April 29

Here's the latest edition of HomeFront Weekly:

Preschool/Kindergarten click HERE
Elementary click HERE

Orange

I'm on my way to the ATL for the Orange Conference.  You can check it out online by clicking HERE.

The big idea behind Orange is simple:  yellow and red combined makes orange.  Most families and churches haven't been functioning as God designed them for quite some time.  In most cases there is a gap between the two.  The "Orange" philosophy says that the church (yellow) and the family (red) must combine efforts (orange) to equip parents to function as the primary spiritual disciplers of their children.  For too long now the church has taken on that responsibility.  It's time for a shift that believes what happens in the home is as important as what happens in the church.

Reggie Joiner, author of Think Orange, says, "No other entity has more potential to influence the home than the church."  We must be a church that dares to think orange, to be a light to our community, and to encourage parents to nurture an everyday faith in the hearts of their children.  

Joiner challenges us to think about:

• the influence churches have to be a light,
• the influence parents have to show unconditional love,
• the influence they both make if they combine their efforts.

Throughout the week I'll be blogging my experience at Orange.  I'm asking God to stir my "yellow" and "red" and give me a new understanding of what "orange" looks like in view of our church and our community.  I'm also asking God for a group of parents at LSCC who are passionate about the pursuit of orange.  If that is you, I would love to hear from you.

Blessings to you as you seek to lead your family.

Purely Devoted

We met with our home group last night, as we do each Sunday evening.  Our group decided to meet at a local park and let the kids play while we talked.  It was an enjoyable time relaxing and talking about life.


One of our families has a young child who very recently had a major hernia surgery and has experienced some complications in her recovery.  As we were talking about her condition another family's child walked up and overheard the conversation.  Her dad said to her, "We need to remember to pray for your friend tonight before we go to bed."  His daughter responded, "I want to pray NOW, daddy!"  We bowed and she prayed for her friend to "get better and stop hurting".


My heart was challenged as we listened to this four-year-old pray for her friend.  Am I devoted to prayer like that?  Am I ready to pray in the middle of my busyness?  Do I allow myself to be so task-driven that I'm not really a useful, purely devoted servant to God and others?


Devoted isn't enough.  God wants me to be purely devoted.  He wants me to turn away from my motives and be driven by His motives.  It isn't enough to serve.  I must serve for the right reasons.


Take a look at this week's HomeFront.  Our elementary grades will be challenged to consider pure devotion to God while our preschool and kindergarten will be reminded that Jesus knows us and wants to spend time with us.


Click HERE for HomeFront for Preschool/Kindergarten
Click HERE for HomeFront for Elementary


Don't forget HomeFront Monthly....click HERE!

You've Been Commissioned!

What a wonderful day!  Easter was incredible....time with family and friends, egg hunt, dressing up and pictures, watching the Masters golf tournament (big golf fan here).  But the best thing I experienced all day was watching a grown man raise his hand to say, "I accepted Jesus' gift of eternal life!"  I was there when his life was transformed.  That's amazing!


When did that happen for you?  Remember when you realized you needed God's forgiveness?  When you realized Jesus died for you!


Yesterday, Dee Harryman, one of our Kids Safari large group teachers gave a great illustration to our preschool/kindergarten group.  Each child received an egg with three things inside:  a picture of a heart, a picture of Jesus, and a ticket.  She weaved the three together by sharing the Easter story.  Jesus died and lives to save us from our sin and give us eternal life.  We receive His gift by inviting him into our heart.  As a result, Jesus gives us a life worth living and admission to His heaven.  It is something to see a child's face light up as they realize Jesus did all this for them.  Interestingly, many of them have gone home to tell others this great story.  We should take note!


As time goes by we can have a tendency to tuck away our first experience with Jesus.  The initial awe of meeting Christ is stored in the recesses of our mind.  It's time to recall that experience and share it with others.  If you have accepted Jesus as Savior, you've been commissioned to tell others.  This week take some time and recall when you're spirit was awakened to the good news of Jesus.  Where were you?  Who were you with?  What impact has this good news made in your life?


Consider writing a letter to God.  Thank Him for revealing Himself to you!  Tell Him what He has brought to your life and how knowing Him personally has transformed you.  Read your letter to your family.  Talk about how important it is to share your story with others.  Encourage your family to consider someone they might know who needs to hear this good news.


Spend a few minutes searching through HomeFront.  There are some great family resources in this NEW monthly issue.  Just click HERE.


Also, check out our HomeFront weekly for Preschool/Kindergarten by clicking HERE
OR, Elementary by clicking HERE.

Easter Week

Trustworthy and faithful....two things that we look for in our closest relationships.  Unfortunately, we let each other down far too often.  The search for trust and faith in each other comes from the way God created us.  He made us to desire that kind of relationship and it's one that only He is able to complete.


Psalm 145:13 says:

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,and your dominion endures through all generations.The Lord is trustworthy in all he promisesand faithful in all he does.

Consider how God's trustworthiness and faithfulness impact the way you live.  Share some of these things with your children.  Help them see that God isn't far away drifting around on a cloud.  He's intimately involved in our every day lives, remaining faithful to His promises and true to His word.


Easter is a great time to celebrate the ways God is faithful and trustworthy.  His plan of salvation is full of these characteristics.


Click HERE for this week's HomeFront Weekly.


Remember, this Sunday at LSCC is Family Worship as we celebrate Easter.  Everyone first grade and up will go to the main service while children in Kindergarten and younger will have their usual activities.


See You Sunday!