When I was a kid I loved the Chronicles of Narnia written by C.S. Lewis. I still love the books, but when I was young they completely captivated me. Long before I could read on my own, my mom used to read to me. Whenever we would go on long car trips she would choose books to read to my brother,  sister and me. (these were the days before in car DVD players) She read all types of books but the Chronicles of Narnia were always my favorite.

In fourth grade my teacher, Mrs. Vincent, read us the book “The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.” As she read, I recognized a lot of the names and characters. After a few days I realized that this was one of the books that my mom had read to me when I was little. Better yet, I figured out that this was the first of seven books in a series. The next time our class went to the library I checked out the second book in the series. I read the entire book that same day. The next day I got to school early so I could check out the third book. It wasn’t long before Mrs. Vincent noticed my interest in the books, and because I was “a little less than well-behaved” in fourth grade, (sorry Mrs. Vincent) she eventually made a deal with me. If I would finish all my work for the day I could read for whatever time I had left. Most days I had finished all my work before lunch because I couldn’t wait to get back to reading. It wasn’t long before I had read the entire series. Then I read them again–and again–and again.

There was so much that I loved about The Chronicles of Narnia. There was action, adventure, sword fights and talking animals. But above everything else there was one character that stood out. Aslan. Aslan was the great lion, the son of the emperor beyond the sea. He was the central character in every story and things always got better when Aslan arrived. The way C.S. Lewis wrote about and described Aslan made him come alive. As I read the books over and over I fell in love with the character of Aslan. He was so amazing, strong and gentle, wild and kind, powerful yet humble. One of my favorite quotes in the Chronicles of Narnia comes when someone asks about Aslan, “Is he quite safe?” The answer, “Of course he’s not safe, but he’s good.” As I read the books I actually got excited every time Aslan was about to show up in the story. I was so enthralled with the character that I began collecting lions. (not real lions… mostly stuffed and ceramic) There was just something about Aslan that I wanted to be closer to.

As I grew older, I learned something about C.S. Lewis that you probably already know. Not only was C.S. Lewis a great writer, he was a great theologian. Most of his books were for adults but somewhere along the line he decided to write a series for children and I’m so glad he did. What I began to see over time is that the character of Aslan was based on Jesus. Everything I had grown to love about the fictional character of Aslan was true of the very real Jesus. What I didn’t realize when I was young, is that through the writings of C.S. Lewis I wasn’t falling in love with Aslan, I was falling in love with Jesus. Over the years my love for Jesus has only grown deeper but it began because C.S. Lewis wrote about Jesus in way that went past my intellect and penetrated my heart.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. How do we do this for the kids we lead? I think sometimes we’re pretty good at teaching kids about Jesus, but how do we help them fall in love with Jesus? What are we doing for kids that helps them see Jesus in a way that is so compelling that all they want to do is be closer to Him. How do we penetrate their hearts so they get excited at just the thought of who Jesus is and what he’s done for them? I obviously don’t have all the answers to these questions. Maybe you’ve got some ideas. I’d love to hear from you. What I do know is, I’m not content to just tell kids about Jesus. I want to introduce kids to Jesus in a way that helps them fall in love with Jesus the way C.S. Lewis did for me.

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My wife and I were talking after dinner and got into a funny conversation. We started by discussing how to explain who certain prominent children’s pastors were to her nursing colleagues. You know like Jim Wideman might be Bret Farve. (not that he has trouble making up his mind but he’s been around a long time and has had a lot of success) Reggie Joiner might be Peyton Manning (very cerebral). It kind of  broke down after that maybe you have some better comparisons.

Anyway, after a couple of minutes of that we realized that if we’re making football comparisons the children’s pastor probably wouldn’t be the quarterback…

…but what would we be. Here’s what we were thinking. I don’t have anyone specific in mind here, just general stereotypes and just for fun.

Quaterback – Senior Pastor – no explanation needed here.

Wide receivers – Worship Ministry – you know out front and kind of flashy. Besides the quarterback they probably get the most attention.

Running backs – Student Ministry – All power and intensity, plus there are some exceptions, but they don’t usually last long. (sorry guys you know it’s true)

Tight Ends- Maybe Small Group/Community Ministry? – In the trenches and very important around the goal line. Also when the quarterback has a problem who does he usually drop the ball off to?

Guards and tackles - Executive Pastor – They protect the quarterback.

So where does children’s ministry fit in? My best guess is maybe the Center. We’re right in the middle of every play but does anyone know who we are? We get to start the play because we work with the youngest people in the church. We also get to hand the ball off a lot. A lot of great volunteers start in the children’s ministry, but how many times have you seen your best volunteers get drafted into “big church?”

So that’s my take. What do you think?

On a similar note, JC and I came up with an idea a while back. What if you could have “Fantasy Church Teams” like fantasy sports. I pretty much figured I’d take Andy Stanley or Craig Groschel in the first round, but how would you keep score?

Just a little Wednesday night randomness…

Have fun and leave your comments.

☺

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Had a great night last night. A lot of that is thanks to a couple young guys that I work with at Brookwood Church, JC and Josh. They’ve been using blogs and social media to connect with people for years. So, after watching them for a couple of months I decided to join twitter about a year ago and I started blogging about 3 months ago.

The result of all this is that last night I got to meet an incredible group of children and student pastors that I may have never met if it weren’t for social media. We’re in Atlanta for the Orange Conference and last night we joined about 50-60 folks at the Varsity for a “tweet-up.” Not sure I would have known what that was a year ago but I’m glad I do now.

I’ve been attending conferences for years. I usually float in and out. Hang out with my team, learn some great stuff, and that’s about it. But now, coming to the Orange Conference feels more like a reunion. I get to see these guys that I’ve been talking to and sharing ideas with for months. We live literally in every corner of the country but if you were at the varsity last night you’d have probably thought we had all worked together for years. Most off us we’re meeting for the first time but there were inside jokes, shared stories, great ministry conversations, it was great.

So I’m thankful to our young guys for helping me enter the twitter/blogosphere. But in the light of day, I kinda of wonder if I staying up till 3am as they hosted a spontaneous live web show was the smartest move for me. I may be too old to be that cool. That said, I’m looking forward to a great day with my team but caffeine is a priority this morning so I’ll log off for now.

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I just finished watching the movie “Enchanted” with my daughter Brindley. I’ve probably watched this movie with her a dozen or more times. At the risk of cashing in one of my few remaining “man cards,” as well as my dignity, I have to admit, I love this movie!

I really do, especially the big musical number in the middle of the movie. I usually rewind the movie and watch this scene twice. The song is called “That’s How You Know” and it centers around the optimistic and naive heroine of the movie asking a very serious New York divorce lawyer if he’s doing enough to show his intended fiancé that he really loves her. Besides just being fun, the song always makes me consider, am I going out of my way to let my wife know that I love her? I love my wife more than I could ever express, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t do everything I can (and then some) to try to show her how much I love her. How about you? Are you going out of your way to express love to those you care about?

This little song also reminded me of something we’re planning to teach our kids at Brookwood over Easter. We’re writing a series called “More Than A Story.” The basic idea is that the reason we find some stories so compelling, is that they capture or express an element of spiritual truth.

If you stop and think about it our God is the greatest lover of all, and He is the master of continually showing us how much He loves us. Maybe it’s a favorite song that stirs your soul, or a particularly amazing sunset that seems to be painted just for you. It could be a place that inspires you or holding your child in your arms. It often overwhelms me that God created such a vast and expansive world that still uniquely speaks His love to me as an individual. And, that’s how I know He loves me.

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Greenville, South Carolina has just recovered from a rare March blizzard. Ok, so it was just a few inches of snow, but it was still enough to shut down the city and knock out power to my house. So, I got to spend an impromptu day off at home with no electricity, no TV, no computer, no Internet, no… well you get the picture. It turned out to be a great day and it got me thinking that a snow day without power is probably a lot like what God intended the Sabbath to be. I’m not talking about some legalistic-based version of Sabbath but a day to just “unplug” and rest.

Here’s how the day went. I woke up early and spent a couple of hours reading while my wife and daughter slept in. (b.t.w. Ragamuffin Gospel  = great book) Later that morning I played in the snow with my daughter. After playing in the snow for a while we decided to walk around the block and we got to chat with lots of our neighbors who were also out. When we got back I read some more, hung out with my wife and actually had time to take a nap. At the end of the day I felt rested, recharged and closer to God and my family.

To contrast, here’s how I probably would have spent the day with the power on. Wake up check my email and blog stats, (WooHoo three visits… thanks for reading mom) then a couple hours catching up on blogs, twitter, and facebook. After this I’d turn on the TV and probably end up watching re-runs of cooking shows, Mythbusters, How It’s Made, maybe some sports (if it’s fall, who actually watches basketball ☺) or whatever else was on. Before long the day would be over and I’d be left wondering where my “day off” went.

It’s always interesting to me how God finds new ways to get our attention. For me, it took a forced day off to show me what I was missing and I’m looking forward to building a lot more “unplugged” time into my life.

I’d love to hear from you. What does Sabbath look like for you and how do you “unplug?”

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