The bridge that is: Vacation Bible School

The bridge that is: Vacation Bible School

Here’s how important Vacation Bible School is: Plus, almost everyone who’s ever lived near a church building knows: this is THE thing churches do in the summer for kids.  Which means, if you’ve been around the church world long enough, you’ve probably heard some good, Christian people actually complain about how “that family” always finds…

5 Steps for Welcoming Families with Special Needs

5 Steps for Welcoming Families with Special Needs

It’s Sunday morning. Everything is ready. Materials are prepared, worship is cued, and volunteers are in place. Then it happens. One child’s behavior sends your morning off the rails. So much for well-made plans.  All children deal with behavioral issues now and then, but what if that behavior tells you something else? What if the…

CHILDREN’S MINISTRY: Busy Holidays Are Not the Time to Lose Sight of Sabbath

CHILDREN’S MINISTRY: Busy Holidays Are Not the Time to Lose Sight of Sabbath

Introduction Last night my neighborhood sponsored a hayride for our neighborhood trick-or-treaters who, like children all over the country, raked in the treats, sorted and traded, then ate themselves sick and bounced off the ceiling all night on a Halloween-induced sugar high that unofficially proclaimed the beginning of an annual holiday season packed to the…

On Disability and Inclusion in the Church

On Disability and Inclusion in the Church

The capital letter “C” church has been a part of my life since I was about eleven years old. I have worked in churches, volunteered with ministries, gone to seminary and surrounded myself with Christian fellowship. While I have been active in many different churches over the years, I have more often than not felt…