There is so much to share in this week’s commandment that I can’t afford to use space for a lengthy introduction. So, let’s jump right in.
Commandment#4 Thou Shalt Prepare for Where You Want to Go
Many people approach children’s ministry with an attitude reflected in the song made famous by Doris Day “Que Sera, Sera”. The words of the song’s chorus are …
Que Sera, Sera,
Whatever will be, will be,
The future’s not ours to see
Que Sera, Sera,
What will be, will be.
While I don’t claim to be a prophet, I will prophesy to those with this mentality. At best, where you are today is where you will be next month and next year and five years down the road. The worst case scenario is that you will wind up in a place where you would never want to be. This is seen by those floating in a river. On a calm day, you can spend hours floating in the same place. When there is a current, you will float in the direction of the flow of the waters. Those who want to be at a certain destination are not floaters. They won’t have a que sera, sera mentality. Instead, they are persons of decision and action.
Commandment #4 is vital to those who refuse to stay where they are today. First, there is a conclusion and resolve that where you are today is not the place where you will be in the days to come. This decision will necessitate action on your part. (Side note … the reason for the action being on your part is that heaven has already determined that it wants to invade your service and children. Heaven is waiting upon you to take action!) This action begins with you preparing for where you want to go.
This preparation is three-fold. Because of lack of space, I will capsulize the thoughts and ask you to ask the Holy Spirit to expound and enlarge on the following few sentences.
- Prepare Yourself in the Word. Know what the Word says about the Person and works of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit hasn’t changed. How He manifested Himself through Jesus’ ministry in the Gospels and the newborn Church in the Book of Acts is how He wants to manifest Himself through you today! (Side note … stay in the Word. This will keep you from having false doctrine and getting goofy and weird.)
- Prepare Your Children Through Teaching. If you want to have a Holy Ghost church, prepare the way through the teaching. Teach on who He is, what He does, how that He loves to reveal His presence and power. Focus your teaching upon where you want to go. (Side note … remember to be age appropriate. Give child-size portions in each teaching. Don’t overwhelm or overload.)
- Prepare Your Staff. They can’t flow with you if they haven’t connected to you. Don’t assume that they know where you want to go. The two important steps to having your staff work together is … Reveal and Congeal. Share your vision and passion (reveal) and then bring the team on board by solidifying (congeal) how that each and every team member can make this happen.
See you next week with Commandment #5.
