A child comes bursting out of the Sunday School classroom proudly waving tissue paper flowers in one hand. “Look what I made!” the child exclaims. The parent responds with suitable admiration.

At lunch that day, with the tissue paper flowers residing in a place of honor on the table, the parent asks, “Why did you make tissue paper flowers in Sunday School today? What was the lesson about?”

“I don’t know,” is the reply, accompanied by a shoulder shrug.

When I worked as a youth director, I quickly learned that it’s always helpful to have a few games and activities that I could pull out at a moment’s notice to use when youth are bored. (This skill literally got me a job at one church, because I was able to turn a chaotic and unstructured Superbowl party into a time of community-building.) One of the tricks I’ve developed over the years is being able to describe an individual’s personality by looking at a picture of a house that they have drawn for me. It’s not an exact science by any means, but after seeing several hundred house drawings over the years, I’ve discovered a lot of patterns.

One of the first things I look at is the person’s orientation toward life: are they a “(P)ast,” “(N)ow,” or “(F)uture” person. “Pasts” or Ps are people who spend a great deal of time thinking about the past, often because of guilt or shame about something that happened to them years ago. “Futures” or Fs are people who are always planning, dreaming about things to come, and wishing something in their future would happen right now (like getting a driver’s license or leaving home for college). Among youth, the largest group are “Nows” or Ns, people who—for the most part—live for today and focus on immediate interests and concerns.

I can honestly say that I have never heard a song written about the two women fighting over the same baby and King Solomon’s decision to cut the baby in half. (1 Kings 3:16-28) Before I heard the song, “Real Love and the Whole Truth,” I might not have believed that a children’s song could be written about this rather odd story. And yet, Richard Bruxvoort Colligan has managed to write a song that is fun, interesting, appropriate for children and conveys the importance of telling the truth.

I've had food on my mind lately, and not just because I'm counting calories. When you live in a state dominated by agriculture, it's hard to avoid the topic. Conversations about the state of the crops fill the noon hour on the radio (did you know that global warming may be reducing wind speeds, which in turn causes crops to overheat?), and the two CSAs I belong to give me weekly opportunities to connect with people who are passionate about local food.

But the primary reason I'm thinking about food is that I'm leading a team that is planning an event called, "All Ames Eats Together." The idea came about when the fundraising committee of an assistance organization in my town started talking about the dip in donations that happens this time of year. Since we give out Healthy Food Vouchers, we are aware that talking about healthy food is very important when thinking about poverty issues. And indeed, any community that talks incessantly (as Ames does) about "progress" towards a new mall, if the city should buy up houses to add turn lanes at a major intersection, and whether or not to cut recess and art from the school schedule certainly should engage in a vigorous conversation about the most basic topic around: food security.

There are plenty of gadgets that are useful for Christian educators, youth directors, and others in faith formation ministries to have. I use digital voice recorders regularly, and would not want to go anywhere without my smart phone. These days, though, one of the handiest tools to have in your technical toolkit is a Flip camcorder.

The Flip series of camcorders have been around for about two years now, and they are incredibly versatile little tools. Little is certainly a key word, as the approximately 4" x 2" x 1" size makes it easy to put in a pocket or purse. The sharp, 1.5" or 2" diagonal screen is large enough to frame up a shot, and actually the small size can help you to remember to get closer to the action in order to get a good-sized image. They hold either 60 or 120 minutes of video, and the built-in USB connector and minimal controls make using the camera as simple as can be. I recommend getting one of the Flip UltraHD models for the best picture resolution and storage size, but if you gotta have a fun color or even a custom-designed Flip, then go with the Flip MinoHD.

Many new (and even experienced) teachers find it hard to view silence as an ally. I remember my first experiences as a teacher, and my tendency was to jump in very quickly if no one answered my questions. I would either restate the question ("Surely they must have just not understood me!" I thought) or I would just provide the answer, much like the iconic teacher in Ferris Bueller's Day Off (though hopefully I was at least less boring!) Silence, I believed, was the enemy of good conversation. In truth, it was produced out of my own anxiety.

Over time, I have grown to recognize that silence is valuable in the classroom. After I ask a question, I am not anxious when an answer is not immediately forthcoming. The silence gives students time to think before responding, and it tends to lead to better discussion because answers come from a deeper place within.

Dear God,

It’s summer and the kids are home from school…the calendar is full…camp, softball, babysitting, sleepovers and more…there are six loads of laundry waiting…my daughter wants to go shopping…the garden needs weeded…there are bills to pay…and worries about whether there is enough money to pay them…the dog wants outside…I’ve been sick off and on for over a month…I’m tired…my son wants to go to the library…there is grocery shopping to be done…and meals to be fixed…every day…the dog wants back in…there is writing to be done…and I’ve agreed to take on another responsibility…what was I thinking…my best friend is moving…to another state…the cat wants to help me type…the car’s air conditioning can’t decide whether it is working or not…and the oil needs to be changed…the dog wants to go for a walk…there are 12 years of photos waiting to be put into albums…and then there are things that I want to do…
 

It's a great time to be a liberal Christian! Books by progressive authors have been hitting the shelves with some frequency. Curriculum companies have sprung up with materials that are helping church members to embrace a new kind of Christianity. Podcasts from members of the Emergent Church movement are saying things that many churches on the left have been declaring for years. These are just a few of the reasons I am not completely filled with despair when I look at the state of Christianity today.

Over the past few months I have reviewed several books and resources I think every progressive congregation should have and use (see links below), and in coming weeks I'll share 2 more that I have been enjoying. But of all of the introductions to progressive Christianity I've read, I think I would most enjoy using Jesus Was a Liberal: Reclaiming Christianity for All by Rev. Scotty McLennan (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009. 260 pp.) with a book group that was held in a neutral, secular setting.

Over the last few months, I’ve been keeping you posted on the Books for Books project undertaken by my covenant group. (If you’re new to The Daily Voice, the first and second articles are archived on the Different Voice blog.) In summary, a literacy report stating that in low-income neighborhoods, the ratio of age-appropriate books per child is 1:300 caught the attention of our group. We dreamt up “Books for Books”. We had a used book sale and raised money to purchase new books for every child at a local elementary school.

Just about everywhere you look online these days, someone is asking you to rate your experience. Whether it's a video you viewed online or the restaurant you had dinner at, opportunities abound to "vote" and give your rating. Those comments then are often picked up by dozens of other similar sites.

Put simply, since many people will likely learn about your congregation from search engines, first impressions are critical. This is true even if your congregation still doesn't have a website! What are people saying about your congregation? If you're not sure, it's time for you to find out...and then do a bit of work to get some positive reviews out there.