Common English Bible Blog Tour: 24-Hour Giveaway

Over the past couple months, I have been participating in the Common English Bible "Change Your Heart and Life" blog tour. The Common English Bible is a new translation that seeks to use language that is understandable to the 21st-century reader. The translation work was completed by 120 individuals representing 24 denominations.

To discover more about this translation, visit the following: 

• Website: http://CommonEnglishBible.com
• Twitter: http://twitter.com/CommonEngBible
• Facebook Group Page: http://facebook.com/groups/CommonEnglishBible
• Facebook Bible Like Page: http://facebook.com/LiveTheBible
• Video: http://vimeo.com/CommonEnglishBible

As a member of the blog tour, I received a free leather-like thinline edition of the Common English Bible. Today, you have the opportunity to enter to win your own softcover copy of the CEB! Here are the ways in which you can enter this giveaway:

• Leave a comment on this post stating your favorite Bible verse.
• Tweet the following and leave a comment stating you have done so: "Enter to #win a copy of the @CommonEngBible @letthemcome1014 http://letthemcome1014.blogspot.com #CEBtour"
• Read one of the Psalms (your choice) and then leave a comment stating which one you read.

Each task you complete counts as one entry. You must leave a separate comment for each entry in order for them to count. This giveaway is only open to U.S. addresses. All comments must be posted by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on Saturday, April 28, 2012. I plan to announce the winner on this blog on Monday, so be sure to check back to see if you are the winner!

"Your word is a lamp before my feet and a light for my journey." - Psalm 119:105 CEB

#OC12 has begun!

Around 5,000 ministry leaders from all over the world have gathered in Atlanta this week for the Orange Conference. Although I could not join them in person, I enjoyed watching the opening session live online Wednesday night. I felt like I was worshipping and learning right along with my fellow brothers and sisters!

Here’s some insights I gained from watching the opening session:

Reggie Joiner spoke about the "messiness" of the gospel. God has called us to go into the world with His truth and love. That doesn’t mean it is always easy. Jesus experienced ridicule, opposition, pain, and sorrow. But He endured. He went to the cross, but He rose again to life. He sent His disciples out into a messy world to share the story and teach the good news. We are called to go and make disciples too. As we invest in people in our ministries, we can be sure that it will get messy sometimes. But it’s OK. Jesus knows messy, and He has promised to be with us. As leaders of the next generation, we are helping to prepare children and students for the messy world, helping them to trust a God who is bigger than our imaginations.

The opening session also touched on the growing diversity of our world and our neighborhoods. We have been called to love God and love our neighbors. The love that the Father has poured out on us inspires us to lavish that same love on our neighbors. The world needs a true incarnation of the love of God. Reggie Joiner pointed out that our love is the one thing that sets us apart from the world. Jesus Himself said,

“This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you love each other.” – John 13:35 CEB

I fear that too often we allow our differences to hinder us from living in that true love, both outside and inside the church, including differences of worship style, doctrine, or ministry practices. Beyond our church and denomination, we as followers of Jesus can be united in the simple truths of the gospel and in God’s love.

The Orange Conference does a great job of bringing together leaders from all over the world, from different denominations, and from all the ministries of the church – children’s workers, youth leaders, family ministers, senior pastors. Each member of the Body of Christ has an important role to play. This includes all Christians, not just those in full-time ministry. When we work together, doing our unique part, we can live as the Church God intended us to be. Living united in His love allows the Church to be a shining light in the world, sharing this love with our neighbors.

May your heart be filled with the uncontainable love of our Heavenly Father in a way that inspires and enables you to truly and radically love your neighbors – all of them!

Looking forward to more Orange this week!

Think Orange

Today is the first day of the Orange Conference! That means ministry leaders are gathering to network with other church leaders, attend workshops and gain insight from great speakers, and think Orange! The Orange strategy is all about churches and families partnering together to aid their children's spiritual development, uniting the light of the church (yellow) and the heart of the home (red).

For those like me who can't be at the Atlanta conference in person, you can get a glimpse of the happenings, including the opening session, backstage interviews and more. Click here to learn more, and follow the official hashtag #OC12 on Twitter.

The Eric Trap, a new book for ministry leaders from Jim Wideman and his team, officially releases today at the Orange Conference. Click here to read my review of the book.

Book Review: The Eric Trap

The Eric Trap was written by a group of children's ministry leaders under the leadership of Jim Wideman. The book presents an insightful, engaging and honest look into the daily, real-life experiences, struggles, thoughts and emotions of a children's pastor. This book reveals the reality of what it's like to serve on a church staff and details Pastor Eric Newman's relationships with fellow staff, volunteers and family.

Although Eric is a fictional character, I believe many leaders will relate to his experiences and struggles.

The book was an easy and enjoyable read. The chronicles of Pastor Eric are presented in the form of a story. Integrated into the book are chapters with practical ideas and commentary drawing on principles presented in Eric's story. The end of each chapter contains questions to help readers apply the principles to their current life and ministry situations.

These chapters cover important topics including:

• Relationships with Volunteers - the importance of delegating and equipping others for ministry, allowing them to develop as the people and leaders God desires them to be.
• Relationship with the Senior Pastor - understanding and aligning your visions for ministry, and submitting to the senior pastor's leadership for the benefit of the church as a whole.
• Relationships with Parents - equipping parents to guide their children's spiritual development, since their impact goes much deeper than the one hour or so a week the children spend under our influence at church.
• Relationship with God - abiding in Him and relying on Him, not our own strength in ministry, and measuring our growth and success in His terms.
• Relationships with Family - keeping priorities in line and maintaining balanced and healthy family relationships.

I currently volunteer as a kidmin leader and am looking to possibly be in that role of a full-time children's pastor someday. I believe this book is good for current leaders, who can likely relate to Eric's experiences, realize they're not alone, and hopefully find a way out of any traps into which they have fallen. The book can also serve as a warning for future workers of the snares that may be ahead so they can avoid falling into those traps.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book as part of The Eric Trap blog tour.

Want to learn more about Eric and his book? Check out TheEricTrap.com, and follow Eric's Twitter account @e_newman and hashtag #erictrap.

Psalm of the Week

Psalm 16

A miktam^[a] of David.

¹ Protect me, God, because I take refuge in you.
² I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord. Apart from you, I have nothing good.”
³ Now as for the “holy ones” in the land, the “magnificent ones” that I was so happy about;
⁴ let their suffering increase because they hurried after a different god.^[b] I won’t participate in their blood offerings; I won’t let their names cross my lips.
⁵ You, Lord, are my portion, my cup; you control my destiny.
⁶ The property lines have fallen beautifully for me; yes, I have a lovely home.

⁷ I will bless the Lord who advises me; even at night I am instructed in the depths of my mind.
⁸ I always put the Lord in front of me; I will not stumble because he is on my right side.
⁹ That’s why my heart celebrates and my mood is joyous; yes, my whole body will rest in safety
¹⁰ because you won’t abandon my life^[c] to the grave;^[d] you won’t let your faithful follower see the pit.

¹¹ You teach me the way of life. In your presence is total celebration. Beautiful things are always in your right hand.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 16:1 Perhaps inscription
2. Psalm 16:4 Heb uncertain in 16:3-4; Heb lacks because and god in 16:4.
3. Psalm 16:10 Or my soul
4. Psalm 16:10 Heb Sheol
   

Common English Bible
Compare other translations at BibleGateway.com

#KidMin Music

Music is a wonderful teaching tool for people of all ages. The catchy tunes and lyrics stick in the mind and heart for years to come. Especially for children, music can be an effective way to teach biblical truths and encourage Scripture memory.

But if we're not careful, it could become bad theology. I've heard some interesting lyric mix-ups from children of my church:

• "I will not forsake you" has become "I will never save you"
• "You washed my sin away" has become "You washed my zit away"
• "I am a friend of God" has become "I am afraid of God"

Needless to say, the messages they heard were not the messages that had been intended.

I like to use videos with the song lyrics shown on the screen, which is good for older children, but for pre-readers, this still doesn't help much. I think it is important to talk with the kids about the meaning of the lyrics, explain any unfamiliar words or concepts, and define pronouns in the song. This could be as simple as the leader summarizing the meaning of the upcoming song briefly between songs during music time.

Whether you use pre-recorded music or live singers, make sure that the words are clearly expressed and pronounced. Don't let the music drown out the message.