Early in my ministry life, I realized that a Sunday School teacher was a leader. They were leading children, influencing them towards God’s purposes for their life.
They are not a “volunteer” , working without pay and without compulsion.
They are leaders of children, with day jobs that vary widely from farming, banking, teaching, construction, home-making and real estate development. They share a common love for Jesus Christ and for children.
On the weekend they take up the mantle of leadership helping boys and girls of all ages know Christ and live the life He intends for them.
This series is dedicated to providing spiritual fuel for these unsung heroes.
The Foundational Tool For a Children's Ministry Leader
Over my lifetime I have observed several athletes across professional sports who were extremely talented, but their accomplishments were tarnished or unrealized due to character flaws.
They might run a 4.2 forty-yard dash, rebound like no one ever has, crush baseballs, or handle a puck like no other.
But their otherworldly talents were like a veneer covering deeply tarnished lives.
This phenomenon has not been restricted to sports but is found in the marketplace among business leaders, in the political arena, and in the world of entertainment.
This week a young talented baseball player was suspended for using an illegal substance. A bass player for a well-known band was found dead in the shower and a sitting U.S. Senator was indicted for taking bribes from a foreign business.
This week was not abnormal.
Last week one of the world’s wealthiest businessman was the subject of a Wall Street Journal article on their proliferate drug use...disconcerting to the large investment community.
These stories are not the norm, where countless sports figures, entertainers, businesspeople, and leaders go about their work with integrity. However, the stories are not few and far between, but rather more and more common.
Unfortunately, this is true within the Christian family where hardly a day goes by without some news of a Christian leader falling into moral failure.
It was my unfortunate experience to be part of such an incident in my first years of ministry leadership. I watched as character flaws led to the ultimate complete demise of a Christian leader, my own pastor.
Although not directly involved, it was a formative experience in my life. It was both heartbreaking and ultimately a crucial lesson for me as a young leader.
During that crisis, I attended seminary and enrolled in a leadership class on Thursday nights. It was the only time that fit my crazy schedule as a children’s pastor in a mega church.
I was going to seminary to check off a box on my “career” path. Leaders at church referred to seminary as “cemetery”—not a positive view.
When the professor finished going over the syllabus, he concluded his introduction by explaining that the class was about Christian leadership.
He suggested that many young Christian leaders were going Mach 5 with their hair on fire. They were running ministry programs, casting ministry vision, recruiting teams, and building large ministries.
He suggested they were so busy, that they probably signed up for a Thursday night class because “it was the only time slot in their hectic schedules.”
He continued, “Many of those young leaders are burnt out and they are going blow up, blow away and there would be nothing left of their ministries. Because they don’t understand God is more concerned about who they are than what they are doing.”
Then he prayed. With my head bowed all I could do was think...my wife had called him before class.
That evening changed my life. The professor was Dr. Robert Clinton, and his words that evening are forever chiseled into my memory.
Over the course of the next thirteen weeks, Dr. Clinton taught a series of short devotionals at the beginning of class on “Keys to Effective Leadership.”
Every one of them struck me to the core. Over the years I integrated them into my life as best I could and made some tweaks and adjustments for which I am to blame.
It became apparent to me that these principles were true for all leaders, including children’s ministry leaders such as Sunday School teachers, VBS workers, camp counselors, and anyone leading children.
I realized that the most important tool a children’s worker has isn’t creativity, great Bible lesson plans, clever activities, games, humor, or all the subjects of “workshops” at a children’s ministry conference.
The foundational tool is our deep and abiding relationship with Jesus Christ.
Leaders who abide in His unconditional love and experience His life-changing spiritual work are the tools He uses for transformational children’s ministry.
In the next few weeks, you will find a series of Christian leadership principles that are not particularly unique or shocking, but rather profound in their simplicity.
I thank God for using Dr. Clinton in my life and pray that the thoughts that follow are a blessing to you on your leadership journey. As we frequently read, anything of value is credited to Christ and His servant, Dr. Clinton; any errors are my own.