DreamBuilders Ministry in Motion (DBMIM) Ezine, August 25, 2008

-- The Reconstruction of a Youth Worker, "Our Church is going to the Dogs...the Cats...the Iguanas!!!", Scott Miller

-- Book Review: "Unchristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity," by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons, reviewed by Teena M. Stewart.

Looking for something, but not sure where to find it? DreamBuilders Ministry in Motion has produced a 50-page Resource Guide that just might have what you need. And it's FREE! You need adobe acrobat reader (also free) to read the document. Check it out at: http://www.ministryinmotion.net/christian_ministry_resource_guid.html

My senior pastor had a crazy idea. He thought it would be a good thing to have a Blessing of the Pets this Spring. I admit that I laughed a little at the staff meeting when he brought this up. Well… I should not have laughed… Guess what? He gave the service to me. He told me to pick a date and do it.

Ok… I come from an animal loving family. I have had my dog for 13 years. He is a mean and nasty dog with a gigantic temper and a loud bark and the name that my youth group in New Jersey gave him as a puppy was “Spikemeister the Invincible” (Spike for short), and he is a Shi-tzu. Ohhhh, he really isn’t as mean as he sounds, but he has been getting grumpy in his old age.

When I got married I was not only blessed with a new daughter, but also three cats. Two of the cats are sweet natured most of the time, but the other one, which I got for my daughter because she wanted a kitten, is the crazy one in the bunch We acquired a fourth one when my wife was a volunteer at the cat shelter last year. This cat is the sweetest of all, but she has chronic asthma.

We are definitely an animal family, but I do not take my pets to church. I thought this was a crazy idea… or was it?

I began doing some research and came upon St. Francis of Assisi, for whom I gained a deeper appreciation and greater respect. He was truly ahead of his time when it came to caring for our planet. He believed that part of living out the Christian life meant that we were to be caretakers for all of God’s creation.

What amazed me was the response we received after we announced this special service. We set the date for the service in May and sent a news release to the newspaper. We also posted fliers around the church along with doing other in-house publicity. I was amazed at the turnout. There were over 30 families from our church that came, but there were at least seven or eight families that we did not recognize that came because they saw the service was listed in the paper.

In order to have guidelines for this type of service, I searched online to find a format and resources for what we wanted to do. The service we put together was very simple. It involved reading relevant scripture readings, prayer, a general blessing over all of the pets as a group and then, my senior pastor and I individually blessed the pets.

Overall, the service and blessing took 20 minutes or so, and it was a wonderful opportunity to do community outreach. I have to admit that I was a bit of a skeptic at first, but now realize that this is a great opportunity for us to share the grace of Christ in our community.

So I would challenge you to take a chance and turn your church over to the dogs!

May God, the Creator of all that is, God the Redeemer of all Creation, and God the life giving Spirit, bless you all, now and forever. AMEN. St. Francis of Assisi

One great resource for The Blessing of the Pets: Anglican Society for the Welfare of Animals www.enaw.org

R. Scott Miller is the Associate Pastor of Program Ministries at Milford First United Methodist Church in the suburbs of Cincinnati, OH. In his many years of youth ministry, Scott has written and developed much of the youth programming used in his churches. Scott has a B.A. in Radio/TV and Journalism from Morehead State University and an M.A. from Asbury Theological Seminary. Scott is the author of 7 Things Christians Don't Do and What To Do Instead by Abingdon Press.

Blah, Blah, Blog

Got a bee in your bonnet? Need help in a ministry area? Found a great resource or website? Got a goofy video or link to share. Want to share about your ministry or book? Email us at smartwords@embarqmail.com. As long as it's ministry-related, we're open. If we like it we might post it on our blog. Visit our blog at http://ministryinmotionnet.blogspot.com/

by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons (Baker Books, 2007) 255 pages with notes, ISBN 978-0-8010-1300-3

David Kinnaman is president of the Barna Group, which provides research and resources that facilitate spiritual transformation in people’s lives. Since 1995 Kinnaman has designed and analyzed nearly five hundred studies for a variety of churches, nonprofits, and corporations.

Gabe Lyons is founder of the Fermi Project, a broad collective of innovators, social entrepreneurs, and church and society leaders networking together to make positive contributions to society.

Together, Kinnaman and Lyons have collaborated on this research project to discern what the unchurched, unchristian world really thinks about the church. It is not a pretty picture for ministry leaders.

What makes this research so compelling and so urgent is that huge percentages are young people. Forty percent are ages 16-29, are outsiders to the Christian faith. This compares to 27% of boomers and 23% of generations older than boomers. This is not a fringe component, but nearly half of the younger generation.

To add to the seriousness of the challenge, it is not merely a problem of young people not knowing about the Christian faith, but what they know is negative and leads them to reject the faith. As a reader reviewing Kinnaman’s work, the believer will recognize many of the types of examples he cites.

A ministry leader who cares about the younger generations will want to read this book to learn how the unchurched, unchristian world views the church. This book will also help a leader reflect on how to approach people outside of the church in ways much different than those ways of the past with more effective results.

It is an easy to read book with the technical language reserved for the last chapter on how the research took place. It is a difficult book to read for those who care about the church and Jesus’ mandate to go into all the world. More information about the research and the book can be found at www.unchristian.com

Site Build It -- There are many different hosting plans for those wanting Christian websites but few work with you to drive traffic to your site. SBI differs from these because it is an all-in-one do-it-yourself website program that doesn’t require html knowledge. Includes domain registration, hosting, keyword research tools, search engine optimization, ezine mailing, and non-interactive blog option. The system guarantees success in getting good ranking with search engines thereby assuring you of more traffic. This website system is used by DreamBuilders Ministry in Motion. Site Build It Quick Tour

Be sure to visit Ministry in Motion's Bookshop. Every resource is developed from hands-on church experience. Help members discover their spiritual gifts, how to connect them in ministry and more. Visit MIM's Bookshop.

Just $10 per classified listing. For more information on advertising visit our advertising page.

Ministry in Motion is looking for columnists & writers in the following areas: women's ministry, men's ministry, single's ministry, youth ministry, worship ministry, small group/bible study ministry, and general ministry. We are also open to general church ministry related freelance articles. If you have an idea for a column or would like to share ministry insight or even short ministry tips, we'd love to hear from you. Present payment is promotion only -- no pay but great exposure for you, your ministry, book, or website. Please read our writer's guidelines here.

One of the needs we have perceived at Ministry in Motion is a service to help connect qualified ministers and church workers to ministry related and church staff positions. If you are presently in job search mode, or if you have a ministry position you are looking to fill, be sure to check out this site by clicking here.

Magazines to help Christians grow spiritual and succeed in ministry. Discipleship Journal, Leadership Magazine, SpiritLed Woman, Christianity Today & Lots More! Click HERE for Magazines

DBMIM Ezine August 25, 2008

Blah, Blah, Blog