One of our featured articles on the childrensministry.com homepage this week is "Leading Up." In it, David Staal interviews his former pastor Bill Hybels about how children's ministers can best work with their senior pastors. Let's dig into it some more.

Hybels said: "I've never seen a day where it's harder to be a senior pastor than this day, and I've never seen senior pastors under higher levels of stress. And that's for good reason. The world is changing, ministry is harder, preaching is harder, team-building is harder, and fund raising is harder. Capturing the attention of lost people is more difficult, and people are more broken. So there's a lot going on in a senior pastor's mind."

What can we do to support our leaders? The first thing is to have a servant's heart.  I can share with you a few ideas.

* Ask "How can I serve you?" Sure, our plates are full (whose isn't?). But when our leaders need something done, is our first response to tell them how busy we are and how long it'll be before we can get to that item? Or do we communicate to them that their agenda is our agenda--and we're here to serve? When a leader works with a staff person whose heart is to serve, it truly is like taking 20 pounds of stress off that leader's shoulders.

* Align with your leader. Is your children's ministry's mission statement in perfect sync with the church's mission statement? Or are you building your own kingdom? If you can't align, perhaps you need to find a new leader to follow. Your heart needs to be 100 percent sold out to contributing to your leader's success in achieving what God has called him or her to do.

* Stay in the game. Some people think alignment with leadership means we need to be "yes people," saying "Just tell me what to do and I'll do it." Not at all. When I was in college, our ministry was led by a director and an associate director. The associate director once told me that if she disagreed with the leader, she would passionately communicate her views behind closed doors. But if the leader didn't agree, once she walked out that door, no one would ever know she disagreed. Truthfully, you're no good to your leader if you stop thinking, dreaming, working as hard as you can. Stay in the game--fully engaged!

What have you done to support your leaders?

I just spent the morning at Group's VBS field test for next year's VBS: PandaMonium.

I have to be honest. When I first heard the theme, I had one of those "what are they thinking!?" moments. Yeah, that's right. It went through my head: Who wants pandemonium in their ministry?

Then I went to the field test and saw the cuddly, lovable panda swinging from the branches. I heard the music. I saw the kids' eyes light up. I was taken in by the decorations, the experiences, the leaders. Everything about it now makes me ask "who wouldn't want PandaMonium in their church?" It's where God is wild about you!

So, check it out to see what you think. Here's a link to the Group VBS site: http://pandamonium.group.com/intro

We just got a puppy. Take a look at his photo at the bottom of the page! Sweet Teddy! And here are the puppy chronicles (which might just mirror your ministry right now).

Pre-Puppy: Reed asks, "Whose puppy is it more? Is it mine more?" Abby rolls her eyes.

Day 1: Reed and Abby text me simultaneously with numerous complaints that the other isn't sharing the puppy enough.

Day 2: Abby states that she's tired of having to watch the puppy constantly so he doesn't chew, pee, or poo. She's not so sure she likes the puppy. Reed hangs in there with constant care.

Day 3: Abby's done with the puppy. Reed hangs in there with constant care.

Day 4: Reed complains that Abby isn't doing enough.

Sigh...such are the puppy chronicles in our home. And, how is this like ministry? Let's compare our days to seasons of ministry.

Season 1: Excitement, anticipation of all the great things that are going to happen. Setting the vision. Dreaming.

Season 2: Obstacles appear; perhaps disillusionment enters in.

Season 3: Checking out; giving up.

Season 4: Feeling alone and overwhelmed in ministry.

In all honesty, for ministry and for puppies, all of these are a reality check. What do we do? We press on; we dig deep and we acknowledge that nothing is perfect but if we hang in there (in our case with puppy training) the reward will be great (in your case for eternity).

Here's a great article about the seasons of ministry: http://childrensministry.com/article.asp?ID=1855

Do you ever spend so much time trying to dig up something you forgot that you just give up? Maybe it's just a lifestage thing but I feel like I may be forgetting more than I'm remembering these days. And will it matter?

Watch me wax philosophic here. Maybe it won't. Maybe it's only the things that I do remember...not all the little details that I try to keep up with...that will ultimately shape who I am. And maybe whether I remember them or not doesn't really matter. Maybe the very fact that I was impacted by them at some point or exposed to them is all that mattered. That those things did their work in the moment shaped who I am today. I'm reminded of the book of James where the writer says that being exposed to the Word of God can be like looking in a mirror and forgetting what we look like. So we have to keep coming back over and over...one look is not enough--even a really good look.

So what does this have to do with children's ministry? For years, I've longed to create resources that'll help you impact children for a lifetime (I still do). But maybe, just maybe, in God's greater plan it's enough to impact a child for today. And then we have to entrust that child to God and his faithfulness to bring others (planting, watering, reaping) in the child's life even as a teenager or adult. Impacting a child for today (every today) may just be the impact God calls us to.

These are ramblings. I hope they'll mean something to someone. If not, I'll forget I wrote about this soon enough!

I spent lunchtime this last Sunday with a group of 20 single mothers. Our church has an amazing ministry to these (plus 20 more moms who weren't there yesterday) and their children. After lunch, volunteers took the kids swimming and to play in classrooms so moms could talk and explore a topic.

I was their topic-deliverer. And we explored "be still and know that I am God." We started out, though, by doing the Stroop experience. First, I had them read the words in their correct colors--outloud. Then do the same with the words in different colors--outloud. Then I had them discuss how the second reading was like or unlike being a single parent. We made some great discoveries: frustrating, requires focus, tough, makes me feel stupid, hard work, exhausting, and more.

Then we talked about finding space in life to 'be still." There were tears and laughter. And I learned more about the challenges single moms face when they've experienced a divorce. It's not just about trying to parent their kids; it's about accepting that their family is ok...not waiting for the day when they'll be a "real family." They are a real family now.

There are also struggles beyond just trying to have enough energy for the day. There are real challenges when they get caught up in the court system and they pray to God that their attorney is better than their exes'...or at least that somehow their kids won't lose even more in the court system. There are financial struggles while money goes to legal battles; one woman is seeking to create a ministry where these families can live in others' homes while they fight these battles. There's loneliness, exhaustion, despair...and yet hope, joy, and love. It's an extremely complex venture.

I'm grateful to have gotten to spend time with them. It'll certainly change how we equip children's ministers with ideas to minister to these wonderful families.

To learn more about single parenting, check out Anne Doud's blog: http://annedoud.wordpress.com/

Check out the Stroop effect at http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/words.html)