John Wesley and Children - thesis published

Yes - it's done. It's finished - well at least in its current form. My thesis "as a Little Child: Children in the Theology of John Wesley" is now available here. Now before you think this might be too academic or "scholarly" for you let me say check it out first then decide. Yes it's written in a way that meets the requirements of an academic work but I think it's also written in quite a conversational style. And as I say in the section "How to read this thesis"

... whilst written in the style required of an academic scholarly work it is my hope that it is also written in such a way as to be readable by anyone who has an interest in Children’s Ministry and who wants to get at least a small idea of what John Wesley, practical theologian and founder of Methodism, believed and practiced in relation to ministering to children.

It is my intention to publish a book from this work in the near future but in the meantime I offer this suggestion as to how to get the best of this thesis – read it and do it! In reading it -

• the academic / scholar will find the whole work of interest
  
• those who have little or no understanding of who John Wesley was or of his theology will find it helpful to also read the whole work in order to place the lessons I believe we can learn from him in context
  
• those who know who he was but know little of his theology will find they can read from Chapter Two and still be able to place the lessons I believe we can learn from him in context
  
• those who know who he was and feel they have a sufficient grasp of his theology will find that starting from Chapter Three will enable them to place the lessons in Chapter Five in the context of John Wesley, the man and the theologian
  
• and finally those who just want to find out the lessons for today can read the final chapter – Chapter 5 “Concluding Reflections and Potential Applications” and will find they have sufficient information to be able to implement those lessons in their ministry today.

My prayer is that everyone who reads this work , but especially those who minister to children, will learn something that they can apply in their ministry that will help them lead others into right relationship with God.

May God who knows what you do bless you abundantly beyond all you could ever imagine.

Pastor Pete

30 December 2010

Lesson Three: Know your goal

What are you trying to achieve in your Children's Ministry?
What are you trying to achieve in your lesson / activities this week?
What are you aiming to achieve from this part of your time with the kids?

These are vital questions to answer before you get in front of the kids God has entrusted to you. If you don't know where you are going you won't know when you've achieved it and worse still you probably won't achieve what you would like to.

These are all part of planning and as much as this might be the "boring" bit about ministry it's also a vital part. What can John Wesley teach us? Let's see as we look at the third lesson I identified in my thesis "as a Little Child: Children in the Theology of John Wesley"

Lesson Three: Know your goal

It is here that we learn from how Wesley ensured that the goal of education as he saw it informed his educational views and dictated their implementation. That is to say, knowing the goal enabled him to decide what needed to be done and how it needed to be done. With this goal clearly in mind he could, and did, review progress towards its achievement, and he could hold others accountable for their actions having first ensured they were aware of the goal. Knowing the goal he was able to say, near the end of his life, that it was generally being achieved.

Furthermore, with his goal clear in his mind, Wesley was able to take those actions that would maximise the chances of success. In addition he was able to ensure that actions which could thwart his attempts to achieve the aim of education were avoided. For instance, having the goal clearly in mind enabled him to be resolute in waiting to find those teachers who possessed the required level of spirituality and the right motives rather than rushing to employ some who did not.

The same is true in the twenty-first century. Those called to ministry to children need to know the goal they are trying to reach if they are to achieve it having put in place the right activities, personnel and methodology. This is particularly the case where the availability of resources, both personnel and monetary, is limited or restricted. It is even more important if the aim is seen to be similar to that Wesley’s, that is, fitting children to be in right relationship with God both in this world and the next. With this as the goal of ministry to children those in children’s ministry must be focused in ensuring that the actions taken contribute positively to, and thereby maximise the chances of, its attainment. For example, doing as Wesley did and waiting to find ministry workers with the required level of spirituality and the right motives rather than rushing in to use those who happen to be available or, worse still, those who need to be coerced to work with God in his ministry to children.

Blessings

Pastor Pete

New National Children's Ministry Leader

It is with great pleasure and excitement that I tell you that Kristen Jones has taken over from me in leading the National Children's Ministry for the Wesleyan Methodist Church of NZ. My task as convener of the Children's Ministry Task group was to develop the national work to the point where the appropriate structure for this vital part of the church's mission in the world could be identified and put in place. That has been achieved and Children's Ministry now takes its place alongside the established national ministries of youth, missions, resources and Ministry Development

Kristen's appointment was made by WMCNZ's National Council last week and in doing so we have affirmed a young woman with drive and passion for Children's Ministry who will take this work to a new level. As I say I am excited that someone with Kristen's skills and abilities has listened to God's call to this ministry and it was my pleasure to nominate her for the role. I hope everyone gives her the support you have given me over the last 2 years.


What's for me now. My call as an ordained minister in the WMCNZ is in large part to Children's Ministry and that does not change with this handing on of the baton. My time as leader of this ministry is at an end and I move into a support role - I will continue to be involved in whatever capacity(s) Kristen would like me to be involved.

Blessings
Pastor Pete

Looking for CM training - read on

Firstly - an apology for not getting anything up last week. The week got away from me!

Finally I can talk about it Carey Baptist College are offering a "Children and Family Ministry Combo" for the first time next year (2011). This is exciting as it is the only such evangelical training for Children & Families Ministry that I am aware of at any of NZ's ministry training colleges. I'm excited also because I was privileged to be asked for input / comment as the combo was developed.

The combo is "four courses designed to help equip you for the opportunities and challenges of serving Jesus in children and family ministries". It's a combination of 2 block courses (i.e. attendance for 1 week per course at Carey) and 2 field education courses (you work in your local setting applying what you've learnt with assessments designed to help you evaluate what you are doing etc).

This can be done either full-time or part-time and the courses can be taken individually, as a stand-alone combo, or as part of one of Carey's qualifications.

The courses are
Children's  Ministry (I've done this course - it's great!)
The Family in NZ Society
2 Field Education courses (I've done these also - found them to be great for learning to apply what I learnt in the classroom

So - go for it - take advantage of this great opportunity. There are deadlines for applying. Those and more information on Carey can be found here - Carey Baptist College.

By the way I'm a great fan of Carey and encourage anyone who wants a thorough bible based applied focus ministry education with in a caring community to go to Carey.

Pastor Pete

Lesson Two: Know and Apply Your Overall Theology

Another snippet from my thesis - which by the way I will have published shortly

What is also as applicable today as it was in the eighteenth century is how Wesley’s wider theology informed his view of children within that theology which in turn enlightened his educational endeavours as they related to children. Those called to minister to children should follow his example and ensure that their theology also informs their practice. 

Yet it is more than just allowing their theology to inform their practice. Wesley did not hold his theological views regarding children in isolation and nor must those involved in children’s ministry. If we are to follow Wesley’s example the theological views applied in any children’s ministry must be in accord with those of the parent body. For example, the theological viewpoint of the local church must inform the theological views regarding children which in turn will be played out in the practical ministry to children in that setting. 

Before we proceed to lesson three there is one further aspect of the development of theology which is worth learning from Wesley. Like him those involved in children’s ministry (indeed all Christians for that matter) would do well to base their theology on Scripture. At the same time they should, as he did, allow experience to inform and refine their theology and in so doing actively engage in child theology. 

Blessings
Pastor Pete

To prepare them for eternity

What a fantastic weekend! Last weekend was the 11th annual conference of the WMCNZ and included the 10thy anniversary celebrations. A fantastic time of fellowship as we celebrated the past and envisioned the future.

As always at Conference we also held EQUIP which is a time of teaching and training for all. As has been our practice in recent years one stream was Children's Ministry. Ian and Yvonne Fletcher spoke with us on "Child Evangelism" which provided the theological and biblical reasons why we must evangelise children. Then in session 2 they engaged us in "Life Changing Storytelling". Here we were taught how to bring stories to life and the art of using the gospel stories to challenge and change the lives of the children. They set out principles that enable teachers to work with the Holy Spirit to transform the hearts and lives of the children, to make disciples not religious clones.

That all sounds really dry but believe me it was anything but. From learning new songs to learning how to bring stories to life it was lively, engaging and life changing especially for the children we minister to.

What was really gratifying also was that there were about 25 people who attended one or more of the 3 sessions. That may not sound like many but it shows the increasing desire of people for CM training when you realise that just a few years ago we would be lucky to get 5 to attend any training.

Missed these sessions? That's a shame but I hope we can run them again soon - so watch out for that.

To end. here's a comment from Yvonne that I really like

The school has them [children] all week to prepare them for life
We have them for 1 or 2 hours a week to prepare them for eternity

Till next week
Pastor Pete

Life Changing Teaching in Children's Ministry

Taking a break from publishing parts of my thesis to bring exciting news

As part of EQUIP 010 the Children's Ministry Task Group brings you 3 seminars which will help you reach kids for God's kingdom. Ian & Yvonne Fletcher from Children's Bible  Ministries will lead sessions on Child Evangelism and Life Changing Teaching in Children's Ministry.


Then to end the day we will gather for a Children's Ministry Forum - an opportunity to learn from and help each other as well as thinking about how we can apply what Ian & Yvonne have taught us.

See you at EQUIP 010 at Papakura Wesleyan this Saturday 30 November.

For those not attending the whole National Conference the cost is $15 for the day which includes morning and afternoon refreshments and lunch


Blessings in Christ's name
Pastor Pete

Lesson One Seek help!

Following on from last week - more from my thesis looking at what John Wesley can teach us about reaching children in the 21st century

In order to provide some insight  into how it is possible to learn from Wesley for ministry in the twenty-first century, I will focus on six of the lessons we can learn. In doing so I will develop them with those involved in children’s ministry, whether as a Children’s Ministry Leader, Children’s Ministry worker, local church Pastor or local church leader, in mind. These six have been selected as they have, I suggest, special significance for children’s ministry in the twenty-first century as it seeks to define its role within the wider mission of the church, being that of fulfilling the great commission. They are also of importance as the church seeks to determine the nature of the ministry God requires of it in respect of children today. Most importantly, I believe they are significant for the twenty-first century church to learn as it decides what its role is in the nurture of children’s faith.

With that said I must declare here that, with Wesley, I believe God requires that the church train children in holiness thereby fitting them to be in right relationship with God, both in this world and the next. Therefore, whilst it is impractical to consider these lessons in any great depth the detail provided here is, I believe, sufficient to enable the church, and in particular those called to be involved in children’s ministry, to consider and adapt them for their own situation. Having done so it is my hope that they will feel better equipped and empowered to fulfil the trust that God has placed in them to train children in holiness as Wesley defined it.

There is one final comment that I need to make before proceeding to outline these lessons. That is that I deliberately take a very emphatic approach in discussing them. I make no apology for that as I believe that if we are to follow in Wesley’s footsteps and train children in holiness as Wesley defined it (and I believe that we should) then it is imperative that we learn and apply these lessons. It is not a case that we “should” or “can” learn them, I believe we “must” learn them if God’s purposes for children are to be achieved in the twenty-first century.

Lesson One: Seek Help

The first lesson is one which happens not just at the beginning but throughout the whole process including review, or at least it should do. In Wesley’s case we know that he sought help, and was prepared to learn, from others. We know, for instance that he spoke with a number of sensible men as he considered the state of eighteenth century education. Wesley was also heavily influenced by educational thinkers of his time and those who had gone before including his mother, Comenius,  Locke, and Law for it was from these that he synthesised his ideas.

There was however one source of help which overrode all others. That source being God, who we saw, was pre-eminent in Wesley’s theology. It began, ended and was permeated throughout with the grace of God, emanating from the love of God. In response to that love Wesley required that all whom God calls, and entrusts with the responsibility to minister to children, must rely on God to be empowered for the task, must seek God’s help and guidance, and must remain accountable to God.

That call is as relevant in the twenty-first century as it was when Wesley made it over two hundred years ago. Likewise his example of seeking help, and learning from others is one that all involved in children’s ministry today would do well to follow.

Blessings

Pastor Pete

Children in the theology of John Wesley (Part 2)

Part 2 in my series from my thesis "as a little child: Children in the Theology of John Wesley. Today the rest of the Introduction to the chapter presenting lessons for the 21st century church.

There are also lessons of character. By this I mean that, throughout the development and implementation of his educational views, Wesley displayed qualities which included strength of character, perseverance, authenticity, initiative, a willingness to do what had to be done, loyalty to his ideals and in particular to his theology, and above all a total reliance on God. Each of these could be outlined in considerable detail as his character traits would serve as a model for how we should act in the twenty-first century. Wesley would possibly consider this appropriate, given his requirement that parents, preachers, and teachers model good Christian behaviour as an example for children to follow.

Furthermore he has much to teach us about working with God in the missio Dei in the world. In particular we can learn from his belief that “whenever the Holy Ghost teaches, there is no delay in learning.” This has, I believe, salutary lessons for how our theology impacts the development and nurture of children’s faith in the twenty-first century.

No doubt others will be able to identify additional lessons which emerge from this brief contemplation of firstly Wesley’s theology, secondly the place of children in that theology and finally how his educational endeavours were informed by his view of children in his theology. If that is the case then another of the aims of this thesis will have been achieved.

Each of these lessons can also be thought about from a number of perspectives. We could, for example, focus on the lessons as they are applicable to that part of the body of Christ which traces its ancestry, so to speak, to the ministry of John Wesley. At the other end of the continuum we could consider these lessons from the perspective of the individual. In between there are ministry, local church, national church, international church and other perspectives which could, and should, be focused on.

In order to do so, that is consider all the possible lessons which Wesley can teach us from all perspectives, would however require a volume of work which is not feasible within the parameters of this thesis. As such they must wait for another time.

More food for thought ??

Blessings

Pastor Pete

Children in the Theology of John Wesley

As many of you following this blog know I have recently completed my MTh. My thesis focused on John Wesley and children. I will publish that in full shortly but to give you a taste of what is to come I will drip feed much of my last chapter out here over the next few weeks. This chapter is titled Concluding Reflections and Potential Applications and presents 6 of the many lessons I believe we can learn from Wesley which may be useful for those called to children’s ministry in the twenty-first century.


Today - the introduction - Lessons for the Twenty-first Century (part 1)
The second major aim of this thesis was to identify lessons from Wesley which may be useful for those called to children’s ministry in the twenty-first century. It is to this which we now turn. As we do so we recognise that his recognition that God works with children as children and not as “little adults” provides the basis for the most important of the many lessons this practical theologian teaches us. We will discuss that lesson later but for now note that with Wesley as a “theological mentor” we have the advantage of being able to learn from both his theology and his practical implementation of that theology.

For instance and perhaps not unsurprisingly given my project management background, I see that Wesley provides us with a planning and implementation framework which, at least in most respects, could serve as a model for planning and implementing any facet of children’s ministry. Indeed it is a model which would be useful in many situations because Wesley, probably without knowing it, followed a reasonably standard project methodology covering planning, implementation and review.

However, not only can we learn from the process he employed, we can also learn from the actions that he took particularly in implementing his educational views. We could for instance discuss his lack of understanding of the value of play in childhood. There is also value in considering his willingness to wait for the right people rather than rushing to appoint someone for the sake of getting things happening. Lastly, his willingness to tie his expectations as regards education into the wider requirements he placed on members of the Methodist movement, and in particular those he placed on his preachers, provides further valuable lessons for us.

Food for thought I hope

Blessings
Pastor Pete

A rare opportunity - Input into Course content

If in two field ed courses you could introduce 12 topics (six per course) for children and family‘s pastors, what would those topics be?  Or at least what would you think absolutely must be included in those topics?

Imagine being asked this - how would you feel? I can tell you I was and am very excited. It's an amazing opportunity to possibly influence the development of a training opportunity for Children & Family Pastors / Leaders / Workers. As you can imagine I took hold of this chance with both hands. And here's what I've just sent in response with special thanks to Rosalea Cameron, Kathy Eddie, Amanda Mitchell, Viona Schulz and Kathryn Smith for their input and thoughts. The fantastic thing about all this input was how similar all our lists were.

But please don't ask me where this course is being developed because I'm not allowed to tell you yet. I will tell you as soon as I can

Blessings

Pastor Pete

Topic	Covering ...
Leadership / Mentoring others / partnership / team building	What does it mean to be a leader? Leadership styles and which are most effective in  different contexts. Team building - stages of team building, how to  deal with the stages, e.g. conflict. How to recruit, develop and work with a team of  volunteers.
Administration	Legal issues of child protection, disclosure etc., OSH; Writing & review of safety policies etc. Keeping rolls, recording leaders and children  details etc
Reflective Practice	Using professional frameworks that give insight  to the reciprocal nature of our interactions.
Strategic Planning	Developing and implementing vision
Pedagogy	Basic pedagogy Working with children, Teaching (preaching) techniques, Working with special needs, disabilities,  mental illness etc
Theological basis for ministry to children and the family.	Including a focus on the need for  transformational learning
Prayer and worship	Introducing children to prayer and teaching  children to pray Prayer during home visitation Personal prayer life as an essential  element of pastoral care The importance of praying for the children  and your team Teaching children to worship
Child Development	Developmental stages Child psychology Spiritual development of children What a child can comprehend at each  stage and the implications when planning  activities, programmes, teaching biblical  principles and spiritual truths.
Learning styles of children	Practical opportunities to design specific  lessons using each of the different learning  styles; Practical opportunity to evaluate learning  based upon the range of learning styles
Evangelism	How to evangelise children Nurturing the faith of children Discipleship
Ministry development including curriculum, resources	Mapping ministry rather than planning  programs (How to really consider and reflect  on how best to meet ministry goals and  how that might affect the volunteers required  to run it, including whether people in the  church's demographic can realistically be  asked to give that much (do we destroy  families to create "church"?) Developing the skills to evaluate/adapt/design  curriculum, resources etc designed specifically  for the unique needs of a local setting Practical experience through attachment to a  CEC Chaplain  or as part of a Bible In Schools  type programme
The family context	What to do in visitation etc Ministry to children in the context of the family. How to support families as they disciple their  children.