Michigan Is Ranked......What?

Dude not since 06 has the Michigan Wolverines been ranked in the top 25...whoooop! Now I'm not saying that Michigan basketball "is all that", but what I have seen so far this season is a good group of kids willing to listen and take the court full on. It has actually been fun to watch and it feels good to be able to chime in on the basketball side of things again. I love solid defense as a cornerstone of a basketball team and I see this here. So I say to the Big Ten gang watch out cause......"whatcha going to do when the Blue gets you?" Whoop! Kev

Christmas Eve at The Pointe

Christmas at NewPointe was incredible! Music of off the hook and I loved Danny's original song...the lights set the mood for the night and offered the ability to change artistic gears in seamless fashion....Epic! Dwight shared a crystal clear Gospel Message to over 4000 in attendance. John Bunn and team did a great job of planning and execution. The Reign Forest rocked and took care of at least 125 kids...Great job to Faye and the team! Mad Props to the parking guys that stood out in the Monsoon to direct traffic. Host team and Security...gang this was a total team effort to create an engaging environment for the thousands of people who came, many who came and bumped into Jesus for the first time. And Best of all we all walked away with the understanding that "I'm the reason for the season." Isn't that so true and aren't we so blessed?!!!
I'm Looking forward to 09 I know that God is up to something good in your life and in mine! Whoop! Kev

Christmas Kidstuf Style

Last week in Kidstuf we kicked off a new virtue....Generosity. Now Bubba made his typical unusual appearance and entertained everyone with a different version of win Bubba's Bucks....But this was the special Christmas/Generosity show. What that means is instead of winning a whole dollar from Bubba Joe, you had the chance to win a portion of the cash that Bubba Found in his couch that day... which Bubba thought was about 129 dollars but was actually 75 dollars.....so three lucky contestants that day won 25 dollars each to give away as they seem fit.
From that I have the privilege to share this story with you and take the opportunity to thank this family for being Generous and taking the time to be the Church and Impact lives on a day other than Sunday!! WHOOP!!!

In case you run into Bubba Joe, can you give him a message for us? We wanted him to know HOW our family "gave" the $25 we won at Kidz Stuff. We thought hard about who could really use this money. Someone we know was laid off from their job so we decided to add to the $25 & anonymously donate it to them. We got them a gas gift card for $25, a give certificate to Aldi's Foods for $25, a gift card to Wal-Mart for $25, and filled a small laundry basket from the Dollar Tree with Toothpaste, Toilet Paper, Shampoo, bathroom cleaner, laundry soap, and some other misc. things for them. We put all the gift cards into a Christmas card & we are planning on dropping the package this week.

They may not know who it's from.....but they will know that someone cares during the Christmas season.

We knew we wanted to do something for a local family this year and with the help from Kidz Stuff, our family was able to make it happen.

Thanks Bubba,

Now that's the virtue of Generosity!!! Thanks you guys!!!! Whoop! Kev

Leveraging your Influence

I often talk with Student and Children's Ministry leaders that feel like they have little or no influence in an organization. Most of the time they wonder if anyone really cares about what they do and in reality only see themselves as a cog in a machine designed to keep the next generation entertained and out of sight.
I used to feel that same way until one day as I was reading the book "the Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell and as I was marinating in a concept that Malcolm called the Power of Connectors. I was blown away. It all had to do with simple math and an attitude that any leader can make an impact in an organization than just settling for the status quo of their influence.
The Idea and execution of leveraging my connectedness became paramount and it has also become my mission to challenge leaders both on the professional and volunteer levels to do the same.
So what does this look like?
Say, you work or volunteer in a church that has approx 250 in attendance. Typically a Children's or Student ministry has about 20% of that population. So let's say that you have 50 kids, that means that there should be approx 100 parents and add to that a volunteer base of 30 leaders that may rotate or serve under you in some capacity. Your influence quotient is 180/250! I would say your potential to leverage your influence is very high.
The question is what are you doing to leverage it? What are you doing to impact beyond the weekend so that parents and volunteers are connecting with your leadership...I mean in a way that's beyond your monthly youth newsletter.
How are you building your relational base with parents and the Volunteers in your ministry?
If you are a volunteer leader what are you doing to push the impact that you make inside a classroom or small group to outside the walls of the church?
If you work this principle I guarantee that you will be challenged big time...but the payoff is huge and not in the way that you think.
This is not about you being discovered, it's about you being developed and when that happens you will have true influence. Seriously it's not about being popular or getting your way...that's a by product of you leading well...it's about leading in such away that lives are forever impacted and is the result of leading the RIGHT WAY.
Now, this is Butt Kicking Hard Work...and the key is knowing that influence is impacted by understanding two things...
One is that everyone has the potential to have it and...
Two not everyone is willing to pay the price to get it...but if you are willing...the payoff can be huge on all levels

Hey no one said this would be easy! Whoop! Kev

I have been Elf-ed????

I was surfing and came across this on Outside the Bunn, Pretty Funny John!!!!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards