Tag: church cartoons

Categories
children cartoons children's ministry church cartoons

Birthday Expectations

Cartoon of boy and pastor

When a friend or family member has a birthday, there can be all sorts of expectations. Some want a very special day. Others want the most low key birthday possible. Then there are those that want a little attention, but not too much.

I have never seen a choir burst out in a spontaneous rendition of Happy Birthday, but I think that would be so awesome. Because I haven’t seen it before, the surprise would be priceless.

Kids love to be noticed on their birthday. When I created this cartoon, I thought of how children love to be the center of attention when it’s their day. There have been many times when a child has come up to me to announce his or her birthday. Then there are the introverted ones who have a friend relay the message. Most kids want to be acknowledged on their special day.

Today, I get to honor someone at my work with a birthday celebration. We’ll have a brief acknowledgement and a few cookies. I don’t think we’ll be singing Happy Birthday though. We are a creative group, but I don’t think any of us are musically creative. And it may be a little short notice to hire a choir.

What has been your favorite birthday memory? Share it in the comments below.

Cartoon of boy and pastor
Categories
CHOG News church cartoons Newsletters

Going Viral at Church

Cartoon of a pastor at his pulpit. There is a "Quarantine Area" sign at the front. The caption says, "That was the day Pastor Don's sermon went viral.

When I drew this month’s cartoon for the Church of God newsletter, I was thinking of how the coronavirus has dominated our news so far in 2020. It appears it isn’t going away anytime soon. Something viral can have good as well as bad connotations.

It seems the goal of most Internet influencers is to have something that goes viral. That makes someone an influencer after all, doesn’t it?

This week, the church I attend has experience a little viral moment. I’m quite proud of my local church, Salem Church of God, and our congregation’s generosity. We’ve raised over $40,000 to help local schools pay off school lunch debt across the Miami Valley! We have been able to help nine school districts so far!

And on top of that, it has caused our church to make the local and national news!

Here’s a link from ABC News

Here’s a link from WHIO TV 7 in Dayton

There are times when it is good to go viral. I hope the pastor in my cartoon gets things figured out before he has to spend two weeks on a quarantined pulpit.

Cartoon of a pastor at his pulpit. There is a "Quarantine Area" sign at the front. The caption says, "That was the day Pastor Don's sermon went viral.

I drew this for the February 2020 Church of God Newsletter.

Categories
Christmas creativity holiday motivation

Ugly Christmas Sweaters

Cartoon of two men. One has a red and green sweater. He says, "No, this isn't my Ugly Christmas Sweater. It's just my sweater!"

I love seeing kids grow up! Whether they are four-year-olds or fourth-graders, they follow a predictable path. in early elementary, most feel free to express themselves in art. They are most comfortable in their own skin and don’t mind sharing their opinions. It doesn’t matter whether it is socially acceptable or not. A four-year-old is going to tell it like it is in their eyes!

But a fourth-grader becomes very self-conscious. They don’t want to call attention to themselves. They want to fit in. They want to do the “cool” thing. A four-year-old may love to wear an ugly Christmas sweater. A fourth-grade will be mortified if he or any member of his family would do such an audacious thing that solicits attention.

Cartoon of two men. One has a red and green sweater. He says, "No, this isn't my Ugly Christmas Sweater. It's just my sweater!"
Featured in the December 2019 Church of God Newsletter

A four-year-old is bursting with creativity. Most fourth-graders will have nothing to do with it because true creativity makes you stand out. Yet, standing out is where the magic happens.

I hope you have a lot of fun this Christmas. Be the one who proudly wears the ugly Christmas sweater. Reach out to a friend or family member you haven’t heard from in a while. Don’t worry about whether someone thinks your sweater us gaudy or you’re too loud when singing your favorite Christmas carol. Just enjoy the time. You’ll find that it will allow most people around you to do the same.

Categories
church cartoons

Electronic Giving is NOT E-Waste!

Cartoon of a guy lugging an old PC. Another guy says, "Electronic Giving doesn't mean you donate your old PC!"
© 2019 Kevin Spear. Published in the October 2019 Church of God Newsletter

Cartoon of a guy lugging an old PC. Another guy says, "Electronic Giving doesn't mean you donate your old PC!"
© 2019 Kevin Spear. Published in the October 2019 Church of God Newsletter

I noticed this has been an issue anywhere I worked with more than twenty years of history. There’s an old PC in the corner. There are old hard drives, zip disks and even floppy disks. Does anyone remember the old 5 1/4″ floppy disks? They still make great coasters. But they’re not very good for storage these days.

Today, you can get a 64mb flash drive for the same price an old floppy once cost and it could contain the equivalent of 42,667 floppies! Yes, I did the math. You can get a 64 mb flash drive for about $2.00 USD today (October 20, 2019). That is what I remember floppy drives going for in the late eighties and nineties. They carried about 1.5 kb. Alas, that old hardware, software and storage devices aren’t useful anymore. So please don’t donate them to a church or charity. They don’t need your ancient e-junk!

Electronic giving has been a thing at the churches I’ve attended for over five years now. You can have funds withdrawn to your account and not have to worry about bringing cash or paper check for the offering plate. When I’ve heard the phrase “electronic giving” from the pulpit, I’ve often wondered what if would look like if someone took it literally and placed a flash drive in the plate as proof they actually gave something!

I drew this for the October, 2019 CHOGNews.

Categories
church cartoons motivation

Church at a Premium

www.dropbox.com/s/2hyvgr8j6r1l2fl/Spear 4146.jpg

My grandfather was a minister. My dad made his career in insurance. You can imagine the discussions they would have about faith, the church and liability!

I’ve been at both the child side and the counselor side of church camps. I’ve seen boys perform feats of skill that defy gravity and all logic. It is a wonder the ambulance wasn’t on twenty-four standby at the camp!

So now that summer is waning, let us rejoice that the kids are back in school and insurance adjusters for churches and church camps can breathe a sigh of relief.

I drew this cartoon for the August, 2019 CHOGnews Newsletter.