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Why are Church Refrigerators so Yucky?

A few months ago, my wife asked me to check for an item in the church refrigerator. It was a harrowing experience. Just why are church refrigerators so yucky, anyway?

Cartoon of a woman with a mayonnaise jar. She says, "I took an inventory. The church fridge consists of only seven jars of expired mayonnaise."

When it comes to refrigerators and churches, it can be a mixed back. Frequently, you’ll hear stories of gross church refrigerators. Let’s face it; if no one is in charge of the church kitchen, some interesting artifacts will show up. It can be scary!

But fear not! As usual, someone on the Internet has advice on how to stock a church kitchen. The bottom line is when there is a budget, and someone is in charge, it is less likely the church refrigerator won’t be filled with only expired condiments.

I drew this cartoon for the November 2022 CHOGNews.

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Hope in Surprising Places Article

Photo of classroom illustrating "Hope in Surprising places article"

Last month, I got to interview a pastor about a new ministry his church launched. I enjoyed writing it because it challenged some preconceived notions about how a ministry should serve its community. Here is a link to the Hope in Surprising Places Article.

Hope in Surprising Places: Unique Church-Community Partnership Bears Fruit

I love the chance to write an article where faith and hope are present. As I’ve written before, I used to mix up the two terms. But it’s evident in the article that this church is bringing hope to its community through the active use of faith.

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CHOG News Newsletters

How do you rate Vacation Bible School?

Some families make a summer of going to different, local VBS programs. One day, I thought of what it would look like if there was a VBS critic, much like a movie or concert critic. That inspired my “How do you rate vacation Bible school?” cartoon.

How do you rate vacation Bible school cartoon: a boy says, "I give this VBS an A for snacks and a B for decor."

Seriously though, if we’re going to host a big program like VBS, we need to consider how effective it is and how we can improve it. And if the volunteers have to eat the snacks, we would like them to be palatable to grown-ups too!

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children's ministry CHOG News Christianity Community Mother's Day Newsletters

Baby Dedication and Mother’s Day

This year, I got to write an article about baby and child dedication in my church tradition. Tomorrow, in many churches, there will be a connection between baby dedication and Mother’s Day.

Baby Dedication and the Heart of a Mother via CHOGNews.org
Baby Dedication and the Heart of a Mother
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IYC 2022 Speaker: Chip Taylor

Last month, I had the pleasure of interviewing the featured speaker for the Church of God International Youth Convention (IYC 2022). Chip Taylor is a fabulous youth leader with a heart of gold. Here is a link to the article

Former IYC Student, Longtime Leader to Return as Featured Speaker

Chip serves at a church where my wife was the children’s pastor for a time. Although they haven’t worked together at the same time, my wife is a leader with Intern Academy and they’ve worked together in that organization.

Former IYC Student, Longtime Leader to Return as Featured Speaker

One of his quotes shows his approach to youth ministry.

“You have to be relational with today’s youth. You have to go to their turf. Positions don’t work anymore. You have to identify each kid as they are and acknowledge them. Relationships take precedence over roles.”

Chip Taylor

Chip will be a great speaker for IYC 2022. If you have a teen that is considering going, I would highly recommend it.