Tag: school

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children's ministry cartoons

Cartoon: Old Curriculum

Change can be hard in churches and in children’s ministry. I remember one church that had some old curriculum dating back ten years or more. One of the teachers was comfortable with it and had no desire to update or refresh the lessons.

This led to the following cartoon idea:

Cartoon of two women with scrolls

Truths are timeless. But cultural references can get stale quickly. If you have a curriculum that references pet rocks, mimeographs, or George Beverly Shea, your lessons probably need to be updated.

That isn’t to say new is always better. Many churches are on tight budgets. Plus, lessons of the past can have a solid track record that the new curriculum can’t compete with. If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it, right?

Publishers and Old Curriculum

That said, I sympathize with publishing houses. After all, It is very difficult to keep a business going when past lessons work just fine. Is it the teacher’s problem that a publishing house needs to keep the lights on? No, but we lose something special when we lose a publisher due to economics.

I’ve been on the side of the teacher’s desk and the publisher’s. I’ve come to realize we need each other. Without innovation coming from publishers, we begin to lose our effectiveness to reach new generations. And without affordable options, teachers have to find ways to cut costs without losing their ability to reach kids.

In other words, Kids haven’t changed over the years, but culture sure has! What may have grabbed a child’s attention in the 1970s won’t do so now. Technology has grown and our attention spans have shrunk. We need to keep teaching timeless truths but do so in a dialect that speaks to today’s culture.

I drew this cartoon for Kidzmatter Magazine.

Editor’s Note: I originally published this blog on October 6, 2015. I revamped and updated it for timeliness and comprehensiveness.

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children cartoons Safety Cartoons School Cartoons webcomic

Safety is the Best Policy

When I first drew this cartoon, I was concerned mainly with safety in children’s ministry. I had no idea a few years later I would be managing at a printing facility. Since then, I have truly learned safety is the best policy.

Cartoon of a boy with a cast and a teacher

Safety at Work

Before then, I didn’t think too much about workplace safety. I had been in office settings. When I visited warehouses and printing facilities, I let the host worry about safety. I see now how foolish that was. For there are hazards even in an office environment.

Continue reading “Safety is the Best Policy”
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children's ministry cartoons K! Magazine love Magazine

Loving your Neighbors the right way

Alas, if you get slapped with a restraining order, you probably aren’t loving your neighbors the right way! What does it look like to help those around us when society has become very suspicious of anyone offering help?

Cartoon of a boy and a teacher. The boy says, "Every time I try to love my neighbor, I get hit with a restraining order!"
Continue reading “Loving your Neighbors the right way”
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motivation

The Lure of Screens

The Lure of Screens

Screens are all around us. They became, even more, a part of us in the last two years. We use them to communicate with our schools and workplaces while hunkering down at home. Screens have been a part of our work and play. They have even become a part of our churches. It is no wonder we have an issue when it comes to the lure of screens.

Cal Newport’s book, Deep Work, came out before the Pandemic. But its message is more appropriate for today.

“One of the main obstacles to going deep: the urge to turn to something more superficial.”

Newport, Cal. Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World. New York, NY: Grand Central, 2016. 

Discerning the Superficial

The problem today is that superficiality is much more subtle. One moment, we can be in the middle of research for work or school. The next moment, we are distracted by an online ad that popped up in the middle of the research.

I have been working from home for the last couple of weeks. One challenge I have had is a slow VPN. I need to connect to it for work. But the connection can be very slow. While I wait for the computer to catch up, I have to discern what I can do while waiting.

We can be very distracted from deep work when we are working on computers. If the connection is slow, we can be challenged by the lure of another screen. We have no shortage of screens these days. If a computer is slow, there is always the phone or television to check on.

“The lure of the Internet and televison proved especially strong.”

Newport, Cal. Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World. New York, NY: Grand Central, 2016. 

Between our temptation to multitask and the lure of yet another screen, we can find ourselves being lured away from deep work. When we try to rely on willpower, we often find that it is limited and as the day progresses, we are more apt to give in to our desire to be distracted. Very few of us have the luxury to be marooned on a desert island.

Guy on desert island: Three days earlier, Gary asked God to eliminate from his life all temptation.

Screens lure us. After all, you may have been lured here as you waited for your computer too. We are all prone to be distracted. Tomorrow, I’ll look into some solutions to our distraction dilemma.

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motivation

This is all Temporary

Cartoon of a boy doing his homework and a mom. The boy says, "I wouldn't have to do my homework if you'd just let me flee the state."

The other day, I read an Inc.com article entitled, 3 Phrases That Stop Anxious Thoughts. Let’s face it. If you keep up with the news at all, you’ll have some anxious thoughts! The first phrase stood out to me.

“This is temporary: This doesn’t just apply to the current pandemic and resulting economic turmoil — it’s true in nearly every anxiety-provoking situation.”

— Hilary Jacobs Hendel

We tend to forget this because the present dominates our thoughts and actions. But the longer we live, the more we realize how true this is.

Seven-Year-old Philosopher

I remember a school bus trip I had when I was seven-years-old. It was a dreary winter morning in Indiana. In January, it feels like clouds will never go away. I remember thinking, “Will I ever get out of second grade? Will I ever go anywhere outside my hometown?”

I smile when I think of that little second grader. The thought of growing up, going to college, meeting a lovely Ohio lady, marrying her, and having two great kids seemed impossible to him. It was just as likely to him that he would grow wings and fly. Homework was my biggest problem.

Yet to that little boy, his present reality seemed so overwhelming. He couldn’t see beyond his present situation. He had no concept that all of what he was experiencing was temporary.

Today is Temporary

There are plenty of reasons to have anxiety today. There is the COVID-19 pandemic, racial tensions, and political polarization. Ironically, you may be reading this in the future and those issues aren’t at the forefront of the news cycle. Who knows what we’ll be discussing in the future! But whatever it is, whatever personal situation you are facing, it’s only temporary.

  • None of us can predict the future
  • What’s important today may be old news tomorrow
  • It’s just as likely things will be better for you tomorrow instead of the same or worse

There will always be a part of us that longs for the good old days of the past. For someone, today will be the good old days in twenty years. So if you are struggling today. Hold on and be patient. This is all temporary!