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K! Magazine
2007-11-06 05:07:00
I am so excited about this new magazine By Ryan Frank coming out in January 08 for those who minister to children. I guess in my excitement I didn’t even think about putting it here on my blog, so here it is. Check out this brief description below and then click on the picture at the bottom for more information and subscription details.     K! Magazine is a publication addressing the needs of those who minister to kids in the church. K! is new to the children’s ministry field in 2008. It contains specialized articles and features on everything from leadership to using trends in our world to help children’s ministers make a deep ETERNAL IMPACT! You’ll be bummed if: 1. You want a magazine chock-full of advertisements and tear-out postcards 2. You want to learn one more way to use that sock puppet in your lesson 3. You want to hear from a bunch of people who haven’t been in a classroom in years 4. You want to hear the same ideas over and over again 5. Y...

“Monday Morphosis” Remaking Yourself and Your Ministry!
2007-11-05 17:01:00
How do you remake yourself and your ministry? This is a question that is in my head today as I look around my family, my life and my ministry. My first thought on this subject was none of this is mine anyway. So I think the right question should be how does God want to remake us? Wow, what a powerful question! First of all, are we even open to letting God take hold of our lives so powerfully that we are never the same? When I think about this I am reminded of that road to Damascus (Acts 9) experience where God really took a hold of Saul’s life in a very powerful way and he was never the same.   So here is that question again are we willing to let God do whatever he needs to do to remake us? This is a powerful and sobering question. I am as guilty as anyone of getting caught up in the busyness of ministry or life in general. In reality I need to be stopping long enough to spend time with the God who created me and loves me more than anyone. So how do we let God remak...
More About: Ministry , Morphosis , Monday , Morph

Order Of The Ancient - Chapter 4
2007-11-03 03:47:00
    “THE ACADEMY” It looks like Brent finally made it to the Academy. Just when he thought that he would never make it, he was on the Hoverbus to the highly talked about Academy. Even though Brent was riding onto the Academy campus on the Hoverbus he was still trying to figure out in his mind how he had gotten here and what he could have done different on the test. I think there is something up with this Academy, but what? What is up with all the security in the science building and what kind of research are they conducting for the government anyway? I am glad that Brent got connected back up with his friends Scott and Amy who are already at the Academy. How cool are those DP’s (DataPortals) anyway, that would rock to have one of those. Will the Academy provide the answers Brent is looking for? What is a Netizen and why would Brent want to be one so bad? I am wondering when and where is Shaphan going to show up again, maybe chapter 5? The twists and turns ...
More About: Order , Ancient , Chapter

Fall Fest 2007!
2007-11-01 20:30:00
  Last night was our annual Fall Fest here at RCC and man was it ever awesome. I had been building up to this night for a while and you never actually know how it will go until you are right in the middle of it. Well it was great and I am not the only one who thinks that, check out this quote from a parent in our community. “I would just like to compliment RCC on the Fall Fest that was held last night at your church.  This was the first year I attended the Fall Festival.  I was looking for an alternative to Halloween Trick or Treating and I found it!!! I would like to commend you on a wonderful event– a family oriented festival that entertained my child and gave her plenty of activities and most of all CANDY!!!! AND…..all of this for free. I think more churches in our community should take your lead and provide the community and its surrounding neighbors options for families, such as ours, to participate in more faith based, family orient acitivites giving us opt...

Fall Fest 2007!
2007-10-31 02:35:00
        The final countdown has begun and this is a time where Dentist really love me. Of course I am talking about Fall Fest 2007, this is RCC’s version of a really cool, extrodinary alternative to the traditional door to door trick or treating. We started this event 2 years ago and it has grown by over 100 people each year and this year should be no exception. Imagine over 130 feet of inflatables, over 150 gallons of candy, 500 free Chick-Fil-A meals, Free Family Fun Packs and all the popcorn and drinks you can eat, this in a nutshell is Fall Fest. This family friendly event is such a cool, exciting and fun place to be why would you want to be anywhere else. Well maybe you would rather be somewhere else and I hope that would be your great event wherever that may be.    So leave a comment and let me know what your cool Halloween alternative event is for your ministry and how it has been a success for your church and your community.  

“Monday Morphosis” It’s All About The Relationship!
2007-10-29 21:47:00
 I have come to realize over the years that ministry is truly all about relationships. Whether it is adults, kids or other ministers, relationship is key. You see God designed us to be a people of relationship and without it we would go pretty cazy. In fact it all started with God himself, He created us to first of all have a relationship with Him. Then we are to follow His example and have relationships with others around us as well. Now I am going to say something that will sound contrary to the very blogosphere, but it is not. I don’t belive that most of our relationships should be online. God’s example for us is very personal and so It should be the same with us. Relationship s are meant to be in person and personal, this shows the other person or person’s that they are important to us as individual’s. So how does this apply to a ministry or organiztion? I am glad you asked. Think for a minute about all the volunteers and staff that are in your pa...
More About: Morphosis , Monday , Morph

Change, I Love It !
2007-10-29 15:11:00
This has been coming for a while and yesterday my senior pastor Rick McDaniel finally made the announcement during our 14th anniversary celebration. It is official our church is no longer Glen Allen Community Church, it is now Richmond Community Church. This is so exciting, we are already a multi-site church and our name was very specific for just one area of greater Richmond. So we felt by changing the name it would put us in a very good startegic position for future multi-site locations and the future growth of the church. So now it is Richmond Community Church - Glen Allen and Richmond Community Church - Midlothian. We also have 3-4 more campuses planned for the next 6-8 years (estimate), so this new name will serve well for all campuses. We also have a new web address http://www.rcc-impact.com and we are currently working on the new web site which should be completed around the first of the year sometime (estimate). The changes aren’t done yet, my blog will be changin...
More About: Love , Change , Love it , Chang , Chan

Order of the Ancient - Chapter 3
2007-10-28 21:07:00
  It’s Sunday afternoon and I just got through reading the third chapter to my family, they loved it. My daughter Hannah thinks that the strange intruder in the church might be Shaphan, I just simply said you will have to wait and see. I Love It! Is that a little mean? Maybe, oh well. Who is the strange intruder anyway and why did Brent’s dad get so offended when he asked about the Sovereign ? That is so cool that Brent’s dad has a kitchen table that he can watch the news with and get on the internet. I loved the airlift chamber (transchamber) in their house, replacing the old fashioned elevator how cool is that. Brent is asking a lot of questions and he is getting ready it looks like in chapter 4 to finally go to the Academy. Will he get the answers that he is looking for and will the Academy be all that it is played up to be? I hope so and I hope he doesn’t get into trouble at the Academy with all the questions. As a side note I love the book and so...
More About: Order , Ancient , Chapter

2007 Video Production Awards!
2007-10-26 03:15:00
  I have known for years that Glen Allen Community Church has an awesome video production team, but this just really confirms it. It all started when our worship and arts pastor Joey Jones decided to submit one of our videos to Church Production Magazine for their 3rd annual video production awards competition. This is a nationwide competition that is designed to recognize and encourage excellence in in-house video production in today’s houses of worship. Of the many excellent and exciting entries that were received from around the nation, only 14 videos were selected to receive an award. We won the top honor for the category of Drama/Skit and our video will be presented the award today at the WFX 07 conference in front of over 5,000 attendees. How cool is that, congrats to our entire video production team! Well enough of me talking, check out the video for yourself at http://www.gacc-impact.com/videos/dailyin ventory.htm. You can also check see the other award winner...
More About: Video , Awards

Johnny the Bagger!
2007-10-24 22:51:00
Today a Senior Pastor friend of mine back in Kansas (which is where I grew up) emailed me a video that is all about a man who just wanted to make a difference and serve others, boy did he ever.  If we could take this same priniciple of service and apply it in our ministries, man would we make a difference in this world for God. I couldn’t get the video on my blog so here is the next best thing, the link to check it out for yourself.  http://www.stservicemovie.com/ In fact I did a post on my blog back on September 29 called “Customer Service and the Church What If ?” Here is the link if you would like to check it out also.   http://impactarts.net/wpblogmu/pastoralan /2007/09/29/customer-service-and-churches -what-if/
More About: Johnny

Kids and Respect What’s Up With That?
2007-10-24 05:43:00
This month in my children’s ministry (www.gaccpromiseland.com) I am talking about Respect , 1 Peter 2:17 “Show proper respect to everyone.” Normally I don’t really talk on my blog about what our monthly theme in my children’s ministry is. This particular one though really bugs me, because I am convinced by what I see and hear on a weekly basis that this generation of kids unfortunately is being brought up with out what I call basic manners (respect). The Barna group in 2003 said that nearly all parents of children under the age of 13 - 96% - contend that they have the primary responsibility for teaching their children values. So where am I going with this whole thing. Please, Thank You, Yes Mam, Yes Sir pretty basic respectful phrases and values twenty years ago, but what about now? I am personally not convinced that parents of today’s kids in general are teaching these four basic phrases of respect in today’s society. Can you imagine if...
More About: Kids

“Monday Morphosis” Change how do we do it, I mean really?
2007-10-22 19:21:00
Websters dictionary says the definition of change is to make radically different, to replace with another, or to become different.  I am setting in my recliner this evening and this is the question in my head. Chang e how do we do it, I mean really? I have talked to a lot of people in my time and when this question comes up in conversation I am usually walking away saying, oh really (in my mind of course, not out loud)? I am not trying to cut anyone down, I just have this question in my head. How do we really see long term change in our own lives, our families and our ministries? As I am writing this post, my wife(http://www.rebeccascrazylife.blogspo t.com/) chimed in and said “It has to start small”. You know she is right, a lot of people especially those in ministry try to change a huge amount in a short amount of time. They all of a sudden realize maybe I bit off more than I can chew, begin to drop the ball and wonder why is this so hard and not really working for m...
More About: Morphosis , Monday , Ally

Monday Morphosis!
2007-10-22 03:15:00
Get ready it’s coming, starting tomorrow I will be posting a new series of articles each Monday called “Monday Morph osis ” designed to help you get your week of to a great start. It is all about change, in our lives and the lives of the people we come into contact with on a daily basis. The first article tomorrow will be entitled, “Change how do we do it, I mean really?” I hope you will check it out and let it help you and those around you. Make it a great week!

A Must Have!!!!!!!
2007-10-20 17:38:00
I was on David Wakerley’s Blog [Kid Inspiration] this morning and Hillsong Kids has done it again. Another great kids worship DVD/CD has been released for preorder, titled “TELL THE WORLD”. I love it because the title is straight from the Bible (Mark 16:15) and the graphics are very contemporary. I have bought their last three DVD/CD’s and I can tell you from years of experience that they are recieved very well by kids and adults alike. So in my opinion this item is definitely rated “A Must Have” for any children’s ministry.  I would definitely take advantage of the preorder through Hillsong that way you will have it hopefully by the end of the year. Because if you wait to get it here in the states at a Christian Bookstore, from my past experience it will be next spring sometime before you will get your hands on it.  Click the link below to go straight to Hillsong’s preorder page for “Tell The World”.  h...

Order of The Ancient - Chapter 2!
2007-10-19 16:12:00
I hope by now all the families at GACC that are reading Order of The Ancient are well into their adventure with Brent Camden. My family and I sat down last night and read the second chapter “A Mysterious Visitor”. My kids were asking questions like is Shaphan God and where is he taking Brent? This read seams to be developing some real twists and turns that I know will really kick in by the third or fourth chapter, but the adventure is definitely already their. Will Brent pass his big test and make it to the Academy? Like my daughter Hannah said who is this Shaphan guy anyway? To which my reply was you’ll just have to wait and find out. I love that answer, but my 10 year old daughter not so much. Now that Brent has met Shaphan what will happen next? I totally love the statement “SEEK THE SOVEREIGN AND YOU WILL FIND HIM” and although Brent doesn’t really understand what that means yet,  I have a good feeling he will and that will be a really coo...
More About: Chapter , Chapter 2

What a cool way to introduce a new message series!
2007-10-17 23:01:00
I wish I could take credit for this find, but I have to give props to Joey Jones our worship & arts pastor. This is such a cool and ingenious way of introducing a new message series, way to go New Spring Church of Anderson, SC.. The new series is called “The Perfect Kid” and it is all about the challenges of raising our kids in today’s society. They came up with a great interactive website (http://parentsareclueless.com/) to introduce their new series and encourage truthful confessions for parents and kids alike.  I have seen this as a growing trend for contemporary churches over the past several years, including my church GACC. For example when my senior pastor did a series over a year ago called “Leaving Lust Vegas”. We built a website (http://www.leavinglustvegas.com/) dedic ated to his entire 5 week message series and we even brought in a former porn star (http://www.shelleylubben.com/) to speak during the message called “PrimeTime ...
More About: Series , Cool , Message , Serie , Erie

Broadcast Your Cause!
2007-10-17 03:10:00
  In staff meeting today at GACC our worship pastor Joey Jones mentioned that we had signed up for the new YouTube nonprofit program. He said it was a good way for us to put up videos and information for our church and totally customize it and make it look like our own. I thought, how many churches know about this new program and could really benifit from a powerful way to deliver our message to the world’s largest online video community. In my opinion this is a great program from YouTube, so I just had to help get the word out. I believe this needs to be taken advantage by a lot of churches, especially if you don’t have the funding for an expensive outreach campaign. So if you think you might be interested check out the link below. http://youtube.com/nonprofits
More About: Broadcast , Broad

Busy Holidays and Busy Volunteers!
2007-10-16 01:42:00
The holidays are fast approaching and it seems everyones lives and ministries get just as busy as our shopping lists. We have lots of extra events and this means we need a lot more help from our volunteers to pull everything off in our churches. I think we all get to going with our hurried lives and our ministries and sometimes we can forget to appreciate those who are the life blood of our organizations, “Our Volunteers ”. My goal with this post is to remind myself and anyone who is reading this, to not forget the simple ways we can appreciate our volunteers. I was looking at the latest Gallup information on praising employees or volunteers in an organization and here is what they had to say in an article by Jennifer Robison. Employees (volunteers) who report they’re not adequately recognized at work (Ministry) are three times more likely to say they’ll quit in the next year. That’s a shame, as this problem is completely avoidable. Frequent recogn...
More About: Holidays , Busy

A Cool New Look!
2007-10-14 23:09:00
Yes, this is the blogging home of Alan Phillips and I hope you like the cool new look. Not only is it cool, it is a lot more functional. Refresh the page several times and you will get a new look each time. You can also click the small pictures under my name above and get a new look each time as well. Enjoy the new look and come back often.
More About: Cool , New Look

69th National Folk Festival!
2007-10-14 05:22:00
I had an idea on Friday evening after watching a commercial for a festival in downtown Richmond. My idea was that we never check out a lot of the local cool things that our large city has to offer. So the next day my family and I headed downtown to park at the Diamond, which is the home of our minor league ball club the Richmond Braves. Here we boarded a shuttle bus, which by the way took over an hour to board because of such a long line. Finally we got on the bus and headed to Brown’s Island on the James River. Yippie we arrived at the 69th National Folk Festival , I thought this is going to be cool. Man was it packed with people over 100,000 to be exact. They had over 16 different stages with 16 different kinds of music playing on all the stages at one time. Did I mention it was packed with people, oh yeah I already did. Our three kids did love the Family Area, lots of crafts, old fashioned toys to play with, and actually a pretty cool storyteller. I think though the...

Order of the Ancient - 1st Chapter!
2007-10-12 17:39:00
  This post is for those families at GACC that are reading a chapter a week, along with me and you know who you are. My family and I sat down and read the first chapter of “Order of the Ancient ” by Karl Bastisn last night and it is a very cool beginning. the coolest thing in chapter 1 was that DP (Data Portal) that he wears on his arm, how cool would that be to wear a smart, cool, and versatile device like that. The creepiest thing was that his mom and dad worship a new what they call Divinity (little god with a little g) each day, what’s up with that? I can’t wait to hear what is the story behind AP (the year of purification) and why won’t anyone talk to Brent about it? It is good to hear that they still play sports in the future but what is this Hoverball, a new futuristic version of Football maybe? So does the US government still even exist or has it be totally replaced by this WNC (World Network of Communities)? It is good to hear Brent has a frien...
More About: Chapter

FML - The Family Ministry Leadership podcast!
2007-10-12 03:52:00
  On October 4 I blogged about our youth pastor Kevin Carter and myself coming out with a podcast for leaders that minister to families around the world and after a week of great anticipation the day has finally arrived. I would like to introduce you to FML - the Family Ministry Leadership podcast. Our first podcast title is “Events or Great Events what seperates them? Check it out below and please make a comment and let me know what you think!      
More About: Podcast , The Family

Pastor Appreciation Month, Oh How Sweet It Is!!!
2007-10-10 17:16:00
October is a busy month for me with a lot going on in the way of great family events. So when I get a chance to set down and take a load off and just relax for a little bit, why not. Today was one of those days, Susie Brown (Susies Kitchen Creations) a regular attender of my church stopped by today and appreciated all the pastoral staff with a pretty cool gift. I could not believe it, their before my eyes was at least a 6 to 8 inch Starbucks coffee cake. It looked just like a piping hot cup of starbucks coffee setting there. Even though I don’t drink coffee, this was pretty amazing. She also brought some Oreo truffles, so of course I helped myself to several of these very tasty delights and just chilled for a little bit (30seconds). I hope, the picture of this awsome cake will remind any of you, that sometimes we just need to chill for a few minutes. Remember we are always appreciated by people somewhere out there.
More About: Sweet , Appreciation , Month , Pastor , Reci

The Muppets, Why? Why?? Why???
2007-10-10 01:07:00
Why did the Muppets ever get cancelled and why do the shows on disney channel remind me so much of a kid version of an adult soap opera? These are questions that one of the others pastors and myself were discussing today and I wanted to see what others from around the blogoshere think as well. I used to love watching Animal, Statler & Waldorf from the balcony and who could ever forget my favorite the Swedish Chef. I know these shows can still be found out their somewhere on cable and satelite. I really believe that these older type of comedy shows would be good, clean and hilarious entertainment for today’s kids. I am not saying that their aren’t some good shows out their, but they are getting harder and harder to find. So I will ask the question again. The Muppets , Why? Why?? Why??? WPvideo 1.10 Swedish Chef - Salad Blaster Download!

It’s those little details that make all the difference!
2007-10-08 19:26:00
My Senior Pastor is always saying that he pays attention to those little details, but you’ve got to wonder sometimes do they really make that big of a difference. It seems like I am always taking care of these little details especially on a Sunday. Well this last Sunday it really made a big difference, I had several parents that told me they really appreciated my ministry to their kids. Everything that they talked about was definitely not a big deal for me, but obviously it was a big deal for them. They were talking about those little things that I do every Sunday week in and week out. You know what I am talking about, it’s kind of like that old commercial “Time to Make the Doughnuts”. So I started thinking you know when we keep on keeping on with those little details week in and week out no matter how mundane they may be, that begins to add up. It really is a big deal for the people you are trying to minister to. So I would encourage you to stick w...
More About: Details , Difference , Tails , Litt

Good Alternative to Harry Potter, “Order of the Ancient”.
2007-10-08 16:24:00
  I first found out about this book several years ago through the Kidology.org website and I downloaded the first several chapters and my wife read them to our three kids on a long trip. They really enjoyed the book and they wanted us to read more, so my wife ordered the book. It had excitement, danger, adventure and suspense and my kids loved it.  I don’t know why it took me several years to do this, but I decided to order 10 of the Order of the Ancient books for my children’s ministry. Well to say the least they were very well recieved. Kids were coming up to me and wanting their copy, so they could get started reading it this week. Here is what we are doing,  I have decided to read at least one chapter a week with the 10 kids that are reading the book. On a Friday at the end of each week I will blog about the chapter that I read. The kids that are reading with me can then get on my blog and leave their comments as well. I think this will be good for two ...
More About: Harry Potter , Alternative , Potter , Good , Harry

Playing to our Strengths!
2007-10-06 22:43:00
Today was our annual GACC golf tournament and I had a great time. Several holes into the tournament I realized that my long game was not going to be my strength, so I began to concentrate on my short game. Then I started to have fun because I began to play to my strengths today,  which was my short irons and my putting. Then I started to remember the leadership summit back in August that I attended with thirty other leaders from our church. My favorite speaker was Marcus Buckingham and he spoke about his #5 New York best selling book, “GO put your strengths to work”. I purchased his audiobook for my iPod and have listened to it several times. Marcus has done a lot of research that definitely shows that many people do not make full use of their strengths at work. I believe this book shows you how to seize control of your strengths in your life and use them to your advantage. I have began to understand what my strengths really are. Don’t get me wrong I actually ...
More About: Strengths

Podcasting, what a great day!
2007-10-05 04:18:00
Today I had a great day, because the youth pastor, technology director and myself spent the morning producing our first family focused podcast that will soon be available through iTunes. I believe this is a great thing, because their are very few podcasts out their that are truly focused on the entire overall family ministry (nursery-high school) of a church.  The family ministry team and I look forward to bringing relevant, creative and practical leadership strategies into your ministries on a monthly basis. So check back over the next several days for where and when you can download this very impacting podcast.
More About: Podcasting , Great , T A G

High tech goes low tech!
2007-10-04 05:33:00
I was watching a news report on Good Morning America the other day and was listening to a lady talking about how a lot of high tech toys can be improved with some pretty low tech fixes. At the time I thought that’s cool but I really did’nt think much more about the article. Then all of a sudden it hit me this applies to my children’s ministry and I am sure a whole lot more ministries than just mine. Let me explain what I mean, we live in a day where we can put a whole children’s ministry service together with the aid of a computer, some cool software and a few videos. Now don’t get me wrong, what I am about to say does’nt mean that I don’t believe in these modern day tools as a valid method of ministering to families. I am starting to realize though,  sometimes these cool high tech methods of delivering the message of Jesus can somewhat make us so reliant on them that we can become stagnant in our presentation of this most awesome messag...
More About: High Tech , Tech , High , High-Tech , Goes

Singing Mom makes a splash!
2007-10-03 17:10:00
I guess I will jump on the band wagon to. I cannot believe how easy it is in this day of blogging and instant messaging, to make a big splash around the world. Here is a great example of just that, an average mom and comedian turning herself into what is being called a youtube star with over a million hits on her video. What tops everything else is I was watching my usual Good Morning America this morning and her was this mom, being heard around the world just for doing a 2 minute and 55 second video and daring to be a little different. Comedian and mom Anita Renfroe has become a YouTube star, thanks to her “William Tell Momism” video — a rendition of “everything a mom would say in 24 hours” set to The William Tell Overture. “William Tell Momism” is part of her “Total Momsense” DVD. Find out more at http://www.anitarenfroe.com/. read more | digg story
More About: Splash , Singing