Bonk. Bonk. Bonk.
Every morning I wake up to the same noise—a bird hitting into our windows.
Bonk. Bonk. Bonk.
For six weeks now, a cardinal attacks various windows around our house with his beak. Every day. Throughout the entire day. Fortunately, I escape this winged terrorist when I leave for work. But he’s waiting for me every night upon my return, so I can watch and listen as he continues to fly into the windows.
Why does he do it? Quick research shows a few possible reasons, all of which focus on his reflection. He might possess aggressive tendencies toward other males, meaning he wants to pick a fight and he sees himself as an easy target.
Or this might be a mating ritual, which means he’s fighting to impress a female bird or to protect her from other suitors. I admit that I occasionally pulled a stupid stunt or two while dating Becky prior to our marriage, but I never considered running nose-first into my own reflection. She confirms that our bird’s approach appears more ridiculous than nearly 90 percent of all my antics.
Bonk. Bonk. Bonk. Back to the bird.
Many sources say my fowl friend believes he’s protecting his companion and whatever new nest she occupies with the family-to-be. Okay, so I’ll give him credit for effort. But why would he keep ramming his head into something when it clearly accomplishes nothing?
Many times, I wonder the same thing about myself. Far too often I’ve felt the need for something to change—but I keep taking the same action and then experience familiar frustration that everything repeated and nothing seems different. Bonk.
I invite you to challenge yourself on this topic. Keep reading; but also be prepared for some bad memories about beak-bashing, because the scenarios might sound familiar.
Our worship music feels tired—as does the worship team. Honestly, the kids would rather listen to an iPod with no charge left. Bonk. Solution: Shop online from people who record music, charge for the songs, and sell lots of them. Then recruit high school students who watch American Idol every week, and commission them to form a new worship team.
Summer’s just a few weeks away; hooray! With it comes the need for summer volunteers; oh, that’s right. Last summer required the ministry to nearly limp at the end because parents just didn’t step forward. You declared that something must change for next year—so did it? Bonk. Solution: Hey, there’s still time to re-tool that fall recruiting campaign. Talk to people who recruit well.
Speaking of summer, remember how last year’s volunteers (those who showed up) seemed to need training of some sort to better engage the kids? Hope the training you developed works well for you. Bonk. Okay, I can help provide a solution for this one.
On May 25, I’ll join hands with Today’s Children’s Ministry to present a webinar designed to train volunteers. Here’s brief description (see the full description here):
Obviously, VBS is an important part of church outreach, a time when many kids make that crucial, first-time commitment to Christ. This webinar will help you make the most of this year’s evangelistic opportunities. It will also help you better understand a common trait all kids share: the need to hear and personally understand what it means to follow Christ. Effective communication plays a big role. So does personal preparation. Yes, you can easily accomplish both. This webinar, filled with practical coaching and interactive exercises, provides training for you and your team to help kids enter into a relationship with Jesus—one at a time.
In a little under an hour of combined image, voice, and computer screens, I’ll help you and/or your volunteers feel prepared to make the most out of the moments you’ll have with kids this summer. Or the next ministry year, for that matter. The webinar is a new approach to delivering valuable training that you don’t have to create on your own. So quit bashing your own beak and click here to see how you can register.
For the next couple of weeks, I promise to think about and pray for this webinar and all who will attend every time that crazy bird rams my windows. Yes, this will happen often. But I feel better that I’ve assigned a kingdom purpose to a nagging problem. After all, I keep trying to make him fly away, but he’s still there.
Bonk. Bonk. Bonk.
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David Staal, senior editor of Today’s Children’s Ministry, serves as the president of Kids Hope USA, a national non-profit organization that partners local churches with elementary schools to provide mentors for at-risk students. Prior to this assignment, David led Promiseland, the children’s ministry at Willow Creek Community Church in Barrington, Illinois. David is the author of Words Kids Need to Hear (2008) and lives in Grand Haven, Michigan, with his wife Becky, son Scott, and daughter Erin. Interested in David speaking at your event? Click here
©2010, David Staal
