Category: Christianity

Less is More

February 12, 2013

When I was in Port-au-Prince, Haiti last month, I had the privilege of visiting a children’s home/orphanage of about 30 kids between the ages of 10-17. My host, Scott, asked if I would be willing to teach the kids how to juggle. I was happy to do so. The only problem is that I did…
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The Uncle Charlie Only144 Sale

February 7, 2013

Buy over $1500 of Uncle Charlie’s music and other resources for only $97. The first one hundred buyers get a free “Live Show” DVD of my juggling act. Click on the image to get to the sale.
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This Is Why I Love My Job

January 14, 2013

Every so often I hear feedback from people who see my show. And over the years, I’ve heard the good, the bad, and the ugly. It’s amazing, though, just how powerful some stories can be in inspiring you to continue doing the job/ministry/vocation you do. This is one of those letters….. I recently got this…
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When Children Grieve: From Bethlehem to Newtown

December 21, 2012

On a mild autumn morning twelve years ago, I found myself in front of a primary school class full of grieving children. I was their entertainment for the day – a juggler from halfway across the world, doing whatever I could to bring a little joy to their lives. The children were Palestinian kids from…
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The Problem with Santa

December 7, 2012

I have a problem with Santa. I’m not hostile towards the jolly fellow. He’s actually a really nice guy. But I still have a really big problem with him. Santa is a legalist. He makes a list. He checks it twice. He finds out who is naughty or nice. And then he rewards the good…
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How to Win at Heads or Tails

December 3, 2012

I can teach you a secret to winning at heads or tails – every single time. You can flip the coin a thousand times and call the heads or tails to your friends before you all look at the coin. And this is all using a real quarter. There are a few conditions: This works…
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My Take: Dumb Ways to Die

November 29, 2012

This catchy and artsy music video will either make you laugh or make you a little creeped out, depending on your sense of humor. I thought it was hilarious, especially the character who “sold both kidneys on the internet.” Would you believe that this is a public service announcement from the rail Metro in Melbourne,…
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How to Save Three Dollars

November 20, 2012

So you want to learn how to juggle but you don’t quite have the budget to go out and buy $5 balls, $7 rings, and $30 clubs. I have the answer for you. You could just use anything currently lying around the house, like balled-up socks, tomatoes, or kittens. But if you use socks, you…
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The Most Misunderstood Concept about God

November 13, 2012

Grace. I often ask groups of children when I teach them, “Will you go to heaven if you’re a good kid?” And I usually get the same resounding “yes!” from the crowd. Many adults in the Church would answer the same way. This is a big problem in the Church today, and it starts in…
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Why It Helps for Children’s Church to Be Fun

November 4, 2012

Let me be clear: The message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ does not need a circus of pizazz to penetrate the heart of a child (or anyone for that matter). The love and grace of Jesus stands fine on its own to regenerate the hearts of children. But it sure does help to present…
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Captivating the Attention of Children

November 1, 2012

Anyone can captivate the attention of a child – or a group of children. All it takes is a smile and a little energy in your face. And those things come from a sincere heart to connect with the child/children. It helps to be able to perform some astonishing feat like a magic trick or…
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Every Child is a Winner by McCaslin and Biehl

October 30, 2012

Caz McCaslin runs Upward Sports, a global youth sports organization that promotes Biblical values, equal play time, and ultimately, the person and work of Jesus Christ. He wrote what he considers a “parent playbook” called Every Child is a Winner (Broadman and Holman: Nashville, 2002). My family and I got to visit the main headquarters…
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Faith Like a Child

October 25, 2012

My wife, Sarah, broke her pinky toe last week. Then she gouged the underside of her other foot on a broken piece of wood flooring (we have an old house – and I’m fixing the problem area today). So she’s limping around, ever-so-courageously, chasing our toddler and living normal life. Our toddler, Kezzie, has clearly…
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Shamgar: The Relief Pitcher of the Bible

October 9, 2012

I just read an article over at ESPN about the relief pitchers for the Baltimore Orioles, who did a fantastic job putting down the Yankees last night in the playoffs. Brian Matusz spoke about how being a bullpen pitcher can be a “thankless job.” Yet they are some of the most key players of a…
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Breakfast with Jesus

October 3, 2012

We can be pretty sure that Jesus wasn’t a vegetarian because he called his disciples over for a fish breakfast in one of his post-resurrection appearances. This was the original church fish fry. It doesn’t say that Jesus partook of the fish, but the meal was definitely his idea – so break out the tilapia!…
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The Engage Children’s Ministry Conference

October 1, 2012

I was just invited to teach a workshop at The Engage Conference up in Pennsylvania in November. If you work in Children’s Ministry in any capacity (pastor, leader, volunteer, etc.), please see if you can make this great one-day conference. Its only twenty bucks! Click Here for all the info.
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Fall Festival Ideas

September 27, 2012

If you’re a Children’s Pastor or leader of a community program for families, you’re probably somewhere on the spectrum of planning for your annual Fall Festival. If you haven’t started planning for one, its still not too late, but you only have about a month left, depending on when you hold it. Before I list…
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Nine Reasons Why I Love My Wife

September 20, 2012

Sarah and I celebrate our 9th wedding anniversary today. When we were engaged, we somehow came up with a joke that we would be married for 60 years before one of us died. But when you do the math, that leaves us dead at 82 or 83 and I’d like to live at least 20…
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Including the Children

September 13, 2012

The battle of Jericho has been immortalized in the Judeo-Christian conscience as the epic moment when “the walls came tumblin’ down.” So why don’t we remember the dramatic battle after Jericho? It is known as the battle of Ai. Ai was a city further into the Promised Land from Jericho. Joshua tried sending a small force…
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God and Money

September 12, 2012

When I was in college, I remember having a cloud of worry parked over my psyche every single day because I knew that I was taking out a LOT of money for school and I was going to have to pay it back. And it was during college that I decided my life theme verse…
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3,470 Hours Per Year

September 11, 2012

3,470 hours. If you’re a parent, that’s about how many hours per year that your children are awake and not in school or church. Church-going kids spend anywhere from an hour to five hours a week in church or doing church-related activities. Another 50-100 hours is spent sleeping, depending on the age of the child.…
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The Princess Problem

September 7, 2012

Check out this article written by a professor at my alma mater, Taylor University. Her name is Amy Lepine Peterson and she offers a critique of Karen Kingsbury’s children’s books about princes and princesses. Here is the link to the article: http://tinyurl.com/9nbmofh Now that you’ve read it, here’s my thought: The character of a princess in…
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Living Up to Your Name

September 5, 2012

This past February, Sarah, Kezzie took a trip to Europe. We flew in and out of Barcelona. When we landed, we spent the day walking (a lot) around Barcelona. People told us we had to go see Sacrada Familia, so we wandered until we found it. Apparently, this is the big attraction in Barcelona, so…
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Why Do Churches Make The Worst Shirts?

August 28, 2012

Frankly, I don’t know why. But I’m posting this to see if anyone out there has the answer. I have dozens of free t-shirts from all over the country from church outreaches, camp retreats, summer camps, and other events put on by churches. I have a few that I am willing to wear in public.…
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The Bible is Rated R

May 31, 2012

If you’ve read the Bible, you will notice that if someone were to make an all-out accurate portrayal of it on the big screen, it would easily be rated R or worse. From the nakedness of Adam and Eve in the garden to the brutally violent crucifixion of Jesus, the Bible is one of the…
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