Jesse Joyner, PhD

Category: Church

  • Coming Soon: “Holy Fools”

    My PhD dissertation will be available to the public very soon! I am so excited to share that my full 274-page PhD dissertation will be available (for free) to the public very soon. Stay tuned for the details. The title is “Holy Fools”: Exploring the Journey of Calling for Christian Variety Performers. I didn’t know…

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  • Faith Development Resources: Pre-Teen

    ELEVEN TO TWELVE YEARS Biblezines series. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, various dates. Thomas Nelson publishers has created a series of whole-text Old and New Testaments printed in the style of a modern magazine. They call them “Biblezines.” There are different versions for different genders and age groups. There is Revolve for girls and Refuel for…

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  • Faith Development Resources: Early Childhood

    INTRODUCTION Finding quality resources that help nurture the faith development of children and families can sometimes be difficult. This is the first post in a series, broken up by age-level focus, that can be of help to children, family members, and ministry leaders as they navigate the pilgrimage of the Christian faith. I will start…

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  • The Role of the Children’s Pastor

    I’m reading a great book on ministry with children right now called Children Matter by Scottie May, Beth Posterski, Catherine Stonehouse, and Linda Cannell (Grand Rapids: Eerdman’s, 2005). Here is a quote that made me stop in my tracks: “Our responsibility is to create an environment in which the child can learn about and enter…

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  • Super Easy Scripture Slides and Images

    I recently stumbled upon a fast and free way to make Scripture slides for Children’s Ministry (or any other ministry, for that matter) with an array of free and attractive backgrounds. And it may already be in your phone/device. It’s built into one of the popular apps out there – the free YouVersion app of the…

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  • Bring Me Game Ideas

    The ‘Bring Me’ game is a group activity ideal for engaging children. The leader requests random items, and the first person or group to bring the item gets a point. The game uses technology as it allows for internet-based scavenger hunt challenges. The leader needs to adapt the items according to the group’s characteristics. The…

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  • The Interrobang as a Metaphor for the Hypostatic Union

    If you have no idea what that title means, that’s OK. It is actually fairly simple to explain those weird words, which I will attempt to do. The “hypostatic union” is an important theological concept to understand about the person and work of Jesus Christ. It basically says that Jesus Christ is one person, two…

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  • Five Ways to Redeem Halloween

    As a Christian who grew up in the church and in a Christian family, I have seen many various ways that Christians respond to the cultural phenomenon that has become Halloween. Like many things in life, there are extreme ways to celebrate (or not celebrate) something. Some Christians avoid Halloween and anything having to do…

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Popular Posts

  • “Holy Fools”: Exploring the Journey of Calling for Christian Variety Performers

    I am happy to announce that my PhD dissertation has been published to ProQuest, an academic database for published research. I have made the dissertation open source, which means anyone anywhere can access the full content free of charge. Here is the full dissertation: https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/holy-fools-exploring-journey-calling-christian/docview/2622316783/se-2 Please share far and wide. I am very much excited…

  • The Easiest Large Group Game Ever
    The Easiest Large Group Game Ever

    This is probably the easiest large group game ever invented.  If you can think of an easier one, please let me know in the comments. Heads or Tails! This game of heads or tails involves EVERYONE in your large group.  It is actually better the larger the group gets.  There is an elimination factor to…

  • When God Calls Kids

    On September 26th, I will be facilitating a breakout session at the KidzMatter Conference in Evansville, IN called “When God Calls Kids: Helping Kids Discern and Grow in Their Callings.” If you’re going, come find me on Thursday at 4:30pm in Locust D at the conference! Check out my free resources from my talk right…

  • Out of the Mouths of Children

    “Out of the Mouths of Children” Sermon from Sunday, April 21, 2024 Dr. Jesse Joyner *Scripture passages are from the NIV unless otherwise noted. Matthew 21:6 “…and they said to him, ‘Do you hear what these are saying?’ And Jesus said to them, ‘Yes; have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of infants and…

  • Not a Single Bone Shall Be Broken

    Today is Good Friday on the Christian calendar. I would like to share a Good Friday reflection with you. Thank you for reading… When I speak at children’s events, I tell the story of Jesus and his ministry on earth. I point out that Jesus was the only human in history who lived a perfect…