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The Red Book: The Life Blood of Children's Ministry
Why The Red Book? Think about the most powerful message that you can teach kids in the 21st century. What would it be? Red represents the blood of Christ. The blood of Jesus Christ is just as important a message today as it was yesterday. The Red Book is not just about everything you can do in children’s ministry to make it exciting and fun, even though there is some how-to stuff included. It’s about the things that really matter. Why do we do what we do? Because what matters most is eternity, and eternity is the Life Blood of Children’s Ministry. "The Red Book is a breath of fresh air, a commanding call to action, and an invitation for the church to take children’s ministry seriously so we can make a difference like never before! This book is a must-read for anyone who ministers to children and families in the church." Ryan Frank Author of The Volunteer Code and CEO/Publisher at Kidzmatter "Mark Harper is a walking google of children’s ministry. Not only does he know a bunch of info about children’s ministry, he knows what matters most. That’s what this book is about. This Red Book needed to be written years ago but it took Mark years to learn it. Now you can learn it without taking years or learning it the hard way. It is packed full of practical, hands-on experience from one of the best I know." Jim Wideman Children’s and Family Ministry Pioneer, Author, Coach and Orange Thinker
172 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 28, 2019
As a Children's Pastor, I get fairly excited to read books on Children's Ministry. So when I found a copy of Mark Harper's The Red Book, I was interested to see what he considered "the life blood of Children's Ministry." I finished this book in less than a day, but I will say I had a hard time reading this one. Not because of the writing style or format, but because of the content.
I need to say this up front: I respect Mark Harper's work in Children's Ministry for the past 35+ years. I also really respect what he has to say here about working with volunteers. Every section on volunteers was full of great material, good ideas, and thoughts I know I'll be implementing in my own ministry.
The sections of this book I had trouble with have more to do with some pedagogical and theoretical stances surrounding Children's Ministry. The focus here is often on information over transformation. The idea of getting more information to kids about Jesus in order to save them is inherently flawed. Judas had all the information in the world about Jesus, and yet information could not save him. What could save him was a transformed life from choosing to follow Jesus with his whole life.
But even beyond information vs. transformation, there is another looming issue: God is not quite central here. Let me explain: In chapter 2, Harper states, "Salvation is not the only subject we should teach, but it is the most important" (pg. 14). When we approach Children's Ministry, we must approach them as sheep as Scottie May so deftly points out in her book Children Matter. Sheep are living objects with minds, hearts, and even emotions, who choose to follow someone. Discussing things like "salvation" as topics treats kids more like blank slates that need to be taught rather than sheep longing to be led by the Good Shepherd. What if instead of "teaching salvation," we shared Jesus, creating the space for kids to discover God and respond to Him? What if instead of teaching morals, we pointed out where God interacts with humanity in the true stories of Scripture?
In chapter 14, Harper shares this: "This generation is spiritually starving to death. My question for you is do you want to be part of the problem or part of the solution? The problem is clear; kids are not learning the Bible... The Solution is: Teach More Bible" (pgs.56-57). I agree that we are in an interesting space in the United States. There are many kids who don't follow Jesus yet, and this is exactly the "problem." Not that kids are not learning the Bible; they are not encountering Jesus. The solution is not teaching more Bible. The solution is Jesus. As the body of Christ, we have been called to share Jesus with those around us through our words and through our actions -- sharing the Gospel. And yes, that involves Scripture. But it also involves the work of the Holy Spirit and the love for God and others that can only come when we are following Jesus.
One other area I must mention is the theological framework Harper comes from. He is firmly rooted in the Assemblies of God tradition, and that comes through here. In chapter 9 under a discussion about the Holy Spirit's work in the lives of kids, Harper discusses three ways the Holy Spirit speaks to us: through Scripture, through the Inward Witness, and through your Conscience. I am not going to get into a debate here about the theology of this, but readers should be aware of the theological framework Harper comes from and decide for themselves where they land on such issues.
One theological statement I do need to mention is this: during a discussion of parenting vs. pastoring, Harper states, "The Gospel says that Jesus paid the price for our disobedience. In other words, God spanked Jesus instead of spanking me. Yes, it makes God angry when I sin, but He poured out His anger on Jesus when He was on the cross" (pg. 138).
First, the Bible is very clear that God is heartbroken over our sin (the things we do, say, or think that aren't loving to God or others), which we find in Scriptures such as Genesis 6:6. Second, God's motivation for sending Jesus to die on the cross and defeat sin and death forever through the resurrection three days later was love (John 3:16, 1 John 4:16, Romans 5:8). God loves the people He created so much that He sent Jesus to save us from our sin because He wants to be in relationship with us. While Jesus was taking our place, it was not God "spanking the sin out of Jesus." Jesus is God, and if you look at the heart of Christ on the cross, you see the way He responded: with love and forgiveness, not anger, wrath, or damnation. Jesus did pay for sin on the cross. But it was not God "satisfying" His anger in that moment. It was an act of sacrifice and love to free us from the hold of sin and death. Third, we have to change this conversation about the wrath and anger of God. Are there times when Christ Himself was angry? Yes. But what was He angry over? Injustice. When Jesus flips tables in the Temple, He's rejecting a monetary system that took advantage of the poor coming to sacrifice there. When God is angry with Israel, sharing a message through the Old Testament prophets such as Malachi, God is angry over their mistreatment of the widows, the poor, the orphans, and the general hypocrisy of the people in their worship. What angers God? Injustice.
But what comes through strongly throughout Scripture? The love of God. We need to emphasis this part of God's character when we talk about Him. The writers of Psalms such as Psalm 136, had it right when they repeated over and over: "His faithful love endures forever."
In the Trinity, we see a perfect relationship between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And we see the invitation: we are called to have a relationship with that God. We are called to follow Jesus and see the love God has for us.
I want to make sure this comes across: Scripture is so important and should be a vital part of Children's Ministry. From Scripture, we discover who God is, what God has done, is doing, and will do one day. We read about the lives of those who have followed God before us in time and space in history (Hebrews 11). We discover what it means to be holy (1 Peter 1:15, 22) to love God and love others (Matthew 22:37-40). We find out the Gospel - the Good News - that God loves us (1 John 4:16), but we all have sin in our lives (Romans 3:23). Because of that sin we are separated from God (Romans 6:23) and need His forgiveness to be free from that sin. That's why Jesus died on the cross and came back to life three days later (John 3:16). Now anyone who decides to follow Him will be freed and forgiven of their sin (1 John 1:9) and become part of the family of God (John 1:12).
One final thing to discuss here is the lack of citations for the statistics Harper mentions throughout the book. Often he throws out stats like: "Statistics show that 20 percent of the kids that grow up in church will stay in church when they become adults. Eighty percent leave the church they grew up in" (pg. 9). There are no citations to back up these claims, either in footnotes or endnotes.
At the end of the day, I'm sad about the outcome of this book. I had been excited to read it, but have to say that what this book does is highlight some of the prevailing thoughts about Children's Ministry that need to change. We need to help kids discover the transforming work of the Trinity. We need to change the conversation about the cross. We need to look at kids not as blank slates, but as sheep, who can respond to God and follow Him. We need to talk about the love of God throughout Scripture. We need to emphasize transformation over information. We need to treat kids like Jesus did: not barring them from coming to Him, but pointing them in the direction of the loving God who says unless we become like those children, we will not see His Kingdom.
I need to say this up front: I respect Mark Harper's work in Children's Ministry for the past 35+ years. I also really respect what he has to say here about working with volunteers. Every section on volunteers was full of great material, good ideas, and thoughts I know I'll be implementing in my own ministry.
The sections of this book I had trouble with have more to do with some pedagogical and theoretical stances surrounding Children's Ministry. The focus here is often on information over transformation. The idea of getting more information to kids about Jesus in order to save them is inherently flawed. Judas had all the information in the world about Jesus, and yet information could not save him. What could save him was a transformed life from choosing to follow Jesus with his whole life.
But even beyond information vs. transformation, there is another looming issue: God is not quite central here. Let me explain: In chapter 2, Harper states, "Salvation is not the only subject we should teach, but it is the most important" (pg. 14). When we approach Children's Ministry, we must approach them as sheep as Scottie May so deftly points out in her book Children Matter. Sheep are living objects with minds, hearts, and even emotions, who choose to follow someone. Discussing things like "salvation" as topics treats kids more like blank slates that need to be taught rather than sheep longing to be led by the Good Shepherd. What if instead of "teaching salvation," we shared Jesus, creating the space for kids to discover God and respond to Him? What if instead of teaching morals, we pointed out where God interacts with humanity in the true stories of Scripture?
In chapter 14, Harper shares this: "This generation is spiritually starving to death. My question for you is do you want to be part of the problem or part of the solution? The problem is clear; kids are not learning the Bible... The Solution is: Teach More Bible" (pgs.56-57). I agree that we are in an interesting space in the United States. There are many kids who don't follow Jesus yet, and this is exactly the "problem." Not that kids are not learning the Bible; they are not encountering Jesus. The solution is not teaching more Bible. The solution is Jesus. As the body of Christ, we have been called to share Jesus with those around us through our words and through our actions -- sharing the Gospel. And yes, that involves Scripture. But it also involves the work of the Holy Spirit and the love for God and others that can only come when we are following Jesus.
One other area I must mention is the theological framework Harper comes from. He is firmly rooted in the Assemblies of God tradition, and that comes through here. In chapter 9 under a discussion about the Holy Spirit's work in the lives of kids, Harper discusses three ways the Holy Spirit speaks to us: through Scripture, through the Inward Witness, and through your Conscience. I am not going to get into a debate here about the theology of this, but readers should be aware of the theological framework Harper comes from and decide for themselves where they land on such issues.
One theological statement I do need to mention is this: during a discussion of parenting vs. pastoring, Harper states, "The Gospel says that Jesus paid the price for our disobedience. In other words, God spanked Jesus instead of spanking me. Yes, it makes God angry when I sin, but He poured out His anger on Jesus when He was on the cross" (pg. 138).
First, the Bible is very clear that God is heartbroken over our sin (the things we do, say, or think that aren't loving to God or others), which we find in Scriptures such as Genesis 6:6. Second, God's motivation for sending Jesus to die on the cross and defeat sin and death forever through the resurrection three days later was love (John 3:16, 1 John 4:16, Romans 5:8). God loves the people He created so much that He sent Jesus to save us from our sin because He wants to be in relationship with us. While Jesus was taking our place, it was not God "spanking the sin out of Jesus." Jesus is God, and if you look at the heart of Christ on the cross, you see the way He responded: with love and forgiveness, not anger, wrath, or damnation. Jesus did pay for sin on the cross. But it was not God "satisfying" His anger in that moment. It was an act of sacrifice and love to free us from the hold of sin and death. Third, we have to change this conversation about the wrath and anger of God. Are there times when Christ Himself was angry? Yes. But what was He angry over? Injustice. When Jesus flips tables in the Temple, He's rejecting a monetary system that took advantage of the poor coming to sacrifice there. When God is angry with Israel, sharing a message through the Old Testament prophets such as Malachi, God is angry over their mistreatment of the widows, the poor, the orphans, and the general hypocrisy of the people in their worship. What angers God? Injustice.
But what comes through strongly throughout Scripture? The love of God. We need to emphasis this part of God's character when we talk about Him. The writers of Psalms such as Psalm 136, had it right when they repeated over and over: "His faithful love endures forever."
In the Trinity, we see a perfect relationship between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And we see the invitation: we are called to have a relationship with that God. We are called to follow Jesus and see the love God has for us.
I want to make sure this comes across: Scripture is so important and should be a vital part of Children's Ministry. From Scripture, we discover who God is, what God has done, is doing, and will do one day. We read about the lives of those who have followed God before us in time and space in history (Hebrews 11). We discover what it means to be holy (1 Peter 1:15, 22) to love God and love others (Matthew 22:37-40). We find out the Gospel - the Good News - that God loves us (1 John 4:16), but we all have sin in our lives (Romans 3:23). Because of that sin we are separated from God (Romans 6:23) and need His forgiveness to be free from that sin. That's why Jesus died on the cross and came back to life three days later (John 3:16). Now anyone who decides to follow Him will be freed and forgiven of their sin (1 John 1:9) and become part of the family of God (John 1:12).
One final thing to discuss here is the lack of citations for the statistics Harper mentions throughout the book. Often he throws out stats like: "Statistics show that 20 percent of the kids that grow up in church will stay in church when they become adults. Eighty percent leave the church they grew up in" (pg. 9). There are no citations to back up these claims, either in footnotes or endnotes.
At the end of the day, I'm sad about the outcome of this book. I had been excited to read it, but have to say that what this book does is highlight some of the prevailing thoughts about Children's Ministry that need to change. We need to help kids discover the transforming work of the Trinity. We need to change the conversation about the cross. We need to look at kids not as blank slates, but as sheep, who can respond to God and follow Him. We need to talk about the love of God throughout Scripture. We need to emphasize transformation over information. We need to treat kids like Jesus did: not barring them from coming to Him, but pointing them in the direction of the loving God who says unless we become like those children, we will not see His Kingdom.
August 14, 2020
I read this book in a week- however I highlighted a lot and will continue to go back to the highlights. There’s a lot of chunks in here that can be used over the time of being in children’s ministry. A good book to keep looking back on.
May 15, 2017
This book is a must read for those serving in children's ministry! I love the bite size chunks Mark Harper provides & I'm so excited to implement what he teaches in my own ministry!
September 23, 2019
This was a first aid kit for me! It had all kinds of resources that was able to help me with what ever need I had or have. It help me dream big and confirmed some thoughts I had a great read!!!!
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September 29, 2022Excellent book.
October 3, 2024
A must read for any and all pastors regardless of their position but especially for those overseeing children’s ministry. Simple and to the point with none of the fluff. Worth every second to stop what you are doing and to read.
February 10, 2017
This is a great resource for anyone in Children's Ministry. Mark Harper unpacks a lot in short, easy-to-read chapters. He gives both inspiration and practical ideas derived from his years of ministry experience.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews