Theo News

Do I want Jesus?

I want to be a good person who deeply impacts the world for Christ. I want to know Scripture well; to think well. To be a good husband, father, and friend; who profoundly helps my family and friends be all that they can be in Christ Jesus. Further, Scripture teaches that an intimate connection with Jesus Christ is the best way to accomplish these things (John 15). But do I really want Christ? Not just for the sake of those other things. But merely Jesus for Jesus’ sake?

In Philippians, Paul begins with a list of reasons why he should be confident in his abilities. Perhaps not so coincidentally, his list is very similar to my list above. However he says, “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ” (3:7-8). What does he conclude? That all those things are trash compared to knowing Jesus Christ.

Notice, in wanting to know Christ, Paul doesn’t merely want propositional knowledge of Him. That is, he doesn’t want to just know a bunch of facts about Him. Rather, he wants to have the kind of knowledge that one can only have in an intimate relationship. A historian may be the foremost scholar on Abraham Lincoln, but he will never know him as well as Mrs. Lincoln.

Paul wanted Christ for Christ’s sake, even if it meant losing all those other things. I fall short of that attitude often. But my goal, and my prayer for you, is that we would learn to love and desire Christ with such passion that we can each honestly say “I count all those things rubbish so that I may gain Christ”.

Here's to the Crazy Ones (The Children's Pastors)

On February 27- March 1 and March 1-3 our friend Justin Smith (justynsmith.com) will be at CPC (Children’s Pastor Conference) in San Diego, CA and Focus Conference in Greenville, SC.  If you are at one of those conferences, you should attend one of his workshops or just swing by and say “Hi”.  As we here at Whitestone Media were thinking through these two conferences, we started thinking about the wonderful men and women who are called to minister to children.

A few times I have given the bible lesson for my church’s summer VBA (Vacation Bible Adventure). Our VBA has stations, i.e craft station, game station, snack station, etc. In my station, the children heard a lesson based on the day’s bible verses.  There were five different groups that would cycle through the various stations.  So I gave 5 lessons ranging from 10-15 minutes; around an hours work.  I remember thinking, “this should be easy.” But I was so very wrong.  As that last group was exiting, I could do nothing but sit right where I was on that stage.  The amount of voice projection, movement, and all around energy it takes to keep kid’s interest, the amount of work it takes to communicate in ways that they understand, the heart break as you get to know those kids and hear about their broken homes; is physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausting. I could barely speak and my brain felt like mush. But that was only one day of speaking to kids.  It boggles my mind to think about doing that every day.  Children’s ministry requires energy that I just do not have.

So why do they do what they do? Is it the great prestige that comes with working with children? Ha, I don’t think so. Is it the great ego-boosting powers that children possess? No, it doesn’t take long in a child’s presence to realize they just don’t care too much about your ego.  Is it all the wonderful fruit that one gets to see in children’s ministry? It’s true there are some amazing things to be seen when working with children, but the vast majority of the fruit of children’s ministry comes years later and children’s pastors rarely get to experience it.

I guess what I am saying is I don’t know exactly what would motivate one to pour out their lives in service to children.  I suspect it has something to do with Christ’s care for children (Matthew 19:13-15) and His call when He says “If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24).

I do know, however, there are very few ministries that are as important to the Kingdom as the work that Children’s Pastors do on a daily basis. And for that, we are grateful to those who ministered to us as children and for children’s pastors around the world.

God's Grace Coming March 13, 2012!

Our second DVD Theo: God's Grace will be available March 13, 2012. This DVD will feature 3 new episodes, and our bonus episode The Good News.

Armor of God - Can you name all the pieces of the armor of God? In this episode, Theo teaches what each of the pieces represents, as well as how we can use them in our Christian life to fight against the enemy of our souls. Meanwhile, Luther and Belfry find themselves faced with a different kind of enemy, a sly and devious cat named Scratch.

Redemption - Redemption is an ancient word from the marketplace that means “to purchase something.” In this episode Theo explains how our Heavenly Father purchased lost sinners through the death of His Son Jesus Christ. Once again, Luther and Belfry run into trouble with old Scratch, but Theo "redeems" his two little friends in the nick of time with an unusual piece of money.

New Birth - Luther and Belfry overhear Theo mention the phrase "born again." Curious, they listen to Theo talking about what it means to be born again spiritually. The Bible says that we are all born dead in our sins, but through our faith in Jesus Christ we are made spiritually alive...born again. Theo uses the story of Jesus and Nicodemus to explain what it means to have a spiritual new birth.

God's Grace will be available here at www.theopresents.com as well as amazon.com and participating Christian retailers.

The Valentine's Day Monkeys

When we were dating, the first major fight I had with my wife was on Valentines Day.  As poor college students, we decided to put a ten dollar cap on presents. However I thought I would show my generous care for her and get her a gift card to her favorite store AND a romantic stuffed animal on top of that.  But as is bound to happen to anyone who waits until the day of (ok, the night of), everything was pretty picked over.  The only thing that looked potentially romantic was these two hideous, “googly-eyed” monkeys sitting together holding a heart. I thought, “This is perfect! I’ll make a funny romantic joke. I’ll say ‘even if we both looked like this, I would still want to be near you.’ She will absolutely love it!” Ha! I could not be more wrong. Let’s just say, it did not have the desired effect I was hoping for. I was so foolish.  As I have come to know my wife, her likes & dislikes, her priorities; the obviousness of my blunder is so apparent. If only I had been handed a manual explaining those things to me; it would have saved me from so many pitfalls. The great news is we have a manual for the most important relationship in our life. It would have been so very tragic, if Jesus Christ had come to the Earth and died for our sins (thereby making a way for relationship with God) but we had no way of knowing about it. Thanks be to God that, in His wisdom and foreknowledge, He inspired men to record those truths that are necessary for that relationship. But the good news does not stop there.  Not only does the Creator of the Universe want a relationship with you, but he knows every thing there is to know about you.  He knows every need, every desire, every hurt that you have ever had.  Who better to care for us than the One Who knows us best and still loves us. At Whitestone Media, we believe the defining relationship in your children’s life is their relationship with their Creator and we believe a healthy, flourishing relationship with Him is the meaning of life. This is why we work on Theo. It is our desire to help equip kids as they start down the path toward an intimate relationship with the Lord, Jesus Christ. May the Lord bless your family this Valentine’s Day!

The Conversion of a Reluctant Spirit

Editor’s note: February 11th marks the 40th year that Mike Joens (Theo’s creator) has been in Christ. On February 11th, 40 years ago, in a Marine Barracks, Mike came to know Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. In commemoration of that night, we have asked Mike to share his testimony.

I was a 20 year old Marine in Naples, Italy, where I served as a NATO guard. The truth is, I was a blasphemer of God's Name and a practicing atheist; that is, my lifestyle had no room for any thoughts about God. I actually hated Christians and mocked them openly.  To me, they were weird, weak, and despicable hypocrites.

A fellow Marine had shared the Gospel with me on two previous occasions, but I had told him (in hostile terms) to keep it to himself.

However, on the night of Feb 10, at 9:00 pm, I was on Liberty in downtown Naples with my Marine buddies.  We were making the bar circuit that would conclude in the wee hours of the morning.  Suddenly, I felt an overwhelming compulsion to go back to the barracks.  Something I NEVER did.

I got to the barracks at 9:30 and walked straight into the room of the Marine who had shared the Gospel with me. It was like I had a hook in my nose yanking me straight into his room.  He was alone, sitting on the edge of his bed on Liberty night. He appeared to be waiting for someone.

I told him what a great time I was having and just stood there looking down at the floor.  But after about 20 minutes, when I finally looked over at him, his face was wet with tears.  He was sobbing!  Then he told me four words that changed my life.  He said, "Mike, Jesus loves you!"  When he said those words I literally became stone-sober! This scared me.

Next thing I know he was taking me into another Marine’s room, this other Marine was also a Christian who had just come to the Barracks a week earlier. The two men shared the Gospel with me for an hour and a half.  I had NEVER heard the Gospel presented to me as they did that night.  But of course the Holy Spirit was moving in me in powerful ways!

Finally, I went into my room across the hall to be alone.  The lights were off, the door shut.  I looked up at the ceiling, and I remember praying, "God, if you're really there, I'd be a fool not to want you."  Then I got into bed and immediately I was back into an altered state of mind.  God had opened a window in my mind for an hour and a half to hear what His two servants had to say, then He let me suffer the consequences of what I had put into my system.

The next day, Feb 11th, they invited me to the Serviceman's Center in downtown Naples, which was run by Jessie and Nettie Miller, missionaries to servicemen.  This was a place like a Christian USO, where servicemen could come and receive a home-cooked meal, play guitars or board games, and hear the Bible taught by Jesse.  Truly an amazing place with amazing, godly people serving there.

I was blown away.  The Biblical metaphors for spiritual darkness and light are so apt.  When I walked into the Center that night, I felt as though I had walked out of Darkness into a roomful of Light.  I knew immediately that these men and women were different from me.  They had something truly beautiful.  The men were engaging, the meal was superb. Later Jessie taught from the Epistle to the Ephesians and I was enthralled with the message.  These people had Something that I desperately wanted.

Later that night in the Barracks I came to trust Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord.   It was 11:00 pm on February 11, 1972!

I have never looked back.

Editor’s note: The months following Mike’s conversion were quite eventful. Mike saw God do some extraordinary things both through and around him.  But that, as the saying goes, is for another story; one we hope to share with you soon.

Abraham - Interactive Children's Story Book

We are excited to release a new story book app based on our first episode Saving Faith. The app is called Abraham and is featured in the itunes app store. Theo narrates the story of Abraham with fun interactive pages and videos. It's only $.099, click HERE!

We Need You!

We are looking for dedicated prayer warriors! We need committed individuals to pray specifically for Theo to be able to reach the world and spread the gospel. If you would like to be one of our committed prayer warriors please "LIKE" our post on our Facebook page. www.facebook.com/theopresents We are looking for 1000 individuals for the month of March.

God's Grace Coming Soon!

We will be releasing our next DVD in the Theo series entitled God's Grace March 13, 2012. This DVD will feature our fourth, fifth, and sixth episode as well as our bonus episode The Good News. Theo will teach the Armor of God, Redemption, and New Birth. There are also great special features on this DVD that goes behind the scenes of our Shoebox Bible Theatre as well as many elements of our production.

New Curriculum Coming Soon!

Looking for curriculum for your Sunday school class or for your homeschool student? The third installment of Lifeway's Theo curriculum will be available March 1! Pre-order today!

This installment will include our 9th-12th episode. A Day in Prayer, Abiding in Christ, Light Unto My Path, and What is the Church?. It will also include our bonus episode The Good News.

CLICK HERE: Theo Church Edition: Foundations of the Christian Life - $39.99

Win a FREE ticket to the Orange Conference 2012

Good friend Justyn Smith has graciously offered to give away FREE Orange Conference tickets through his blog. Please visit justynsmith.com to find out more.