Do you remember Kid President? It was a small collection of YouTube videos hosted by a young boy on a mission to help kids and grown-ups change the world together. This collection became one of the most watched videos on the planet about 8 years ago.

Brad Montague was the brainchild behind these videos as well as many other YouTube videos and tools. He spoke recently at the Calvin January lecture/speaker series. As a proud alumnus of Calvin University, every year I look forward to listening to the different speakers in this series.

Grown-Ups Need Joy Too

Brad Montague’s talk entitled “Becoming Better Grown-ups” was one of my favourite talks in this series. He starts his talk by quoting a verse in the book of Matthew: “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Brad’s mission in life is what he refers to as “joyful rebellion” and he regularly works alongside young kids to help bring joy to grown-ups. Brad tells stories of how important and famous people become completely real and truly joyful in the company of young children. His story about the video he created of Kid President meeting Beyonce is priceless.

In one of his books, Brad is credited with being the modern-day Mr. Rogers. After watching his January Series talk, I totally agree.

Wonder, Awe, and Excitement

I was thinking about Brad and his “joyful rebellion” mission/posture in the context of Abbotsford Christian School and in the context of our community during these tumultuous times. It made me wonder if our community needs to hear what he has to say —it will change us —I promise.

At ACS, we often thank God for our children. As parents, we are grateful for the gift of our children and that we can partner with ACS in raising them in the way of the Lord.

As a staff, we are grateful for the opportunity (and the responsibility) to teach children. We often long for opportunities to witness their wonder, their awe of learning something new, and their exciting voices on the playground, in the hallways, and in our learning spaces. We even pray for those intimate times when we can just be with kids—for most educators, this is the real reason we got into the job in the first place.

Everyday Joy

We can all relate to Jesus’ words to become like little children because, for some reason, Jesus seems a whole lot more visible when we work with / witness children.

I am grateful for ACS and being a part of an organization that raises children to start to become the people God has designed from the beginning.

But perhaps even more than this, I am grateful to be in the presence of children every day where I learn from them and it brings me a little closer to the kingdom of heaven.