Category: Monday Motivation

  • Mater artium necessitas

    Mater artium necessitas

    Mater artium necessitas Necessity is the mother of invention English Proverb Made for Invention When was the last time you hung around children? Little ones remind you of something we, as adults, often forget: We’re made for invention. My life is made brighter each day by the creativity of our 4-year old, Jackson. Like every pre-schooler…

  • Be Dangerous

    Be Dangerous

    @mclanea I don’t usually enjoy church tweets, but when I do, they’re from you. — Adam Lehman (@AdamLehman) June 28, 2015 This Twitter exchange with a former church worker turned entrepreneur reveals that there’s a bit of a leadership farce going on in our society right now. Everyone is getting labeled a leader. I mean,…

  • An Ecosystem for Success

    An Ecosystem for Success

    Why are some organizations so successful while others try really hard but never seem to get there? Or, when something successful does come along, why doesn’t it last? Why do successful people leave? These are big, important conversations for every organization. Every organization. Your local bank, taco shop, church, school, and even– maybe oddly– sole…

  • 3 Keys to a Healthy Ecosystem for Growth

    3 Keys to a Healthy Ecosystem for Growth

    I spent a lot of time in Freshbooks last week. This revealed three important things to me. First, it’s clear that Marko and I have no training in accounting or bookkeeping. We try really hard and we are learning a ton. But it’s way harder than I’d like to admit. Second, while living in the daily grind of…

  • Clothes Don’t Make the Man

    Clothes Don’t Make the Man

    Peessshhheeeewwww. The air brakes release on the rental car shuttle at the Phoenix airport last Thursday and a packed bus starts to make its way to the terminal. Peessshhheeeewwww. I roll my head back and let out a deep, silent sigh. A great day of training youth workers and talking to people about the Student Justice…

  • Bidin’ My Time

    Bidin’ My Time

    Ever had one of those 3 o’clock in the morning moments of illumination? Well, this is one of those.  I’ve probably heard 20 sermons on John 15 about the vines and the branches. Maybe more. I’ve probably taught on it myself. There are whole books built on this, I’ve read a bunch of commentaries. It’s…

  • It’s about the results, not the process

    It’s about the results, not the process

    Michelangelo didn’t do it right. Boss man didn’t like the nose.  You didn’t do your math right. Well, you got the right answer but your teacher marked you down because you couldn’t show that you did the problem the way she wants to see. We celebrate Thomas Edison for his inventions. But we just prefer…

  • Keep Youth Ministry Weird

    Keep Youth Ministry Weird

    Youth ministry is weird.  When planning a worship service for adults you’d never think, “We need a big group game to get people laughing.” Or, “Let’s have a sleep over right here in the church.” A little too weird for most adults. But awesome for 8th graders. It’s pretty rare that adults will show up an…

  • Potential

    Potential

    I saw this tweet this morning. I don’t know about you, but it motivates me. 44 starters in the Super Bowl: 5 Star Recruits – 0 4 Star Recruits- 4 3 and below- 40 #KeepYourDream — Alfonso Smith † (@FonzoRB29) February 2, 2015 It’s crazy to think about how important decisions you make as a 17 year high school…

  • The Psychology of Savings

    The Psychology of Savings

    Last night, we watched an excellent documentary on Netflix called Living on One Dollar. It’s the story of two upper middle class college students who are passionate about international development but realize that in order to truly understand their coursework they need to experience the life of those they hope to help. They went on…