Category: Church Leadership
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“It’s Biblical”
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Marriage can’t be the common denominator anymore
Church programming is largely based on segmentation. In other words, most churches build their programming based on some assumptions about: Age Gender Marital status There is a general assumption in church programming that when a person hits their 20s that most will head towards marriage and having kids. And for most of human history it’s…
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High-trust, low-control
A movement cannot grow in a low-trust, high-control environment. But a dictatorship can. (Cuba) A corporation can. (McDonald’s) A gang can. (Al Capone) In a low-trust, high-control environment leadership is supreme. Decisions flow from top to bottom. A high value is placed on replication and copying and perfecting. Efficiency is more important than individualism. And…
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The Economics of Preaching
click image to see full size Have you ever thought about the economics of preaching? Probably not. If you were to take a moment to think about the value we ascribe to the action of preaching in the American church, you may start to wonder if we’ve overvalued it. Think about it from an organizational…
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The F Word, Part 2
Editorial note: This is part 2 of a guest post from a local San Diego friend. (Part 1) I don’t normally offer guest posts, but this point-of-view is important. Church and youth leaders need to hear from men in their congregations like him. While this post is anonymous, I invite you to dialog with him…
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The Clenched Jaw
Sweat dripped everywhere. Day after day the men sat in the summer heat cooled by the gentle breeze sweeping through the empty valley. But Saul and David’s brothers stayed in their tent, no breeze, sweating. They were afraid. They dared not go outside. As the sun beat down on their tent they paced, hoping a…
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4 Things Negativity Guarantees
Negativity isn’t the opposite of positivity. It is the opposite of gratitude. When things are going great your response to success determines your ability to continue succeeding. And when things are going rotten your response can be the rally point your team needs to keep going. Here are 4 things that being negative will guarantee in…
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Love is an Orientation DVD now available
Last May I spent a day in Chicago’s most historic gay bar, Roscoe’s. Besides having great food and a very helpful staff, the reason I was there was to shoot the adolescence portion of The Marin Foundation‘s new DVD curriculum Love is an Orientation. Why was I part of this project? First – I believe that…
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What does your ministry have to do with Dropbox?
Did you catch that? Steve Jobs invited Drew Houston, CEO of Dropbox, to his office to play Let’s Make a Deal. And Drew Houston walked away. Why? In the written interview for Forbes and the video above you get clued into Houston’s reasoning. “He said we were a feature, not a product.” Apparently, Jobs was thinking…