Adam McLane

Tag: Church

  • The Youth Ministry Gap

    After 18 months of working at Youth Specialties and interacting with youth workers around the United States (and everywhere else) it’s finally sunken in: There are two different things called “youth ministry” with a major gap in the middle. Professional vocational youth ministry: When I talk about youth ministry this is often my default. These…

  • Confronting Segregation on Sunday Morning

    Sunday morning’s sermon at Harbor stirred in me the desire for the church to be a place of reconciliation. Stephen reflected on Revelation 7:9-12 in which people of every tribe, tongue, and nation will worship Jesus on His throne in Heaven and asked us to consider if we would attempt to do the same on…

  • Build Something Endearing

  • 6 What Ifs for My Friends in Ministry

    What if the model we do church is wrong? What if the way the Bible describes the church in Acts and the pastoral epistles is really the way Jesus expects the church to be run? What if it isn’t about programs? What if it isn’t about buildings? What if it isn’t about drawing a paycheck…

  • 2 Lies of Church Employment

    Each week I encounter a new story of a church worker that angers me. These are stories from youth workers who have been wronged by the people they trusted with their lives… their church employer. Churches who fire them because they didn’t reach the right kids. Churches who fire a staff member because their spouse…

  • 3 Musketeers of Church Staff

    There’s a lot of smack talk about church staffing these days. Senior pastors rightfully elevate the role of various staff members and do their best to put all staff on the same “level” as themselves in people’s eyes. There are even a few places where church leaders will acknowledge that the childrens ministry professional, youth…

  • Towards Holistic Youth Ministry

    I’ve been blogging the Harbor Mid-City journey as we head towards a launch of student ministry. Up until now in the life cycle of the church plant youth ministry has always been around– part of the DNA– but never emerged as a priority. That’s changing rapidly as the church has formed to the point where…

  • 3 Positive Effects of Recession on the Church

    Nearly every day I encounter someone who tells me their churches budget was cut, people at their church are about to lose their jobs, or otherwise their church is encountering hard financial times. That’s not purely a bad thing. Here are three positive things that a lack of money bring to a church. 1. A…

  • Weekend Review

    I’m still amazed at how much fun we can have in a weekend. It’s been since high school that I’ve had weekends off so consistently. Love it! Friday night, we stayed home and rested. With temperatures in the 100s most of last week, the kids had been stuck in the house a lot. I’d even…

  • Harbor Tailgate Party