Tag: strategy
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5 Minute Strategy Session: Define Your Ministry Goal
Discussion questions: Do you agree with the assumption that ministry programs have relational capacities? Do you agree with the assumption that you need to grow or risk losing your job? What are other strategies you could employ in the next 30 days which would impact adolescents in other spheres? Here’s the link to download my…
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Viva la Cartel!
After three amazing years of working at Youth Specialties, it’s with a crazy concoction of sadness and excitement, that I’m sharing today that I’m leaving Youth Specialties to start a new venture. It’s impossible to put into words the emotions I felt just now as I wrote, then again as I rewrote, and over the…
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The problem with one-size fits all is…
The problem with one-size fits all is… One-size doesn’t fit all. We are faced with a tiny percentage of the population actively involved in the local church. (>10%) Yet, I’m continually perplexed to see no one looking hard at the big, obvious problems of bottlenecks & gatekeepers which keep churches small with a strategy that…
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5 Ways to Get Change Moving
“You are crazy enough to think you can change the world.” This was the negative criticism of my ministry nearly 10 years ago by an elder. I took it as a compliment. When I read Revelation 2-3 I see that Jesus will not judge individual churches or communities of faith. That’s not what John saw.…
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5 things gardens teach us about healthy churches
Last year, Kristen and I made a commitment to grow organically or buy organically 25% of our families food. For us, that has meant starting and maintaing a garden. As they say, inch by inch and row by row– we have watched our garden grow. A native suburbanite, I’ve discovered many revelations about my perceptions…
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Moving towards the polite middle
As I think about the church and the 5%-10% of people we reach in the community I wonder where we fall on the bell curve. Something tells me that it looks a little like this. I wonder if the positions we take attracts, appeals to, and connects a certain type of people? And I wonder…
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The Strategy Gap
Wanted: Christians willing to love neighbors. Pay: None. Experience required: None. Training: None. Location: Work from home. Starting date: Immediately.
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My Kids Aren’t Your Target Audience
Imagine the freedom of hearing this one phrase. A parent affirming a youth pastor by saying, “My kids aren’t your target audience. Reach the lost.” What would happen if parents stepped into their role and discipled their teenage children, and at the same time affirmed the church’s youth pastor by saying, “My kids aren’t your…
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Getting away from pendulum thinking
Our culture is dominated by pendulum thinking. We have a tendency to think in extremes. There’s something in our cultural make-up which makes it difficult to think about minor corrections as we default to massive swings. It’s “either or” thinking… and it drives me mad. It’s been going on for a while. In fact, it…