Tag: tips

  • How to talk to parents about parenting

    Over the past year or so I’ve had the opportunity to lead an hour-long seminars for parents. In fact, earlier this year partnered with Simply Youth Ministry & Marko to turn the content of my seminar into a book that comes out in a few weeks, A Parent’s Guide to Understanding Social Media. For me,…

  • How to buy a used car for way below Kelly Blue Book price, part 2

    In Part 1 of this series I shared some general used car buying tips that I gleaned from my own experience and reading a few articles on the topic. In this post, I get specific about how I used those general tips to get a great deal on my used minivan. Preface: I spent several weeks…

  • How to buy a used car for way below Kelly Blue Book, Part 1

    After a couple months of research we were finally able to purchase a great used minivan while getting a good deal from a reputable dealer. General used car buying advice Preface — Download the free Kelly Blue Book app for your phone. In order to beat the dealer in real time, you’ll want to have…

  • I need your camping advice!

    Next weekend the McLane family is going camping. (A non-digital adventure!) Specifically, we’re going to Idyllwild, CA for 3 days and 2 nights. We need this Summer 2011 has been the lost summer. Especially for me. Leaving YS and starting up 2 businesses meant that we didn’t take a vacation over the summer and I’m…

  • Three Ways to Reach More Teenagers Starting this Fall

    In your community less than 10% of 6-12th graders are a part of a youth ministry. In most communities 2%-3% of eligible teenagers are involved on a good week. Ouch. Here’s a strategic reality check for you: Tweaking your mid-week program or plugging in a new communications tool or even working harder isn’t going to…

  • Just Write

    So, you want to blog? And you’d like to build a following. Great. I’m here to help. Here’s a quick reality check: Success has nothing to do with a fancy blog design. Success has nothing to do with learning the latest SEO tricks. Success has nothing to do with finding advertisers to fund you. So…

  • 5 Sources of Creative Inspiration

    Getting stuck is a big deal. In my world it means progress stops. So getting from an uncreative space to a creative space is integral to thriving. One thing I’ve learned about myself is that restarting the creative process is typically a matter of moving in one of two directions. I refind my mojo by…

  • How to adjust privacy settings for Facebook Places

    What is it? Facebook describes it this way: Places is a Facebook feature that allows you to see where your friends are and share your location in the real world. When you use Places, you’ll be able to see if any of your friends are currently checked in nearby and connect with them easily. You…

  • A new kind of missions trip

    I’ve been on a lot of missions trips. But never one that was three dimensional before. The three dimensions of the Haiti trip: Going and experiencing for myself. Using Twitter and Facebook to tell stories live, sharing pictures and videos with thousands around the world. Watching the experience change my friends while they participate in…

  • My 3 Caddy Rules for Ministry

    I’m a golfer. I’ve played the game off and on most of my life. More importantly, I love being around golfers. There is a joke among golfers that there are just three rules to a caddy’s job. “Just show up, keep up, and shut up.” That’s really how I feel about our burgeoning youth ministry.…