Prioritizing Children & Youth

Whether we recognize it or not, as leaders it's easy to give precedence to one area of ministry over another. Perry Noble shares his thoughts on the priority NewSpring Church places on Children's & Youth Ministries. What he has to say is certainly thought provoking. Link

Communicating To Make a Difference

I was recently stirred by Earl Creps' comments from one of his recent posts. He said, "The typical person hearing a Christian sermon on Sunday is positively stuffed with messages and media received all week long. Rather than being like a cup of cold water in the desert, a talk at church can feel like a cup of cold water thrown into the ocean. Something about how we talk should answer the question, 'What kind of world is this, and how does God make a difference in how I fit into it?' That's certainly not the only question, but it is one we (I) sometimes overlook."

Whether you're wanting to impart vision to your small group, Bible study group, Kid's class or church, you have to take the time to think through how to make your points memorable. It's not about being "creative" though creativity is helpful, it's about discerning how to work along side the Holy Spirit in what He wants to communicate. I've found the following things helpful to me personally in this venture.

1. If what I'm communicating has been worked out in my life personally by the Spirit, I'm much more passionate and convinced about the need for others to experience it as well. There is no substitute for passion rooted in Holy Spirit conviction.
   
2. I involve others in helping me. I'm always asking other people for their thoughts about how to communicate my thoughts effectively and memorably.
   
3. Begin preparation ahead of time. If you wait till the last minute you're sunk! Thinking through what I need to say (and how to say it) ahead of time affords me a good deal of opportunity to interact with the Holy Spirit and others in regard to the topic at hand.
   
4. I learn from how others do it. Over the years I've come to grips with the fact that I'm not Terry Virgo, Rick Warren, Mark Driscoll, Bill Hybels, Mark Batterson or Perry Noble (just to name a few), nor will I ever be like them. However, there are things I can learn from great communicators such as these. I subscribe to podcasts, blogs and e-newsletters, not as a replacement for communion with the Spirit of God, but as a humble acknowledgment that I'm not there yet.
   

Creative Team Planning

Why is it churches always talk about team, but when it comes to planning a Sunday morning meeting the guy preaching usually works as a team of one? You've heard me talk about using a creative team approach to planning not only Sunday morning sermons, but also Sunday morning services. Well, guess what? I'm talking about it again. Here's a great article from Monday Morning Insight that covers the ins and outs of this approach.

Helpful Stuff From Mark Driscoll

One of the podcasts I subscribe to is from the National New Church Conference. I would encourage you all to download the interview of Mark Driscoll conducted by Ed Stetzer. In this podcast Mark gives some very helpful information to leaders on things ranging from time management to balancing ministry with family priorities.

Becoming Better at Preaching-Part 2

Here's Part-2 of Perry Noble's suggestions for improving your preaching. Link

Becoming Better at Preaching

One of the things I work hard at is preaching. It's not just the content of a sermon that occupies my mind during preparation, but it's also thinking through how the content needs to be communicated. I'm always looking to grow in my understanding of what it takes to be a better communicator. Here is Part 1 of a 2-part blog entry from Perry Noble that addresses this very issue.

High Gas Prices A Blessing?

Here are some reasons to stop complaining about the price of gas and instead use it in a positive way for Kingdom purposes. Link

Ins & Outs of Copyrights

Is anyone else out there confused about copyright laws? What can a church do, not do, think about doing...? The folks over at Creativesynergy have helped us out big time with a podcast that unpacks the truth about copyright laws as they pertain to churches. The podcast features experts in the field who know what they're talking about. Link

Ownership vs Membership

Vintage 21 Church of Raleigh, NC takes a most intriguing approach to traditional church membership. Rather than calling it membership, they call it "ownership". Which means they have "owners" rather than "members". Here's the link to their explanation on their site.

Sunday Morning Greeters

What do your greeters say to your Sunday morning guests? Seth Godwin gives some practical advice for how to actually engage guests in meaningful conversation. Link

Confessions of a Church Planter--Part 2

Here's Part 2 of Devin Hudson's church planting experience. Link

Free Freelance Graphics

The good folks over at Church Marketing Sucks are offering free freelance graphics, for a limited time, to churches. If you have a project you would like them to work on, send it over to them. If anyone takes them up on this, I'd like to hear your story. Link

Confessions of a Church Planter--Part 1

For those of you who want to know more about what it's really like to plant a church, Devin Hudson of Grace Point Church, Las Vegas, NV shares his thoughts on Monday Morning Insight. It's great to learn from those who are on the front line. Part 2 will be coming tomorrow.

Thoughts on Engaging Culture from Rick Warren

Engaging culture has always been and will continue to be a hot topic for the Church. Rick Warren offers us his thoughts on how to engage culture in a biblical way. Link

Hiring Leaders

Tim Stevens from Granger Community Church shares these very helpful tidbits about looking for leaders to hire.

A few weeks ago, I was asked to answer this question: When hiring someone to join your staff, what are some criteria that you follow? Do you have an outline? Do you go by gut feeling? Do you rely on relationships?

In my 13+ years at Granger, I've been involved in the hiring of more than 75 staff members. We have very low turnover and I think it is because of some core beliefs on how we hire. Here are four quick thoughts...

We Hire Insiders
We have 82 on staff, and 80 of them were hired from inside the church. Before hiring them, we were doing life with them. They were serving beside us in ministry. We saw their strengths and weaknesses and how they respond under pressure. I often get asked from leaders around the country, "Do you have any positions open at Granger?" My answer: "Move your family to Granger, get a job, jump into a volunteer role, and then we'll talk in two or three years."

Chemistry is Crucial
It is more important than skill or experience or education. You have to play well in the sandbox with others. You must have some basic interpersonal skills. I've worked with some people in the past who were highly skilled, had great experience, did their job well - but no one wanted to be around them. Chemistry is at the top of our criteria list. Of course, because we hire from the inside, we already know if we like being around them.

Education is Low on the List
I think a great college education gets you your first job. It also can help you learn a good work ethic and develop some patterns for becoming a life-long learner. Don't get me wrong, it's not a strike against you. It's just not very high on the list. We look at chemistry, experience and proven skills before we look at education.

We Call References
Even if we've been going to church with the guy for 20 years, we call references. It's amazing to me that pastors don't do this. In all my time at Granger, we've had five staff members hired away from us to another church. Not one of those pastors called to ask questions about the individuals' work ethic, attitude, strengths, weaknesses or loyalty. And three of the five made it at the new church less than two years before they were fired or left surrounded in a cloud of tension. Always call references.

Leadership Expectations of Your Team

As a leader, the team you work with is one of the most important elements of the ministry God has called you to. Therefore, communicating expectations within the team is extremely significant. Mark Batterson recently shared 7 expectations he has of his team at National Community Church, in Washington D.C. This is good stuff! Link

Outreach Ideas

I realize that when it comes to outreach and evangelism, it's better to think lifestyle rather than event. However, sometimes events can kick start or even facilitate lifestyle. On that note, here's Outreach Magazine's list of best outreach resources for 2006. Link

Learning From Failure

Some of life's most memorable lessons are borne out of failure. With that in mind here's the story of one church planter who learned some valuable lessons when the church he planted in Sweden had to be shut down. Link We can learn a lot from a guy like this.

Baptisms

Baptisms are a highlight for us at Jubilee Church. I love how the church enthusiastically responds when a new convert comes up out of the water. One of the things we do to involve the entire church is to circulate to the congregation the written testimonies of those being baptized. I've heard of other churches who show video interviews of those being baptized. Here's one church that gives a tee shirt to those being baptized. When I was at Granger Community Church over a year ago I bought a DVD of one of their baptism services. (They baptize people once a year, which for them involves baptizing hundreds.) Every once in awhile I get it out and watch it as a reminder of why I do what I do. Watching husbands & wives, parents & kids and friends coming up out of the water linked arm in arm makes me cry every time. Something as significant as identifying ourselves with the risen Lord Jesus should never go unplanned. I encourage you to take the time to think through how you can make these times as meaningful as you possibly can.

Terry Virgo Goes High Tech

I'm so pleased to discover that our very good friend Terry Virgo now has his own website and blog. The website contains a number of helpful resources that you'll want to check out. Thanks to Rob Barnes for bringing this information to my attention. (I'm still trying to figure out how Rob got his picture on Terry's front page.)