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What Are You Gifted to Do?
What are you specifically created to do? That is the million-dollar question!
To answer this question, we need to understand the nature of God’s gifts. Look at the passage in Read more →
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Putting the Mess Back in the Manger
I love the Christmas story. It’s so beautifully poetic. We always read the Christmas story from Luke 2
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3 Signs You Love Ministry More Than God
Ministry is thrilling. Yes, there are deep and painful challenges, but we get to see the Lord change people’s lives. Ministry allows us to enjoy a front row seat to people grasping the gospel, to people being sent out on mission and to the beauty of...
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Emotionally Intelligent Responses to Critics
So you signed up for leadership, but you didn’t really sign up for all the criticism that came with it, did you?
And yet here you are.
Criticism is an almost daily staple for most leaders. You get everything from side comments, to direct challe...
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6 Steps to Building a Strong Small Groups Program
Small groups work. They are where life change happens. Small groups are the place where teens form life long relationships. Small groups are the reason teenager will come back. That’s if you do them right.
While there is a lot of great small group...
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Thinking About Going Into Ministry? 5 Things to Consider...
(I've said this before, but Lee McDerment is literally one of my favorite people on the planet. He's been a part of NewSpring Church since the...
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10 Unique Struggles of the Modern Pastor
I can’t tell pastors today how difficult it was when I was a pastor.
To the contrary, I have to be honest and tell them it is more difficult now.
All three of my sons went into vocational ministry after serving in the business world. One of the...
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7 Specific Suggestions for Dealing With Stress in Life and Leadership
Stress is very much a part of life. Having traveled to many cultures, however, I think we may sometimes “specialize” in stress in America. It almost seems we look for ways to bring more stress in our life.
Yesterday, I shared some general ways to...
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7 Phrases Great Leaders Say Regularly
One of the goals of a leader should be to encourage, strengthen and challenge a team to continually improve. Almost as a cheerleader rousing the crowd at a game, the leader uses his or her influence to bring out the best in ot...
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How to Be Creative on a Deadline
One of the big reasons I admire athletes is that they have to perform. In front of stadiums filled with people, they have to be excellent on a schedule. To make that happen, they...
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The 3 Most Undervalued Staff Positions at Your Church
In a recent study conducted by the APA Center for Organizational Excellence located in Washington D.C., nearly 49 percent of all employees believe they are "undervalued" an...
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When Does Youth Ministry Get Easier?
Maybe you ask this question after a rough encounter with a parent. Maybe you wonder about this after an evening where nothing went according to plan. It’s a question I’ve heard asked countless amounts of times.
Does youth ministry get easier ove...
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The 6 Dangers of an Isolated Leader
An isolated leader is a dangerous leader. The sting of criticism, the burden of the responsibilities and the pace of leadership can nudge a leader toward isolation, but every step toward isolation is a step toward danger. Sadly, many leaders move tow...
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The 6 Social Media Commandments for Church Staff
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3 Unique Challenges to Staffing a Church
At first glance, it seems that church staffing should be a piece of cake, or at the very least not that different from hiring in the secular arena. “You love Jesus? We love Jesus! You grew that ministry from 30 to 300? Great! When can you start?”...