Our church recently broke bread with each other. When I say “broke bread,” I mean we literally ate a brunch of coffee cakes, lemon squares, blueberry muffins and more. It wasn’t a special event… a women’s tea party… a men’s breakfast… or a guest reception.…
I’d advertised the opportunity well. “You’re invited to join our Student Leadership Team.” It was my second week at the church, and the students didn’t know me or what to expect from this invite. All they knew was that whomever was on this team would become point leaders in our youth group.…
Camp problems. I’m talking bugs coming into the bed… and no hot water all weekend. Not the usual stuff you might deal with on a weekend away with students. Normal camp problems usually involve wondering “Is this a tan, or just dirt?”…
It’s been my experience that most staff members in churches feel under-appreciated. Feel free to correct me. What you may not know is how it feels from the other side of the desk. As a Lead Pastor, I often struggle with limited resources to make our church’s paid and volunteer teams feel loved on.…
It’s hard to serve those who cause you heartache. (Pause with me a moment as we each consider who that is for us.) I’m going to guess we have one thing in common with our answers. It’s the reason why youth workers and pastors who are otherwise strangers can find immediate camaraderie with each other.…
Robin Williams is a liar. At least, his character in the great movie “Dead Poet’s Society” is… or is misinformed. Just like you. Just like me. Esquire Magazine referenced a quote by novelist Nicolson Baker of how one of William’s catchphrases in the movie was mistranslated: “Carpe diem” doesn’t mean seize the day — it means something gentler and more sensible.…
The enemy of outreach… is outreach. It seems like every church has some advocate for its “outreach.” This could be a person in an official ministry role, be it paid or volunteer. In some situations, the pastor is the primary advocate (especially if he/she has a spiritual gifting in this area).…
I have one final thought for you. First, we asked the question: Should I stay or should I go? Next, we pondered a couple check marks that remind us what’s most important. In a moment, I’m going to post some wisdom from the trenches.…
Should you stay, or should you go? This is the question we pondered together in Part One. Where are you at with it today? It’s easy to get overwhelmed by circumstances. Even as I write this, I am fatigued by some things happening in my own circle – and yet I hear off in another room the song “Mighty to Save” playing.…
So… what do you think of this sign? Apologies. I’m actually asking you the wrong question. It reminds me of how someone recently asked me, “Does the idea of the ‘church’ even work anymore?” That’s also not the right question.…
