Press Pause

by on in Leadership.

For many of us, December is one of our busiest seasons. If that’s you, you might be thinking that you just don’t have time to “press pause” right now. But hang with me. Because I think this time of year, with 2013 winding down, the rush of the holidays coming to a head, and the beginning of a brand new year about to begin… I think this is the perfect time to press pause, take a breath, and evaluate.

Evaluate what, exactly? Ourselves.

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Your Pick, Captain!

by on in Leadership.

Remember gym class back in middle school? You had all the fun games – variations of baseball, dodgeball, parachutes, and those scooter things. Man, those were the days.

Remember when your class broke up into teams?

Were you ever the kid that got to pick the team?

What was your strategy? C’mon, you know you picked either the most skilled kid or the smartest kid – the one that knows everyone’s skills. How you picked a team then is probably very similar to how you would pick a team now.

And this idea of choosing your team – as leaders in ministry, we’ve got to consider it.

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When I Won’t Strive for Excellence

by on in Strategy.

I cringe when I hear the word “excellence” thrown around in the church leadership conversation.
It seems everybody loves it. But, while I think it is a great concept and something to be concerned about… it can be dangerous.

Here’s my problem. In my years as an educator and working in churches, I have seen the word “excellence” used to validate and rationalize some of the most expensive and worst decisions I have ever seen.

I see this in church programming all the time.

I felt the pressure of this recently at North Point.

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7 Tips to Make Even the Lamest Games Fun

by on in Experience.

Middle School Ministry is a fun ministry… and you can’t have fun without games!

But the thing about games? They’re often either hit or miss. Middle schoolers will either love it or loathe it. And when they loathe it, it’s tough to recover. These games are marked by awkward silences, confusion, blank stares, and disinterest.

In these situations, the games are rarely the problem. It’s usually the way the game is led that’s the problem. With a little tweaking any game, even the lamest ones, can be loved. So, here are 7 tips to making even the lamest fun!

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