What walls are standing in front of you right now? Ministry walls are barriers that inhibit moving forward. Personal walls are based on leadership. Organizational walls limit your church's ability to live fully into your mission. There are all sorts of walls. If I wanted to define the idea of ministry walls, I’d put it this way. A ministry wall is some outside force, appearing to be beyond natural control, which sets a defining boundary of effectiveness. Let’s dig into that definition a bit...
17 days ago • 2 min read
Let me share a recap of a workshop session I led this spring. I was in Louisiana and teaching a session on engaging new visitors to the church. A good friend was bringing several people from his church and warned me to be ready. About halfway through the table conversation, one of his leaders said: “It’s all good and fun to talk about reaching new people, but what about the seniors who have been at our church for decades?” Honestly, it wasn’t the first time I'd heard this comment, but this...
25 days ago • 3 min read
A few years ago, I was in prayer, thanking God for taking me through a challenging season of life. While doing this, I realized that in times of significant personal turmoil, it isn’t odd for the same time to be spiritually enriching. I’ve been reflecting on that idea since then. One day, I made a big map of all the high times and low times in life, and then started mapping spiritual seasons on top of it. I discovered that in several instances, a difficult patch of life had been preceded by a...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
I travel for work. I’m on the road 2-3 days a week sometimes. I average 28,000 miles a year. I travel. A lot. In my travels, there is this gas station I stop at a lot. It’s the only “good” gas station on a 60 mile stretch of interstate here in Louisiana. Technically, you could call it a truck stop, because it offers multiple diesel pumps and the inside is fantastic. Sit-down food options, plenty of caffeinated beverages, and all the other things you might want. But it is a horrible GAS...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
After 20 years of working at a church, I have seen countless approaches to my own ministry productivity. Now, I am in an admin role and boots on the ground since I work within the denominational system. I've been thinking through some shifts over the past month, and I realize these are applicable to a broader spectrum. Especially if you are stepping into a staff-sized church of a few hundred people. I am low-key curious about how this would have affected my last full-time ministry gig when I...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
I had a conversation last year with a family member that is making its way into nearly all conversations with the churches I work with. My brother-in-law’s Grandmother is a regular part of our family. We see her at least weekly. I enjoy it because I have no one left in my family of her generation. She is 87 and is a ball. Last year, we were talking about how she felt the world was becoming crazy (because it is) and she kept referencing how no one is part of church anymore (she isn’t wrong)....
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Hey Friend - How's your spring been? Let's just say I've been busy. I'll tell you more about my super not-so-secret project I cooked up at the last minute around 6 weeks ago at the end of the email. But let's talk about CliftonStrengths. Many of us are familiar with Strengths. It used to be called Strength Finders...and funny enough, Gallup has even started changing the language to refer to them as talents, because the tool is so much more than simply learning what you might be good at. I...
2 months ago • 4 min read
I've started lots of things. In the CliftonStrengths, my 2nd strength is Activator. I like to start things and dive into them. Since I was in high school, I liked to start things. Bands. Not just playing in them, but the whole marketing side of music. Had a bootstrapped production company in college. I put on live music and promoted it like crazy around whatever town I lived in. Before email marketing was a thing we were communicating with 3k people through a hotmail account and managing it...
2 months ago • 2 min read
Hey Friend - Just wrapped up a chapter of editing and typesetting. This one was a bit intense because I had more footnotes to add than any other chapter. If anyone has done academic writing, or other kinds, you know the citations can be tedious. When I was wrapping it up, I realized this pile of notecards in front of me was the beginning of the book I am working on. Not only was it the beginning, but shifting into an analog way to save ideas and reading last summer broke down the wall I had...
3 months ago • 1 min read