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...
12 days 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...
14 days 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 1 month 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 1 month 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...
about 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...
about 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...
2 months ago • 1 min read
Hey Friend - Are you thinking about writing? Do you want to get your ideas out into the world? In the welcome sequence for this list, I shared how writing is an idea machine. I had one big fear in undertaking this massive self-publishing project without spending TONS of money. The biggest benefit to traditional publishing is a first time author having access to an editor. I know I need editing. I wrote a Master's Thesis in seminary. My wife and a few good friends were generous with their time...
3 months ago • 1 min read
Hey Friend - Most of us plan our day by the clock, but what if we started planning by energy instead? In the last email, I shared about understanding our energies and how they get filled or drained. Today, I want to build on it and talk about how we can use the 3D framework to take advantage of the best times of the day to do specific ministry tasks. I believe doing the right thing at the wrong time can negate our best work. When I'm funky in my ministry productivity, energy is the first...
3 months ago • 2 min read