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Category: Leadership

Write It… And Toss It

Saw this Calvin and Hobbes and it reminded me of some GREAT advice my dad once gave me… but first, enjoy the cartoon: Ever gotten so upset about something you sat down and HACKED OUT A LETTER? I have! There were many a letter I wrote that after showing to my dad for his input, he quietly read and then said, “It’s a great letter! Well written! Excellent points! Well organized and presented! Perfect arguments. Now throw it out.” Throw it out?! How could he compliment it so highly, and then tell me to throw my masterpiece out? He was helping me not make a bad situation worse since my letter would only pour gasoline on the fire. So was my letter a waste of time? No! My dad explained that “hot letters” are still good to write because they help you organize your thoughts… process your emotions and sort out the details of what happened. Then, after you toss your flaming masterpiece,  you’ll be better prepared to write the more diplomatic letter that will get results. OR, better yet, pick up the phone if you can’t meet in person. E-mail and text messages have kinda ruined it as people…

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Truth to Youth is Different Today

One of the most powerful workshops I ever attended was taught by my good friend Dick Crider several years ago. It was about the changing of the very words we use. When we talk to young people today, we THINK we are saying one thing, but the very words we use have been redefined to have completely different definitions. This is intentional, and it is devastating to the Church and to Truth. These are the pictures I took of some of this slides as he taught. Let them sink in and realize that when you talk or teach today, you have to be extremely intentional in how you communicate. We have to make extra effort to be clear about the Truth. Definitions may change but the Truth remains constant. How each person responds to the Truth hasn’t changed either. (Hebrews 9:27)“Tolerance” doesn’t mean the same thing to us, as Christians, as it means to the secular World. We are the most tolerate of all people… they would disagree. We also are very accepting. But the World has a different definition for accepting. You must not just accept the person, but endorse and even praise their actions. We separate the person…

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A Prisoner to Ministry?

As the year comes to a close, are you starting to make plans for next year? We all want next year to be better than this year, right? I know I do! In the midst of celebrating Christmas and enjoying friends and family and hopefully a little bit of downtime, this is the perfect time to start to think ahead to make some plans for the new year! Do you ever feel like a prisoner to ministry? Let me introduce you to a video training that I did many years ago that is as relevant today as a day I filmed it. It was the final installment in a five-part Leadership Lab training series. As we head into a new year, it would be a great investment to pick up this fifth segment, Define, Refine and Shine, and if you are feeling the early stages of burn out – pick up part one too, First Things First I have been to that place where you feel trapped and overwhelmed – feeling like you secretly hate what you love because it’s just too much. You can’t blame your boss, your church, your spouse, or anyone or anything external. Control starts within.…

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Are You Called to Minister to Children?

In my vast collection of children’s ministry resources, materials, booklets, pamphlets, and relics from decades of ministry I stumbled upon this treasure. It is a recruiting tool from CEF, Child Evangelism Fellowship. No author’s name is provided, but the content does say you’ll never gain fame or glory in children’s ministry, perhaps they lived that by leaving off their name. I’m posting this because the content of this simple pamphlet is GOLD. I’ll be sharing some of the heart of it in my children’s ministry orientation on Sunday to potential volunteers. I’ve scanned it here for you to read, reflect and reuse as you see fit. The words may be dated but the message is timeless. I think this is a message that needs to be shared today loudly and clearly. The CALL of Children’s Ministry needs to be elevated to the high calling that it is. Here is the overview: The one who is called to children’s ministry will believe that children are important in themselves. One who is called to minister to children believes that children are important to God. Those called to reach children are committed to their life-and-death spiritual needs. The one who is called believes…

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Touring a Legacy

This week, my pastor took the staff from my church, Highpoint Church, on a field trip to visit every location of Highpoint Church since its founding in 1933. A few of the buildings no longer exist, but we stood where they once were and thanked God for the faithfulness of those who came before us and their vision for our city and their faithfulness to their calling. The church made such an impact in it’s community, that the city of Aurora, Colorado gifted them the land for their second location. Imagine your city appreciating you so much that they give you land so your ministry can expand? This building was purchased debt free as the ministry continued to grow. At the third location we watched a drug deal happen in the middle of the street as we gathered. This is the location Highpoint was at the longest. Land was purchased and a new building was begun when the economy tanked, construction was halted and Highpoint had six weeks to vacate this building and became a mobile church for a refining season. It was a journey through amazing stories of nearly 90 years of God’s miraculous provision through the years, many…

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