On May 29 and 30, I will be at the INUMC MERGE Family Ministry Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana. He will be presenting workshops on Rural Youth Ministry Strategies and Building Community in Rural Youth Ministry. He will also be representing National Network of Youth Ministries as well. If you are there, […]
Reggie Wayne and Church HR…
Every so often, there is a story that comes across the news that seems “just a little too good to be true”. Friday was one of those days. Early in the morning, a story started circulating in the Indianapolis news outlets regarding Reggie Wayne leaving the Indianapolis Colts. My first […]
MinistryPlace.Net and Flipboard….
Many of you that use mobile devices use Flipboard. It is a well designed tool for consuming content that you choose. In the short time Flipboard has been available, there have been several improvements, including a web app, and the ability to “create your own magazine”. We have done that […]
Rural Pastor, You Need to Write…
Pastor, I have a suggestion. No, I’m not the person begging for your attention directly before or after the sermon to let you know the restrooms are out of toilet paper… This is a matter that directly affects you. Its about how you communicate the message of the gospel to […]
Four Things You Won’t Learn About Ministry In College or Seminary….
There is some debate today about what the current value of Bible College/Seminary is in ministry positions, given some of the alternative training models out there today (Online/Coaching/Internships/Etc). That is not an argument that I am going to dive into today. There are some great arguments on both sides there […]
Scripture Matters
Apparently, Rob Bell is back to some old tricks. Bell, the former pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church and now a host of a show on Oprah’s television network, recently appeared on a show hosted by Oprah Winfrey herself. In his appearance to promote his new book on love, Bell, […]
The Truth about Fifty Shades of Grey…
This post originally appeared on the Author’s Personal Blog… A few years ago at a church sponsored event, I noticed several young ladies and women who had distanced themselves from the crowd. While most of the people stayed in a rather central location and talked, these women, ranging from age […]
4 Tax Tips for Ministers…
Its that time of the year again, Tax Time! Many people dread it, most are simply happy when it is over. In ministry, we have several unique factors to our taxes that many of us struggle with. At MinistryPlace.Net, we are here to be a help to those serving in […]
Its all His anyway…
This morning, a friend of mine posted a news story on Facebook about some urban farming happening in North St. Louis. The story is quite fascinating how people have farmed this land for so many years, not knowing who the owner is, and happily reaping the benefits. There is a […]
Healthy Youth Leaders: Give it away
Youth leader, what is your passion? What is it that makes you endure drama, politics, the “mess” of ministry to week after week, pour into these students? If I had 50 youth leaders in a room and asked those questions, I would have many different answers. That is OK. God […]
Healthy Youth Leaders: Know the times
One of the things I do is “watch people” in different contexts that what I normally live in. It has been interesting today to watch the interactions of college students to the 60+ year old cashier here at a taco bell in a college town in Ohio (about as different […]
When The Levee Breaks
One of the things I encounter working with rural communitites is bringing awareness to the queston of “what are we going to do to reach and engage the next generation?”. The more I talk with community leaders, the more I hear a response that goes something along the lines of […]