Category: Christian Leadership
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Just Stop It Already!…
“Why do we do this ministry every year?” “Well…kinda because we’ve always been the ones to do It?….” We have all had that conversation in our churches. There seems to be that one ministry in every church that is a sacred cow that happens every year only because it happened the year before. Many times,…
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A Rural Church Millenial Story…
There was much to do over the release of the 2012 SBC Annual Church Profile statistics a few weeks ago. One of the most staggering stats was the fact that the SBC churches baptized very few or no Millennials or Youth in 2012 (the latest year we have statistics for…). I was unsure just exactly how to…
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Getting the Whole Story OR the Meaning of MT on Twitter…
I was reminded of a very important fact the other day. The importance of taking the time to get the whole story before acting on a situation. I had a story happen in a meeting with my new agent from an insurance company that I have dealt with for many years. The previous agent in…
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The Importance of Families in Youth Ministry…
The longer I serve in Rural Ministry, there are a few things that I have seen that catch my attention and scream their importance. One of these important factors is the role of Family in youth ministry. If you asked 100 youth pastors if they believed that it was vital that the whole family is…
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The Future of Rural Students…
A friend of mine who is a local HS Spanish teacher recently put together a video application for a local teachers award in the Terra Haute, Indiana called the Golden Apple. He was from one of the smaller districts in the area, but was still one of the five chosen for the award. From…
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4 Lessons from the Bible Found on the Farm…
We live in a world where context is vital to our understanding. One of the reasons our society struggles with parts of the Bible is that it is set in an agrarian context. Jesus and Paul used that backdrop and crafted wonderful illustrations. Let’s look at a few and “recast them” from a rural ministry…
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Vacation…
Wayne Yeager did an awesome job with a series of vacation-related posts last year, so I will spare you the repeat. I will however, encourage you to read some of his posts this summer. Great stuff. The longer I am in ministry, the more value I see to taking time off. When you are…
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A melancoly kind of day
Forgive me. I’m a bit melancholy today. You see today is my last day as a youth minister. I will continue on in ministry, but I will serve as the lead pastor of a church. I look forward to that challenge. It is what God has called me to do. I am certain of that.…
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Transitioning: When to Tell the Pastor
So you’re about to leave your church or are searching for a new position. If you’re like me, the next question that pops into your head is this: when do I tell my pastor? Let me share with you a story. A few years ago in my job search, I made my pastor fully aware…
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When God calls, you have to listen
So, big news in my world: God has called me to be a senior pastor. Now before you throw tomatoes at me and swear I’ve turned to the dark side, I want to share my story. There may come a time when God will call you to a different ministry and I hope my experience…
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NCAA March Madness, BYU, and the Youth Group???….
In all the buildup to last night’s NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament, I heard an interesting point in on one of the local sports radio stations. They told the story of the “BYU Rule”, where BYU has made a school policy to not play on Sunday for any reason. The NCAA has a rule on the…
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Staying ahead
Remember MySpace? When I first started in youth ministry, MySpace was all the rage. In order to connect with students, you had to have a MySpace page to link up with students. I even had a weekly MySpace blog to share with students about our ministry. (Yes, I was the epitome of cool.) However, soon…