I am contractually obligated to tell you that the 8 hours of SYMC workshops I am teaching will be SICK! (That’s a good thing) I am NOT a programmer. I am NOT a developer. I am a resource person. I am a Goggling machine! I find stuff and think…Hmmmm, how can I leverage that for [...]![]()
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Tech Workshops and FREE STUFF LIKE A BOSS!!! #SYMC @SYMC
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2 Things to Remember in Youth Ministry!
1. It’s all ministry. 2. God’s in control. These two phrases have had me thinking a lot about how little I have to do with how God uses me, and how there ‘s more to ministry then what we traditionally understand. God has been showing me that there is no limits to what He can [...]![]()
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Why the Body of Christ is Dry
I have chapped lips right now. For real. It’s bad. Never in my life have I uttered the phrase to anyone, “I need Chapstick,” but I finally crossed that line. My wife gave me something comparable and I can feel the healing happening. My lips are dry because my body is distracted. I’ve been sick [...]![]()
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Raising Kids In Ministry? There’s Hope!
My daughter, Kayla, is 19 and a sophomore in college. She has become a big fan of the writing and speaking ministry of Bill Hybels’ daughter, Shauna Niequist. So I really wasn’t surprised to see her mention and link to one of her recent blog posts. But I have to admit, I was a little [...]![]()
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The Productivity Vacuum
I work in what one would call an “open office.” For some it would be a “good” thing not having walls around their desks, giving them the ability to be highly relational and creatively collaborative all of the time. When I come to the “office,” I am there to get the administrative “stuff” out of the way. [...]![]()
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Ten Minutes on the Teenage Brain
There’s enough research on the teenage brain to, well… wrinkle your brain. Countless books contain substantial thoughts on it, and sometimes that alone can make you feel like you’ll “eventually” get around to reading one of them… but “not just yet.” The researchers at SciShow have stripped away your reasons to procrastinate on this any [...]![]()
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Pastor’s Kids: Privilege or Pressure?
I’ve had a few people ask me recently about how my kids are doing. In each of those conversations the question is always phrased a little differently, but they all have stemmed from a concern for how my children are handling being a pastor’s kid, or a “PK.” I appreciate the questions and concerns. I [...]![]()
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Best iPad Air Cases: Buddy Case
I have been using Boxwave’s Buddy Case for about a week now and if you have been looking for a cool keyboard case it is worth picking up…literally, this thing is light, thin, and only $45. Pros: Looks great Think Mini iPad Air…I Like! Easy set up Easy to use Love the Fn Keys Super [...]![]()
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7 Days with Lifetree Adventures: Honduras, Day 1
Hola! Don’t let my obvious command of the Spanish language fool you. I’m about as fluent in it as whatever secondary exposure to Dora the Explorer and Chipotle menus have made me. Still, here I am writing you this quick post from the bed of my mission house. Perhaps that’s a bit too familiar, but [...]![]()
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Favorite Gadgets: Pick Punch
You may remember the Pick Punch I showed at SYMC. It is one of my favorite gadgets and at $25 (depending on model), it may be one of your favorite tools too. I have had way too many students from our youth band asking me (a non-musician) for a pick. I don’t keep those things lying [...]![]()
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7 Days with Lifetree Adventures: Honduras, Day 2
I’ve got the power! (can somebody go cue The Snap, by chance?) The power went out at our retreat center tonight. Keep in mind that we’re being incredibly spoiled by our hosts, from air conditioning in our rooms to an amazing fresh-cooked meal three times a day. It’s easily the kind of place you might [...]![]()
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Neighborhood Transformation
Recently, I finished an excellent book by Darrin Patrick called, Church Planter. In the book, Darrin speaks to not only church planters, but every person who calls themselves “pastor” – those new and seasoned. His intent is to equip leaders to be biblical pastors, carrying and imitating the mantle of Christ, thus bringing biblical and whole-life transformation [...]![]()
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Balance Is Overrated
Have you ever been stressed out about ministry simply over the fact that you didn’t feel it was balanced? Well, welcome to the club. I think though a lot of times we over value things that we probably could spend less time thinking about, and we probably under value things we should be thinking more [...]![]()
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7 Days with Lifetree Adventures: Honduras, Day 3
What’s the secret? What is it that causes children to run up to strangers and give them hugs? What is it that inspires Americans to come on out to a random school in the middle of a foreign land and hug those kids right back? I mean, really… what’s the secret? If you’re a cynic, [...]![]()
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Parenting: Start With The End In Mind
When we started raising our kids, it seemed like Rachel and I had an obvious decision to make: Follow somebody’s prescribed “steps to raising Godly children” or figure it out on our own with scripture, prayer, the wisdom of others, and our own common sense leading the way. We opted for option #2. We’ve never [...]![]()
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Numbers DO Matter in Small Church Uthmin – Part 1
Stepping out from the pages of Mark DeVries’ book, Sustainable Youth Ministry, comes this statement: sometimes it IS about the numbers. Churches that don’t set target attendance goals for their ministries wind up in more conflict, dissenting opinions and staff turnover than those that DO set commonly created, well-communicated attendance goals. 1st Measurable Marker of Ministry [...]![]()
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7 Days with Lifetree Adventures: Honduras, Day 4
Hoy ha sido otro gran día! (Yeah – I totally did a Google translate on that. My Spanish is improving, though – and by that I mean instead of only talking English I now talk English with an Antonio-Banderas-from-the-movie-Zorro accent.) Anyway, today was another great day. There’s so much I can say about it. Perhaps [...]![]()
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Son Of God, Noah – Students & Movies
It seems like everywhere I turn these past weeks I have had conversations with those in ministry as to whether or not I will be taking students (or friends, or anyone) to see the “Son Of God” or “Noah, ” movies that are both being released this month. In the Christian community we have many [...]![]()
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7 Days with Lifetree Adventures: Honduras, Day 5
Lyrics. Words create worlds.What you say has the power to mentally transport someone from where they are to where they could or should be. Ironically, worlds also create words. As I mentioned yesterday, our team met a couple of women in the afternoon who each had a unique story to tell. On the way to [...]![]()
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Numbers DO Matter in Small Churches-Part 2
Wondering how your ministry measures up? Doing better, worse or equal to the church down the street? Feeling the pressure from your church’s board to perform? Here’s #2 in ways to measure whether your youth ministry is hitting the “sustainability mark” or not. (For the attendance formula, see the post from 3/18/14.) 1 Adult Volunteer for [...]![]()
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More Pages to Explore .....
