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Read Daily…
I think it was at a Willow Creek Leadership Summit several years about that Bill Hybles (http://twitter.com/#!/BillHybels) challenged me to “Read for 30 minutes a day.“ I know this is a DUH statement...
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The Great Bikini Debate: Part One
How many of us remember “Baywatch?” The series spanning over a decade was known for it’s beautiful lifeguards jogging toward the water to save some poor drowning soul. The running joke of...
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Why your reputation is more important than your reputation
It takes a lifetime to build a reputation, and a moment to destroy it. Have you ever considered what that actually means? Some things you can’t seem to fully recover from: Paula Deen was fired from the...
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Most Churches are Small, BTW.
Most Churches are Small, BTW. Unless you’ve been in one of my training sessions, you may not know this: 90% of churches in America have 300 members or less. That’s membership, not Sunday worship...
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The Great Bikini Debate: Part 2
Not long ago a youth pastors forum I am a part of discussed the “bikini” issue. It became a lively debate on how each of us handled the topic. My favorite response was from a guy who currently...
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New Staff Parent Letter
I recently hired a junior high pastor for our church. The process was long and tiring but now I am nearing the finish line…just one more thing to do before I close this file. I need to communicate the...
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Everyday Parables: Sinful Colors
Jesus used “everyday” material for His parables to tell people about the Kingdom of God. You can teach your students and leaders to do the same thing by snagging pictures with your camera phone,...
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Junior Highers: Normalize But Don’t Generalize
One of the best things we can do for junior highers is to normalize their experiences. One of the worst things we can do for junior highers is to generalize them….to assume they are all basically the...
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TRAITS OF AN “ON LIFE SUPPORT” SMALL #UTHMIN:
I’m in churches all the time because of my consulting work with Ministry Architects. The church sizes vary from “ginormous” to “could fit into a 15-seater van if we were still allowed to use those.”...
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Senior Pastor Perspective: Four Questions You Need To Ask
A healthy relationship with your senior pastor is a core part of a healthy youth ministry. It doesn’t matter if your church is large, medium, small or a start-up – your roles can powerfully complement...
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I Became The Missions Trip
Asbury Park, NJ courtesy of APP As many of us attempt to get our students serving this summer, there is often a “trip” of some kind planned. We plan, give packing lists, and prepare their hearts for...
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Your Junior Highers Can Spend a Year With Jesus!
I’m beyond excited about the brand new LIVE; YEAR WITH JESUS small group curriculum! Two big reasons: * Because most “junior high” ministries are now actually middle school focused, there has been a...
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3 Reasons Your Pastor Won’t Esteem College Ministry
In my experience college ministry is viewed by most pastors as a luxury, not a necessity. That is, unless your pastor has kids that age. But the truth is in most contexts it’s not seen as a necessary...
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My Freedom
I’m Stephanie. I’m new to MTDB. I don’t know many of you. You don’t know me. But here’s my heart on the eve of July 4th, 2013. It won’t be theologically brilliant, nor youth ministry philosophy...
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Don’t Read This (If You’re An American)
It’s the 4th of July. In America, it’s a national holiday. If you’re reading this from another country, enjoy your day. This may not apply to you. (But feel free to let it apply to you.) But if you’re...
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A Pep Talk To Use For Training
You have probably seen this. It isn’t particularly new, but a friend of mine put this on my Facebook wall last week and I loved it. Not only did it make me laugh it made me realize I could use it...
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FlightTrack Pro…FREE
I am a fan of the iPhone app FlightTrack Pro and TripIt. I seem to have seasons of busy travel and these apps help keep all my travel plans centrally located. TripIt is free, if you don’t mind ads, but...
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Want to Get Fired?
If your aim is to get fired from your job at your church, do these five things: 1) Whine all the time: Complain about how you can’t get any help, the SP doesn’t understand your job, or how some...
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Don’t be “That Parent”
YOUTH WORKERS: I realize that mostly youth workers will read this post. Not sure how you’re going to “accidentally” send the link to the parents who will need to see this most…maybe a typo in the...
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The Ministry Curse Words…
picture courtesy of iburnout.com It has happened to me. Lying in bed at night exhausted and spent staring at the ceiling I wonder “why” I’m in ministry anymore. Honestly, in various seasons of...
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