Balcony time is an intentional, weekly practice of spending time working on your ministry rather than just in your ministry. Often, doing church ministry and other non-profit work can feel like putting out one fire after another and prioritizing what feels urgent over what feels important. Balcony time helps alleviate those issues by increasing the…
You’ve been waiting for what seems like an eternity. You’re antsy and even a bit sweaty. You’ve replayed this moment countless times in your mind. The minutes crawl, your heart races and your mind wanders. What will it be like? How fast will I actually go? What if I throw up? Suddenly, you realize ……
If you’re anything like me, keeping the momentum going in the weeks after Lent is an annual challenge. After all, Lent is one of my favorite seasons to plan for in the church calendar. Yes, Ash Wednesday always comes too quickly and each year I find myself scrambling in January to pull everything together. But…
I sat there, holding Mark’s book in my hand, recalling all the holes I’d been dancing around for years, and wondering, for the first time, if maybe dance floors didn’t have to have holes.
I know you’re not all that thankful for the discouraging text message or email you received from one more disgruntled churchgoer. The truth is, because we live in a fallen world, poor communication and hurt feelings are a certain reality. I know it seems odd that I’m about to ask you to be thankful over something…
It Starts with an Idea … … because someone, an individual or a group, has identified a need, or they’ve identified a problem in the community. And they either think or say, “Somebody ought to do something about this.” And then the wheels begin to turn. An individual has a need, a community has a…
It’s May and Spring has sprung! Flowers are pushing up through the earth, the snow has melted, and school is out soon. So, we’re all thinking about planning for the fall, right? Of course not! Many of us in ministry are doing good to keep up with the now; we’ve barely crossed the t’s and…
One of the true greats in youth ministry, Mike Yaconelli, wrote a book in 2002 that presented a difficult challenge to the modern Church. In Messy Spirituality Yaconelli challenged the Church, which was filled at the time with me-generation Baby Boomers and young, upwardly-mobile professionals (Yuppies) of the 90s, to lay aside its pretense and…