By climbing standards it may not be considered a real mountain but it is still called Mt. Severance. The elevation is a mere 1693’, the vertical ascent 813’ and the entire round trip only 2.4 miles. Climbing it does not count in any contest nor earn you status with any mountaineering club. However, when I lived in Schroon Lake, NY,…
Guest post by Betsi Calhoun Do you have a goal that pushes you to accomplish something others call impossible? After climbing all 29,035 feet of Mt. Everest and reaching its summit at age 13, Jordan Romeo coined the phrase, “Find Your Everest.” I am sure he was told his goal was impossible more than once. Now, at the age of…
Cliff-jumping, parachuting, repelling, bungee jumping: for most people, these might all be just a bit outside their comfort zone. Accomplishing any of these means taking a step into the unknown. Your heart is pounding, your eyes are wide open (or squeezed tightly shut, as the case may be) and your mind is negotiating with your body. Eleanor Roosevelt said it…
The world of Student Ministry can be complex. Successful implementation of change and biblical maturity in each student’s life, requires the influence of multiple people. One of the relationships necessary in the process of an effective Student Ministry is parental involvement. Unfortunately, some parents have abdicated their value in this process as evidenced by statements like these: “The youth leaders…
Welcome to Issue #3 of "Too Good to Keep to Myself..." Like you, I never want to stop learning or growing. One of my mentors once told me, Mike, when you stop learning and growing, read the obituaries, because you are dead and don't know it! It has been sound advice motivating me to this day. One of the ways I do…
Watching children play can be fascinating. Their vivid imaginations allow them to be almost anything, go any place in the universe and be anybody they choose to be. They fantasize about accomplishing feats far beyond their physical, emotional or mental abilities. The other day I was watching a group of children playing where a little boy was the self-appointed leader.…
I love to listen to music and when I listen…I want clarity. I want to hear every chord, reverb and bass note as though it was exploding out of my iPhone or iPad with unrestrained freedom. So when the salesman at the BOSE store handed me the QuietControl Wireless 30 headphones, he knew he had me. (Yes, I know they…
If you have a younger sibling, you probably have heard these words at some point: “You are not the boss of me!” Your intentions might have been pure. You may have thought you were being protective. Instead, you were misunderstood and accused of being bossy. In order to help them you had to discover creative ways of leading them. Leaders…
How do we keep students from “falling through the cracks” in our youth ministries? Every student is important but not every student is impressive, so they may not stand out. Every student needs a mentor/discipler but not every student is going to ask for one. Every student is looking for love but not every student is looking for it in…
Accountability, when properly utilized, is a powerful leadership principle. Leaders realize it can be used for control or instruction, encouragement or manipulation, legalism or leverage. Some have forsaken this practical principle, viewing it as unnecessary. Others have accepted a view of accountability as a legalistic tool for management. Accountability is not about legalistically controlling someone’s life but leveraging their strengths.…