Someone has said that a rut is just a grave with the ends knocked out. My take-away from this statement is that whether you are in a grave or in a rut, your horizons are limited. It is so easy to become comfortable with the routine and familiar. One of my greatest challenges is to keep growing and learning. The…
I spoke at a church Sunday to honor a dear friend of mine who is retiring. I met Tom Hammett more than 35 years ago and have had the privilege of watching him Pastor the same church for 33 years. I was moved by the people who shared about various aspects of Tom's life and ministry. I listened with an…
Have you ever heard any of the following "Christian Maxims?" "If you are going to talk the talk then you need to walk the walk." "Do as I do is more powerful than simply do as I say." "If you want to have followers then you need to be a leader." Or my favorite: "Your life is so loud; I…
Youth Ministry 101: Balancing Family and Ministry One of the things I enjoy the most about my ministry is teaching college students. I teach a course each fall at Word of Life Bible Institute entitled, "Developing a Biblical Philosophy of Youth Ministry." I think it is imperative that we help students to think through their "principle centered" philosophy before they…
Back When the World Was BIG! When I was young I would visit my Grandmother and stay with her for days on end. I loved being there because she made me pound cake with chocolate syrup for breakfast. (Yeah, I have always been into health food.) She played the role of grandparent very well in that I got away with…
So you've read The Greenhouse Project. Maybe you even loaned it out to a friend (why not be a real friend, and buy them a copy...) Perhaps you find yourself wondering how you are going to transfer the truths from these sixteen chapters to your student leadership. Let's be honest: It's a big book. The Greenhouse Project has sixteen different…
A practical plan for family devotions can be very elusive. I believe most parents really desire to influence their children spiritually but simply do not know how. I recently wrote an article for MTL Magazine entitled A Parent's Guide to Family Devotions. It contains some practical advice and creative ideas about how to institute a tradition of family devotions in…
Book Review: Building Your Leadership Resume - Dr. Johnny Hunt I really enjoy reading and I make sure that leadership books are a part of my yearly reading repertoire. Recently I completed Dr. Johnny Hunt's book on Building Your Leadership Resume and I enthusiastically recommend that you purchase a copy and that you make notes as you read it. Dr.…
Student Youth Ministry Conference I had a stimulating time with a group of youth pastors today in Atlanta. My friends Larry Lawrence and Roger Allen of First Baptist, Jonesboro, GA hosts a youth pastor's conference each year as a ministry of their church. Brent Crowe of Student Leadership University began the conference dealing with "Five Myths that Cause Ministry Syndication."…
Autonomous (capable of independent function) Youth Ministry - Part 4 Highly-effective youth ministries also have a parent ministry focus. The home should be the primary resource for spiritual training; however, we all know there are many spiritually-deficient homes. Is it our responsibility to be surrogate parents and take the place of their parents or are we to work in tandem?…