philosophy button
Archive for November, 2010
People who are smarter than me – Keith Tusing
Friday, November 19th, 2010
One leadership lesson I’ve learned in ministry has been this: Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you! For a guy like me… it’s not too hard to find these people.
With that being said, I want to introduce you all to Keith Tusing, an innovating CM leader and creator of CM Buzz. Well… he’s at it again! I have posted (HERE) how I am able to follow several blogs weekly without wasting a lot of time searching through junk. Keith is one step ahead of the game. His new creation: CM Blitz. Check it out and follow all your favorite Family Ministry leaders from all over the country.
You have to love it when you combine innovative leaders and Networking! Check it out (HERE)
Thanks man for a great resource.
If you like this post you might try these
Video Blog – “People are the way they are for a reason.”
Thursday, November 18th, 2010
People are the way they are for a reason from Jdmcginnis on Vimeo.
If you like this post you might try these
Google, Facebook, Church, and Soccer
Wednesday, November 17th, 2010
I heard an interesting conversation this morning on National Public Radio (yes, I listen to NPR every day on my way to work). The conversation I overheard was one between the two Internet giants Facebook and Google. I guess Facebook is developing a new email system. Facebook believes that “it just makes sense” everything in one location. They report that their way of “doing email” will be different in that is it’s going to a lot more informal (not sure how you do this, but they’ll figure it out). Google is concerned, as could be expected. Why? Not because they think it’s a bad idea, or because they’re concerned with the inordinate amount of time people spend on Facebook and how it’s destroying homes, lives, and marriages… No, they’re concerned because they want you to spend time on Google- not Facebook. It’s all about wanting you to spend time your time in their location instead of somewhere else. It’s a battle for keeping your attention on them. It’s crouched in “helping the end user”, but trust me… it’s about keeping you there…with them!
I’ve been thinking about this a lot today. In a similar way, how many times do I plan events and activities for our kids and their families solely for the reason that “I want them to spend more time here instead of somewhere else?” Here’s the problem I’m faced with:
I want families to do things at the church so that we can have a positive influence into their lives …so that maybe something good will rub off. As a result, I find myself frustrated that families continue to choose soccer, boy/girl scouts, gymnastics, etc. instead of “church things”.
What’s more interesting, is this: activities like soccer generally aren’t “competing” with church or at least, they don’t see church activities as the competition. They just want to play soccer!
Can the youth in my church grow deeper in their faith without having to be in the church to do so? In other words – what would ministry look like if I genuinely wanted a child to grow spiritually regardless of whether or not they were in our church building or not?
My gut-level response to this was “well… how are they suppose to grow if they’re not on Sunday School? Well… Can I find resources for parents to help them raise spiritual champions where they are? Can I plan events that parents and kids find a similar community to that which they find on soccer teams, and gymnastic squads?
Just a few thought I’ve been working on…
What’s your reaction to these thoughts? Leave a comment and let us all know.
If you like this post you might try these
Children’s Ministry Academy Interview
Thursday, November 11th, 2010
A few weeks back, I had the privilege of being interviewed for Children’s Minisrty Academy. This is a great online tool for training your children’s ministry leaders. Learn more about CMA (HERE)
Listen to a 5 minute excerpt of my interview on “How to Recruit and Retain Children’s Ministry Volunteers” (HERE)
If you like this post you might try these
philosophy button
