Uncategorized
-
Why you should staff “purposes” #1: Because you have a team of leaders
If you have a team of staff you should assign them purposes not congregations. In other words; staff “team” = Purpose based model is usually best. The reason for this is kinda simplistic, but it seems it needs to be… Continue reading
-
How many times do you need to communicate something new?
I didn’t like this when I heard it, but upon reflection, it’s as true in church world as it is in any other human environment. The common agreement is seven. Yep. Seven times. Are you planning a new church plant?… Continue reading
-
MTS training is all about #2… Developees not Employees
There are two very different categories of thinking when it comes to taking on MTS Trainees. First, you and your staff team, and your elders, and your key leaders, and everyone in your church needs to be convinced that your… Continue reading
-
MTS training is all about… #1 Character
Everything we do as Christians has something to do with character, right? But MTS training shouldn’t just have something to do with character… Character needs to be the primary goal. In other words, the character of the trainee needs to… Continue reading
-
Recognise if people have a “trust leak”
It’s worth being attune to the fact that some people have a tendency to be distrustful. The standard pattern goes something like this… they appear withdrawn you go and chat to them they say they don’t “feel” right about something… Continue reading
-
Ask people to clarify what they no longer believe
We love to see God change people; by his word, because of his grace, thru his spirit, using weak and frail “us”. We rejoice in that change. So help people to articulate their change. Ask them what’s gone on, what… Continue reading
-
Loving people leads to good design
A very cool website was recently launched: http://divineinspiration.com.au/ I’m not a designer. I somehow ended up as a student with FEVA – a great bunch of Christians trying to evangelise students in visual arts and design degrees. I married a… Continue reading
-
Regular 1:1s reduce trivial interruptions
If you have “direct reports” (people who consider you their boss – even in a volunteer sense) then it’s worth scheduling in weekly 1:1 meetings. The point of these meetings is firstly just to give your directs some personal time… Continue reading
-
Keep letting young eagles fly
This is a a great description of a really important principle. The phrase comes from Larry Osborne’s Sticky Teams. It’s the idea that young men (and women) are some of your most energetic, enthusiastic, inventive, risk-taking individuals around. So let… Continue reading
-
Responding to Passive Aggressive comments
A good way (tho not the only way) to respond to PA comments is to call their bluff. If they’re hinting that you’ve left something undone, ask them straight; “Is there something you wanted me to do?”. If they’re hinting… Continue reading
-
How to identify passive agressive comments
Passive Agressive (PA) comments infer that there is a problem (or that you have a problem) without actually saying that there’s a problem. For example; “My last church never did it this way“, “That might make some people feel left… Continue reading
-
Growing produces more problems than you expect
It’s hard enough to grow in the first place. But if you do grow, that’s not the only hurdle. That new growth produces its own problems to overcome. More people raises the “acceptable minimum” level of production. Your meetings and… Continue reading
-
How we interview and employ for church positions
Slowly. And by that I mean we have 3 phases; conversation phase, presentation stage, interview phase. The idea is that we don’t go to the interview phase until we are 90% certain we have the right person for the role.… Continue reading
-
Validate people’s questions before you answer
Sometimes, the best apologetic is just to make your opponent believe you understand their issue. Validate their question, spend time convincing them you really do understand their question. If you don’t do this, they won’t believe you’ve thought about your… Continue reading
-
The purpose of church websites
Why should churches have websites? There are loads of good reasons to have a website… Public “face”, state key beliefs, info for members, info for non-members… These are all good things to have, but they’re not big “purposes” for having… Continue reading
-
There’s a certain kind of “yes” you’re looking for
There are different kinds of “yes” you can get from people. Sometimes “yes” means “Alright FINE!”. Sometimes “yes” means “OK, but if this backfires I’ll say I told you so”. Sometimes “yes” means “You kind’a understand what I’m saying but… Continue reading
-
Why God gave you gifts
God gives gifts to individuals (like you) to serve his people (your church and the non-Christians around you). Gifts from God enable people to do particular tasks really well. If you’re struggling to do something at an average standard (kids… Continue reading
-
12-14 words wide… Maximum!
If you’re printing something to be read, take note of how many words appear on each line. Then look in your average novel, and count how many words per line they have. Human eyes only deal with scanning across about… Continue reading
-
Sit in the best seat you can
Notice that guys in the real world never sit directly across from each other, they sit side by side or at 90deg, looking at something else. It’s normally too intimate for guys to face each other – it’s more common… Continue reading
-
The type of room you meet in matters!!
Our youth group used to meet in a school basketball court. It was great for games and activities, and the leaders thought the small group times worked pretty well. Until they moved to a purpose built venue with lounges and… Continue reading
MINISTRY PRINCIPLES & PRAGMATICS 