25 Lessons in 25 Years – Lesson 1: The Unexpressed Thought

January 11, 2013 by 3 Comments

Today I am beginning a series called 25 Lessons in 25 Years that I will post on Fridays. Simply put, these are ministry and life lessons I learned the hard way. I am sure your experiences have brought similar learnings, but my hope and prayer in sharing these simple lessons is to give you an “edge” so you can learn new and different things and share your learnings with me. That's life…live and learn! Put 10 people in a room with one topic and you will have 10 different opinions. Which, by the … [Read more...]

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Give It To Me Now

January 7, 2013 by Leave a Comment

We have grown so accustom to “speed” that when things are delayed, we become impatient and aggravated. Okay, maybe it is just a personal problem and I am projecting my difficulty on you guys, haha. Here is an example, the other day I am working on a project in my office. I sent a multiple page document to the printer which is about 24 steps from my desk. As soon as I hit the command “print,” I jumped up and walked to the printer. Now I admit, I probably walk faster than most. But on this day, … [Read more...]

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The Balance of Action and Faith

December 19, 2012 by 1 Comment

Usually on Wednesday you would see the MTP podcast, but not today. Actually, we did record this week’s episode, but to be honest, I was still so bothered by the horrific display of evil in Newtown, Connecticut that I couldn't stay mentally focused on what we were doing. That episode felt out of place to me because I was so off track. My heart hurts so badly for those families and at the same time I feel angry, angry at the enemy. So I want to change gears a little bit. In the next several MTP … [Read more...]

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This Kid is Getting on My Last Nerve

November 30, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Yes as much as we love kids, most of us at some point or another have had this thought go through our head…“This kid is getting on my last nerve.” If not, I will be happy to nominate you for Children’s Leader of the year. But if you have had this thought, let me just say you are normal. I love kids and I have given my life to kid’s ministry, but there have been those moments where certain kids drove me nuts. You know the ones, you would never admit it, but remember the Sunday you were setting … [Read more...]

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“Raising Spiritually Healthy Kids” – Part 4

November 26, 2012 by 1 Comment

Here is the final thought in raising spiritually healthy kids. Approach Find the right Approach. Remember the first time you used one of those phrases your parents used that you swore you would NEVER use? Like “because I say so” or “just do what your told.” Yep, we’ve all done it. And it’s because of our patterns. Even if we did not like the approach our parents took with us, it’s still ingrained in our mental patterns. It seems a bit obvious to say we can’t use the same approach our … [Read more...]

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The Opportunity in Front of You

November 16, 2012 by Leave a Comment

There is a story, said to be true, about a farmer who lived in Africa and through a visitor became tremendously excited about looking for diamonds. Diamonds were already discovered in abundance on the African continent and this farmer got so excited about the idea of millions of dollars’ worth of diamonds that he sold his farm to head out to the diamond line. He wandered all over the continent, as the years slipped by, constantly searching for diamonds and wealth, which he never found. … [Read more...]

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“Raising Spiritually Healthy Kids” – Part 1

November 5, 2012 by 1 Comment

Of anything I could ever ask for or want, my wife and I want our kids to be spiritually healthy. We all know the importance of raising spiritually healthy kids so it is not necessary to spend a lot of time making a case for those efforts. What I would like to do is offer several simple steps that will help us along this journey. This is not an exhaustive compilation of “what to do,” it is just four ideas that I thought might be helpful. The first thought is…Be AWARE. Teachable moments … [Read more...]

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I Have an Agenda

October 29, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Many parents are intimidated by the fact that the Bible says parents are the primary people responsible for the discipleship of their kids. They think, “I’m not a pastor. I didn’t go to seminary. I’m just a mom or dad.” Well, I’ve decided to begin a grass roots campaign at my church that will generate some confidence for our parents in becoming the disciplining agent of their kids. It doesn't happen all at once. Think like this…Crawl – Walk – Run. What is a “crawl” step our parents can … [Read more...]

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“Mister, neither would I.”

September 7, 2012 by 1 Comment

Hey guys, Someone sent this to me and I thought it might encourage you today. One day while Mother Theresa was changing the dressing on a man's wound, another man watching said, "I wouldn’t do your job for all the money in the world." She replied, "Mister, neither would I." During this Labor Day season ask yourself, "Why do I do what I do?" Many people are trying to pursue other jobs, but perhaps all they need is to change the reason or remind themselves why they are performing their … [Read more...]

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Dealing with Difficult People – Part 4

May 29, 2012 by Leave a Comment

There are three key strategies in dealing with difficult people: Listen Learn Love We discussed Listen and Learn. In this post we will explore the third strategy…Love. Here is one of the tougher verses in the Bible. So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. John 13:34 (NLT) Key word here is “Commandment.” Loving difficult people is not a choice, it is a command. So we should make the most of it. Typically … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Leadership, Ministry, Reflections, Weekend
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