Lead Well

It’s the Friday before Easter. You’ve been busy with all the marketing, event planning, service prep, and inviting. You’re probably a little tired and the light at the end of the tunnel that is Monday is looking better and better. But you also have a family and obligations there too. If you’re like me, it’s far too easy to let work overtake the home. All the focus is on what the Church is doing, and your family gets the leftovers. It’s not fair to them, and it’s not fair to you. What can you do? You can’t get out of Good Friday or Saturday’s Egg Hunt or Easter Sunday. It’s your job, and people are counting on you. It’s a struggle and not one that I have perfected. If you asked my wife, she would say I have a long way to go. Regardless, here are 3 tips to celebrate Easter (Or any Holiday) while you’re in ministry.  1. Take a cue from the Service Industry In ministry, it’s easy to take the "woe is me" mentality. You’re the only one who has to work on Easter, while ev

Photo by Chad Madden on Unsplash Come Christmas time a question I see asked over and over is, “What is a good Christmas movie to show at my church?” Whether it’s for simple service for the Sunday after Christmas, a part of your midweek service, or a family movie night outreach, trying to find the right movie for your audience can be tough. We have to consider language, content, message, and several other factors not to mention complying with copyright laws. I’m not going to cover the legality of showing movies in your church, but you should check with your media/ worship pastor at minimum or a lawyer to make sure it’s ok to show. You don’t want Disney coming after you because you decided to show “The Santa Clause” and broke their copyright. With all these factors in mind, here are five movies you can safely show in your church. I’ve vetted all of them and shown most of them in my own ministry. 5 Movies to Show in Church this Christmas

Photo by Cláudio Luiz Castro on Unsplash Since this is coming out on Black Friday, I thought it would be appropriate to talk about one of my passions. Video Games. I’ve been playing since I was a little kid and still play regularly. Also working in NextGen, I’ve seen a lot of kids exposed to games and media way before they’re ready because of their parents' ignorance. It doesn’t have to be this way though. Every game has a rating ranging from E for Everyone to M to Mature. (There is a higher Adult Only rating, but those games are few and far between.) As a parent or pastor knowing what games are going to be fun and appropriate for your kids is important. For this post, I’ll pick three games from each system that are family-friendly and can be played easily with multiple people. I won't make recommendations on consoles, but you can see my buying guide here.   In addition, many of these games are on sale for Black Friday. If you’re looking for Christmas or update the games

Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash One of the best ways to retain your volunteers for years to come is to show them appreciation. So many jobs they do go unnoticed. What’s more, if you work in NextGen, your volunteers may never hear from those they serve that they’re doing a good job.  How many two-year-olds do you know tell you how great of a job you're doing? They can barely speak English! That’s why it’s important for you as the leader to express your appreciation for their tireless efforts. Even if they serve once a month. With Christmas right around the corner, you may be thinking this is a good time to get them a gift or something special, but you're at a loss for what to do.  With this in mind, here are 4 simple, yet effective ways to show your appreciation.

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash Family services. Love them or hate them, they have their place. I'm an advocate for family services because I believe children’s ministry needs to be more than a ministry held in another room never to be seen or heard from. These services can be a great tool for emphasizing ministry to the next generation, highlight the great things that are happening, and give your volunteers a much needed week off. Some churches do them great and others never have them. The churches that I’ve served in have been on both sides of the spectrum and somewhere in between. Here are 6 Steps to a Great Family Service.

With so many consoles out there and video games becoming a major part of the American childhood experience, many parents are asking which one should I get for my kids? As a lifelong gamer, I know the challenges and the overwhelming amount of information that's out there, so I'm creating this guide to help you make an informed decision for your kids this Christmas. First of all you should know that many console bundles that include a game and accessories are available usually for a reduced price. Also almost all consoles come with the following features: Online Connectivity Parental Controls At least 1 Controller Apps such as Netflix and Hulu 1. Nintendo Switch   Cost: $299.99 Free web: yes Kid Friendly: 5/5 Recommended games: Mario Kart 8 , Super Mario Odyssey , Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild If your kids are under the age of 10, this is the best system for your family.  It has fun, easy, and safe games for your whole family. This is Ninten

This Christmas is an excellent time to invite someone to church.  But if you're like me, you don't go into every situation thinking about inviting someone.  However in normal conversation, people they will give you clues that they are receptive to invite.  Once we learn to recognize them, we will have much greater success and may even change someone's life. When people say any of these three things, that's your cue to invite them to church. I like to call them the "Three Nots" Not prepared for it.  Murphy's law says that anything that can go wrong will go wrong and that just seems more apparent in the Christmas season.  The church provides a wonderful place for support and encouragement during these times.  So when someone says they just weren't prepared, that's a great chance to invite them to church. Not going well.  During the Holidays we all want things to go perfectly.  Whether it's something trivial like a cold or serious like the

I have a confession to make: I used to hate Christmas music.  Shocking, maybe even sacrilegious, I know, but I did.  My wife would try to play the stuff before Thanksgiving and I'd shut that down faster than... well you get the idea.  Once the Christmas season started I would avoid those all Christmas music all the time radio stations like they're the plague. I started thinking about why I hate the music so much, and I came to some realizations. All my Christmas music and most of what I was listening to has been the same music since Home Alone 1.   I thought all Christmas albums were unimaginative covers of Christmas songs that were written last century.   Everything sounded the same after a while. This year, I decided to branch out, thanks mostly to Relevant Magazine , who continues to introduce me to new music.  All of sudden, I started to hear songs and remixes of songs I'd never heard before.  I started looking forward to Christmas music. So what have I do