Lead Well

Photo by Kelli McClintock on Unsplash Father’s Day is next week, and your church may be thinking of some ways to celebrate dad. In a lot of churches, this day is overlooked. Especially since so much time and resources were spent on Easter and Mother’s Day, this day gets the scraps. However, Father’s Day can be made just as special as these other two days with some intentionality and creativity. I’ve seen a lot of churches do great things to honor their dads, all trying to make the day fun and exciting. With that in mind here are 5 ideas to celebrate dad in your church this Father’s Day from super easy to huge event. 5 Great Ideas   1. Father’s Day Video Playing a video to honor the fathers in your church is a simple and affordable option that won’t detract from the rest of the service. You can make your own or buy one for $10-$20 from Worship House Media. Play this video as part of the announcements, the sermon bumper, or just part of the welcome and announcements. ...

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 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.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash Recently, I was having a conversation with a new pastor and he was excitedly talking about all things he was planning to do with his kids. I asked him how he was planning to let parents know, and he said he was trusting the kids. Rookie mistake. If you work in nextgen/family ministry, understand that you lead more than just your kids and students. It’s easy to fall into this trap because for most of us that’s why we got into this gig in the first place. However, being pastor is far more complex than leading a service on a Sunday morning or Wednesday night. Now with COVID it’s 10x worse, but that’s another post. Whether you’re leading online, in-person, or some combination in between you have to balance leading 3 different groups of people.

Small Group time at my church Churches all over are trying to figure out how to reopen and relaunch their services and specifically their children’s ministry. I’m no different. I’m eternally grateful to the leaders I’ve talked to over the last few months who have successfully (whatever that means these days) opened their children’s ministries. I’m in Florida, so I know that I’m a little bit ahead of the curve. We opened in-person meetings in May and relaunched kids (elementary only) on July 26. I don’t have all the answers, but this is what I’ve learned so far about launching kids ministry in a pandemic filled world.

When Junior Bible Quiz (JBQ) season ended earlier this year at my church, I wasn't sure if it would be able to continue. With only one confirmed member returning, starting the new season in August seemed near impossible. But with God all things are possible. The ministry coordinators and I started to pray for God to send 3 new families into the ministry so we could continue this important ministry where kids learn God's Word like nowhere else. When August rolled around, God came through. Fast forward to this weekend and we have a bigger team than we've had in years, and to top it all off we went undefeated in our division.  Something we also haven't done in years. Thank you to the families and volunteers who dedicate their time to teaching these kids about God and the Bible. It's all working toward training our kids in the way they should go so that when they grow old they will not turn from it. This is just one example of God coming through and answ...

Sabbath. It's a funny word.  Unfortunately, this word is buried deep in the Christianese lexicon, and not many people actually practice this very important spiritual discipline. When I was in my third year of Master's Commission, I was given a lot of responsibility and found myself with a very large workload.  So much so, that I stopped taking a day off.  Monday, which was supposed to be my off day, was filled with planning, writing, and studying.  I had cut all the fun out of my life to get the job done. I loved it for the first few months, but after after 3 months of consistently working 16 hour days, I broke.  I couldn't do it anymore.  Something had to give. I just didn't know what.  Thankfully God knew exactly what I needed. While driving back home to Georgia for Thanksgiving, I listened to Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell .  I got to the chapter called Tassels.  I wept for the next 3 hours.  I realized I had been sinning for ...

I read a Facebook post that my former boss, pastor, and mentor, Steve Lambert, passed away one year ago today.   If you know his story , we knew that day was coming soon.  Now, a year later with a new job in a new state with all new friends, I look back and am amazed at all the great things God has done. Within a few short weeks of Pastor Lambert passing, I moved to Montgomery to start a new ministry position at Evangel Church.  I didn't know what God was going to do, but now as I look back, I see God's answers to so many prayers. I and my family were in a tough spot in Clearwater.  Conflict was around every corner and uncertainty colored every decision.  I was determined, however to follow God's leading and trust that everything was in his hands. I look forward to walking with God and praising Him when prayers are answered.  I will follow that old 90's cliche F.R.O.G. (Forever Rely On God) because with Him nothing is impossible. Look back to where...

Recently, I made the announcement that my wife and are moving to Montgomery, Alabama to start a full time children's ministry position.  It has been a long painstaking process and I am only finishing the leaving part.  However, I thought I would share a few words on the journey God has brought me through. During the first week in June, I felt a stirring in my heart.  I felt that God was leading me away from Clearwater to a new place.  I was so shocked by this realization that I sat on it for three days before I told my wife.  I continued to feel the quickening and decided to tell my wife, update my resume, and pray for one month.  If I was going to move my family and leave Clearwater, I needed to be sure this is what God wants me to do. After a month of prayer, I realized that this is what God wants me to do.  I notified some pastors who know me, my senior pastor, and district offices in the region.  It was slow going at first.  I had a c...

Today's #trust30 post asks what I would say to myself 5 years ago and what I would like to say to my future self 5 years from now. To myself 5 years ago I would say it gets better.  I was burnt out and worn out from a long grueling year, one of the hardest of my life.  I would also tell myself to continue to focus on learning and relationships because you never know when the next season of your life begins.  It could all change with a phone call.  Lastly I would say go for it.  Don't hold back and take the opportunities in front of you.  You never know what God has in store. To myself 5 years from now I would say to keep your priorities straight and in the right order.  There will be much more going on in my life in 5 years and a lot more opportunities.  Remember to spend time with everyone you love because you never know when they will be gone.  Also love your wife and do something nice for her.  She deserves it. It's weird to tal...