I hear it a lot. “I’m giving up my weekend to go with the youth ministry to a retreat.” “I’m giving up my Sunday morning to teach a kids’ class.” “They’re giving up their summer to serve as camp counselors.” “You’re giving up a year (or two, or five) of your life to serve in […]
Tag: leadership
Dear Youth Pastor, It’s worth the effort.
I know, youth pastor… you’ve got a lot on your plate. People expect a lot from you; your senior pastor isn’t always sympathetic to the uniqueness of your ministry; and the pay isn’t… well… awesome. And, then, last night you had that conversation with your spouse, the one where you say something’s got to change […]
Pace, tone and routine. Three lessons about leadership from Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.
I recently caught a documentary on PBS about Fred Rogers and his 31 seasons of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. I learned so much from his show as a child, and I found, as I watched the documentary, I was still learning… but instead of learning about kindness, feelings and how to make crayons, I discovered I […]
Newton Says. Leadership lessons from an outrageously obnoxious parrot.
“Sure, we can take care of the parrot at our house,” are 11 words I’m beginning to regret. Newton was adopted by camp last fall to be the bird specimen in our nature room. I know… not a native species… but a somewhat cooperative one that allows kids to get up close and personal with […]
Chasing the magic unicorn.
Sometimes, the way we define a particular job or position, makes it hard to find any one person that meets all of our expectations. So what do we do? Do we settle? Do we give up? Absolutely not. Here are a few things I’m learning to do as I continue the search.