by Rick Warren
PART ONE: THE NATURE OF VALLEYS
There is an old Arab parable that says: All sunshine and no rain makes a desert. If you never have any down times, dark times, gloomy times in your life you'll be dried up. You'll have no depth to yourself, no maturity. It takes good times and bad times to make a mature person. Life is a mixture of pain and pleasure, of victory and defeat, of success and failure, of mountain tops and valleys. This month I am going to start a two part look at how we can deal with the dark valleys of life. This month we're going to look at the nature of valleys Even in our darkest valleys, our darkest days, God is there. "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me" Psalm 23:4. [ Read full article] Ten Ways to Keep the Passion in Your Small Ministry
by Steve Gladen
Every February, passion is the theme of the month. A relationship full of love and passion will go on forever. Right? Reality shows tell us that statement just might not be true. Passion can fade very quickly. Every successful relationship works at keeping that passion alive. The same is true in ministry. In the 14 years that I have been at Saddleback Church and the 29 total years I have been in full time ministry, I hav learned passion is the common trait that keeps you pressing on through the hard times and sparking your imagination to dream about risking for God in the good times. Passion can't be faked; it must be born out of the soul. So where is your passion? What keeps you in the game? Apply these ten and stay in the ministry game!
by Steve Gladen As the New Year begins, help groups get on track by offering them some suggestions for health and balance. Fellowship - Bring out all the spices from the kitchen and place them on a table in the center of the group. Begin your group time by asking members, "Which one of these spices best represents you tonight - and why?" Be ready to get the discussion going by answering this questions yourself. Discipleship - At the beginning of the year, challenge every member to [ Read full article]
By Lance Witt
Dishonesty creates dysfunction and terminal niceness can be terminal to the health of a ministry. Most of us who lead in ministry are just not very good at hard conversations. For the most part we are polite, sensitive, and hate conflict. We beat around the bush, tap dance around the conflict, and make nice. A huge part of team health has to do with how well we interact and communicate with each other. It takes courage and consistency to create a culture of open, honest, candid communication.
In her book Fierce Conversations, Susan Scott says, "Our lives succeed or fail gradually, then suddenly, one conversation at a time.
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