Posts by Mark Howell
5 Keys to Keep in Mind When Choosing Your Small Group System
Yesterday’s post, Top 10 Reasons North Point Has Connected Over 72,000 in Groups*, prompted me to think about the similarities (and the differences) between North Point system and Saddleback’s system. In the midst of that process I thought about North Coast’s successful group strategy (consistently over 80% of their adults in groups) as well as…
Read MoreTop 10 Reasons North Point Has Connected Over 72,000* in Groups
One of the churches you ought to be paying attention to when it comes to small group ministry is North Point Community Church (technically, North Point Ministries, which is their name for their 6 Atlanta churches and global network of more than 30 strategic partner churches). Led by senior pastor Andy Stanley, North Point has accomplished…
Read MorePatrick Lencioni’s The Ideal Team Player is a Must-Read
I spent some time with Patrick Lencioni’s newest book this week. Like every one of Lencioni’s books, The Ideal Team Player: How to Recognize and Cultivate the Three Essential Virtues is a great read. Like virtually all of his books (with the exception of The Advantage), The Idea Team Player is part fable (a very compelling and…
Read MorePatrick Lencioni on Humility
“Great team players lack excessive ego or concerns about status. They are quick to point out the contributions of others and slow to seek attention for their own. They share credit, emphasize team over self, and define success collectively rather than individually. It is no great surprise, then, that humility is the single greatest and…
Read More5 Tiny Plan Alterations that Lead to Completely Different Destinations
Have you ever noticed that you only have to miss one turn to end up at an completely different destination? Happened to me most recently in London’s Harrods department store. I don’t know whose idea it was to go to Harrods to shop for toys for our grandkids…but we went. And in the middle of…
Read MoreHow’s Your Small Group Model Working in Today’s Shifting Culture?
How’s your small group model working in light of today’s shifting culture? Thought about that question? What’s your reaction to the question? I know there will be different opinions about this, but I believe we must pay attention to the culture (And by the way, paying attention is a lot different than paying homage to…
Read MoreToday Only! These Mini-Courses Are 25% Off
Sorry! Times up! You can find out about my regularly priced mini-courses right here: How to Design, Build and Sustain a Thriving Small Group Ministry launches this Thursday and is my newest 4 session mini-course that will take you through what I believe are four essential steps. This course is based on my most requested and most popular workshop, it…
Read MoreAdd Intentional Living: Choosing a Life that Matters to Your Leadership Training
I’ve been making my way through John Maxwell’s latest book these last couple weeks. Intentional Living: Choosing a Life that Matters wasn’t on my radar when the summer began, but a few things Maxwell said at the Global Leadership Summit prompted me to think this book might be required reading for small group pastors and…
Read MoreQuotebook: John Maxwell on Doing What We Can Do
“We should never let what we cannot do keep us from doing what we can do.” Intentional Living: Choosing a Life that Matters, p. 6 Image by Michael Bentley
Read MoreHow Discipleship Really Happens
Ever buckle down and come up with your firm opinion about how discipleship really happens? Four years ago I put my thoughts together in an article called Top 10 Things I Need to Know about Discipleship. That title wasn’t a misprint or a mistake. They really were 10 things I needed to know. In some…
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