Posts by Mark Howell
FAQ: How Are You Training New Leaders These Days?
I get questions. A lot of questions. Some come in a comment right here on the blog. Others come in an email. And some come when I’m speaking at a conference or workshop. Here’s a very frequent question: “How are you training new leaders these days?” Great question! I love it because in the question…
Read MoreA Values-Driven Culture Is Essential
“Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” Often attributed to Peter Drucker, this is a line right at the heart of an important challenge for all of us. We work hard on choosing our small group model, system or strategy and that is a very good thing. Strategy is important. But at the end of the day,…
Read MoreA Beautiful Design: God’s Unchanging Plan for Manhood and Womanhood
Spent some time this week with a new DVD-driven study from Matt Chandler. A Beautiful Design: God’s Unchanging Plan for Manhood and Womanhood is classic Chandler. Straight from the Bible, the lead pastor of teaching at The Village Church in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex tackles one of the most important issues of our time. “What does it…
Read MoreHow Personally Are You Taking It?
In the closing message at re:group Clay Scroggins reflected on the incident in Mark 2:1-12 where four friends brought a paralyzed man to be healed by Jesus. Remember the story? Here’s the paragraph he spent most of his time on: Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. 4 Since…
Read MoreHow Are You Managing the Tension Between Theology and Ministry? (re:group Day Two)
I came away with a number of profound insights from this year’s re:group Conference. One of my most eye-opening moments happened toward the end of Training Leaders to Engage Culture, a second day breakout. Pointing to Jesus’ ability to focus on core issues of the faith while moving time and again “toward the messes,” Tim Cooper…
Read MoreInfluencing Culture: Jesus’ Model vs the Pharisees’ Model (re:group Day Two)
In yesterday’s post I gave you a quick overview of a second day breakout called Training Leaders to Engage Culture. If you haven’t read it, you might want to go back and catch up. One of the big takeaways was embedded in a careful look at the difference between Jesus’ model for influencing culture vs…
Read MoreTraining Leaders to Engage Culture (re:group Day Two)
Training Leaders to Engage Culture (re:group Day Two) One of the most powerful takeaways I came away with was a renewed commitment to the importance of training small group leaders. Yes, adults learn on a need to know basis, and yes, I still believe the best practice is to do TO and FOR your leaders…
Read MoreCelebrating 1900 Posts: My 19 Favorites
Yesterday I published my 1900th post here at MarkHowellLive.com. 1900. I began blogging here in early 2008. Although I don’t have accurate stats on readers and pageviews until 2009, I know it was a slow beginning in terms of traffic. Today…well today is different. Here is my best attempt at my 19 favorite posts. This…
Read MoreQuotebook: A Higher Standard than Jesus? (re:group Day Two)
There are times every once in a great while when something a speaker says is so convicting it causes an audible gasp or sigh in the room. There was one of those times on Day Two of re:group in the session by Tim Cooper called Training Leaders to Engage Culture. It was a statement that…
Read MoreCommunity for Everyone (re:group Conference Day One)
Note: While this article was written after attending re:group (North Point Ministries small group ministry conference) in 2016, it is getting MORE relevant everywhere and every day. I might be sharing key insights from re:group 16 for days. So good! I wish you had been there! One of the two or three most powerful takeaways…
Read More