Posts by Mark Howell
My Small Group Ministry Philosophy for the 21st Century
(NOTE: This is an updated version of an article from 2021.) Disclosure: Depending on your own bias or bent, you might read this rant as either heresy, confirmation that I’ve lost it, or maybe something worth sharing with your team. To start with, at some level I believe the current discipleship emphasis and the missional…
Read MoreFULL DISCLOSURE: I’m Still Not a Theorist
For over 35 years of pastoral ministry, usually in paid positions but occasionally a volunteer, I’ve always maintained that I’m a practitioner, not a theorist. “I’m not a theorist. I am a practitioner.” That’s been an important truth for me over the years for a number of reasons. Primarily because I’ve never wanted to be…
Read MoreAre you getting the most out of MarkHowellLive.com?
Are you getting the most out of MarkHowellLive.com? Almost every day I get a question from at least one long-time reader. And very often I get one from a new reader. And as much as I love getting questions, they remind me of the fact that with nearly 2300 articles, there’s a lot here and…
Read MorePlan Your 2018 GroupLife Strategy with These Concepts in Mind
Do you want to connect people no one else is connecting? You know, not just the men and women that are looking for a group but the ones that never seem to respond to ordinary and routine groups campaigns. Not just the same old people that sign up and then don’t show up…but the people…
Read MoreJoin Me for GroupLife Strategy Call ’18?
Join Me for GroupLife Strategy Call ’18? Is your grouplife strategy ready for 2018? It’s coming, you know! Depending on when you’re reading this…you have less than 7 weeks to get ready for what could be the year you launch more new groups and connect more unconnected people than ever before! But the clock is…
Read MoreFriday’s List | November 10
Every Friday I post a short list of the things I’m reading, listening to, loving and wrestling with: Here’s what I’m reading right now: Sean Parker on Facebook’s Brain Hacking by Cal Newport on the Study Hacks blog. Leading Effectively When You Inherit a Mess by Ron Carucci on HBR. Great article and very applicable to many of…
Read MoreThinking Thursday: Take “The Other” to Lunch
“There’s an angry divisive tension in the air that threatens to make modern politics impossible. Elizabeth Lesser explores the two sides of human nature within us (call them “the mystic” and “the warrior”) that can be harnessed to elevate the way we treat each other. She shares a simple way to begin real dialogue —…
Read MoreIf I Was Starting Today…Part 7
(This is part 7 of a 7 part series. You can read part 1 right here) If I was starting over and knew then what I know now…I’d take advantage of the central role of the senior pastor. This is a huge concept and absolutely explains a key difference between churches that with groups and…
Read MoreFAQ: What about leaders that don’t do what we want them to do?
I get questions. In fact, I get a LOT of questions. Sometimes they come directly to me via email or a comment here on the blog. Other times they come to me via a Facebook post or some other indirect route. Here’s one I get fairly often, even frequently. I get you’ve asked or wondered a…
Read More3 Important Learnings from Bring Life (our 2017 fall campaign)
This year we produced Bring Life, a 7 week church-wide campaign at Canyon Ridge. We produced our own video content and also wrote the study guide and a 40 day devotional (we combined the two in a 160 page book). It wasn’t the first campaign we’ve produced. We produced campaigns in 2012 and 2013 (and…
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