What’s Important Now? Things To Do This Week
I don’t know about you, but I start every week with a long list of things that could be done and a short list of things that must be done. On that long list are things that would be nice to do, might help us accomplish our mission, and should help move us in the…
Read MoreIntentional Churches Is a Game-Changer
I joined the team at Canyon Ridge in 2012. From the very beginning I felt great alignment with the thinking of Doug Parks, then an executive pastor at Canyon Ridge (and my boss). I’ve always believed that every ministry is perfectly designed to produce the results they are currently experiencing, and Doug was steadily developing…
Read MoreIs multiplication your plan? Or just good intentions?
“When you multiply…” A history lesson: In the early 90s, Willow Creek Community Church, then the leading example of effective small group ministry in the U.S., proclaimed the value that “healthy groups growth and birth.” Taking their cue from the Meta-Church Model of small group ministry, they championed the idea that like any other cellular…
Read MoreTop 5 Post-Easter Studies for New Groups (2020)
Update: Here’s a link to my 2022 list. Looking for a way to connect unconnected people right after Easter 2020? This year Easter was almost as early as it can be and that makes it a great opportunity to connect another wave of people before summer. The 5 studies I’ve chosen to highlight were selected…
Read MoreTop 7 Things I’ve Learned about Authentic Community
I’ve been at this community building thing a long time. A very long time. Learning about community and more importantly, building our own. The response of our community played a very important role in our world after the death of our son and again after the passing of my mother-in-law. See also, This Is Why We…
Read MoreWhat Strategies Will Emerge from Temporary and Become Permanent?
What strategies will emerge from your temporary way of doing things and become permanent once the curve is flattened and things begin to return to normal (or the new normal? Note: Semi-permanent is a better term. Or to put it another way, which of the workarounds you are currently using will be so effective and…
Read MoreQuestion: What Do You Think Has Changed and Might Be the New Normal?
Unprecedented. There’s a word. Might be the word of the year. If these are unprecedented times (and it’s hard to argue they are not), is this a blip on the radar? And when the coast is clear, do things go back to the way they were in February? Or will some aspects not return to…
Read More7 Things You Can Do to Help Your Group Leaders Feel More Connected
If you’re like me, you’re sheltering in place and connecting via the phone, text and Zoom/FaceTime pretty much all day. There may be some reading (both print and digital) sprinkled in. You might have a little supervision in the mix. And maybe a little distance learning as you try and figure out how to avoid…
Read MoreTo Connect More People YOU May Need to Be the Champion
Introduction These are definitely unprecedented times. And different times, unprecedented times, call for a different strategy playbook. Trying to use well-worn, old faithful, strategy to connect people when operating in a different season, will not have the same results. Unprecedented times call, actually scream, for a different playbook. Now…you may be tempted to think (hope)…
Read MoreAre You Seizing THIS Opportunity?
Here’s today’s question: Are you seizing this unprecedented opportunity to connect the current wave of unconnected people? You have probably heard the term unprecedented a lot in recent days. There are a lot of things that are true about this season being unprecedented. The collision of pace of life, worldwide mobility, technology, relational distance, and…
Read More