Pretty much the highest praise I can give a book is that it is both deeply thoughtful and highly readable. Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God’s Work by Tim Keller (2012) earns that praise. Deep and thorough, itRead more…
Grow in Serving
Good Stuff: Reasons a Team Lacks Joy
Enjoy your volunteering? In “Five Reasons a Team Lacks Joy,” Eric Geiger notes that each reason for lack of joy can be counteracted by the leader. Perhaps we leaders should be looking for, and measuring, signs of joy in ourRead more…
A Question: Where’s the Joy?
I’ve got a question. “Do you have any articles about serving with joy? I feel some of our teams around here are in a slump.” — from Carolyn at a church in Wisconsin Response Thanks for asking, Carolyn. It’s anRead more…
Good Stuff: Are You Wearing Your Oxygen Mask?
Self-care is important for all of us, but especially so for those who lead volunteers. If we don’t “put on your own oxygen mask first . . .” we’ll hinder and hurt (and probably lose) the volunteers who work withRead more…
Recruiting 101: Want Volunteers? Avoid This
“Help! We need more volunteers!” You hear that a lot around churches. If you’re working with volunteers, you probably don’t have enough. It’s true whether you are a pastor, church staff or a volunteer yourself. Volunteer recruitment is not onlyRead more…
Worth noting: The 24/7 Work Culture’s Toll
A New York Times article, “The 24/7 Work Culture’s Toll on Families and Gender Equality,” paints a sobering picture of the lives many of our church volunteers lead outside of church. Some excerpts and my thoughts. “The pressure of aRead more…
Found stuff: Much help, Little good
A good reminder that we should use our heads as well as our hearts when we want to help those in need. Truly helping others can be challenging. Few countries have suffered an earthquake so devastating, or have been lessRead more…
Yorkville, Angel Food Survey
A survey used by the Angel Food Ministry at Cross Lutheran Church, YorkvilleRead more…
Lone Ranger, Leader’s Guide
Leader’s Guide for “The Lone Ranger Builds a Church”Read more…
Lone Ranger, Participant Handout
The Lone Ranger Builds a ChurchRead more…
How_to_Discourage_Vol
“How to Discourage Your Church’s Volunteers,” an article from The Lutheran Witness, reprinted with permission.Read more…
SHSA-script2
Script for “How NOT to Invite Someone into Ministry”Read more…
SHSA-presentation2
Presentation, “How NOT to Invite Someone into Ministry”Read more…
Paid or Volunteer?
Paid or Volunteer? What work is done by staff at your church? What work is done by volunteers? Usually, the line between the two is pretty clear. Some positions (pastor, secretary) are filled by employees. Others (Sunday school teacher, usher)Read more…