Helping God's People to Flourish
Want to get better at writing prompts for AI—instantly? Here’s a simple trick: before running your prompt, ask the AI to suggest a better version first. Just one sentence of extra effort can sharpen your prompt, clarify your goals, and dramatically improve your results. I’ll even give you three ready-to-use templates (from beginner to expert) to help you try it out. This one habit can accelerate your learning and unlock the full potential of tools like ChatGPT.
There are at least five ways you might go about fighting a good fight. Identify your typical conflict style and learn more about what style might best fit your situation.
Effective leadership involves not only providing guidance and direction but also fostering a supportive and encouraging environment. Through our method of leadership, we want to motivate volunteers, boost their morale, and create a sustainable and fulfilling volunteer experience. How do you “pay” your volunteers?
This post will guide you through the process of creating a personal Rule of Life; a strategy for how to become the person you are trying to be.
Speak to the intersection of theology and life. If your theology doesn’t “become flesh” it won’t provide anything useful.
In this episode, we talk with Rachel Howell about Biblical interpretation. A scholar and missionary herself, Rachel has taken a deep dive into Alexander Campbell’s influence on Churches of Christ in the way we view and interpret Scripture. She will critique some areas of imbalance and suggest what it might look like to build an even healthier hermeneutic as we move forward.
As you prepare to speak, how do you go about researching what you will share? It might help to balance out the commentaries with which you’re interacting.
What does it actually look like for people to get healthier incrementally? How do we help dysfunctional tribes become high-functioning teams? Here are a few ideas.
Short-Term mission trips have the potential to do a lot of good abroad, but also at home! Here’s something you definitely want to do as you go on your trip.
Not Employees Volunteers aren’t employees. When you’re leading in a church setting, there isn’t a single person involved who doesn’t have the real option of
The Shepherding Metaphor A good shepherd cares about his sheep. When we talk about leadership, we would do well to stay close to that imagery.
Dr. Mark Adams shares information about his original research into best practices for Short-Term Missions when he completed his Doctor of Ministry degree at Lipscomb University. How can a congregation’s involvement in short-term missions help the congregation to become more missional at home?
In the video, I walk through: Basic info about short-term missions and their rapidly growing popularity Brief information about the missional church movement, and why
I’ve enjoyed posting about the assumptions of Appreciative Inquiry. In this video, I explain how I utilized this method at the Old Hickory Church of
I’ve been making posts about Appreciative Inquiry, an effective method for studying an existing group of people and discerning how to implement positive change in
I’ve been sharing reflections on the different assumptions of a group evaluation method called Appreciative Inquiry. One assumption that seems especially obvious is that in
When Genesis describes God creating the universe, God is speaking the world into existence. “Let there be…” In the beginning was “the Word”, John tells
People are like plants. We grow best when we are close to what gives us life. When it comes to sunlight, the scientific term is heliotropic.
Differences matter, and it is important to value them. For smaller churches trying to grow, one way they undermine themselves is by insisting on uniformity.
Appreciative Inquiry assumes that people have an easier time moving into the future when they can bring parts of the past with them. Another slightly
Don’t be too hard on older folks. They’ve seen and been through a lot. It isn’t uncommon to hear someone throw the older generation under
Working with people is much different than working with test tubes. A scientist can work with substances in specific amounts in controlled environments. He or
Robert Cialdani’s book Pre-Suasion (2016) contains a staggering amount of evidence that a person’s focus shapes their reality. I would argue that this is the underlying
One of the core assumptions of Appreciative Inquiry is that in every organization, some things work well. An unfortunate aspect of leadership is that it
Fundamentally, the church should be a community of people in whom the Spirit of Christ is alive and well. Where the Spirit of Christ is