Tag Archives: Leadership
Making Vision Stick: Book Review
Posted on 09. Mar, 2010 by Kenny.
Last year just before the Orange Conference I spent some time at North Point hanging out at both the Alpharetta campus as well as at Buckhead. I spent a small fortune at the bookstore. While there, I picked up this little book, “Making Vision Stick” by Andy Stanley. It’s small, thin and something that can be wholly digested in one sitting. All I can say is this. Thank you Andy Stanley for writing this little book. Let me share with you a few reasons why I like this little 74 page book.
- I’m not the fastest of readers. My life is busy, so I’ll sit down for an hour, read part of a book and then several days later I’ll sit down and read for another hour and over the period of days or weeks, I’ll finish up a book.
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Learning from Jim Wideman
Posted on 05. Mar, 2010 by Kenny.
This is my last post about Brother Jim for a little while. Over the past several days I’ve shared all the amazing thing’s I’ve learned from him, especially this year. I made a few adjustments to my schedule and my budget in order to spend another year in mentoring with him because I don’t think I’m done yet.
So, I’m gong to throw out a suggestion here. This is my blog and I’m certainly entitled to expressing my opinion here, right? Well, here goes.
Not taking advantage of what Bother Jim has to offer could be the greatest mistake you’ll make as a Children’s Pastor. Brother Jim has been serving in the trenches longer than many children’s pastors have been alive.… Read the rest
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Who says it’s lonely at the top?
Posted on 03. Mar, 2010 by Kenny.
Okay, this statement is partially true, but the way most people use it, I don’t buy it.
Yes, when it comes to leadership, the higher you go, the less people you have to surround you with support and encouragement. At times you have to make tough calls that no one understands. This is the part where loneliness comes in. However, that’s only fully true if you’ve been doing ministry alone.
Last Saturday I spoke to volunteers in our Children’s Ministry about never doing ministry alone. I’m not sure I effectively communicated what my heart truly feels, but I shared how vital it is that we shouldn’t just do our ministry job, whether as a staff member or weekly volunteer, but we should seek out others to share in the joys and frustrations of ministry.… Read the rest
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How I came to know Jim Wideman
Posted on 02. Mar, 2010 by Kenny.
So two weeks ago I ventured out on a Kidmin Road Trip, but the main reason I organized the little adventure was because I had an Infuse retreat with Jim Wideman. It was a great retreat, but I’ll get to that later. I’d like to tell you how I came to know Jim Wideman. I’m writing this not to brag or boast who I know, but perhaps encourage you with my story. Why? Because it may serve you well to get to know Jim Wideman as well and the only thing holding you back is you.
So you have to know something about me. Although I’m a very self-confident person and an off the charts extrovert, I tend to be a little shy and soft-spoken in situations where I’m not in my element.… Read the rest
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New books from Jim Wideman
Posted on 01. Mar, 2010 by Kenny.
Two weeks ago I got to spend a few days with Jim Wideman. If you’re a Children’s Pastor and you’re not familiar with Jim Wideman, what rock have you been hiding under? This week I’m going to share a little about the impact this man has had on my life over the past 3 years. The cool thing is that he’s not this “far-from-reach” guy, but very approachable and so willing to mentor the next generation of leaders. More on that later though.
While with him I picked up three new books. One of them is a book he’s had out for a while (I’ve just never read it) and the other two are brand new.
Connect with your kids has been out for at least a few years.… Read the rest
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Dear kidmin curriculum publishers: Conclusion
Posted on 23. Feb, 2010 by Kenny.
Okay, I never intended this series to jump into a third week. Sorry, my week last week got a little busy.
I just thought I’d wrap it up with a few closing thoughts.
Here’s what we explored:
- Defining Roles
- Curriculum Distribution
- Video Curriculum
- Leveraging Creative Collaboration
- Family Content
- Video Access
- Independent Standards
There were some great conversations on some of these posts. If you missed any, be sure to check them out.
There seemed to be a lot of agreement from other Children’s Pastors in response to these posts. I expected as much since I wrote these based on personal frustrations as well as hearing first hand what others have been frustrated about. However, the point of this series wasn’t to complain to publishers.… Read the rest
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Personal investment equals great influence: followup thoughts
Posted on 04. Feb, 2010 by Kenny.
Yesterday I posted about something Andy Stanley said in the first paragraph of the forward of Think Orange. Click here to read it.
Essentially, I wrote about North Point being so successful in their efforts to reach families. One of the driving forces behind their success was that most of the key leadership and staff had skin in the game. It was so important to be successful in this area becasue their kids and families were at stake too. It sounds selfish, but it’s the truth. We always show more interest in the things that are going to affect us most.
So, what if the average age of the senior leadership at your church is in their mid to late 50′s?… Read the rest
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Casting vision to your church staff (conclusion)
Posted on 11. Dec, 2009 by Kenny.
Thanks for allowing me to crank out 5 or 6 posts all about a 90 minute meeting I had over a week ago. I cranked out a lot of words, but hopefully there was some stuff in there you found helpful. Enough teasing though.
- Here is the handout every staff member had.
- Here’s the same handout with the blanks filled in.
- Here’s my script. I tend to write out my talks rather than outline, so this is essentially everything I said.
So what did I learn from this experience?
- I’m disappointed that I haven’t done this before (at least to this capacity). From this point on, I’ll ask to lead our all-staff at least once every year.
- Although they didn’t know it, the staff wanted to hear about NextGen.
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Casting vision to your church staff (Part 5)
Posted on 10. Dec, 2009 by Kenny.
Here is my final post concerning my recent opportunity to cast vision for Next Gen to my church staff. If you’ve missed my other posts, you can find them here, here, here and here.
The introduction and first two points built a really strong case for Next Gen. I had the staff right where I wanted them and they had the information they needed to communicate Next Gen well. My last point was were I practically pulled the rug out from under their feet. I presented the greatest problem we face.
Point number three was: Next Gen can’t do it alone.
I read Barna’s description of a biblical worldview. How many of those 18-23 years of age possess a biblical world view?… Read the rest
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Casting vision to your church staff (Part 4)
Posted on 10. Dec, 2009 by Kenny.
Yesterday I wrapped up my first point in my vision casting to my staff, about how Next Gen is Strategic, Vital and Urgent.
My second point was:
Next Gen isn’t just about Kids and Students.
This part may or may not be true of your church, but it is of Gateway. So, this may not apply to your situation.
Here at Gateway we have a connection path that is well known by the staff and leaders. Essentially a person begins the connection path by ATTENDING our church. Then we try to get them to CONNECT either in a small group or spiritual running partner relationship. The next step would be to take steps of spiritual GROWTH in the context of their small group or running partner group.… Read the rest
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