Ministry Pathways and the Importance of Non-Linear Leadership
Pathways help us aim somewhere useful. If we aim at nothing, we’ll hit it 100 percent of the time. But while structured pathways have their uses, they also have their problems.
Pathways help us aim somewhere useful. If we aim at nothing, we’ll hit it 100 percent of the time. But while structured pathways have their uses, they also have their problems.
A poor grasp of the full application of active listening, especially if coupled with low emotional intelligence, character flaws and indwelling sin, can have frustrating, counter-productive and even destructive effects.
We all want to be the Kobe of youth ministry, but what our churches really need are Phils. Successful youth ministry needs a strategy. In this article I want to give an example of what a youth ministry strategy could look like.
Parachurches are very prone to mission creep. We add more and more programs, meetings, conference, training days, and social events. Without realising it our programs enter into competition with similar programs already offered by the local church or denominations (or other parachurches). Our slowly expanding offerings squeeze out the time, energy and attention that our members might be able to give elsewhere.
It’s likely that how you were recruited and trained in ministry will influence how you conduct your full-time work later on. If your ministry training was entirely local-church-focussed, it’s more than likely that your mature leadership patterns will be similarly insular.