Notable Voices and the Week in Review: January 7, 2016
Ten Major Trends for Churches in 2017
10 Major Trends for Churches in 2017 – Rainer on Leadership #290
Five Common Greeter Mistakes to Correct in the New Year
Five Ways a Church Can Use Social Media when Weather Threatens
How to Adjust When Church Giving Increases – Rainer on Leadership #291
Friendship for the Pastor’s Wife — Christine Hoover
Pastor’s wife, I have good news for you. You do have a choice in the matter, and friendship is a very real possibility for you. Friendship will require your vulnerability, however, and this is the first obstacle you’ll have to hurtle yourself through with purpose and intentionality, because vulnerability is something we tend to tightly lock away. We point to the caveat–“but make sure you are vulnerable only with safe people”–as permission to remain holed up and self-protective. This doesn’t win friends, dear reader. Here’s what does:
10 Questions to Ask at the Start of a New Year — Donald S. Whitney
Even those most faithful to God occasionally need to pause and think about the direction of their lives. It’s so easy to bump along from one busy week to another without ever stopping to ponder where we’re going and where we should be going. The beginning of a new year is an ideal time to stop, look up, and get our bearings. To that end, here are some questions to ask prayerfully in the presence of God.
5 Takeaways From Pew Research Center’s 2016 Social Media Update — Chris Martin
The data published in the report is interesting, but not at all surprising. Here are five key takeaways I grabbed from the data so you don’t have to dig through it if you don’t want to:
How to Set Annual Goals with Your Church Staff — Sam Rainer
Annual goals should be more tactical and less visionary. Tactics are the operational steps to achieving a desired end. Your annual goals act like the step-by-step instructions moving the church closer to a broader vision. Think of vision as the place just beyond the horizon and annual goals as the plan for the next leg of the journey towards the horizon. One of the key roles of a lead pastor (or whoever manages the staff) is coordinating the staff’s annual goals. Below are five steps to setting annual goals with your staff.
3 Ways a Good Assistant Helps a Pastor — Cody Deevers
God has placed gifted people like [assistants] in His church and more than likely in your church. If you don’t have a [good assistant] yet, pray God gives you one soon. If you do, get a pen and paper, write them a thank you note asap. And mail it, don’t just hand it to them. It’s just a stamp and they are more than worth it.
10 Bible Verses to Start Your 2017 — Art Rainer
For some, a new year means a new start. It’s a natural point in our lives when we consider what we desire to see happen over the next twelve months. Maybe you desire to be a better leader. And this is the year. Maybe you desire to get your finances headed in the right direction. And this is the year. Or maybe you desire to spend more time with God. And this is the year. I am sure that you have high hopes for 2017. You are setting goals and making plans. And this is good. But there is no better place to start this fresh year than in Scripture. So, here are 10 verses to start your 2017:
