I read it in news articles. I hear it on newscasts. I hear it walking on the street. I have even heard it used in churches. I see and hear it everywhere, and it makes me cringe —Every. Single. Time. What is it? It is people using a characteristic (usually a disability) to define who a person is. And it is wrong.
Now, I am no Social Justice Warrior. Nor am I a guy who is on the extreme edge of being politically correct. This is not about that. So please, hear me out before you tune me out.
Have you ever thought to yourself, “I wonder what my congregation thinks about (fill in the blank)” or “I wish I could ask my youth group if they preferred (option one) or (option 2)”? Well now that a majority of people use smartphones, you can!
On average, a church worker spends about 39,204,823,907,402 hours of his or her life in meetings. Okay, maybe the number isn’t quite that large, but there are times it doesn’t seem too far off. We have board meetings, council meetings, voters’ meetings, informational meetings, and training meetings, just to name a few.
Meetings can get a bad rap, but when we keep a few things in mind, they can move from a begrudged necessity to a powerful ministry tool.
Whether you are speaking of corporate staff or church workers, keeping staff organized and on the same page is critical to the success of your mission.
Change is hard. Change is inevitable. Embrace change. Help others embrace change.
We all know that technology changes weekly, daily, and even hourly. The way we communicate and connect with others seems to change on a dime—and sometimes in ways we would have never expected.
It is our job as communicators to connect with and communicate to an age range of tweens – 90+. Many of our members embrace the technological world and its changes. Many use smart phones, computers, tablets, can text, or video chat. But let’s not forget those that are timid to change or learning new things. Technology can be overwhelming and at times even terrifying.
Smartphones are, arguably, the single most formative technology in the past decade. With the invention of these devices, anyone can have music, books, and unlimited knowledge (the Internet) at their fingertips everywhere they go. Teenagers, especially, have been exposed to these devices for a large portion of their lives.
A quick online search about making yourself replaceable at work is likely to try to offer you articles about being irreplaceable or indispensable. While each of us brings a special set of skills and abilities to our jobs, we should all keep in mind that illness or sudden changes in life could mean that we have to leave our job to another person with little notice. So how can you prepare for someone else to take over?
Vocation,or those roles to which God has called us to love and serve our neighbor, is at the heart of our lives as Christians. God uses means, or those things we encounter in our daily lives, to care for and communicate with His creation.
He works through what we often consider ordinary. Literally, the word vocation means “calling.” He works through the gifts and talents He’s given us, including those in the area of communication, both within the walls of the church and outside of them.
“Administrator” – Sometimes I think that title was set up as a catch all for those positions which don’t fit anything else. And the variety . . . from business to technical to managerial . . . the title covers them all. Most importantly, they are the foundation of any group which runs efficiently and effectively.
Vacation Bible School has a long history of doing things creatively. When looking at ways to recruit and train volunteers for this ministry, why not follow in that vein?
It might make sense to recruit volunteers and then train them for VBS or any other event or need your church may have. Yet, training information is important to have when recruiting.
