Links We Love

Links We Love

For when you need a broader view:

5 Lessons in Seven Years of Serving the “Capital C” Church – Eric Geiger

Each year we serve 60,000 plus churches with some type of resource. It has been a deep honor to be in this role and it has given me a bird’s-eye view of how the Lord uses lots of churches to mature and shepherd His people. Here are five lessons I have learned or re-learned over the last seven years.

For when you wonder why opening up your space, yourself, and your life is worth it:

3 Aspects of Our Faith Hospitality Puts on Display – Michael Kelley

While there are certain acts, like making the casserole or opening your home, that are indicative of hospitality, the characteristic itself has a deeper meaning and implication than these actions. The word hospitality comes from the combination of two words: “love” and “stranger.” Literally, then, hospitality is the love of strangers.

For when you need help understanding your small group’s perspectives:

There Are Two Kinds of People in the World – Lifeway Men

If you had to divide the world into 2 categories, what would those categories be?

I’ve a list of possibilities. This is but a smattering of my list, but you get the point, and you have a list of your own. I enjoy this exercise because it forces me to boil things down to their simplest terms. I am forced to keep the main thing the main thing.

For when you need to create a culture of empowerment:

Leading Well: Drawing Boundaries as a Leader – Lifeway Women’s Ministry

There are another set of boundaries we don’t discuss as often today—guidelines and focus for our ministries. The Book of Acts doesn’t seem like a book about leaders who set up boundaries… The book is filled with admonition that boundaries seem limitless, yet good leaders do have boundaries in order to maximize their effectiveness.

For when your group leaders need training:

Train Your Bible Study Leaders for Free – Lifeway Leadership

We know that the effectiveness of a Bible study, especially in a group context, is tied to the leader. Are they prepared? Do they understand the material? Can they answer questions about it?

We also know that training group leaders is a challenging thing to do because of time constraints, scheduling conflicts, varying experience levels, and more. So the question is: Are the leaders for your church’s groups well-prepared and ready to shepherd others?