MIM EZINE, Mar 7, 2006Table of Contents - - Ministry in Motion 'in Motion' Announcement-- "Keep Them Coming Back: Ways to Reach and Teach Members Who Might Otherwise Tune You Out" Article by Teena Stewart -- Login Leadership - "Is Coaching for You?" by Tom Hanover -- Book Review - "The Five Love Languages" by Gary Chapman
– Classified Ads To read this ezine in its entirety click
here --- Looking for ministry resources to help you in
ministry? Be sure to visit Ministry in Motion's Bookshop. Every
resource is developed from hands-on church experience. Help
members discover their spiritual gifts, how to connect them in
ministry and more. Visit MIM's Bookshop. --- Dear MIM
Subscribers,
You may already be familiar with Tom Hanover
(thanover@pastors-study.com)
who has been writing for Ministry in Motion for the past year.
Tom is moving into a position as editor of the MIM ezine. Tom
holds Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from United
Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. He is an ordained pastor in
the United Methodist Church and is District Superintendent in the
West Ohio Conference. Dennis Mohler (dmohler@pastors-study.com)
will be taking on the role as our web master. Dennis holds a Master
of Divinity degree from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, and
the Doctor of Ministry degree from McCormick Theological Seminary in
Chicago. He is an ordained pastor with the United Methodist
Church and currently serves as lead pastor of the Walnut Street
United Methodist Church in Chillicothe, Ohio.
Both Tom and Dennis serve as consultants with
http://www.dreambuildersministires.net/. These changes free me
up to plug myself into more entrepreneurial areas where I excel. I
will continue as a contributing writer of the Purpose-filled
Ministry column for MIM ezine. In addition, I will be
assisting with marketing and promo and resource product
development. I am excited to announce these changes and
assure you that MIM will continue to be a quality resource for
equipping and encouraging pastors, volunteers, and church leaders
for effective leadership in the 21st century. Over
the next few months we hope to expand the number of writers we have
and to develop more resources. As always, I encourage our
readers to give feedback. How can we better serve you?
What resources do you need? I also urge you to send ministry
related tips and articles for consideration. Let us hear from
you. We wish you the best this month in
ministry, Teena M. Stewart customerservice@ministryinmotion.net Keep Them Coming Back: Ways
to Reach & Teach Members Who Might Otherwise Tune You
Out By Teena M.
Stewart
Our worship team came back on
stage after the sermon to do the closing song. As the pastor
concluded his prayer I heard the distinct noise of heavy
breathing. But wait – this was not just breathing, it was
snoring! I looked around and found the culprit. A young girl
was asleep next her father and she was cutting some major z’s.
It was a pastor’s worst nightmare. Fortunately for the pastor,
in this case, the bored audience member was a kid and not an adult.
Still, it made me realize how easy it is for people to “fall asleep”
during worship service. Sometimes the sleeping is outwardly
visible. (I’ve seen it happen in several
churches.) It’s embarrassing for the sleeper but quite
entertaining for the rest of the congregation. But sometimes,
the sleep isn’t outwardly visible. Though people may look like they
are awake, their minds and interest simply check out.
For several years now I have
belonged to Toastmasters, an organization that helps develop
communication and speaking skills. One of the challenges of
public speaking is holding your audience’s interest. There are
all sorts of techniques by which we learn to do this better.
What I’ve learned is that this applies not only to speaking in
general, but also to church worship services.
Ask any school teacher.
Some pupils are auditory learners. They can learn through the
regular routes of reading and writing. Other pupils are not wired
this way. Is it any wonder that some students show poor
performance if the same teaching methods are used for
all? Because of this variety of
learning styles -- and there are many -- it’s wise to find diverse
ways to hold our audience’s attention. As a creative minded
person myself, I have always struggled with learning by
listening. I thrive on innovative approaches and
variety. Show me. Don’t tell me. So why is it that so many
churches just don’t get this? If you truly want your audience
to learn; if you want them to come back; if you want them to pay
attention, you’ve got to shake it up. These rules also apply
for teaching classes and leading Bible study.
Here are some suggestions for
shaking up your worship service. Vary the
routine. Get dramatic. At a recent church service I participated in the pastor talked about “Who is my neighbor?” It was the very familiar scripture passage of the good Samaritan. The fun part was that the stage had been set up like a living room. The pastor captivated the audience by entering on a set like Mr. Rogers from Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. He put on the sweater, and changed into sneakers while singing the song. The congregation loved it and he held their attention. Other ways to use drama might include planting someone in the audience to be a participant in a key element in the sermon, or actually doing a dramatic monologue that illustrates the sermon passage or message point. If you have people in your church with a flair for drama, consider having them prepare a skit that ties into the sermon message. I’m not suggesting that you have drama every week. Occasionally, however, it can really hold the attention of your audience. Use visuals: Some churches offer children’s sermons which may include object lessons. Why do we think this is only interesting to children? Use objects to illustrate a lesson point. People love to see what you are talking about. Consider showing film clips or using PowerPoint with pictures. Incorporate stories: People are more likely to remember your stories and illustrations than the actual speech or sermon. But if they remember the story, they may also get the point that the story conveyed. Jesus was a master story teller and parables were one of his favorites methods. They were stories that made the message easy to grasp but they also involved picture images as the story unfolded. Read from snippets from a book or story book to tie in the message. You might even show them the illustrations if there are some. Make it interactive: Ask your audience a question or questions that tie into your teaching topic. They enjoy participating and it keeps their attention. This same pastor who played Mr. Rogers, on several occasions throughout his talk, said a key thought or phrase, and then asked his audience members, “Can you say ____________? and had them to repeat the key phrase. Other suggestions for making your talk interactive might include planting someone in the audience to speak up at a certain point or walk down the aisle at a key time. You might create a trivia quiz that ties into you topic and then have people respond with the answers. Sometimes, short mixers, if appropriate to the subject matter, can get members to break into small groups and connect. Just make sure you end up with controlled chaos rather than chaos alone. Vary your speakers: If you have a multi staff church, this may be relatively easy for you. Not every staff member is automatically a good candidate. Before enlisting them, make sure they are a quality speaker. Cultivate other speakers among from your leadership. You might be surprised at the talent already present. With good guidance as to topic and topic time, they could be a great addition. Occasionally invite a guest speaker. Make sure you are familiar with them first. Their theology needs to tie in with your church’s. Use different teaching styles: Vary teaching styles. Rather than reading the scripture, have people do dramatic scripture readings. This might include using a prerecorded scripture on tape that lends drama, or utilizing an actor or actors to read or act out the scripture. With a little imagination, you can make your worship service much more interesting. When it is more interesting, people are better able to learn. They are also more willing to return the next week and bring their friends. Entertainment should not be our main purpose but there’s no reason church services have to be boring. Teena Stewart is a published writer, a ministry specialist and consultant, and a product developer for Ministry in Motion. You can email her at smartwords@sbcglobal.net
Protect Your Family and Your Computer with Reliable, Safe, Internet Filtering & Anti Virus Software Award winning anti-virus and firewall solutions to protect your family and Computer” Besafe online includes: * Internet Filter * Pop-up Killer * Spyware Killer * Firewall/Intrusion Detection * Anti-Virus Software (Powered By Sophos) * New! Integrated SPAM Filter * Free Support * Free 10-Day Trial
Leadership Login: Coaching Tom Hanover thanover@pastors-study.com
IS COACHING FOR YOU? Pastor Susan looked around the audience at the “mega church success seminar.” She suspected there were a lot of people just like her. Susan was looking for some fresh ideas, some spiritual inspiration, a break in the busy routine, and maybe even meet a few new friends. Did she think this seminar would help her church break through the barriers to the next level? Not a chance! This “mega church” was so far removed from her reality, she expected there would be little that her church would want to copy. What would help Pastor Susan’s church? What would help Pastor Susan? There are a number of new programs and resource materials available to assist churches in their ministries. And many of them are excellent. I am delighted to see the diversity of approaches and curriculums developed today. They are creative and often produced in a very professional manner. However, one rarely goes to a grocery store to solve the problem of world hunger. A grocery store offers a lot of products to feed hungry people. But world hunger is much more complex. It is a systems problem. Grocery stores provide food, but not solutions to systems problems. Is coaching a solution? When we hear the word “coach” many of us in American culture think of the older, more experienced man or woman on the sidelines directing the efforts of a team of players. But in the discipline of leadership coaching, the image of a horse drawn carriage is the more accurate symbol. A coach is someone or something that helps an individual or group or organization to get from one place to the next. I have been using a coach for a couple of years now. My first coach was an experiment that worked very well, though temporarily at the time. The insights I gained from that conversation helped me reframe and refocus my work significantly. Currently, I work with a lady who is retired from the business world and has coached leaders around the world. (Frankly, I think she works at our coaching relationship harder than I do.) The questions she raises, the resources she shares, the reflections she offers have helped me to enhance my leadership offerings to the pastors and churches I supervise. Questions? One of the most useful tools a coach offers is the art of asking questions that lead to self-discovery. It is not an approach of teaching others what they do not know. It is instead a conversation that helps a participant come to new awareness and realizations about themselves and their leadership style. It assumes that God has already planted within them all they need to grow to the next level in the leadership effectiveness. Let me share a simple example. When I served in a local church, the location of most of my leadership work was in my office. It was there that I wrote my sermons. It was there that I prepared proposals for administrative meetings. It was there I met and prayed with my staff, and frequently it was there I talked to key leaders. Of course, I visited in hospitals and homes. I met people for breakfast and lunches. I attended meetings elsewhere. But the focus of my creative and planning energy took place in my office. When I began this supervisory role for roughly 100 pastors and about 115 churches, I did not realize that my best leadership work would not take place in my office – which was more than an hour away from many of my churches. Instead my leadership work took place over lunch or coffee, in a church classroom, or even in my car as we talked on a cell phone. My office became a place where I dumped one stack of papers and picked up another stack of papers. In fact, I found I talked more to my secretary over the phone while driving somewhere than when I was actually in the office. I had to change how I focused the times and places of my strategizing my leadership efforts. All of this came about because of an innocent question my coach asked. Let me add one more piece. The coach approach focuses on the leader and how to help that leader grow in his/her effectiveness. The coach is not selling a program or curriculum. The coach does not assume that if you do it like someone else you will get the same results. The coach is like a midwife who is there to assist you in giving birth to something profound and wondrous. Consequently, the coach is focused on my context and my issues. The coach walks alongside me to help me see opportunities for God’s intervention in ways I would not have noticed otherwise. Could a coach help you? There are several web sites that may help you explore coaching for your leadership. http://www.coachnet.org/ (This is the one I subscribe to.) http://www.christiancoachinginstitute.com/ http://www.christiancoaches.com/ http://www.congregationalresources.org/ Check these out and see if coaching is really the assistance you need to lead your church into the greatest possibilities of God’s future!
--- Book Review – The Five Love Languages By Gary Chapman, Northfield Publishing, 2004, 188127315-6, 203 pages Reviewed by Teena M. Stewart Few married couples achieve the type of relationship they would like to. Often, after just a few years of marriage the spark is gone. Though there may a variety reasons for this, Chapman, who has 30 years as a marriage counselor, and serves as director of Marriage and Family Life, Consultants, Inc. has seen a pattern develop. When couples try to show their love to each other, they often convey it in the same method and form in which they prefer to receive it. The problem is that we each have our own “love language”, a preferred method of being told or shown how we are loved. When our mate fails to understand this unique language, their attempts at showing love to us fail. Consequently we feel unloved and unappreciated. Chapman believes there are five basic love languages and within those languages are “dialects” that are even more specific to our needs and wants. These five love languages include: words of affirmation, quality time, receiving gifts, acts of service and physical touch. He gives specific examples for how each might be shown. By learning to understand our mate’s love language we can rekindle the flames of romance and keep the marriage vital and captivating. This same principle can be applied to children and their preferred love language. Chapman includes one chapter for understanding how to show love and affirmation to them. A nice bonus to this book is the love languages profile for husbands and wives in the back which helps identify your preferred style of receiving love and sheds light on what your mate prefers as well. This is an excellent book for those who do counseling or for those who wish to breathe new life into their relationships. The principles themselves can also be applied to showing appreciation to people with him you work. By gaining a better understanding of how people define love and affirmation in their own lives, we can learn to give it back in a language that enhances our relationship with them.
--
--- Important Links Ministry in Motion Ezine
Subscription. Ezine subscription
page Ministry in Motion Bookshop.
Ministry resources developed by Ministry in Motion
Ministry in Motion Christian Bookstore. Order Christian books online while comparing prices Ministry in Motion Speakers
& Seminars. List your speaking and seminars. Find seminar
and special event speakers. Ministry in Motion Christian Jobs. Search for and post Christian jobs & ministry related jobs --- Classified Ads Advertise with Ministry in Motion Just $10 per classified listing. For more information on advertising visit our advertising page --- Looking for Columnists & Writers Ministry in Motion is looking for columnists & writers in the following areas: women's ministry, men's ministry, single's ministry, youth ministry, worship ministry, small group/bible study ministry, and general ministry. We are also open to general church ministry related freelance articles. If you have an idea for a column or would like to share ministry insight or even short ministry tips, we'd love to hear from you. Present payment is promotion only -- no pay but great exposure for you, your ministry, book, or website. Please read our writer's guidelines at http://www.ministryinmotion.net/writers_guidelines_christians.html
Searching for a New Ministry Position? One of the needs we have perceived at Ministry in Motion is a service to help connect qualified ministers and church workers to ministry related and church staff positions. If you are presently in job search mode, or if you have a ministry position you are looking to fill, be sure to visit this page. ministry openings --- Christian Magazines at Great Prices Magazines to help Christians grow
spiritual and succeed in ministry. Discipleship Journal,
Leadership Magazine, SpiritLed Woman, Christianity Today &Lots
More! Click HERE for Magazines --- Earn Commission by Selling Ministry in Motion Products Do you have a reseller program? MIM readers often write in with this question. The answer is yes. If you have Christian products you would like to sell or if you wish to resell MIM products for commission be sure to visit our affiliate page. Earn up to 65% commission! Learn More! --- |
The hint of spring is in the air and with it comes exciting
changes here at Ministry in Motion. We’re joining forces with
Dream Builders Ministries, another ministry related organization
with a similar focus. As a result, I am welcoming aboard two new
partners. 
Is that….Could it be??.... I don’t believe
it!!!