Of all the things that demand your day, what trolls live under your bridge?

It is easy to fill our days with work, home responsibilities, busyness, and online distractions where the trolls; if not managed well, want to fester, grow, and show their ugly faces in the most random places/spaces.

I call these trolls mental health issues.

AND, we all face them!

This POST is HOW to face them. Feel free to ADD to the conversation.

What has your TOP FIVE conversations been in 2021?

Has it been about COVID? Adjusting your organization or church? Key trends in our world?

Feel free to see what conversations DUCO has been a part of in 2021.

And, feel free to add your thoughts to the ongoing conversations as we head into 2022.

Looking for a great 2022? LOOK no further…

What ministry trends do you see in 2021? Feel free to join the DUCO conversation.

If you work with people for a living, there will be times you will experience disappointment, be misunderstood, hurt (intentionally or unintentionally), and perhaps even betrayed. AND as ministerial leaders, we have to be careful not to become calloused by it.

It is easy to slide into pessimism, overly critical, and angry. It is easy to justify the hurt caused by others.

WHY? well, because we live in a broken world.

With that said, Jesus (which is the leaders of ALL leaders) experienced this too. He was disappointed in others, misunderstood by many, hurt by those closest to him, and was even betrayed.

BUT, Jesus remained soft to those who hurt him.

HOW is this possible? Here are 5 observations I see.

The world is shifting, changing, and morphing at such a fast rate. Daily updates with COVID, the digital age, social media, real-time/instantaneous information is OUR reality. This will DEMAND for real-life ministry. This post is to address “The NOW: HOW to respond to “real-time” ministry for “real-life” in a COVID-culture.” Feel free to add your thoughts to the conversation.

Have you ever seen a student confident in their faith? It is contagious. Faith-filled. Encouraging. It is quite the experience. How does that happen?

This post is to outline the three key areas for faith to thrive in younger generations and to practically resource you to build confident faith in students.

We have all seen it. Values on a wall. Values on a website. Seen values…

BUT,

EVERY organization and ministry also have ghost values. Ghost values are unseen yet felt. Not spoken but seen. Expected and, to be honest, assumed. Here are 3 ways to understand, recognize, and align yourself with ghost values:

Overwhelmed? Frustrated? Not meeting your deadlines? Flirting with burnout? Tasks and/or people falling through the cracks in your ministry? These are just some signs of a person who needs to empower others in ministry. You are a good leader. You love people. You are amazing. YET, you have come to a place where you’ve reached your capacity. You have reached your max. To be honest, everyone in ministry does. BUT, it is your choice what to do next. Burnout or Empower?

Obviously, it is best to empower others. But how? Well, here are some practical ways to START empowering others for ministry: