Thursday, December 31, 2009

Lessons learned (the hard way) from event planning!

Every event (weekly gathering, retreat, camp, or whatever) I learn something new. One rule of event planning is keep learning and keep trying to take the event to the next level. When you think you have arrived that is the exact point where you go backwards. This is what kills me about churches and ministries who never change up their environments...IT GETS OLD and when it gets old you loose momentum and energy. People start coming to your event out of obligation and tradition rather than with JOY. So here are a few other lessons I have learned about event planning...

  • For all you youth pastors...Transportation is a big deal, always have a plan to get people moved around SAFELY! Transportation is not a last minute deal. Also always call the bus company and make sure they REMEMBER. We had three buses not show up after camp one year!
  • Sound / Lighting / stage "look" MATTER - work hard to mix what you do up. Change the stage around, change the lighting, get creative. It really does help set people up to listen / learn / experience in a fresh way.
  • STAFF your weakness - if you are not good at "games" add a game coordinator to your team for the event. Contract out your weakness with paid staff or volunteers. A special event is not the place to get better at what you are not good at. Your weakness can make the event very UN-SPECIAL.
  • Make sure you trust EVER PERSON LEADING ON STAGE. Know what you have to work with. I have made some bad calls on this one!
  • PRAY PRAY PRAY PRAY then PRAY MORE. If you want God to work in a specific way at an event you better start praying. The cool thing is if we make prayer a central part o the event God might just change our plan.
  • When the event starts, BE FULLY PRESENT! Once the event is on the roll, get in the mix and experience it as it happens. You can make changes after each phase of the event but know that your event is what it is after it starts. Get engaged, take notes, and trust God to work.
  • Have fun! If you do not enjoy the event you are leading or planning and can never enjoy the process, you have the wrong job. Have fun - when you have fun it sets up your team to enjoy the ride.
What are some lessons you have learned about event planning???

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

14 years ago...

14 years ago my life changed. God allowed my best friend to become my wife. Chelsea Bayne is the most amazing woman I know. She is an amazing mother and amazing wife. She brings so much joy to our home and wow...keeps me on track. That is a miracle in itself. Chelsea, thanks for spending your life with me. Thanks for loving Jesus with all of your heart. Thanks for helping our little girls become young ladies. Thanks for letting me play PS3 till 2 am, go to concerts, yell at the TV when the Titans or Vols play. Thanks for serving with me in ministry and pushing me to pursue Jesus first. Thanks for loving a guy who has never had it all together and helping me become the man I am. It has been an amazing 14 years and my heart is thrilled to see every day God gives us ahead. Happy Anniversary Chelsea, I love you!

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Too many EVENTS = Many poor EVENTS

How packed is your student ministry schedule? Some of us feel like we have to constantly be pulling off an event to justify our staff position. The thought is that we can show the people we report too ALL THE GREAT STUFF WE ARE DOING. Here is a rule I have learned to live by in event planning...

Rule #2 - TOO MANY EVENTS = MANY POOR EVENTS

When your team runs from one event to the next with no break and no time to plan you are destined to be too busy to really pull off great events. This applies to weekly events and seasonal events. Some of us have a mid-week service, a Sunday night small group time, Sunday morning Bible Study groups, and weekly fellowship events that we are responsible for making happen. There is no way all of those ministry times get the focus needed and the resources to make them great. Trying to do too many events lead us to many mediocre events that never accomplish the goal we have in mind.

If you want to take your camp, retreat, outreach event, small group, weekly student gathering to the next level...MAKE SURE YOU HAVE TIME TO FOCUS ON MAKING IT GREAT. Do less in order to accomplish greater impact. It takes time and focus to make an event a great experience for teenagers. Be willing to pace yourself. Say no to some opportunities. Stay focused. Build momentum. Move your event from good to GREAT. If you are going to do less in order to do more, take time with your team to figure out what you need to stop doing. Have the courage to slow down in order to focus and take your event to the next level.

Monday, December 28, 2009

DOING TOO MUCH = BAD EVENT

I am speaking at a retreat for middle school students this week and it reminded me of some bad retreat mistakes I have made over the years. Student pastors are event coordinators! If you run bad events you will not gain momentum in your effort to connect with teens. This week I am going to try to think through some things NOT to do when it comes to event planning...

RULE #1 - NEVER try to do EVERYTHING...empower a team!

If you want to run a successful event you better get talented leaders involved in leading different areas of the event. One year I tried to lead worship and run an event...NOT GOOD. One year I was a key speaker and then tried to run the camp...NOT GOOD. One time I tried to be the primary tech guy at a retreat...NOT GOOD. When you try to handle too many areas of your event you will be distracted from leading with a clear mind. Every event needs someone leading who understands and is fighting for the end goal of the event. If you are too tied into one aspect of an event you will not be free to address problems when they come and I promise they will come! Your best events will be one with the best team around you. Support them, cast vision, empower them and let your supporting cast take your event to the next level.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Merry Christmas!

Just want to say a quick Merry Christmas to any of you who follow my blog at michaelbayne.net or on Facebook. It has been an amazing year of ministry at Grace Community and in the Bayne home. As I look back I am a little overwhelmed and thankful for what God has done and is doing. To know Christ, be blessed with an amazing wife and kids, and get to serve with some of my best friends in the world at GCC is all so incredible. To any of you who read this...I am glad we get to live life together and I am honored you would ever read anything I ramble on about! Merry Christmas everyone! Will post again before 2010 gets here!

Monday, December 21, 2009

Cross Street kids raise over 2,000 for NETWORK!

This fall Cross Street (our kids ministry at GCC) decided to join the NETWORK project and help compassion international to buy mosquito nets for kids in Africa where malaria kills so many kids. Mosquito's spread malaria so if you stop them you help stop the disease. We set a big goal, we wanted to raise 1,000 dollars to help. The kids at Cross Street took this to the next level and made a huge difference by raising over 2,000. These are nets that can save lives, give a kid a chance to be healthy, allow a kid to know someone around the world cares, and hopefully provide another day where a kid can hear the gospel and become a follower of Christ. Thanks Cross Street kids and families to making a difference. This is who we are...we are the church and we are living out our faith not just talking about it.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Thanks GCC Volunteers! // Christmas "THANK YOU" reception this week!

This week at Grace Community we get to say THANK YOU to our volunteers! Sunday from 9:30-10 and 11-11:30 we have a Christmas reception / open house / breakfast / whatever you want to call it planned in the gym for all of you who serve at GCC. There is no way we could do what we do at GCC without the amazing volunteers that serve week in an week out. I remember visiting GCC when the church was just a year old, meeting in a small private school, I looked around and was amazed by the passion I saw in the volunteer team. Three years later I am still blown away every week by what all of you do to make GCC happen. We hope to see all of you Sunday at the reception and from the GCC staff to all of you who serve week in and week out...Merry Christmas!

Friday, December 18, 2009

Taking volunteer leadership to the NEXT LEVEL

Taking volunteer leadership to the next level takes work...and yes we are constantly working on it. Our normal view of volunteers in the church/non-profit world is of a "worker" not as the leader or vital supporter of the mission. What we have found at GCC is that it is very important to find high impact volunteers and elevate them to volunteer staff...leaders of leaders...people using their gifts to further the goal of reaching our city for Christ. Volunteers want to be a part of the team. Sure they need leadership, they even want it! They also want to be able to give input and feedback as we lead. Here are some of the ways we are trying to elevate the role of volunteer...
  • Ask for feedback and listen even when it is not asked for >> we listen to our volunteers when they contact us. Why? Because they know where we are going as a church better then anyone else. We ask for feedback and we listen when we are approached with a concern. Volunteer leaders need to know they have a voice.
  • Trust volunteers with significant responsibilities >> counseling, leading small groups, leading ministry teams, training, creating. We empower volunteers on all levels of the organization to do significant things. Gifted volunteer leaders want to be in the mix and do not mind doing hard things. Being "paid" is not required to have an important role on the team.
  • Train and Mentor >> we are trying to create a culture of leadership so we have to train, mentor, and inspire our volunteer teams. We take volunteers to conferences, we do online training, we pair up volunteers for one on one mentoring. Investing in volunteers pays of on better leadership form volunteers.
  • Connect >> we want our volunteers lead as a family, to enjoy teamwork, to be known. When volunteers join the team they are joining a leadership family. A good volunteer team is one you love spending time with. (if ya don't like your volunteers you might have the wrong people on your team!)
  • Place volunteers in the right roles >> We work hard to evaluate volunteer leadership and assist volunteers to find roles that fit their gifts and passion. Yea, this takes work and patience and it goes way beyond just filling holes in our ministry. We we also work to promote volunteers to new levels of leadership when we see they can lead on the next level.
  • Seek wisdom from volunteers >> In times of challenge or times where we had to make significant decisions in church I have watched our team seek wisdom and prayer from key volunteers. I know this is an art but every leader needs to have a few other key volunteers that they can go to in critical times of organizational life. In your organization's your volunteers do amazing things in their jobs day to day...they may have wisdom you need to gain from!
  • Keep volunteers in the loop >> volunteers should be kept in the information loop. Keep volunteers up to speed on where the organization is headed. Our volunteers should have key info and be able to spread key info!
Those are a few things we are trying to do to raise the level of volunteer leaderships here at Grace Community. How are you empowering your volunteers?

Thursday, December 17, 2009

VOLUNTEERS as staff...yep it is possible

Volunteers can make or break the ministry/church you lead. Really, they are the foundation of everything you do since they set the tone for so much of what happens in your ministry. For our family ministry (preschool, k-5, and student ministry) volunteers greet kids, welcome parents, are the first to connect with kids and teens, teach the Bible, lead worship, and it goes on and on. Not really sure if many of us who are point leaders step back enough to evaluate how we relate to our volunteers. Do we connect with them as "worker bees" fulfilling our mission or do we see them as partners and co-leaders? I will admit I went through my phase of making sure volunteers just did their job and soon found myself overwhelmed and wondering why there was not more passion from my volunteer team. That changed when I started viewing volunteers as staff vital to the organization. When volunteers begin to be viewed as fellow staff on our team we empower, train, inform, and listen to them in different ways. We start giving away ownership and freedom do to their job. We allow them to question and have input. It is at this point where volunteers can buy in with all their heart because...THEY KNOW WHAT THEY DO MATTERS! When volunteers are treated as staff it allows you to begin to find influential people who will invest at a high level in your ministry. At the heart of every volunteer is a desire to do something significant. They are ready for next level leadership. Let's empower them, support them, do ministry with them instead of asking them to be THE PEOPLE WHO TAKE ORDERS FROM US. The effectiveness of your volunteer team depends highly on how you lead and relate to them. Lead and treat them well.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

what i REALLY like about Christmas...

Christmas is a big deal in my house. Decorations, parties, cooking, lights, eating, presents, church go full force this time of year for us. It got me thinking about what I like so much about November and December...
  • Watching my kids count down the days till Christmas, visiting Santa, checking out the ornaments on the Christmas tree, and checking out the lights ion downtown Clarksville.
  • Seeing so many former students come home from college. I miss those guys.
  • The amazing Christmas service every year at GCC! It is an amazing time or worship as we celebrate the birth of Christ.
  • Christmas trees...we have 6 at our house...we are addicted!
  • Christmas movies...they never get old.
  • Time off...yea that is great!
  • Bowl games and NFL football!
  • Spending a little extra time with people I love!
  • Cool Christmas music...yes it is out there, you just have to look for it.
  • The hope that IS the birth of Christ...that moment changed everything. God came to earth, that is amazing!
What are your favorite things about the Christmas season?

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

what to do if the church/ministry your lead is in DECLINE...

CHANGE...there is the answer. Do you want to hear it again? What do you do if the church/ministry/business/non-profit you lead is decline is, CHANGE. Change has to happen for any organization that wants to grow or continue growth. Change is hard but it leads to growth (spiritual, financial, numerical, insert what you measure or care about). You can either change and experience growing pains that come with growth or you can run from change and experience the pain of decline and lost momentum. This year we added a third service at GCC and moved to service times of 830, 10, and 1130! Wow, that sure is fun...NOT. It has been a big change for us, added work, more volunteer needs, and we made families have to choose when they would serve and worship. After 4 months I can say that this CHANGE has been totally worth it because it enabled us to continue to serve our community and make room for the people who have not found Christ yet. That is a big deal. The service time change and the growing pains of it are totally worth it in comparison for the decline that comes from having no room for new people to discover our church. What keeps churches/nonprofits/ministries/businesses from making the changes needed to get HEALTHY. It is one word and one emotion and that is FEAR.
  • fear of what MIGHT happen
  • fear of what our family will think
  • fear because it "has never been done like that"
  • fear of the current leadership
  • fear of failure
  • fear of success
  • fear of making someone mad
  • fear of getting fired
What are you afraid of? Why are you not fighting for change? What is holding you back? Do you think you are actually helping the people you lead/serve by allowing them to stay in DECLINE MODE and not fighting for change?

If your church/ministry is not changing it is probably declining. Organizations that refuse change will die and some churches/ministries do need to die so new life can begin. There is hope. Have the courage to begin to ask God what needs to change where you are at and with courage, faith, and humility start fighting for that. Change might just be what brings a new beginning.

Monday, December 14, 2009

why blog?

After 495 posts I can officially say...I am a blogger. I looked back today and realized that I have made blogging a regular part of my life. This (michaelbayne.net) is my online web journal. I started doing this as a simple way to talk about ministry, my family, things I wanted to remember. I still have that same passion but I also love getting to write out my thoughts about leadership and the church. After 495 posts since December 2006 this is why I keep blogging and thanks to Ron, Anne, Pete, Ben, Tony, Terrace, and Michael for making me a better blogger as I followed your blogs.
  • Share - I really hope to pass ideas along to others. Parenting, leadership, ministry ideas, all that stuff...I just want to share that in an open format.
  • Invest - I really feel like this is one way to invest in other leaders around the country. I have been so blessed by so many other leaders who have invested in my life from a distance through books and blogs. This is my way to pay it forward.
  • Family - I really like talking about my family and hey this is my blog so I get to do that! I also want my kids to be able to look back and read what I was thinking about in 2006,7,8,9...you get the point.
  • Expand - blogging is one way to take a conversation on Twitter or Facebook to a different level.
  • Vent / Challenge - ya know, sometimes you just have to get stuff off your chest. BLOG ON BAYNE!
  • Laugh - I really like YouTube! I really like to laugh...
  • Inform - I use my blog to talk about things God is allowing us to do at Grace Community Church and Relevant
There you have it...WHY I BLOG! Why do you blog, why not? If you start one get ready to make it a part of your life or just pass on it and do not worry about having one. This is post 496...stoked to see what the next 496 look like!

Sunday, December 13, 2009

One year anniversery OF...Cross Street LIVE // Dec. 13 at 5:30!

One year ago we put into motion the idea of having a monthly worship experience for families. No where in our city had anyone planned an event where Parents and kids would gather TOGETHER! Tonight we celebrate one year of CSL and we have been so amazed by how God has used this experience this past year. We hope to see many of you tonight and thanks to all the actors, dancers, set builders, tech guys, and Cross Street volunteers who have made CSL happen each month. For more info about Cross Street Live go check out our website!

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Thankful for FALL 2009!

  • Thankful each week I get to serve teens here in Clarksville with our team of volunteers!
  • Thankful Remix (our weekly gathering) grew in amazing ways. Thanks to everyone who invited friends into this weekly experience.
  • Thankful we were able to partner with One Church and launch a second location of REMIX.
  • Thankful for Grace Community Church believing and funding our effort to serve teens in this city!
  • Thankful that St. B Christian Church allows us to rent their facility!
  • Thankful that each weeks teens get to experience community through small group not just a big gathering!
  • Thankful for the team at xp3 and partnership with have with them with our small group material and series!
  • Thankful for an amazing team of volunteers who make this thing happen each week!
  • Thankful we get to connect and empower parents as they invest in their teens.
  • Thankful our all the work our worship leaders (Mike Grayson, Will Mckelvy and Grant Brashears) invest into REMIX and the amazing job the REMIX band does each week.
  • Thankful for our students proving to me that "youth ministry" can be different. To all of you who come to REMIX each week, you are each so amazing. I am blessed to be able to hang out with you and invest in your life each week!
This was our final REMIX of 2009 and I am just overwhelmed looking back at what God has done. It has been an amazing fall...I cannot wait to see what God does next!

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

why your ministry needs a website

Connected with a friend in Virginia and found his ministry website and I was reminded how important it is for us to have website's for the ministries we lead. Several years back when we launched our kids / teen environments at GCC we decided to invest in web site's for our kid's ministry and student ministry. It has been one of the best investments we have ever made. Why does your ministry need a website...

  1. Branding - online is the starting point to creating the "look" for your ministry. If you want to make a good impression start online.
  2. Connect with Guests - we know kids and teens might not visit your site first but I promise, TONS OR PARENTS will. When they do visit you want to help them get a good picture of what you value. When a teen does check out your website go head and design it with them in mind. Again, design it so it makes a good impression!
  3. Information - what do you believe? when do you meet? where are you? who are you? all that should be on your website!
  4. Connect with Social Media - Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace are great tools but your website should always be your HOME BASE. Teens are out there living in social media, give them a place to use as a tool to invite their friends.
  5. Simplify registration for events - we have an online culture for all our event registrations! WE NEVER MAIL STUFF! We use our web for sign up and payment with our paypal account. It works!
  6. Connect with Parents - I know I am back on parents but we use our site as a hub to inform our parents. Parents can engage kids when they know what we are talking about. From our site they can link to the podcast or get our weekly parent update.
  7. Inform your volunteer team - your volunteers should have a place to go and get quick info. THE WEBSITE is it. Keep it up to date and your help your volunteers stay in the loop.
Those are some quick thoughts on why we use our websites. How are you using your website? Why do you think we need an online presence or do you think it is a waste of time and money? What do you think?

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

directing passion vs. discovered passion

A few of us on the GCC team are working to fine tune our communication process (how we get people info). Our website, our weekly info card we pass out at the gathering, the information table, Facebook, texting, and twitter are all great communication tools but what we have to work on is what and how do we use all these tools. Not sure about your ministry but year to year we continue to struggle with communication. Every year we have to adjust our communication systems. It is a constant fight! Today in our meeting we moved quickly from communication tools to how we needed to communicate what we are most passionate about. Communicating information and vision means we are guiding what the people at GCC are passionate about. What and when we communicate empowers people to be a part of the movement we call Grace Community Church. As we communicate we have to direct passion and allow room for God to lead us to the things He is passionate about.

Directing Passion - we have to communicate the GCC strategy, major events, causes we support, mission efforts we embrace, and the ministries we carry our each week. We are working to focus on what is most important to GCC and communicate those messages creatively and with clarity. When we communicate the things that are most essential to the fabric our our church we DIRECT PASSION! We allow people to be a part of the mission and know clearly where we are headed. Directing the passion of any size group of people takes careful planning, consistency, creativity, and hard work.

Discovered Passion - in our communication process we have to maintain the flexibly to communicate information when we discover a new passion or direction. The church is not about controlling passion it is about releasing the passion of people to fully pursue the heart of God and advance the Kingdom of God. When God gives us a new direction, a new passion we have to have the flexibility and ability to get people info so they can discover what God is doing in that moment. All of us in student and kids ministry know we need the flexibility to change direction and communicate quickly. Basically we are the ones who live for what God is doing in the moment. We need that freedom as much as we need a directed plan!

We don't have this all figured out but we are working toward a balance between communication that is directed and quick communication that adapts to what God leads us to discover. If what we communicate directs passion then it's worth working on!

Monday, December 7, 2009

Student Pastor / Children's Pastor YOU NEED COMMUNITY!

I spent years serving in church as a volunteer and on staff as a pastor but really not having "community". Sure I was leading people, I was busy, I was teaching, but I was not connecting with a small group of people weekly so I could let me guard down and be "ME". Yes I know some of you will not agree with this but you need a place where the private you can come out and be known. The private YOU that you guard is the real you, and God made that private person that you work so hard to guard. Yes your public leadership role and personality are both important but at some time you have to let the guard down. I have found that place to be fully transparent in my community group I meet with on Sunday nights. Several of those people will read this post so relax y'all, not going to far with this! Ha! Here are some lessons I have learned from the past year in true community...(and thanks to everyone in my community group, Chelsea and I love your friendship and support in this journey. Thanks for being patient with me after a Titans loss on Sunday nights!!!)
  1. Community built only around your ministry is not refreshing for your soul. Sure you lead a girls group each week, have leaders/staff meeting, but in those setting you are still on guard. You need a group of people around you who know you as a person not only as a pastor.
  2. Plugging into a small group sets the example for your kids! My daughters think community group is just a normal part of the week. They also have groups that meet on Sunday morning. When I plug into community group then I set the example for my kids!
  3. Leader - you really don't need to promote "community" when you do not experience regular community. I tried to do this for years. It just does not work. When I talk to students at REMIX about small group I can do so knowing why community can change their life.
  4. If you are too busy for community group then you are too busy. When we have to many important things to do maybe we think we are a little too important. Maybe we need to quit trying to be so important and start trying to find balance in life.
  5. I learn so much about God's love and following Christ from the others in my community group. When we talk about scripture, faith, life, parenting, evangelism, hope, or struggle I learn from my friends.
  6. In community group I get a glimpse of what it means to BE THE CHURCH not just go to church. When God created this idea of church He meant it to look like family. Yes family is messy but it is real, transparent, caring, correcting, and encouraging. When we serve together, learn together, pray for each other, argue, think, dream, and laugh we are living our God's idea of church.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

watch what you pray for!

We are so excited about what God is doing at Grace Community Church here in Clarksville. In four years we have seen God do unexplainable things in the lives of people. It has been an amazing adventure. We have been a church on the move since our first day. We have had the joy of watching God provide the right space for us to gather week to week and we have learned the art of flexibility! We have really maximized our space at Rossview High (3 services on Sunday morning!) and we are moving toward...are you ready...hold on...BUILDING! It is hard to believe but God has delivered the right property and we finally have a peace about building. Yes we thought at one time we may never build. God has given our team a peace and we are moving forward with this new phase in the life of GCC. With building's come DISTRACTION from the mission. I am having to work hard to guard how I am praying right now. My heart cannot be aimed at a facility more than focused on Jesus! This morning I was praying about the future gathering place of GCC and God reminded me...pray for lives to be changed, pray for families to follow after Christ, pray for broken people to find healing, pray for the good of the city, pray Jesus will be lifted high in all our ministries week in and week out. Should we pray for God to provide this facility...YES. We also should constantly make sure our hearts are seeking after things that are MOST IMPORTANT. What we are praying for matters and reveals what we care about the most...I am praying God gets the Glory in this future facility and we get there with the same passion to serve our city we had when we met at our first facility four years ago.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Engaging kids WITH VIDEO (you make!)

We love the mix of our live storytellers and video in our large group gathering for kids each week at Cross Street. We find that when we mix up what is going on with the screen and what is being taught live we help our kids stay focused. All video gets boring...All TALKING gets boring...we mix it up. Adam Bayne, our children's pastor here, is doing an amazing job of using video to connect with kids, parents and volunteers. We are always looking how we can find good video elements for the gathering and blocking out time so we can make video that will work. YES, you can make your own videos. All you need is a Flip Video camera and a Mac or a PC with the ALREADY INSTALLED video software (we are Mac people, we love iMovie). Sure it takes TIME, and PRACTICE but it really can help engage kids in your ministry on a different level. Here is the video we made for large group this week. HEY BUSTER! Check it out... OH, one more thing. There are some great programs out there that enable you to download video off of You Tube. Feel free to use any of our stuff! We hope it might help other ministries!

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

how NOT to engage a parent

The worst thing you can ever do when engaging a parent is start the conversation off saying something negative about their child. When something negative is said about our kid from someone else the WE WILL ALWAYS MOVE TO A DEFENSIVE POSITION. This week I had lunch with my daughter and one of the new ladies who works in the cafeteria came over to to talk with us. I had never met this woman and she started the conversation off with us (in front of my daughter) talking about how she had to get on to her "so much" for talking in the cafeteria. All I heard was BLA BLA BLA and I could see frustration and worry coming on my little girls face. I rushed to end the conversation and protect my girl from an ODD MOMENT with someone in leadership at the school. For all of us who work with parents, if you don't have something encouraging to say to a parent about their kid please just say nothing. Even when we are have to talk with parents about problems (at school, church, in our neighborhood) we have to slow down and find something good to encourage the other parent if we are going to have credibility to talk about a problem with their kid. Parents need to know we care about their children. Parents will shut us down if we try to engage them on the basis of all the things wrong with their kids. Why do parents get defensive? They get defensive because they love their kids and most parents I know will listen to other people who also love their kids. How can you partner with a parent? Believe in, support, encourage their kids and you begin the partnership process!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

THE BEARD // 10 reasons I EMBRACE No Shave November

November is NO SHAVE NOVEMBER at relevant student ministry. How did this start you ask? Nate Edmondson had the idea a few years ago and all of the guys at relevant jumped in so it has kept going. Many people started and did not finish but the faithful few stood strong over Thanksgiving and boldly stood in front of our grandmothers with our beards and took the heat. Yes, you know grandmothers and weird people at church and work are always the ones who comment on people who grow beards. To all of you who have to tell us how you do not like it...THANKS you just motivate us to keep going! Why did I grow the beard...here are my top ten reasons to embrace No Shave November...

10. It is COLD outside, the beard helps!
9. No Shave and November just work.
8. Because I can. That should just be enough.
7. Because I once worked at church who had a "personnel manual" that addressed BEARDS! Ha!
6. I read Wild and Heart a few years ago and it inspired me.
5. So I can hear my daughters call the gray hair in my beard "WEIRD"
4. So I can inspire the guys in our student ministry to NOT SHAVE!
3. So one day I can have a beard like Jamie McGregor, he was growing a beard in 6th grade!
2. Because the Titans have not lost a game in November.
1. Because MY WIFE LIKES THE BEARD! BAM!