Lunch with Doug Fields...

Great chance to sit down and have lunch with Doug Fields last Friday...check out Doug online here. Doug has been a distant mentor to me over the years, distant in that I have read all his books about three times each and he has been a huge encouragement to me over the years. I was so grateful for the time and thankful to my friend Terrace Crawford for setting up the meeting. Trying to put the entire conversation into words is a little overwhelming for me but there were a few things that stood out...

• You can stay in student ministry when your kids are teens. / Yea I'm getting older and I'm processing what my girls in our student ministry will look like. Doug said give your kids space, empower other leaders to invest in them them, and put family first and it works!
• When you need to add staff think about an intern process. / I asked Doug about when to add staff and he brought up the idea of 2 year intern process where you bring guys in, provide housing, and empower them to lead. 2 years makes it possible for both the church and the leader to gain in the process. Love that idea.
• Partnering with parents of teens mean involving them in the journey / keep parents in the loop so they know what we are talking about, showing up when you say you are going to show up after that retreat with their kids, be available, give teens quality small group leaders...that is how you can set parents up to win.
• Every church as it's own challenges /mega churches, small churches, house churches, missional churches, liberal churches, conservative churches, non-denominational and even denominational churches all face challenges. The church is a living organism therefore every church has some sickness. Face it, work to heal it, and lead through it.

Thanks Doug for the time and for your investment in my life over the years!