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Q&A: How Does Serving Mesh with Discipleship?

Q: Where should “serving” fit into a church’s overall discipleship strategy? Is it reasonable to set up serving as a goal for all members and then accept abysmal failure without acknowledging that a main tenant...

Guest Services Doesn’t Have to be Either / Or.

When you start getting serious about creating a welcoming environment for the outsider, you’re going to stir up a range of emotions for the insider. Some will be excited (“Finally…I can invite my unchurched friend...

Never Underestimate Your Volunteers.

Several years ago I led a guest services training weekend for Autumn Ridge Church in Rochester, Minnesota. It was November. In Minnesota. And I was not okay. (Tennessee-raised boys are not built for that sort...

How to Turn Pew Dwellers into Engaged Volunteers

We see them every Sunday: those church folks (God love ’em) who are content to slip in late, slip out early, and serve nary a moment. They can bewilder us, they can frustrate us, they...

Danny Recommends: Jumbo Dry Erase Markers

Every so often we dip our toes into a series called Danny Recommends:, posts that tip you off to the stuff that I…you know. The recommendations might be products for use in your ministry, resources that will...

…But Did You See the Gorilla?

You’re likely familiar with the Invisible Gorilla Test, a 1999 study where researchers asked participants to watch a brief video of people passing a basketball. Subjects were told to count the number of times that...

You Don’t Have to Be a Five-Star Restaurant to Create a Five-Star Experience.

Much has been made of the cultural icon that is White Castle. We tend to dismiss the tiny square burgers that are colloquially referred to as “gut bombs.” White Castle is never going to make...

Say Hey to Byrdie Rae.

…and then there were four. If you’re keeping score at home, the Franks family just added grandchild #4 to the roster (and the third in the span of the last eight months!). Byrdie Rae Franks...

How to Change Your Culture…When It’s Not Your Job.

All of us have found ourselves in the position of wanting to make changes…when we actually haven’t been asked to make changes. We see the need. We feel the stirring. We observe the discontent. But...

Harry Nyquist, Illuminators, and Why Our Investments Matter

Last year I listened to the audio version of David Brooks’ How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen. I was barely a chapter in when I realized...