By Eddie Pipkin Last week we took a look at the different strategies involved in successfully leading virtual gatherings (and how the skill set for leading virtually can be different than the skill set for leading in person). This week we’ll continue that discussion with a focus, not on overall strategy, but on specific tips [...]
By Eddie Pipkin As we have shifted from in-person to virtual interactions in the last six months, we have had to make all manner of style adjustments, and we have stumbled into all sorts of penetrating pandemic perceptions. For instance, what works face to face may not work screen to screen. The skills that make [...]
By Eddie Pipkin Over the past three weeks I’ve broken down and expanded some of the concepts around the flexibility of discipleship initiatives for local churches that Phil and I highlight in our new Disciple Like Jesus resource. Those concepts grow out of our conviction that “one size fits all” discipleship models need to be [...]
By Eddie Pipkin This is week three in my blog series about customizable discipleship, the strategy that we should offer those want to become like Christ a variety of options so that they can find the best fit for their unique learning style, passions, and context for growth. Based on the extensive work we’ve done [...]
By Eddie Pipkin We began a discussion in last week’s blog about setting up a discipleship initiative using the principles established in the recently published book that Dr. Phil Maynard and I co-authored, Disciple Like Jesus. This approach calls for lifestyle transformation based on a coaching / mentoring approach that leverages tried-and-true methods of discipleship [...]
By Eddie Pipkin We’ve written a lot (a very lot) about accountable discipleship. If we are the Chick-fil-A of ministry development and strategy, then discipleship resources are our Original Chicken Sandwich with a side of waffle fries. We have multiple publications and workshops which detail the philosophical approaches surrounding discipleship, practical strategies for building discipleship [...]
By Eddie Pipkin It’s an adage so ancient that nobody really knows who first uttered it. In Latin, it’s “Mater atrium necessitas” (“The mother of invention is necessity”). Plato wrote, “Our need will be the real creator.” And a medieval French proverb argued that “Hunger makes people resourceful.” You know the most popular version: “Necessity [...]
By Eddie Pipkin This isn’t the first time I’ve written about the “dog days of summer.” Metaphorically speaking, they are the hottest, most humid, most energy-sucking and lethargy-producing days of the year (and an actual calendar stretch officially designated as July 22nd through August 22nd, when Sirius the dog star rises into the sky just [...]
Principle Centered Ministry — Guiding Principles for Challenging Times By Eddie Pipkin Well, here we are! July’s almost done; fall is right around the corner. Did you make it on that vacation you’d been planning? Normally, about now, we’d be returning from our summer adventure, relaxed, refreshed, sharing the cool pictures on social media. We [...]
Principle Centered Ministry — Guiding Principles for Challenging Times By Eddie Pipkin Phil and I were having some socially distanced coffee and catching up last week, when I was reminded of a statistical anomaly that always catches me off guard: Phil has worked with hundreds of churches in the past few years – big and [...]
