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The latest book by Jon Gordon that I’ve read is The Seed (see previous posts on The Energy Bus and Training Camp). The Seed is about helping you find your purpose in life and at work. The book is a fable centered around Josh, a talented young man who has lost his passion at work. … Read more
Recently, Adam Weber, pastor of Embrace Church (a United Methodist Church) posted a prayer on Twitter that has stuck with me … Lord, please use us to make your name great. #thefamousOne — adamweber (@adamweber) December 6, 2013 This prayer, and this attitude, is essential for staying humble and hungry. Focusing on God’s greatness keeps … Read more
Several years ago, Paul Borden consulted with the leaders of the Susquehanna Conference. The Matthew 28 Initiative, a strategy for transforming congregations, developed out of that experience (read more at Growing Effective Churches). I’ve written about Centre Grove UMC’s experience with Matthew 28: see Transforming Congregations Through the Matthew 28 Initiative (the before) and The … Read more
Yesterday, we attended Catalyst One Day in Central PA (Lancaster). Over the years, there have been (multiple-day) Catalyst events, but in the last few years, they’ve also been conducting Catalyst One Day events. This was the second year in PA (we attended last year, as well). Yesterday’s event was the most-attended One Day event ever! … Read more
It’s hard to believe it’s been four years since we went to Korea to get Sarah! (See the day we met Sarah and our first hours with Sarah.) Actually, it’s been a little over four years, but we waited to celebrate due to a cold Sarah battled for a few weeks. Recently, we took a … Read more
The kids had plenty of opportunities to enjoy Halloween activities this week! The week began with Trunk-or-Treat at Centre Grove on Sunday. Sarah’s preschool had a party on Wednesday and Ethan’s first grade class had a party on Thursday. Last night, the kids went trick-or-treating around the neighborhood in light rain. Sarah was Super Girl … Read more
Over the last several months, I have enjoyed reading some books by Jon Gordon, including Training Camp, which I wrote about here. I also read and enjoyed The Energy Bus, which is about positive energy. Gordon contends … … positive people, positive communication, positive interactions, and positive work and team cultures produce positive results. Gordon … Read more
Recently, I read the HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations by Nancy Duarte. The book brings together, and builds on, Nancy’s previous books, Slide:ology and Resonate, which I’ve blogged about extensively (this post includes links to the other seven posts in the series). I won’t repeat too much of the content from Resonate and Slide:ology, but … Read more
We had a nice, busy, and fast, summer. Early on, we went to York, Maine. Toward the end of the summer, we spent an afternoon at Greenwood Furnace. The kids enjoyed the rides at the Clearfield County Fair. And, just before the school year started, we spent a couple of days at the Pennsylvania Grand … Read more
The Church must have people with receptive hearts! In telling the parable of the soils, this is how Jesus described “good soil” … The seed scattered on good soil are those who hear the word and embrace it. They bear fruit, in one case a yield of thirty to one, in another case sixty to … Read more