Reaffirmations Friday – June 10th

Whether you’re a church Pastor, directing a ministry, or simply a volunteer, you most likely don’t have much time in your day to keep up with what’s being written or discussed around key ministry topics like developing discipleship, increasing participation or building stronger church community.
But, that’s OK! Because every week, we’ll round up of some of the most helpful and inspirational news and articles published on the web and give them to you here, in one centralized place as part of our “Reaffirmations Friday.”
Here are the top ministry blogs and articles this week detailing anything you may have missed.
4 Ways to Overcome a Bad First Impression
We’ve all been there — accidentally alienated a new coworker with a bad joke, underwhelmed the new boss by botching our first assignment, or had a client we didn’t just click with. The trouble is that initial impressions are hard to shake… Written by Dorie Clark
3 Church Methods That Need to Change
It’s long been said the seven last words of a church are “We’ve never done it that way before.” The effect of holding onto bad tradition, bad habits, and bad strategy is ineffective evangelism, stagnation and eventually death. How can churches avoid holding onto mechanisms… Written by Ed Stetzer
The Top 25 (Or So) Books for a Young Theologian to Own (And Read)
If ever in history there were a non-event, this is it: my top 25 books for a young theologian to own. A few weeks ago, a friend of mine sent me his list of twenty-five books and it “got me to thinkin.” So here’s my list, but before I give the list, allow me to make several comments… Written by Bruce Ashford
The Danger of Envying Another Church
On Sunday, I preached about envy. In my sermon preparation, I tend to downplay or ignore the areas of which I am most guilty. It’s easier to skip over the personally convicting passages and focus on the sins of others. Written by Sam Rainer
How to Discern God’s Vision For Your Church
One of the questions I’m asked most often is “How do I get God’s vision or dream for our church?” Frankly, a lot of pastors’ visions that I’ve heard have more to do with ego than God’s will. I’d recommend you answer these questions… Written by Pastor Rick Warren
11 Spiritual Gifts Being Used in Business
What does marketplace ministry look like? In other words, what does serving God in a business setting look like? As Christians working in the marketplace, most of our initial responses to these questions likely would depend on what our spiritual gifts are. Written by Darren Shearer
Did you see any articles this week that you think should have made this list? Let us know!