5 Ways to Help Keep Your Students’ Attention

As a leader, how often have you looked into your audience, whether in a conference room, classroom or large group setting and realized what you were saying was, well, boring?
The Instructify website has a post titled, 5 Ways to Help Keep Your Students' Attention. Click the link and take a moment and read about five easy ways to keep people's attention no matter who's you're audience.

5 Ways to Help Keep Your Students' Attention

Freedom

Freedom - the power to act or speak or think without externally imposed restraints

Tonight my wife and I experienced freedom in a middle school service at a church we are "shopping." In a life of being on staff at one church or another, we're in a place we've not been at in a very long time; being able to shop for a church. Ok, we haven't done a real extensive shopping campaign, the first church we've checked out is probably the one we'll settle on, but hey, I hate shopping anyways.
Back to freedom. Have you been someplace, whether it's a restaurant, home, church, whatever, and either really felt that it was "right, good, comfortable" or that it was "tense, restrained, uncomfortable?" You know you can feel it when you walk in and move around. Tonight felt right.
There were quite a few possible "checks." We were visiting with our middle school age son at a place we've never been, in a sea of wild middle school kids, and we didn't know anyone. And yet, it felt good.
My wife and I talked about it feeling good. What was it that was a factor in our comfort? We laughed, we worshiped, we listened, we prayed. And in the end, it seems the word that came to mind was freedom. There was a freedom in the building, amongst the staff, permeating the kids, evident in the worship and the words spoken. And it felt good, really good.
Sometimes you don't realize what you're missing until you realize you've been missing it.

Wayne Geer
Church Staff 101

Transparency and the Draining Effect

Basically John said he was totally drained today.
I was in the same place yesterday, in fact I know most if not all of our Management Team felt the same way.

June 11 will be a day remembered for a long time amongst us staff folks at our church.

8:30 am: Lead Pastor, Executive, Worship, Nursery/preschool, Student, Small Group and me Children's pastor (Management Team) all together, one room, to work through the first layer of the pyramid from the book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable, by Patrick Lencioni.
We all knew we were "dysfunctional" we just didn't know our dysfunction was as deep, wide and murky.
We focused for most of the day, and yes, it was a full day - til almost 4 pm, talking about trust.
Don't get me wrong, we needed to definitely clear the air. The last few weeks have pretty much brought a whole load of dookie to the table that was once covered and put away.
It was just, wow, totally emotionally draining.
Pretty much in my experience I've never, ever, EVER been in a meeting where this much transparency and honesty has taken place. It was good, it just hurt.
My hope is we, gulp, continue this process; it would be a colossal shame to open this box to only have it quietly forgotten.
If you think about it, pray for us.

Wayne Geer
Church Staff 101

10 Things To Do Before You're Hired

Read a great article titled, 10 Things To Consider Before Your Church Hires Another Staff Member by Todd Rhoades.
It's an article geared towards churches before they hire, but it's an insightful post for anyone looking for a job as well.
Click here and jump to the site.

Wayne Geer
Church Staff 101

Gang Life

Francis Chan, session speaker at the Orange Conference and senior pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, told of a story about a gang member who attended his church once he was saved. After a period of time the gang member was starting to struggle. Francis had an opportunity to chat with him and found out he was wondering why church life was not as fulfilling as gang life. While in the gang, the young man always had people who were accepting of him, trusted him and had his back. His observation of church life was that people were unaccepting, did not trust him and did not have his back.
What a heart wrenching story. It was the last part that really grabbed a hold of me; having other's back. The phrase has been so important that it's been elevated to my prayer sheet.
I pose the question, do you have other's back? Immediately there's family, friends, co-workers. But what about there at your church? Do you have the lead pastor's back? The pastoral staff's backs? Elders' backs? And of course, the Children's Ministry back's?
Just something to think about.