"I can handle a lot of people, but I can't handle Evangelicals." Mary grimaced as I stood next to her at our block's progressive dinner. The party made me nervous. We had just moved to the neighborhood three weeks ago. I had this slight sweating problem, and ...

Standing in my friend's kitchen while she was making oatmeal, I was immediately transported back to my grandmother's home, where every morning of my summer visits, she would make the best oatmeal on the planet. Loading it with real cream and brown sugar, she would place the ...

You've worked hard to prepare for your first small group: the invitations have been sent, the curriculum selected, the brownies baked. Everything you need for an amazing small-group experience! Except…it's not that easy. It takes much more than good marketing to make a small ...

Our leadership team has learned a few lessons after one year of prayer, preparation, and leadership training; a successful launch of a women's mentoring ministry at our church; and one year of mentoring through small groups. I'd like to share these lessons with you:

1. Trust ...

Guiding others has the potential to be one of the most exhilarating experiences in life. But too frequently, the joy found in leading others becomes suffocated underneath the pile of daily demands and due dates. The pressures leaders experience today often leave them feeling ...

After more than 10 years of teaching the Bible, 14 years of discipling and mentoring women, and launching two women's mentoring ministries, I realized two things are needed for ministry: a clear focus and training. Our women's mentoring ministry provides a focus and intentionally ...

When my daughter was 9, she and I were working on her homework together. She had to write a sentence using the word exhausted. She came up with this: "When my mom comes home from work, she is exhausted." Seriously. Ouch. Now, I worked out of the home two only days a week—so ...