Valuing Strengths: Can You Rewire Your Brain’s Default Setting? When Dave walked into the office on the first day of his new job, the first person he saw was Nicole. And he didn’t like what he saw. Nicole’s hands fluttered over a messy desk as she spoke on a cell phone, simultaneously checking email and…
As Director of Hacienda El Refugio (an outdoor adventure and retreat center near Quito, Ecuador) Paul Reichert leads a multicultural team of 25 staff members who serve the Latin American church. “Everything we do is focused on leadership development,” says Paul. He and his staff not only conduct retreats for youth, church, school, business, and…
Trust Is Earned Fifth in a 5-part series about building intimacy in your small group Why do some small groups move through stages of commitment, honesty, and acceptance, building intimacy along the way – and others never get off the ground? The key is desire. Without a willingness to grow, a small group can stay…
Acceptance Celebrates Differences Fourth in a 5-part series about building intimacy in your small group Personal walls are the greatest barrier to building strong, close relationships within a small group. People build walls for various reasons, as we learned in our previous two articles. Mike longed for intimacy, but he built walls because he did…
Small Group Breakthroughs, Part 3 Honesty: Taking Off Your Mask Third in a 5-part series about building intimacy in your small group Building intimate relationships takes commitment, honesty, acceptance, and trust. That kind of intimacy is an incredible testament to the power of God working among us – and is modeled in small groups. Mike…
Small Group Breakthroughs, Part 2 Commitment: Persistence With Purpose Second in a 5-part series about building intimacy in your small group People yearn for intimacy. That’s one reason the small groups movement has taken hold in churches worldwide. The reason many small groups don’t get off the ground is not a lack of curriculum or…
Small Group Breakthroughs Part 1: The Biggest Small Group Barrier — and How to Get Over It First in a 5-part series about building intimacy in your small group Can lost, lonely, isolated people get beyond hurt and enter into trusting, honest, healthy, loving relationships? Mike has no siblings and is single. Loneliness is nothing…
Is Your Eyesight Out of Focus? If your vision is less than 20/20 you’ve experienced that “Eureka!” moment. As the optometrist places glasses on the bridge of your nose, you open your eyes and poof! You can see clearly – whereas before, images were fuzzy and indistinct. When you can’t see well, life is unnecessarily…
Your Spiritual DNA, Part 5: Tracing Your Story Fifth in a 5-part series that outlines the components making up your spiritual DNA Your spiritual DNA (the unique characteristics that comprise your soul) can be identified through a series of assessments, just as the makeup of your cellular DNA (a means of physical identification) can be…
Life coach and author Teri Mello explains the difference between having information and using it It was during the aftermath of a painful marriage and divorce that Teri Mello began to understand her authentic self. She has used what she learned in coaching her clients. “I took a Leading From Your Strengths profile,” she said.…