Rick Warren's Online Community for Pastors and Church Leaders
With over a dozen years of local church ministry Justin has spent the last several years starting business' and ministries that partner with pastors and churches to advance the Kingdom. He is the founder of Helpstaff.me (now Vanderbloemen Search), Oaks School of Leadership, and MinistryCoach.tv all while staying involved in the local church.
Justin is obsessed with connecting people to people and lives his life daily to make the world a smaller place. He now serves as a consultant in the area of strategic relations predominately working with the Assemblies of God, helping to build bridges with people and ministries to more effectively reach more people.
He blogs regularly about what he has learned from making connection at www.justinlathrop.com.
I was already long into my ministry when I realized I was a full-blown introvert. I’m a classic case — become de-energized in big groups, re-fuel by being away from people.
I think there are a lot of misconceptions about introverts in ministry. I don’t think it’s impossible to be an introvert and also a really good pastor. In …
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“Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.”—George Washington Carver
It’s easy to tell whether a person is giving an excuse. Whether you’re a teacher, a parent, or a leader, we’ve all heard excuses from other people that don’t quite add up.
While determining the validity …
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Some of you may find this surprising, but I’m an introvert. I first made the confession in this blog post back in 2012. Now, just because I’m an introvert, that doesn’t mean I don’t like connecting with people. I absolutely love it. However, I have to train myself to balance the opportunity to connect with others with the …
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Let’s go back a few years to when you first started noticing the potential social media could have (circa 2006) . . . back to the days when the idea of creating a community of friends in a digital world excited you. Remember the days you actually had to ask if a person was on Facebook?
Social media not only connected us with old high …
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Each year, after the craziness of Christmas has passed, I like to take time to think through and pray about the things that God wants for me in 2013. Whether you call them resolutions or goals, there’s value in taking time to proactively commit yourself to becoming the pastor and leader that God has created you to be.
While your …
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Communication can make or break an organization. Effective communication can help organizations solve problems and accomplish their goals. Poor communication can cripple organizations, creating even more problems and preventing them from focusing on the goals they’ve set.
There are several factors that make communicating difficult. …
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One of the greatest benefits of technology is the chance to learn from leaders previously out of reach. At the same time, there are hundreds of church leadership blogs out there and it’s extremely easy to miss a stellar post.
So I’m sharing five church leadership blog posts that I think you shouldn’t miss. Each post provides …
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Larry Osborne recently shared an insightful post, titled The Myth of Endless Growth, on church growth and ministry health. He states, “Nothing in nature supports the goofy idea that healthy things always multiply and grow.”
Admittedly, I was convicted when I first read this. I have based much of my thinking on the premise that …
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One of the greatest things a leader can do to maximize his or her influence is to invest time and energy into future leaders. The other day a tweet appeared in my feed which highlighted just that:
“There is a difference between providing a seat at the table and giving up your own seat for the next generation. Use influence to …
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It’s Monday morning and you already have 75 unread emails in your inbox. It’s not the best way to start the week, but it’s pretty normal for many professionals. We’ve all been there, and we all know the overwhelming feeling that little red circle brings when it appears on our screen.
While I’m still trying to find the best …
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I want to share my best ideas with you each week, along with a ton of great content, fresh ideas, downloadable resources, and more... all for FREE!
