Taking the time to invest in those that work and volunteer for you is crucial. There are probably hundreds of ways to invest in people. Here are twelve easy ideas you can use:

• Appreciate them for who they are, not just what they do.
• Celebrate and honor their accomplishments.  Even the small things.
• Encourage them regularly.
• Model the values you expect them to exhibit.

Here are some quick tips we ask all our church staff to abide by in order to keep their own, the churchâs, and other people’s data secure. The applications we use are listed (and we believe they are all great), but there are other great apps to use as well.

• File Storage – Store everything in Dropbox.  It is our backup software.  We can get your stuff back if your computer crashes. Do not keep stuff on your computer hard drive, desktop, or anywhere other than Dropbox.
• Passwords – Use a secure password management system. Even a secure digital note is better than a sticky note on your desk.  Our recommended password app is 1Password.  Further, use different passwords for all your accounts, so if one is compromised, they are not all compromised.  Change your passwords often.  Use two-factor authentication when available.
• Accounts – You should be the only one that knows your passwords and has access to your accounts.  If you have a spouse or kids, they cannot know the password to your work account (the computer, your email, church database, etc.).

Treating others well is something we should all endeavor to do. For those like myself, that work on a church staff, treating others with love and compassion is part of the job. Recently, at my church, we did a staff training on how to treat and respond to others well, and here is what we shared:

Having a great team and team culture doesn’t just happen.  It takes hard work.  There are many things we can do to strengthen our team’s culture, but here are eight that I believe have the largest positive impact:

Have a Compelling Purpose.  If you are just meeting to meet people will simply not make your gathering/group/team a priority.  Most people have lots of things going on in their lives and they make decisions on what they are going to do based on what they perceive has the most value for them.  If you want a great team, with people who are actively engaged, then make sure they understand why you exist.  What is your team’s compelling purpose

My health was precarious.  At 32, the doctor was summoning me to her office for diabetes tests.  I never exercised.  My diet was poor.  Actually, poor is an understatement.  On average, I drank sixty ounces of Mountain Dew per day and ate Taco Bell at least two or three times a week.  Abysmal might be a more apt description.  My diet led me into head-to-head combat with kidney stones.  The kidney stones won with a knockout, and I would prefer to never fight a rematch.

Determined to shed some weight and get in better shape, I started running.  Well, my first attempt was probably more like a fifty-yard shuffle than it was a run.  I am pretty sure I made it about one block and about passed out.  I was out of breath.  My sides were on fire.  I just turned around and walked home, defeated.

Lucas James Booth was born at 9:29 AM yesterday, October 12th.  He weighed 8 pounds, and was 19 3/4” inches.  Both mom and baby are doing great.  Here are a few photos…

More pictures to come.  Thank you Steph (http://www.louisjoy.com/) for taking these photos and all the others I didn’t have the chance to post here!

Looking for a little something extra to help you as a parent?  You might want to check out ParentCue by reThink in the Apple App Store.  This great app provides you with cues throughout the week to remind you to take some moments with your kids, and lead them in their walk with Christ.

Most of us don’t leave home without our cell phone.  And if statistics are right, most of us now (51%) have a smart phone.  For those who happen to have an iPhone with access to the Apple App Store, there is a gem of an app you can download that has all sorts of parenting helps for home, and on the go.

It gives songs to sing during “Drive Time”, conversation starters for “Meal Time”, activities to do during “Hang Time” and for when the kids are not around, links to great articles and a podcast for “Parent Time.”  The cost is $1.99, but if you are looking for some cues to help you with your parenting routine throughout the week, it is well worth the cost.

You can download ParentCue here.

What other apps have you found helpful for parenting?

We need to have kids that can be sent off to the most hostile universities, toil in the greediest work enviormonments, and raise their families in the most hedonisitic communities and yet not be the least bit intimidated by their surroundings.  Furthermore, they need to be engaged in the lives of people in their culture, gracefully representing Christ’s love inside these desperate surroundings.

Photo courtesy of © flickr.com/photos/wwworks/3957311986/in/photostream/

This quote, which I didn’t write it myself and can’t remember where I got it, came to mind when I was talking with a mother recently.  She was talking about how she was afraid to let her kid ride the bus home, because “nothing good happens on the bus.” The truth is she is right, nothing good really does happen on the bus (bad language, bullying, you know the drill), but does that mean our kids shouldn’t ride on them?

I have known some outstanding parents who have said “no, my kid will not ride the bus.”  Parents who have pulled their kids off the bus, out of public school or away from non-Christian friends because they have noticed their kids being affected negatively by those environments.  I know parents who have pulled their kids out of poor school systems, because they were in fact poor school systems that were only holding their kids back.  Honestly, I think many of these parents were right in pulling their kids out.

I have also known parents who have left their kids on the bus, in the public school system and purposely made sure their kids have non-Christian friends.  I was one of these kids.  I was a bus riding, public school teenager, with several non-Christian friends.  Honestly, I think I am the better for having those experiences, and I think that many other kids would be better for having hem too.

So, when if ever, is it okay to pull your child out of these environments, or should Christian parents keep their kids in there, to grow and to represent Christ?

Should your kid ride the bus?  Should they go to private, or home school, rather than public school?  Should the not hang out with non-Christian kids?  What’s your take?