Eight Ways to Kill an Organization
February 10, 2020
Leave a CommentDr. G. & Friends
Eight Ways to Kill an Organization
I’ve done enough consultations long enough and studied organizations carefully enough to recognize a pattern in some organizations. I refer here to those whose organizations, some young, some old, that ended their institutional lifespan. Though many were surprised by the...
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Along the Journey
Blackness and a Theology of Care
From 2005 to 2010, I worked as a supervisor at the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Department in the county jail.
My mother retired as a prison guard after thirty years of working for the state of Alabama Department of Corrections.
During...
+ Read MoreTeachers, this is why planning is important
Dr. G. & Friends
Teachers, this is why planning is important
One of the most frustrating things for congregational educators is the dirty little secret about their teachers and planning.
That secret being that most volunteer church educators, Sunday school teachers and Bible study leaders, tend to do a minimum of...
+ Read MoreHow They Helped Me Recover
Along the Journey
How They Helped Me Recover
It was so unexpected!
I could not understand why it was happening. How ‘they’ could let me go.
My programs were successful.
I had faithfully served in this church for eighteen years.
I was hurt.
I was embarrassed.
I was...
+ Read MoreWhat Will You Do?
Dr. G. & Friends
What Will You Do?
In Bowen Family Systems Theory (BFST) the concept of differentiation of self is all about functioning.
One manifestation of the extent to which one is functioning in a self-differentiated manner is how well one can separate feeling from thinking.
Some...
+ Read MoreMentor Coaching Through the Center for Lifelong Learning
Along the Journey
Mentor Coaching Through the Center for Lifelong Learning
Ministry coaching has become a movement in most denominations over that last ten years helping gifted pastors get unstuck and find life-giving pathways forward.
Mentor Coaching by the Center for Lifelong Learning is offered to trained coaches as the...
+ Read MoreThe Positive Listener Assessment
Dr. G. & Friends
The Positive Listener Assessment
Research tells us that between 75% to 80% of the communication flow in most classrooms is from the teacher to the students.
While sharing information and directing instruction is a necessary part of the classroom learning experience, so is a...
+ Read MoreEverything Seminary Didn’t Prepare Me For
Along the Journey
Everything Seminary Didn’t Prepare Me For
I have found memories of the seminary I attended in the early 2000s and am forever grateful for the lessons, experiences, and relationships that emerged from that period in my life.
At the same time, seminary did not prepare me...
+ Read MoreYou’ve Graduated, What now?
Along the Journey
You’ve Graduated, What now?
You’ve graduated. You stared out into a crowd or intently at your screen as your name was called and your degree conferred. But what happens now? Mission work? Chaplaincy? Pastoring a small church? Teaching over the summer? More coursework to...
+ Read MoreImprovisation in Ministry: “Yes, and…”
Dr. G. & Friends
Improvisation in Ministry: “Yes, and…”
Improv has become, for me, more than playing a collection of silly games aimed at making an audience laugh.
Rather, improv is becoming a way of living.
Improvisers talk about “Yes, and…” If you know anything about improv beyond “Whose...
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