Don’t miss out on the best things because you won’t get in there and deal with difficult things. Sometimes, if people will just stay in the room, it will be enough.
All by Amanda Box
Ask!
It’s time to stop being mad about what people aren’t doing and ask for what you need. I mean it. I’m like a broken record out here as I’m coaching people through conflict. “Just ask,” I say, over and over.
Simple and Holy
Even in the shallowest of conversational waters, people are hesitant to talk to each other. The big and small conversational fears are seriously paralyzing us.
IRL @ Church - Conversation Required
Do your people know how to sincerely welcome guests? Even if they used to, the pandemic has altered how we interact with others, and they may have forgotten how.
Airplane Conversations
These conversations were gifts because, though strangers, we were able to connect as humans despite the vile history.
Defend or Connect: Pick One
People are desperate to be understood, and listening is the most validating thing you can do for another human being.
Top 10 for Getting Through It
I set out to write a top 10 for getting over it but quickly realized that such a list might inadvertently trivialize deep wounds.
Top Five for Speaking Up
You live and breathe, so you matter, which means you have every right to speak up. Period.
Prove It
When the stakes are high, the words that come out of our mouths are our strongest witness, only trumped by our nonverbal communication. For this article, I’m going to focus on the words.
Looking at You, Senior Ministers
Create a space where people are engaged in a conversation that undoubtedly needs to happen and likely is overdue.
Don’t Ask Questions That Aren’t Questions
With every question that’s not a question, the defensiveness escalates and in the blink of an eye, the damage is done.
Unleash the Awesome
I’ve promoted myself from the communication evangelist to the unleasher of the awesome. The promotion is well deserved, not because of my awesomeness, but because of yours.
Lead, Don’t Boss
Church leadership is so weird. As I observe church leadership teams, including my own, I think everyone feels it. Who is the boss? Um, maybe no one.
No Words
We can get so paralyzed by the complications, the insecurities, the fears, the bruises from past failures, our defenses and the many other things that make up life’s big ball of yarn.
Your Silence Will Not Protect You
When are you keeping quiet when you suspect something isn’t working, and why?
You Can’t Teach Confidence, Right?
When you are thrown off balance by a comment, a criticism, a conflict, a failure, a judgement, or a surprise topic at an elders’ meeting, do you have a verbal recovery plan?
Lessons from the Shark Tank
I watch people talk to each other like other people watch a football game, and Shark Tank is one of my favorite shows for observation and learning.
Own It
Speaking to an audience can be a conspicuous and vulnerable place, just like being a female minister.
Conflict Top 5: Your Church Wants You to Read This
Sometimes Jesus engaged others and sometimes he didn’t. However, what he didn’t do was quit, avoid, or escalate the situation. Read on for a quick conflict refresher.
For Ministers Who Would Like to Facilitate Gender Inclusion, Start Here
If you’re a male minister and have had gender inclusion on your mind for a short while or long while, you are among many ministers who are in the same boat, and the struggle is real.