by Rhett Smith | Oct 22, 2010 | Technology
“The technology is rewiring our brains,” said Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse and one of the world’s leading brain scientists. She and other researchers compare the lure of digital stimulation less to that of drugs and alcohol than to...
by Rhett Smith | Oct 20, 2010 | Leadership
I wouldn’t have known what to call it then, what questions to ask, nor what to say since it wasn’t even a topic on my radar. But looking back at that ministry I would have framed it around the topic of boundaries and self-care. The only pastoral advice I...
by Rhett Smith | Oct 6, 2010 | Parenting
Youth Ministry Youth ministry is an important topic to me because of not only my time in youth ministry as a kid, but all the time I have invested in it as a youth pastor and volunteer. Combine that with my other passion on the topic of boundaries and...
by Rhett Smith | Oct 4, 2010 | Leadership
This is the final post in a five-part series on Youth Ministry, Boundaries, and Burnout. Be sure to check out the four previous posts, Youth Ministry as a Stepping Stone (Fail), Looking at the Population You Serve, Have a Schedule, and Where’s Your Identity. If...
by Rhett Smith | Oct 1, 2010 | Leadership
This is the fourth post in a five-part series on Youth Ministry, Boundaries, and Burnout. Be sure to check out the previous posts, Youth Ministry as a Stepping Stone (Fail), Looking at the Population You Serve, and Have a Schedule. The reality is that our identity is...
by Rhett Smith | Sep 27, 2010 | Leadership
This is the second in my series on Youth Ministry, Boundaries and Burnout, a topic which has become very important to me over the last couple of years. In the last post I looked at how seeing youth ministry as a stepping stone to “move up” in the church...
by Rhett Smith | Sep 24, 2010 | Leadership
On Monday I had the awesome opportunity to hang out with about 100 youth pastors in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. We were all attending a Youth Specialties luncheon, checking out their upcoming events, hearing about some of their ventures, and just having a good time...
by Rhett Smith | Oct 13, 2009 | Intentional Living
[image by Tamara Areshian] In my last post, When You Refuse To Take Care Of Yourself, You Are Refusing To Take Care Of Those Around You, I just briefly reflected on some comments by Rob Bell at the Catalyst Conference 2009 and how I felt they played into self-care....
by Rhett Smith | Oct 9, 2009 | Leadership
This caught my eye: Is there any way you’ve neglected to take care of yourself because of the allusion that you have to keep going all the time. You need to be fulfilled with energy and vitality so you can love what you do more than you did before. Have you been...
by Rhett Smith | Sep 9, 2009 | Leadership
[image by marvin L] 17 Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you are doing is not good. 18 “You will surely wear out, both yourself and these people who are with you, for the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone. 19...
by Rhett Smith | Nov 18, 2008 | Intentional Living
I came across this Tweet from Anne Jackson today, and it resonated with me a lot. Learning to say no to good things. It’s always hard, but it’s necessary. I’ve been losing focus lately. I know we all have lots of good things on our plate. We have...
by Rhett Smith | Sep 18, 2008 | Intentional Living
I’ve had a lot on my mind recently, and during that time I’ve been pretty convicted about several issues that I see interrelated. It originally arose because of my dismay at the real lack of boundaries in ministry and what affect that has on those caught...