Folks, there is a friend I’ve found through social media. His name is Michael Perkins and he’s a rare bird. I’ve come to truly respect how he conducts himself online. He’s a master at generating conversations and, as you may have already read elsewhere, conversations are where real life change happens. To cause great conversations is an art form and is so needed in our digital world. His blog is called The Handwritten.

So I asked to speak with Michael and then asked him to respond to the following questions. I trust that as you read this mini-interview, your blogging efforts will jump up a notch. We need to be effective as God uses us and our blogs.

How did you get started into blogging?

I got my start nearly four years ago. I started blogging so I could have place to store sermon illustrations because at the time I wasn’t aware of tools like Google Docs or even Evernote. I wrote illustrations for about six months before I had a single visitor or comment. And then it happened. People started reading and commenting.

When you first started to receive comments how did you turn them from a few comments to full out dialog and many comments?

That’s a great question. To be honest, I was floored when people would read and comment on my posts. So when they started to, I would send them a personal email. And when I say personal, I mean personal, not an automated thing. Most people would be honest and say things in the comments and I would try to start a dialog or offer prayer based on those comments. I was more interested in the people than the comments.

Why do you think you have been able to gain just a level of interaction on your blog?

To be honest, I’m still not sure. I mean, I am blown away at how blessed I have been to receive the amount of interaction that I have received. But if I had to narrow it down to anything I would attribute it to two things:

The first thing is that I think my readers feel safe. I have done everything that I can to make sure that I open myself up for vulnerability, which is tough. I mean, I try to write things that I’m experiencing or going through in hopes that it connects with someone else. I figure that if I’m honest and open then the readers will be too.

The second thing that helped was the release of my eBook. I asked people to subscribe via email in order to receive a copy of it for free. The thing that this did was it initially added 1200 subscribers (since has whittled down), but the people who subscribed started forwarding posts to their friends and colleagues. Introducing me to a whole new group, ready to interact.

Now that you have been blogging a while, what are you doing now to maintain that level of interaction?

This has changed recently, but that’s because of time. I used to reply to every comment that I received on my blog in order to maintain that level of interaction. But recently I haven’t. I’ve kind of taken the middle road and try not to dominate the conversation. Now, I see people conversing with each other because they have been provoked by the post. It took a long time, to get to that point, but I’m pretty humbled by it.

Got any ideas for your blog in the hopper?

Oh man, I’m always working on something. Currently, I’m working on a devotional book that I will give away for free. Right now, It’s about 20 days worth. My goal is to get to 30 days worth of devotionals and then send it to a few trusted people to help me edit. I’m also toying with the idea of creating a side project that would focus more on creativity and writing (but that’s a pretty crowded area).

Thanks, Michael, for pulling back the curtain and letting us see how a man of God is responding to the call of ministry leadership using the outlet of blogging. You do it so well. We can all learn from you.

She was so upset. “How could he do such a thing?“, she asked herself just under her breath, teeth clenched. “He knows how that makes me feel and still he does it.”

Those who know us well, hurt us the deepest sometimes, don’t they? At least it seems that way. So when someone you know and love does something that hurts you, how do you respond? Do you lash out at them? Do you try to get even? Or are you the silent type, nursing a grudge as it quietly destroys you from the inside out?

There is a way God designed us to act in times of distress like this. It’s quite simple, really. Yet over the years, we’ve made it so complicated. If you could boil down the principles of Matthew 18 down to one word, it would be:

Communication.

Change Your Oil Regularly

We should change the oil in our car every few thousand miles. Doesn’t seem to make sense sometimes, though. The engine’s running great. No warning light on the dash. We don’t have time to take it in because there’s too much to be done. But it’s this very periodic maintenance that keeps the engine strong. We need to take the time to do it.

Communicating the way Matthew 18 subscribes means running to the conflict. Like changing our oil from time to time, we need to get with the one who’s created conflict and try to work it out. If we don’t, we hinder our ability to do ministry leadership where we are fully present and at maximum performance.

How do you handle conflict?

Bread.

Some like it sliced thick with lots of butter. Others like to rip off a piece and dunk it in olive oil. Maybe you like to simply take the loaf and bite right into it. But notice the common theme among all of these choices: the bread must be broken to be used for its purpose. Sitting on the shelf completely whole and without blemish, it does no one any good.

I know I’m writing to some ministry leaders who don’t have a problem with the metaphor I’m playing with right now. You went straight to the point and said, “Yup, gotta be broken to be used. I get that.” But you may still be missing the point. Who’s doing the breaking?

“…do this in rememberance of me…”

Are you breaking yourself based on something a speaker said from a platform or on a great book written by a thought leader? Or are you letting God, Himself, do the breaking and slicing? Unless that’s who’s breaking us, all our efforts will be in vain. I’ve seen ministry leaders move their families into harm’s way because they thought it was the thing God was calling them to do when it was their own idea all along. Whether or not to bring your family into harm’s way is not the point here. The point is this: Is GOD leading you that way or not?

It’s a very dangerous thing to act on good intention without total abandonment before God. It is a fast track to burnout. Unless the True Baker breaks the bread, the feast is eaten in vain.

How do you know for sure God has called you to the ministry you now lead? Care to share your thoughts?

“His name is Roger*. He has been in the ministry for 15 years. Seven years into his calling, God had led him to a dying church of 25 people. That was 8 years ago. Today, that church is now running 2,500 in 6 locations (satellite campuses) across the city. Two years ago, Roger had an incident happen that would forever change his life. He was counseling a young woman in his study. She was only married for 4 years but she was fast becoming disillusioned with her husband. It seemed all he wanted to do was go hunting with his buddies on the weekends. She was feeling lonely and angry. She shared her feelings over several counseling sessions with Roger. A bond began to develop between the two of them. Roger began comparing the young woman to his own wife of 20 years…”

What Went Right? Share your thoughts about this case study which are okay and don’t need to be addressed.

What Went Wrong? Share your thoughts about this case study which need to be changed for the better. What things do you think need to be added to the story?

How Would You Change The Ending? Finish the story in a way that would be honoring to God and keep Roger strong in his ministry leadership.

*Names are totally fictitious. Any resemblance to real situations is complete coincidental. This is a pilot blog post program. The trial period is to include a case study once per week about potential situations in a way that will keep you thinking about your own situation. Let me know what you think.

We eat an orange one slice at a time but to pursue our Life Plan like an orange short circuits the purpose. Compartmentalism is the bane of genuine passion. Consider the most important aspect of our Life Plan: our walk with God. The moment we see our spiritual life separate from our other areas of life is the moment we cheapen that very spirituality to a dollar store commodity.

True Colors

Instead of orange, let’s think other colors. Take yellow. Add blue. When combined, what do we get? That’s right, green. But stop and rewind that. Play it again and notice something. The yellow and the blue aren’t cohabiting space side-by-side like yin and yang. They must literally be mixed together, one overtop the other, in and out and around each other. Both cohabiting the same space at the same time.

When our spirituality influences the other areas of our life to that degree, we have the makings of an “intimate and organic” relationship with Christ (John 15 MSG). Now that’s green! But it ain’t easy being green (to quote a famous frog). It’s more than keeping a prayer life and Bible reading habit throughout the week. It’s a matter of deep abandonment and desperation before God daily. That requires effort.

Are you trying to be efficient with your spiritual life? Got it all down to a hollow set of routines and rituals? When designing and executing your Life Plan, be sure not to make Jesus one of the compartments or it just won’t click. He must permeate. He must transform your blue by adding His yellow and turning it green. Is that a definition of your Life Plan today?

I’m sitting and thinking (a bad combination, I know). It’s the evening of Mother’s Day and I’m in a reflective mood. A lot of flowers and candy and lunches have been consumed. A lot of homemade cards are now opened and stuck firmly to refrigerators with trusty magnets. Photos have been posted on Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram of mothers in their youth or in their prime. Visits have been made by sons and daughters who trekked across town to sit in living rooms or porches to give a hug and a little time. Phone calls have taken place, complete with laughter and awkward pauses. But I have to wonder…

Are you a ministry leader who has lost your mom? Perhaps you never knew your mom. Or maybe she wasn’t a “Hallmark” kind of mom. Was she cruel? Was she demanding and abusive? Or maybe you were expecting a child who never quite made it out of your womb. Your elation was consumed by the fire of abandonment, anger and confusion. Whatever the reason, does Mother’s Day bring about a down, negative experience your way once a year?

Here’s what I think (and notice the placement of the comma, which is significant): Every day, you wake. What I mean is, regardless of the topic (Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Christmas, Labor Day…) , every day is a celebration of life. A celebration because you wake. Sure, a ton of stuff is going to happen to us over our lifetime. Some good, some bad. But every day you wake, you celebrate life. This celebration is a personal choice at the beginning of every day and multiple times throughout. And God is there to help you make the right decision.

Come to the end of every point, every principle, every truth of life. What you will find is that God is God and He will always be God. Through the pain of an anticipated phone call that never rings, through the joy of opening a homemade card. In the end, it’s God. He will walk with you. He will share with you. He will be your Great Companion.

Most importantly, He will be the Source of all your strength.