With new reports of data breaches and suspicious messages popping up everywhere we look, scams have become a major concern today for everyone. As we navigate this landscape of deception, it’s important to equip ourselves with knowledge and strategies to stay safe.
Edie Melson A New Year is coming, and that means change. I see ministry leaders throwing up their hands in frustration and exhaustion everywhere. Social media algorithms and rules are…
There has been a lot of discussion—ironically taking place ON social media—about whether social media is still a valuable endeavor for ministry leaders.
Edie Melson With the New Year comes the opportunity to update your blog. If you’ve noticed a slowdown in growth, this top ten list may help restart your momentum. 10.…
by Edie Melson | ediemelson.com WHEN DOING MINISTRY LIKE WRITING OR SPEAKING, we must connect in a meaningful way with those we serve. And hate it or love it, social…
by Edie Melson in Leading Hearts magazine
IN SOCIAL MEDIA TERMS, IT’S A VOLATILE WORLD OUT THERE.
So often, what’s posted online seems more focused on stabbing and wounding than on encouraging and sharpening. Part of that is due to the medium.
Almost 100 percent of the time, online interaction lacks the warmth of a real-time, human connection. It’s an impersonal — anonymous — medium. While we may call those we connect with “friends,” many of them are just faceless names.
When we’re speaking online, it’s far too easy to be so focused on what we want to share that we forget the individual — hurting — hearts of those we’re communicating with.
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by Edie Melson in Leading Hearts Magazine
One of the most significant issues we have is a tendency to approach online reach with a have-to-do, legalistic mindset. Truthfully, because successful social media is all about relationship building, it works best when we treat it as an exercise in faith.
When we get caught up in numbers and percentages, we lose our way.
Instead, we must remember that those we interact with are not numbers; they’re people.
(more…)If we begin to judge our effectiveness, the worth of what we have to say, by numbers, we’ve lost our way.
By Edie Melson @ediemelson in the Summer 2019 issue of Leading Hearts Magazine
No, not no to God. But in my years of ministry, I’ve discovered the need to safeguard my time and energy. I’ve also come to realize that can’t be done without learning how to say no.
We all only have so much time in a day. And if you’re like me, life is filled to overflowing. So that means constantly guarding our priorities.
There are a couple of areas where I’ve had to develop discipline in this regard.
I’m bad about seeing a need and equating that with a call to serve. The truth is, God doesn’t call me to fill every ministry hole. He has specific things He wants me to do at specific times in my life.
If I say yes to every opportunity I come across, then God can’t use me in the ways He has planned.
To help me evaluate what to become involved with, I’ve developed a few steps I go through before I say yes.
by Edie Melson@EdieMelson in Leading Hearts Magazine
SOMETIMES, ONLINE INTERACTIONS CAN SEEM LIKE AN ENDEAVOR WITHOUT BOUNDARIES. And I’m a person who appreciates boundaries. With them, I’m not hampered by limitations; instead, I find they give my life definition. Choosing a word of the year helps me let God define my year before it even begins.
Our Hearted Valentine's Gift for you — this new issue of Leading Hearts magazine is dedicated to growing Fruits of the Spirit in every season. Are you able to serve…