Josh Hunt's blog

Last week I asked subscribers to The Lesson Vault if they would be willing to write a one or two sentence testimony on the benefit of these lessons. I was hoping, if it was a good day, to get a half-dozen responses. Instead, I have been inundated with emails from teachers and Ministers of Education expressing their appreciation for the Lesson Vault At the end of this list, I want to share with you how you can try these lessons for free. You likely won't want to read all of these, but I hope you will read enough to be convinced The Lesson Vault could make a huge difference for your teachers. Feel free to skip to the end when you are convinced. Commendations on the Lesson Vault: God has utilized the Lesson's from the Lesson Vault to minister to us.  The questions are really good for facilitating meaningful conversation.  Our class grew from 10 people to more than 40 in one year!!!  We don't have a room big enough for us now.  The

Two words can transform the ho-hum atmosphere of a sleepy classroom: I disagree . I have seen it happen many times. The conversation is rocking along. The teacher is talking. People are nodding. Someone discreetly looks at their watch. It is not bad; it is just not the kind of thing anyone is going to talk about once they leave. Then, suddenly someone says the magic two words: "I disagree." "Respectfully, I disagree, teacher, I think. . ." Heads turn. People set down the bulletin that they had been looking through, skimming over announcements to see if they could find anything interesting. Attention is galvanized. What are they going to say? Disagree with what? I hadn't noticed anything I disagreed with. Is a fight going to break out? How do I feel about this? Effective teachers not only allow members to say, "I disagree." They encourage it. They elicit disagreement. They design the discussion in su

Do you think God ever gets tired of us asking for so much? Do you think He ever feels like I have occasionally felt when my kids just ask, ask, ask? Do you think God ever gets weary of our constantly asking for more, more, more? Do you think we ask God for too much? I don't think so. Quite the contrary. I think He is sometimes amused and more often frustrated by our small prayers. I don't think we ask for too much. I think we ask for way too little. I was meditating on this recently while listening to Darlene Zschech's song, "You Said." Consider some of the verses that this song references: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. Matthew 7:7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. John 15:7 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. Psalm 2:8

I start a lot of books. I occasionally finish one. Once in a while I read a book so good it is worth listening to as well as reading, or reading twice. Made to Stick was one of those books. If you are are looking for a great book to use to train your teachers to teach more effectively, or simply want to learn to communicate better yourself, consider Heath and Heath's excellent book Made to Stick. Up for a humbling little exercise? Ask your students next Sunday if they remember anything about last week's lesson. Come to think of it, do you remember anything about the lesson you taught last week? If not, you might want to pick up a copy of Made to Stick. Applying the principles of this book to a Sunday School lesson is a short trip. Here is a summary of what it takes to make a lesson stick. Simple lessons stick We teach so little because we try to teach so much. Less is more. Focus your lesson. Become the master of the one po

I'd like to invite you and a dozen or so of your teachers over on a Saturday morning for an engaging conversation on how to double your class every two years or less. I don't want to just talk about it; I want to actually train your teachers to the end that they are actually doubling every two years or less. It will take more than one session. We won't get there in one day. But, over the course of a year or two, we can learn the skills necessary to double every two years or less. We will need to meet several times, perhaps once every two or three months. In between times, I will ask you to begin to put into practice the things we talk about. Also, I will ask you to do some reading. The next time we meet, we will talk about what worked and what didn't. We will discuss obstacles and celebrate victories, and yes, there will be some of both. And, we will do some additional training. Each session will build on the last--first the fou

I only teach two things: You can double your class in two years or less. It only takes 40% growth, or an average class going from 10 to 14 in a year to double in two years or less. Yet, the results are amazing. A group that doubles every eighteen months can reach a thousand people in ten years. That is a fact of simple math. Fact is, there is a world-wide movement of God by which this is happening. Parties are one of the best ways I know to grow a class. Here is the formula: invite every member and every prospect to every fellowship every month. I saw it happen again last week. We had a dinner and a movie at our house last Friday night. It was great. Pot-luck dinner at 7:00, movie to follow. Curious thing, we didn't have any new people show up at the party, but we had our all time high attendance on Sunday. I have seen it happen more times than I can count. So has David Francis. David Francis, leader of Sunday Schoo

Leadership is over-rated. Followership is under-rated. For every Nehemiah that God calls, He calls thousands of workers on the wall. For every Moses, millions of followers. Most of us are followers. Few of us are leaders. We need to follow well. The key verse on this is likely one you have never heard preached on: Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you. Hebrews 13:17 [NIV] We don't hear this preached on because it is a bit awkward for the pastor to preach on it. If he did, it would go something like this: "Listen to me! Follow me! Obey me! Make my life a joy! God said so!" Truth is, God did say so. When was the last time you asked someone why they were doing this or that and they said, "Out of obedience to my pastor." Read Hebrews 13.17 again. I wo

You don't have to have a hip, happening, cool, missional, purpose-driven, mega, innovative, out of the box, or simple church to double. I am in doubling churches all the time that are not doing what a lot of books tell us we have to do. I was able to capture nine new testimonies of people in pretty normal churches that have doubled. To view these testimonies, point your browser to http://www.joshhuntnm.blogspot.com/ In addition, I receive email pretty regularly from normal churches that are doubling. Here is an email I received this week: Josh,   This is the BEST e-mail you have ever sent out for 95% of the churches in America.  Since you were with us a few years ago, our church has doubled in attendance, sold our church, bought new property, relocated, and built Phase 1 of our new worship center.  We've been in the new facility three months, and we're already maxed out in space (going to two servic

You have all been to this church. I am in them every week. They are not particularly purpose driven, or missional, or hip, or seeker driven, or simple or whatever the emphasis du juor is in these days. In fact, you probably attend the normal church. The question is: can a normal church be alive, growing, effective and happy? Can it be used by God without becoming some new-fangled church? If I were a pastor reading church books today, I think I would be a little frustrated thinking I had to become multi-site, or mega, or cell-based or somehow super-cool to be used by God. Can God still use normal churches? My answer is, "Yes," if. ..... Normal churches can be effective for God, but they might not be. In fact, many of them are not. But, here is the rub: they can be used by God and still be normal. They can be used by God without becoming hip, or cool, or sexy, or seeker, mega, missional, simple, or something they are not.  Here is ho