With Skillful Hands

What Pandora Can Teach Us About Staff Development

June 5, 2023 By Mike Leave a Comment

Of the many music streaming services out there (Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, etc) Pandora is my favorite. I started using it way back when and I've just stuck with it. As I write this leadership lesson I have my country station playing in the background, a station I've developed over time that now plays all my favorite songs. Now understand, getting it to play all my favorite songs didn't happen by accident. It got to where I wanted it to be as a result of me giving it constant … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Management

How to Vacation

May 21, 2023 By Mike Leave a Comment

Today I want to do a leadership lesson on HOW TO VACATION.  This is such an important topic because if you vacation wrong, you will come back from your time of rest more exhausted than before you left! We have to remember that for FT staff it's paid vacation. What are you being paid to do on vacation? Rest! And if you don't come back from vacation refreshed and full of energy, ready to hit it hard, you have not done the "work" you were paid on vacation to do, which again, is to rest! … [Read more...]

Filed Under: How To

Bend, not Break

May 16, 2023 By Mike Leave a Comment

We are very close to signing the lease for our new location in Agawam and the signing of that lease is going to launch us into a very busy season of ministry so today I want to talk about expectations during this very busy season. I’ve entitled the lesson BEND, NOT BREAK.  If you've ever cooked with bamboo skewers you know that they can withstand a moderate amount of applied pressure. But if you apply too much pressure they will first splinter, then … [Read more...]

Filed Under: How To

You Can’t Manage What You Don’t Measure

October 21, 2019 By Mike Leave a Comment

It was management expert Peter Drucker who coined the popular phrase "If you can't measure it, you can't manage it." But this principle has a history that dates Peter Drucker by some 2,000 years. Jesus said in Matthew 18:12-14, “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Repetition in Preaching

August 27, 2019 By Mike 2 Comments

There are some topics in Scripture mentioned more than others (i.e. salvation by grace through faith vs works). I always cringe a little when something I've already preached on, comes up yet again in the preaching calendar. I think "Won't our people be tired of hearing this yet again?" Well, I came across something so good recently that I want to share here that has set me free from the fear of preaching on a topic I've already preached on 2-3x. The apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 3:1, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Preaching

Why Pastors Take Sabbaticals

April 4, 2019 By Mike Leave a Comment

Leading God’s people is a privilege, but also a burden.  The burden became so great for Moses that one day he prayed to God "put me to death right now..." (Numbers 11:15) The burden became so great for Jeremiah that one day he exclaimed "Cursed be the day I was born!" (Jeremiah 20:14) The burden became so great for Jonah that one day he prayed "O Lord, take away my life..." (Jonah 4:3) The burden became so great for Elijah that he prayed "I have had enough, Lord...Take my life..." (1 … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Leadership

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • …
  • 28
  • Next Page »

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Fill out form to receive Mike’s latest posts via text

Recent Posts

  • Staying Fresh in the Pulpit
  • The Unenviable Job of a Leader
  • Core Four: Evaluate
  • A Thanksgiving Devotional
  • How to Respond Appropriately to Criticism

Categories

  • Culture
  • Failures
  • Finances
  • How To
  • Leadership
  • Management
  • Position Papers
  • Preaching
  • Resources
  • Scripture
  • Staff
  • Uncategorized
  • Vendors
  • Volunteers

Design

With an emphasis on typography, white space, and mobile-optimized design, your website will look absolutely breathtaking.

Learn more about design.

Content

Our team will teach you the art of writing audience-focused content that will help you achieve the success you truly deserve.

Learn more about content.

Strategy

We help creative entrepreneurs build their digital business by focusing on three key elements of a successful online platform.

Learn more about strategy.

Copyright © 2026 With Skillful Hands & Mike Sorcinelli