Dr. Anthony Edwards

Honestly, it's tempting to tell my daughter how smart she is and how special she is to me.  After all, being a father is one of the things that I enjoy most about life. She and I are also extremely close. However, I don't want to look back when she's an adult and wish I had prepared her better for the challenges and successes of life.   Our life is not without its challenges, but we have been truly blessed.  My wife and I have great jobs and we have very little debt (that should be paid off within three months of publishing this post).  As a result, there are few material things or experiences we can't provide for our daughter. Having "made it," our daughter won't have to struggle before adulthood, but that doesn't mean she doesn't need to struggle before adulthood. While it's easy to frame this challenge of parenting as whether to spend money to make her happy (um, no), it's really a more complicated discussion about how to...

At some point in life, things will get tough.  We all face challenges.  How we respond to those challenges separates top performers from the rest of the pack.  Here are some life lessons from Grit by Angela Duckworth. Talent is overrated Our culture is obsessed with talent.  We idolize athletes, singers, and actors.  We celebrate winners and troll losers on social media.  Naturally, when we are looking for someone to join our team, company, or school, we look for the most talented.  However, talent distracts us from the true indicator of success: grit.  Many times the most talented quit or fail.  Sometimes this is because they have been coddled because of their talent and not receptive to the feedback that will help them improve.  Other times they think they don't have to improve because they are so talented. While grit might sound ambiguous or like a characteristic that some people have and others don't, fortunately, you can gro...

Many social media managers have seen Facebook engagement decrease as the Facebook algorithm began to favor posts from individuals over posts from pages.  How can you turn this challenge into an opportunity for your church?  Answer: Facebook Groups! Advantages of Using Facebook Groups for Your Church 1. Individuals join Facebook Groups instead of pages so Facebook's algorithm values the posts of group members. 2. Allows your Facebook Page to focus on turning potential visitors into visitors and guests into members while allowing your Facebook Group to focus on turning members into disciples. 3. Group members are notified of all group posts. Even if people follow your Facebook page, many of them will not see your posts. 4. Group members can create posts as well. Ways Churches Can Use Facebook Groups 1. Distribute church announcements 2. Create Facebook events to allow people to indicate attendance and share with others 3. Post weekly prayer targets 4. Share Face...

Discipleship Dictionary Church: The Church is God’s People (who we are) saved by God’s Power (what He has done and is doing) for God’s Purposes (the good works He created us in Jesus Christ to do) - wearesoma.org The Church is the entire Body of Christ - not just a building, service team, worship service, or an individual local church. - Tony Edwards Covenant Discipleship: Based on John Wesley’s Bands and Classes, Covenant Discipleship Groups develop a group covenant and meet weekly to hold one another accountable to the General Rule of Discipleship and individual commitments to works of devotion and compassion as well as collective commitments to justice and worship. - Tony Edwards Disciple: A disciple is one who worships Jesus, is being changed by Jesus, obeys Jesus and teaches others to do the same - wearesoma.org A disciple surrenders every area of life to the Great Commission and makes one’s entire life an act of worship and service to God and G...

Use this list to get your LinkedIn profile ready.  The more informative your profile, the easier it will be for employers to find you. Intro First Name Last Name (add degree and certificate abbreviations after your last name) Headline (Your current title or value proposition statement) Current Position (title) Education (default is most recent institution attended) Country Zip Code Locations within this area (Dallas Fort Worth area, Fort Worth, etc.) Industry (think broadly about what you do) Summary (include keywords that will help potential employers understand what you do and find you more easily) Media (links or uploads of your work, assignments, or projects) Your Articles & Activity LinkedIn Articles (reflections on your work, assignments, or projects) Respond to others' articles LinkedIn Posts (talk about leadership or work-related happenings at work or school) Respond to others' posts Experience Work Internshi...

Who are you trying to reach with your church's social media posts? Members? Future members? Both?  While you can use the same accounts to communicate with different audiences, you might consider creating different accounts to communicate with people at different stages of the discipleship journey.  For example, with Facebook you could have an inward-facing Facebook group focused on helping members grow as disciples.  You could then use your church Facebook page to focus on the people in your community outside your church. From a discipleship perspective, church leaders should help members grow their evangelism.  One way to do this is through social media.  Your members likely want to share your posts, but may feel that they only appeal to members or may be more preachy than their friends can handle at the moment.  Many of your members and their friends probably face challenges.  As a church you could share content that can help them overcome ...