Leadership Vitality
According leadership sage John Maxwell, “everything rises and falls on leadership.” Perhaps this is why the Apostle Paul was so careful in describing the character qualification of church leaders in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. Healthy leadership is an essential ingredient of a healthy church.
What is leadership though? I boil it down to two keys words – vision and influence. Every leader needs to be able to see where they’re heading and leading people. They need to have that picture of a “preferred future” as Andy Stanley puts it. Along with vision they must also be an influencer. Without people following, a leader is just off on a lonely stroll.
God’s called you to lead! Whether he’s called you to lead a new church, a satellite campus, a ministry or a small group, remind yourself that leading isn’t easy. It requires you to constantly invest in yourself or “refilling your vision bucket” as our friend Shawn Lovejoy puts it.
Whatever leadership calling God’s placed on your life, we want to help you keep your leadership passion burning. That’s why we’ve filled this month’s newsletter with resources to help you replenish your leadership vision and capacity. Remember a leader is a reader, so keep reading and see what helpful insights you can gain this month.
-Dale Spaulding, Director
April 2019 – Contents
- Your Next Step
- FUEL 2019
- Relevant Leadership
- How To Measure Leadership Success
- Church Planter Boot Camp
Your Next Step
In order to lead effectively, you need not only to know where you’re going, but also where you are now. If you don’t know where you’re at, how will you ever determine the next steps to take to get to where you want to go?
Dynamic leaders envision what’s on the horizon. They can cast a compelling vision to get others to follow, but may lack the detailed roadmap that will get them there. That’s why we’ve created strategy templates designed to help church leaders map out the path to realize that vision.
That’s also why Exponential has developed free assessment tools for leaders to discover where they are as leaders and churches. Take advantage of these free tools to determine your best next step as a leader and a church.
FUEL 2019
Does your church sometimes feel stuck? Could it use a little fuel to reignite the fire? There are a plethora of conferences and books focused on starting a new church, but few on what to do next. We’re changing that!
So if you could use some encouragement and practical tools for leaning into issues you WILL need to deal with (sooner or later), consider coming to FUEL 2019. It’s a FREE one-day event hosted by New Life Christian Church and Passion for Planting. It’s all happening Wednesday, May 8th at the nZone in Chantilly, VA (just west of the Washington DC area). For more info and to register visit: FUEL 2019.
Relevant Leadership
Are you stuck in the past? Are you having trouble coming up with new strategies and ideas to lead your church in making disciples? Perhaps you are stuck and don’t know it because you’re living in it – your leadership methods are all you know.
In a recent blog post, Carey Nieuwhof encouraged pastors to evaluate their leadership vitality and determine whether or not their best days as leaders are behind or before them. One line from the blog that sticks out is, “Leaders who love the methods more than the mission are on a fast path to irrelevance.” As Carey reveals in the blog, the gray-haired aren’t necessarily the only victims of leadership irrelevance; every leader is susceptible, especially those that don’t proactively ward against it. Get ideas on how to revitalize your leadership vision and capacity by reading Carey’s blogpost Has Your Leadership Peaked?
How To Measure Leadership Success
As a church leader have you ever wondered how to measure success? Like how do you know when you’ve done a good job? How do you know when you’re “winning”?
If you don’t have a healthy perspective on this, it’s likely you’ll end up either discouraged, thinking you’re a failure, or self-absorbed, thinking you’re God’s gift to ministry. The good news is there’s a beneficial way to measure your success as a church leader as Shawn Lovejoy reveals it in his book – The Measure of Our Success: An Impassioned Plea To Pastors. Blending scripture with personal experience, Lovejoy offers his readers practical insight into what success looks like in the life of a church leader.
Not a church leader, but interested in measuring success in other areas of your life and leadership? Shawn’s latest book on this topic has just released. No matter what leadership arena you play in, this book will encourage you and help you lead yourself and others better. Be one of first to grab of copy of Measuring Success: Your Path To Significance, Satisfaction, & Leading Yourself To The Next Level.
Church Planter Boot Camp
It’s been said that God doesn’t call the qualified; he qualifies the called. If you’ve been called to plant a church, don’t underestimate the value of church planting training which will prepare and equip you to turn your vision a reality. Read here about the correlation between training and healthy new churches.
The correlation exists because, unlike traditional seminary training, specific church planting training like Passion for Planting’s boot camp doesn’t just teach theory. Our boot camp blends instruction, discussion, and stories fresh from “the field” to supply participants with practical advice, tools, and strategies they’ll rely on as they cultivate communities of disciple-makers.
Our next boot camp is May 20-24, 2019 in the Washington, DC area. Reserve your spot today.