By Craig Nieuwhof: How do you pastor a mob?

The truth is you can’t.

At least not easily.

The only problem is that right now you have to.

In the last few years, we’ve moved from an era of reasonable consensus to polarization, partisanship, and division. That’s true of congregations, boards, staff, teams, and almost every group that gathers these days.

The crisis of 2020-2021 has accelerated and heightened the tension.

For pastors, and for almost every leader these days, there’s no escaping the fact that pastoring a mob now comes with the job.

No wonder 29% of pastors have said they’ve seriously thought about quitting ministry in the last year. And turnover was already a challenge everywhere.

To make it more interesting, not only does everyone have an opinion, everyone now has a platform on which to share it. And share it they do.

The question becomes, do you lead in this environment, where few people agree on anything and everyone has easy access to you to criticize anything you do as a leader publicly and regularly?

How do you pastor a mob?

It’s definitely not easy, but here are four strategies that can help.

For pastors, and for almost every leader these days, there’s no escaping the fact that pastoring a mob now comes with the job.

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

1. Expect Less Affirmation (So Find It Elsewhere) 

One of the big adjustments every leader is making right now is to get used to leading with less affirmation.

As Tim Keller put it recently,

“Not only is everybody tired, but nobody’s getting any positive affirmation…Almost nobody’s getting any pats on the back.

So you’re just running and running to try to keep things together. And there are no hugs, literally no hugs.

[Leaders are] getting absolutely no affirmation. There’s just a tremendous amount of loneliness of feeling of being separated from so many people that we care about. We just can’t live this way.”

Keller is absolutely correct.

Not only is everybody tired, but nobody’s getting any positive affirmation. Almost nobody’s getting any pats on the back. And there are no hugs, literally no hugs. We just can’t live this way. @timkellernyc

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

What Do You Do About It? 

The question then becomes, well, what do you do about that?

Breaking down disappointment and the lack of affirmation can be helpful.

Disappointment and delight usually consist of the gap between what you thought would happen and what actually happened. If whatever you’re doing ends up being less than you imagined, you’re disappointed. If it turns out better, you’re delighted.

These days, almost everything seems to be turning out slightly worse than you had hoped.

This takes us back to the old adage: the secret to happiness is low expectations.

We may be in for a season where it’s going to be a challenge. Knowing that, and realizing you’re here to serve people who have not got a lot of joy happening in their lives right now can help you calibrate your expectations appropriately.

A second strategy is to seek affirmation elsewhere.

This can happen in a variety of ways. One obvious starting point is in your relationship with God. As a person of faith, there are days where that might be the only affirmation you receive all day.

But on many days, you can also find joy and affirmation from other sources: from your family, from a life-giving friend, from a walk in the woods, a good cup of coffee, or from a hobby that gives you a deep sense of satisfaction.

It’s essential that you do this and not feel guilty.  To find life-giving sources, habits, and rhythms is basic self-care.

Leaders who don’t practice self-care will soon find themselves either burned out or heading down the path of self-indulgence.  Both will sabotage your leadership in the end.

Leaders who don’t practice self-care will soon find themselves either burned out or heading down the path of self-indulgence.

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

2. Be What You Hope To See

Almost every leader I know has been disappointed not just by random critics or uninvested people going off unhinged. They’ve also been hurt or disappointed by at least one long term friend, associate or colleague who’s turned on them over the last year.

That just further illustrates how hard a season it’s been for everyone.

So what do you? How do you respond?

The line I’ve tried to follow, sometimes successfully and sometimes not, is to be what I hope to see.

In other words, if you hope to see people behaving reasonably, be reasonable.

Leaders, be what you hope to see. For example, if you want people to behave reasonably, be reasonable.

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

If you’re hoping for kindness, compassion and grace, embody that.

Don’t return sarcastic, snide or angry comments with sarcastic, snide or angry responses.

It can be hard. I scroll through the comments on this site or on my social media feed every day. Most are super encouraging. But there are also more than a few that are corrosive, angry or downright toxic.

My first instinct is to want to retaliate…to get back at the commenter. I’ve had some incredibly snide replies composed in my head…and that’s exactly where they need to stay. In my head.

There are also times I’ve tried to win over irate people online. I find I can’t. I can usually diffuse a situation in real life. On the internet? Almost a 0% success rate. So I no longer try.

I’ve also tried to discuss things online with people who have extreme and public views on subjects. Trying to change their minds is like trying to move a 10 ton block of steel with your baby finger. Not only does the steel not budge, you now have a broken finger.

The best way to react to angry, extreme views is to be what you hope to see.

I hope to see reasonable people who respect and love each other, and who can disagree with each other without being disagreeable. So I try to be that.

I think there’s a huge opening in our culture right now for moderate, compassionate, reasonable people. That’s what I hope to be.

What do you hope to see? Be that.

3. Don’t Get Sucked into the Wormhole

What are you trying to accomplish with your leadership?

For me these days in my writing and speaking, I’m trying to help leaders live in a way today that will help them thrive tomorrow.

For decades as a church leader, I spent my time trying to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus (even though that’s not my “day job” anymore, I’m still committed to that in my personal life).

Whatever you’re trying to accomplish with your leadership, stick to that.

Don’t get sucked into the wormhole that has become public discourse these days.

You don’t need to be a cultural commentator on everything from politics to pro sports to vaccines to state regulations to immigration to Supreme Court decisions to celebrity splits.

And guess what? You’re probably not an expert on any of those things. Neither am I.

Yet you look at a lot of pastor’s social media feeds today, and commenting on anything and everything appears to be their new job.

It probably comes from a good place. After all, you lead in a world where people feel like they got their doctorate in a particular niche subject on YouTube and perfectly understand a topic like no one else does.

But here’s the truth: you’re not going to win that argument. And you don’t need to be in that argument in the first place.

I’ve seen so many leaders peddle away their influence by weighing in on every topic du jour and miss the main point of their ministry and leadership.

So what are you trying to do again?

Stick to that.

And while you’re doing that, focus on the things that unite people, not on the things that divide people.

Focusing on division brings greater division. Focusing on unity brings greater unity.

Right now, in a culture fraught with division, people are longing for unity. So be unifying.

Focusing on division brings greater division. Focusing on unity brings greater unity.

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

4. Ban The Trolls (And Tune the Rest Out)

There’s a lot of talk about free speech these days and our right to express ourselves. And I’m all for free speech.

But does that mean everyone gets to say whatever they want however they want wherever they want?

I’m going to suggest the answer to that is no.

Let’s focus on wherever for a minute—as in inside the church or organization you lead.

You definitely need people with diverse views and opinions on your team and in your tribe, but that doesn’t mean there are no limits.

Why?

Simple. The trolls inside your church will kill your culture and can ultimately kill your mission.

The sad truth is, some would love to do just that. They don’t care about you, other people, or your mission nearly as much as they care about themselves and whatever idea or venom they’re peddling in the moment.

The trolls inside your church will kill your culture and can ultimately kill your mission.

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

Organizationally, this isn’t nearly as much about free speech, as it is about creating a healthy culture and and cultivating community.

To get a clearer perspective on it, imagine that conversation you’re trying to moderate online or in your church was happening instead at a dinner party in your home.

In the same way you wouldn’t tolerate a dinner guest who punches you in the face, breaks your dishes and insults your spouse and kids, you don’t need to let trolls and haters live in your digital or physical space.

No, if that happened at a dinner party, you’d either insist they leave or call the police, or both. And you’d be justified in doing that.

Trolls and haters intend to divide. They intend to wound and destroy. That’s their game. And I’m going to guess that destruction isn’t the game you’re playing (if it is, then welcome the trolls).

The proper response to someone who intends to destroy you is to stop them from doing so.

And as far as free speech goes, you’re not silencing them forever. Trust me. They’ll find someone else to pick on. You’re just saying it can’t happen in your space.

That’s leadership. And that’s setting a healthy boundary not just for you, but for everyone you lead.

The healthy people will thank you.

In the same way you wouldn’t tolerate a dinner guest who punches you in the face, breaks your dishes and insults your spouse and kids, you don’t need to let trolls and haters live on your digital or physical space.

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

So What Specifically Do You Do With Trolls and Haters?

To break it down a little further, here’s what I do with trolls and haters. I started by assuming the best. Everyone has an off day, and sometimes the message I hear is not the message they sent.

Assuming the best means sometimes I ignore the comment or, alternatively, reply with a kinder, more generous response. That never changes a troll by the way.

Then my team and I start looking for patterns. If someone has an abusive pattern and shows no openness to changing, caring about others or even engaging in real dialogue, the proper response is to delete or block.

That’s true online and in real life. In real life on a handful of occasions, I’ve stopped toxic people from serving or joining a group at times because the impact would be so devastating on the people around them.

Remember, too, that we’re talking about less than 1% of the people in your church or maybe 1% of the people on your public channels. But that noisy, angry 1% can take down the 99% who are trying to have real community and real conversation.

It’s perfectly fair to put limits on unhealthy behaviour for the sake of the health of the organization. If you want more, here’s a post outlining 7 pro tips on dealing with toxic people.

What does this leave you with?

A healthier you and a healthier church ready to reach healthier people.

And the trolls and haters, they can find another sandbox to play in.

Which leads to the final point: when you find trolls play in other sandboxes, tune them out.

Consumer some thoughtful, helpful, stimulating content instead, rather than the drivel that makes up too much of life in the moment.

You’ll be so much better off for it. Plus you’ll sleep at night while you work toward a better tomorrow with the people you lead.

Notice: JavaScript is required for this content.

/* FORM STYLES */

#nf-form-82-cont .nf-form-title h3 {
font-size:35pt;
}

/* FIELDS STYLES */

.nf-form-content .nf-field-container #nf-field-1023-wrap {
display:block;
}

TODO: Move to Template File.
var formDisplay=1;var nfForms=nfForms||[];var form=[];form.id=’82’;form.settings={“objectType”:”Form Setting”,”editActive”:true,”title”:”Church Outreach Assessment – End of Blog”,”default_label_pos”:”above”,”show_title”:”0″,”clear_complete”:”1″,”hide_complete”:”1″,”logged_in”:””,”wrapper_class”:””,”element_class”:””,”key”:””,”add_submit”:”1″,”currency”:””,”unique_field_error”:”A form with this value has already been submitted.”,”not_logged_in_msg”:””,”sub_limit_msg”:”The form has reached its submission limit.”,”calculations”:[],”container_styles_show_advanced_css”:”0″,”title_styles_show_advanced_css”:”0″,”row_styles_show_advanced_css”:”0″,”row-odd_styles_show_advanced_css”:”0″,”success-msg_styles_show_advanced_css”:”0″,”error_msg_styles_show_advanced_css”:”0″,”conditions”:[],”formContentData”:[{“formContentData”:[{“order”:1,”cells”:[{“order”:0,”fields”:[“the_pivot_ready_cheat_sheet_1602862985838″],”width”:”100″}]}],”order”:0,”type”:”part”,”clean”:true,”title”:”Part Title”,”key”:”txugtmhf”}],”changeEmailErrorMsg”:”Please enter a valid email address!”,”changeDateErrorMsg”:”Please enter a valid date!”,”confirmFieldErrorMsg”:”These fields must match!”,”fieldNumberNumMinError”:”Number Min Error”,”fieldNumberNumMaxError”:”Number Max Error”,”fieldNumberIncrementBy”:”Please increment by “,”formErrorsCorrectErrors”:”Please correct errors before submitting this form.”,”validateRequiredField”:”This is a required field.”,”honeypotHoneypotError”:”Honeypot Error”,”fieldsMarkedRequired”:”Fields marked with an * are required”,”drawerDisabled”:false,”container_styles_border”:””,”container_styles_height”:””,”container_styles_margin”:””,”container_styles_padding”:””,”container_styles_float”:””,”title_styles_border”:””,”title_styles_height”:””,”title_styles_width”:””,”title_styles_font-size”:”35″,”title_styles_margin”:””,”title_styles_padding”:””,”title_styles_float”:””,”row_styles_border”:””,”row_styles_width”:””,”row_styles_font-size”:””,”row_styles_margin”:””,”row_styles_padding”:””,”row-odd_styles_border”:””,”row-odd_styles_height”:””,”row-odd_styles_width”:””,”row-odd_styles_font-size”:””,”row-odd_styles_margin”:””,”row-odd_styles_padding”:””,”success-msg_styles_border”:””,”success-msg_styles_height”:””,”success-msg_styles_width”:””,”success-msg_styles_font-size”:””,”success-msg_styles_margin”:””,”success-msg_styles_padding”:””,”error_msg_styles_border”:””,”error_msg_styles_width”:””,”error_msg_styles_font-size”:””,”error_msg_styles_margin”:””,”error_msg_styles_padding”:””,”repeatable_fieldsets”:””,”mp_breadcrumb”:”1″,”mp_progress_bar”:”1″,”mp_display_titles”:”0″,”breadcrumb_container_styles_show_advanced_css”:”0″,”breadcrumb_buttons_styles_show_advanced_css”:”0″,”breadcrumb_button_hover_styles_show_advanced_css”:”0″,”breadcrumb_active_button_styles_show_advanced_css”:”0″,”progress_bar_container_styles_show_advanced_css”:”0″,”progress_bar_fill_styles_show_advanced_css”:”0″,”part_titles_styles_show_advanced_css”:”0″,”navigation_container_styles_show_advanced_css”:”0″,”previous_button_styles_show_advanced_css”:”0″,”next_button_styles_show_advanced_css”:”0″,”navigation_hover_styles_show_advanced_css”:”0″,”allow_public_link”:0,”embed_form”:””,”ninjaForms”:”Ninja Forms”,”fieldTextareaRTEInsertLink”:”Insert Link”,”fieldTextareaRTEInsertMedia”:”Insert Media”,”fieldTextareaRTESelectAFile”:”Select a file”,”formHoneypot”:”If you are a human seeing this field, please leave it empty.”,”fileUploadOldCodeFileUploadInProgress”:”File Upload in Progress.”,”fileUploadOldCodeFileUpload”:”FILE UPLOAD”,”currencySymbol”:”$”,”thousands_sep”:”,”,”decimal_point”:”.”,”siteLocale”:”en_US”,”dateFormat”:”m/d/Y”,”startOfWeek”:”0″,”of”:”of”,”previousMonth”:”Previous Month”,”nextMonth”:”Next Month”,”months”:[“January”,”February”,”March”,”April”,”May”,”June”,”July”,”August”,”September”,”October”,”November”,”December”],”monthsShort”:[“Jan”,”Feb”,”Mar”,”Apr”,”May”,”Jun”,”Jul”,”Aug”,”Sep”,”Oct”,”Nov”,”Dec”],”weekdays”:[“Sunday”,”Monday”,”Tuesday”,”Wednesday”,”Thursday”,”Friday”,”Saturday”],”weekdaysShort”:[“Sun”,”Mon”,”Tue”,”Wed”,”Thu”,”Fri”,”Sat”],”weekdaysMin”:[“Su”,”Mo”,”Tu”,”We”,”Th”,”Fr”,”Sa”],”currency_symbol”:””,”beforeForm”:””,”beforeFields”:””,”afterFields”:””,”afterForm”:””};form.fields=[{“objectType”:”Field”,”objectDomain”:”fields”,”editActive”:false,”order”:1,”idAttribute”:”id”,”label”:””,”type”:”html”,”default”:”

Is Your Church Ready For Future Evangelism? Take The Free Church Outreach Assessment To Find Out.

Almost every church leader wants to grow their church by reaching more people.

As culture continues to change rapidly into a post-Christian era, though, itu2019s left many leaders feeling like theyu2019re not accomplishing their mission. For too many churches, things arenu2019t going as hoped.

After you complete the assessment, youu2019ll receive a detailed breakdown of your results and get access to a free teaching series that will help you take practical steps forward in each of the five areas.

When youu2019re done, youu2019ll be far more equipped to accomplish your mission.

Donu2019t be discouraged. You can still reach people.

Take the Church Outreach Assessment now!”,”container_class”:””,”element_class”:””,”wrap_styles_border”:0,”wrap_styles_width”:””,”wrap_styles_margin”:””,”wrap_styles_padding”:””,”wrap_styles_float”:””,”wrap_styles_show_advanced_css”:0,”label_styles_border”:””,”label_styles_width”:””,”label_styles_font-size”:””,”label_styles_margin”:””,”label_styles_padding”:””,”label_styles_float”:””,”label_styles_show_advanced_css”:0,”element_styles_border”:””,”element_styles_width”:””,”element_styles_font-size”:””,”element_styles_margin”:””,”element_styles_padding”:””,”element_styles_float”:””,”element_styles_show_advanced_css”:0,”cellcid”:”c8551″,”key”:”the_pivot_ready_cheat_sheet_1602862985838″,”drawerDisabled”:false,”wrap_styles_background-color”:””,”wrap_styles_border-style”:””,”wrap_styles_border-color”:””,”wrap_styles_display”:”block”,”field_label”:””,”field_key”:”the_pivot_ready_cheat_sheet_1602862985838″,”id”:1023,”beforeField”:””,”afterField”:””,”value”:”

Is Your Church Ready For Future Evangelism? Take The Free Church Outreach Assessment To Find Out.

Almost every church leader wants to grow their church by reaching more people.

As culture continues to change rapidly into a post-Christian era, though, itu2019s left many leaders feeling like theyu2019re not accomplishing their mission. For too many churches, things arenu2019t going as hoped.

After you complete the assessment, youu2019ll receive a detailed breakdown of your results and get access to a free teaching series that will help you take practical steps forward in each of the five areas.

When youu2019re done, youu2019ll be far more equipped to accomplish your mission.

Donu2019t be discouraged. You can still reach people.

Take the Church Outreach Assessment now!”,”label_pos”:”above”,”parentType”:”html”,”element_templates”:[“html”,”input”],”old_classname”:””,”wrap_template”:”wrap”}];nfForms.push(form);

{{{ data.renderProgressBar() }}}
{{{ data.renderBreadcrumbs() }}}
{{{ data.renderPartTitle() }}}

{{{ data.title }}}

{{{ data.renderNextPrevious() }}}

{{{ ( part.errors ) ? ” : ” }}} {{{ part.title }}}

How Do You Pastor a Mob?

Those are just a few things that have helped me navigate the rough waters of our culture these days.

What’s helping you cope? What’s helping you set healthy boundaries?

How do you pastor a mob and still advance the mission?

Scroll down and leave a comment.

The post How to Pastor a Mob appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: How to Pastor a Mob

The post How to Pastor a Mob appeared first on Passion for Planting.

By Carey Nieuwhof: Francis Chan has become convicted that division in the church is escalating and causing deep harm. He also thinks it’s tied to the desire for celebrity and influence so many leaders have.

Francis also talks about racial division and his experience as an Asian-American who has been the target of discrimination.

Welcome to Episode 413 of the podcast. Listen and access the show notes below or search for the Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and listen for free.

Plus, in this episode’s What I’m Thinking About segment, Carey shares a few thoughts on unity, division and the Church.

Guest Links

Instagram | Twitter | Website

Episode Links

Pro Media Fire

Are you getting ready to hire a creative or digital staff member at your church?

You have two options:

Hire an internal staff member that is an expert one or two main areas.
Hire Pro Media Fire and get an entire team of experts for less than the cost of a professional staff hire.

With Pro Media Fire, you save on employee taxes and health insurance with internal staff. And, turnover becomes a thing of the past with a team that handles all your creative and digital needs.

The choice is yours—hire one person, or get an entire team of professionals providing digital strategy and a creative framework to help your church grow online. Teams win championships!

Book your free digital strategy session today at promediafire.com/churchgrowth.

Generis

Most churches have experienced stability in giving over the last year—that is some of the best news the team at Generis has heard during the pandemic.

But, a new concern is growing—will the other shoe drop in 2021? Will the economy shift? Will giving begin to trend down?

The truth is, whether it is next month, next year, or in five years, a shoe will drop, the economy will shift, and there will always be a new mission, need, or challenge that will require resources. It’s just a part of the natural ebb and flow of church finance. So, wouldn’t it be great if you could be prepared by understanding how healthy your church is no matter what financial reality you might face?

The team at Generis is offering a FREE opportunity for church leaders of this podcast to do exactly that with their Generosity Pulse Report.

Think of the Generosity Pulse Report as a quick snapshot of the health of your culture of stewardship and giving. Wouldn’t it be super helpful to know where you stand today, identify what needs improvement, and what you can do to move the needle on greater generosity?

No matter what lies ahead with the economy, giving or that other shoe…now is a great time for financial clarity, and Generis can help you achieve it.

Schedule your FREE Generosity Pulse Report today, an exclusive offer for listeners of this podcast, by going to generis.com/carey.

Conversation Links

Until Unity by Francis Chan

Erasing Hell by Francis Chan

You and Me Forever by Francis Chan and Lisa Chan

Crazy Love by Francis Chan

Letters to the Church by Francis Chan

Forgotten God by Francis Chan

CNLP 313: Francis Chan Clarifies What’s Next for Him, Talks About the Impact of Social Media on Real People, Apologizes for the Confusion, and Talks About the Future of the U.S. Church

CNLP 218: Francis Chan on Battling Pride and Fame, Why He Left His Megachurch, and his Airbnb Church Experiment

ChurchPulse Weekly, Episode 038: Francis Chan, Part 1

Carey on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter

After the U.S. Election: 3 Things the Culture Needs Right Now That the Church Can Give by Carey Nieuwhof

*As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Insights From Francis

1. When it comes to racial justice, be quick to listen

During the interview, Francis talked about how he has been somewhat unaware of the depths of the struggles of the Native American people in America until a few days before the time of recording.  He’d went and stayed the night on a reservation. Going there, seeing how they live, and asking questions about them opened his eyes to their struggle.

He thinks that this year has started a listening and learning process for many similar to what he experienced, and would encourage all of us to lean in and listen to those with a different experience than us.

2. As Christian leaders, decreasing our own name is a great way forward

When Francis was serving the underground church in China, a Chinese pastor told him:

“You Americans keep thinking that you have to become popular to have an impact. But in China and the underground church, it was those who were most hidden that had the most impact, the greatest impact, because we couldn’t be found.”

This made Francis ask himself, “Could it be possible that me being quieter, and in the presence of God and doing more things that are unseen, will actually have a greater impact in lifting up the name of Jesus?”

As a Christian leader, ask yourself whose name you are working to increase. Yours, or Christ’s?

3. The Western Church is being deeply damaged by division and outrage

So much of the Western church has been hijacked by ideology, political division and outrage. This has caused pastors to blacklist each other, entire denominations to split repeatedly and nearly an entire generation to walk away from the church.

This isn’t helping the gospel reach more people. If we’re going to move forward, we need to move forward together—even if we disagree.

Quotes from Episode 413

No one ever hears the apology as loudly as they hear that initial biting, angry thought. @crazyloveClick To Tweet

If you feel nothing for people outside of your little circle, I’ve got to question whether the Spirit is in you. @crazyloveClick To Tweet

I think most leaders in America are thinking, ‘I must increase so that He can increase.’ We think it’s up to us. @crazyloveClick To Tweet

I had a very casual attitude towards Christian unity, and I think it’s because it just felt like it was impossible. @crazyloveClick To Tweet

I thought I was pretty sensitive to the Black Lives Matter movement. But you really can’t understand it ’til it’s you. @crazyloveClick To Tweet

It was the first time it really hit me and hurt me and it’s like, ‘So just because of my nationality?’ It was devastating. @crazyloveClick To Tweet

Anyone who pursues unity will be accused of, ‘Oh, you just want unity at the expense of truth.’ Well, would it be possible that you want both? @crazyloveClick To Tweet

Could it be possible that me being quieter, and being in the presence of God and doing more things that are unseen, will actually have a greater impact in lifting up the name of Jesus? @crazyloveClick To Tweet

It’s easier to be divisive than it is to be unifying.Click To Tweet

A blaming culture needs a confessing church.Click To Tweet

You’ll never address what you don’t confess.Click To Tweet

A divided nation needs a united church.Click To Tweet

If God has all the same opinions you do, you’re probably not worshiping God.Click To Tweet

In a divided culture, Christians should be the help and the hope, not the hate.Click To Tweet

Read or Download the Transcript for Episode 413

Looking for a key quote? More of a reader?

Read or download a free PDF transcript of this episode here.

WHAT WILL IMPACTFUL PREACHING LOOK LIKE IN THE FUTURE? 

Every time I preach, there are 10 things I check to make sure that my sermon is ready to go.

I outline those 10 things inside the Preaching Cheat Sheet.

If you want a step-by-step process to craft clear sermons that are relevant to your audience, this is for you.

The Preaching Cheat Sheet is just one small part of Mark Clark and I’s course The Art Of Better Preaching. If you want world class-training that will make your preaching better, you can find more information here.

Watch Back Episodes of The Podcast on YouTube

Select episodes of this podcast are now on YouTube. Our YouTube Channel gives you a chance to watch some episodes, not just listen.

SUBSCRIBED YET?

Subscribe for free and never miss out on wisdom from world-class leaders like Brian Houston, Andy Stanley, Craig Groeschel, Nancy Duarte, Henry Cloud, Patrick Lencioni, Francis Chan, Ann Voskamp, Erwin McManus and many others.

Subscribe using your favorite podcast app via

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Google Podcasts

Stitcher

TuneIn

Spread the Word. Leave a Rating and Review

Hopefully, this episode has helped you lead like never before. That’s my goal. If you appreciated it, could you share the love?

The best way to do that is to rate the podcast on Apple Podcasts and leave us a brief review! You can do the same on Stitcher and on TuneIn as well.

Your ratings and reviews help us place the podcast in front of new leaders and listeners. Your feedback also lets me know how I can better serve you.

Thank you for being so awesome.

Next Episode: Tim Keller

Tim Keller shares some personal reflections about his recent battle with pancreatic cancer and how it’s causing him to rethink his beliefs about God and suffering, drawing him even more deeply into truths he used to only partially understand. Tim also reflects on what a year of crisis has done to the church, and shares some thoughts on the future of the church, how culture has changed in the last year, and what needs to happen next.

Subscribe for free now so you won’t miss Episode 414.

The post CNLP 413: Francis Chan on Escalating Division, Asian Hate, and Why Influence in the Church Can’t Come from Self-Promotion appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: CNLP 413: Francis Chan on Escalating Division, Asian Hate, and Why Influence in the Church Can’t Come from Self-Promotion

The post CNLP 413: Francis Chan on Escalating Division, Asian Hate, and Why Influence in the Church Can’t Come from Self-Promotion appeared first on Passion for Planting.

By Carey Nieuwhof: After a year of leading through constant crisis, how are leaders supposed to cope?

Ian Morgan Cron and Carey catch up on how each Enneagram type reacts under stress and the difference between fake or strategic authenticity and true vulnerability.

Welcome to Episode 411 of the podcast. Listen and access the show notes below or search for the Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and listen for free.

Plus, in this episode’s What I’m Thinking About segment, Carey talks about why he finds personality assessments so helpful as a leader.

Guest Links

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Website

Episode Links

Pro Media Fire

Imagine waking up WOWED by the beautiful content you see on your social media platforms all week long.

Instagram and Facebook Stories filled with excitement. Custom graphics and animation to stop the scroll. And the best part is it is all done for you by the Pro Media Fire team.

You have two choices in 2021 when it comes to social media:

You or a team member can work day and night to keep up with social media strategy that constantly changes.
OR, you can hire Pro Media Fire, and get an entire team of experts that keep up with the trends to help you grow online.

The choice is yours—bury yourself in social media work, or hire an entire team to help you thrive online.

Book your social media management consultation today at promediafire.com/growth.

XPS 2021 By CDF Capital

If you’re a 2nd chair leader (Executive Pastor, Administrative Pastor, Operations Pastors) at a local church, you’re in an incredible spot of influence.

I’m privileged to have been a part of the Executive Pastor Summit (XPS), and I’d love to point you to this gathering of Exec Pastors that is led by CDF Capital, Exponential, and Leadership Network.

XPS is an annual innovative gathering of XP leaders looking to move their ministry forward.

Key voices shaping XPS this year include:

Ed Stetzer
Dan Reiland
Beth Ganem

The event is May 25-26 in Denver, Colorado. Sign up today, and connect with the sharpest men and women XP leaders in the country.

Learn more about XPS 2021 at welcome.cdfcapital.org/xps2021/.

Conversation Links

Typology Podcast

Typology Podcast: How Hidden Beliefs Impact Toni and Carey Nieuwhof’s Marriage

Typology Podcast: Seven Core Challenges of Leadership, feat. Carey Nieuwhof (Enneagram 8)

Typology Podcast: Carey Nieuwhof on the Enneagram and Self-Leadership, part 2 (Enneagram 8)

The Road Back to You by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile

CNLP 241: Ian Morgan Cron on Using Your Enneagram Number to Boost Self-Awareness, Spiritual Growth and Reduce Conflict at Work and at Home

CNLP 342: Ian Morgan Cron on How Your Enneagram Type Handles Stress, How to Stay Healthy in a Crisis, and the Best Approach to Dealing with Uncertainty

CNLP 278: Ian Morgan Cron on How Your Enneagram Profile Positions You for Burnout, Pride, Cynicism and Other Hidden Traps in Life and Leadership

RightPath Resources

Leading From Your Strengths Assessment

StrengthsFinder

The 6 Types of Working Genius

Intimacy with God by Thomas Keating

Carey’s Daily Email

*As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Insights From Ian

1. Take care of your basic needs if you want to fight anxiety

As a corporate consultant and therapist, Ian often gets calls from leaders who are dealing with some pretty intense anxiety in the moment, and they want him to help them stop being so anxious.

His first question to them is often, “What did you eat for breakfast?” Usually, the answer is, “Nothing.” Then, he asks, “How much water have you drank today?” Followed by, “When was the last time you exercised?” And, “How much sleep have you gotten the last three nights?” Usually, they’re struggling with three or four of those things, so he tells them to fix those issues and call him back. Seven times out of 10, this fixes their issue.

2. When you’re stressed, avoid the trap of managing rather than leading

When many leaders get stressed, they fall into the trap of managing rather than leading. You probably have great managers working under you as a leader. Ian recommends you let them do their job, and that you focus on leading them with vision and direction rather than micromanaging.

3. Loneliness is killing leaders

During the interview, Ian makes a point to recommend every single leader ask themselves, “Am I lonely?” With today’s technology, people are becoming more isolated, and loneliness has become an epidemic. Odds are, you or someone you know are being seriously impacted by loneliness.

To fight loneliness, Ian recommends having more spontaneous visits with old friends, more FaceTime calls with relatives and putting yourself into more social situations than you might be comfortable with. It might be uncomfortable in the short-term, but will pay off in the long.

Quotes from Episode 411

Don’t you know that when you try to be authentic, you’re automatically being inauthentic? @ianmorgancronClick To Tweet

Vulnerability is arguably the most important ingredient in forging great relationships. @ianmorgancronClick To Tweet

Embrace your powerlessness, and when you do that, you find power. @ianmorgancronClick To Tweet

Leaders can confuse vulnerability with weakness. @ianmorgancronClick To Tweet

When people panic, they stop leading. @ianmorgancronClick To Tweet

You want to have relationships? Start practicing vulnerability. @ianmorgancronClick To Tweet

Technology is set up to create addicts. @ianmorgancronClick To Tweet

We’re facing loneliness. And loneliness has reached epidemic proportions. @ianmorgancronClick To Tweet

A lot of leaders live with the myth of invincibility. @ianmorgancronClick To Tweet

You’ve got to lead people the way they want to be led.Click To Tweet

Self-awareness is spiritual awareness.Click To Tweet

Read or Download the Transcript for Episode 411

Looking for a key quote? More of a reader?

Read or download a free PDF transcript of this episode here.

GET YOUR LIFE BACK

Do you want to unlock more of your potential in life and leadership without sacrificing time with your family and your health?

Sounds crazy, but it’s not. I know because I’ve lived it. A few years back, I seriously crashed and burned because the demands on my time and life were bigger than the time I had to accomplish them. I promised myself that wouldn’t happen again.

Today, I still have bigger goals than ever before, but I’ve made fundamental changes that have led to a healthier, happier lifestyle without sacrificing my family and vastly increasing my productivity at work. I’ve taken what I’ve learned during this journey and put it into The High Impact Leader course.

You can complete the three-hour course at your own pace. It’s the most comprehensive content I’ve ever created for leaders to help you reclaim HOURS every day so you can become more effective at work and more present at home. When your time, energy, and priorities are all working together for you, it’ll impact everything you do.

You become a better leader, because you’re doing what you do best when you’re at your best
You become a better spouse, because you’re focused at home
You become a better parent, neighbor, and friend, because you actually have time off to relax and engage

These principles will free you to thrive in every area of your life.

You can learn more and gain instant access today.

Watch Back Episodes of The Podcast on YouTube

Select episodes of this podcast are now on YouTube. Our YouTube Channel gives you a chance to watch some episodes, not just listen.

SUBSCRIBED YET?

Subscribe for free and never miss out on wisdom from world-class leaders like Brian Houston, Andy Stanley, Craig Groeschel, Nancy Duarte, Henry Cloud, Patrick Lencioni, Francis Chan, Ann Voskamp, Erwin McManus and many others.

Subscribe using your favorite podcast app via

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Google Play

Stitcher

TuneIn

Spread the Word. Leave a Rating and Review

Hopefully, this episode has helped you lead like never before. That’s my goal. If you appreciated it, could you share the love?

The best way to do that is to rate the podcast on Apple Podcasts and leave us a brief review! You can do the same on Stitcher and on TuneIn as well.

Your ratings and reviews help us place the podcast in front of new leaders and listeners. Your feedback also lets me know how I can better serve you.

Thank you for being so awesome.

Next Episode: Annie F. Downs

Annie F. Downs returns to the podcast to talk about how she got her audience fully engaged in her book launch, which led to hitting the New York Times Bestsellers List. She unpacks how she gets her audience engaged in all her platforms, what she’s learned about podcasting and why hobbies and fun are lifelines for leaders.

Subscribe for free now so you won’t miss Episode 412.

The post CNLP 411: Ian Morgan Cron Explains How Your Enneagram Type Responds to Chronic Stress and the Difference Between Fake Authenticity and True Vulnerability appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: CNLP 411: Ian Morgan Cron Explains How Your Enneagram Type Responds to Chronic Stress and the Difference Between Fake Authenticity and True Vulnerability

The post CNLP 411: Ian Morgan Cron Explains How Your Enneagram Type Responds to Chronic Stress and the Difference Between Fake Authenticity and True Vulnerability appeared first on Passion for Planting.

By Carey Nieuwhof: Rick Warren opens up about the personal tragedy he’s experienced with the loss of his son, Matthew, the loss our culture has experienced and what he predicts will be a coming tsunami of grief as a result of everything people have been through.

Rick also explains how and why 2020 and 2021 have been the biggest and best years Saddleback has ever had and the opportunity the current moment presents to the church.

Note: Some of the details in this episode surrounding the death of Rick Warren’s son are deeply personal and listener discretion is advised with young audiences.

Welcome to Episode 409 of the podcast. Listen and access the show notes below or search for the Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and listen for free.

Plus, in this episode’s What I’m Thinking About segment, Carey talks about how you know when it’s time to leave.

Guest Links

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Website

Episode Links

Pro Media Fire

Are you looking to grow your online campus?

You have two choices in 2021 when it comes to digital:

You or a team member can work day and night to keep up with social media strategy that constantly changes.
You can hire Pro Media Fire, and get an entire team of experts that keep up with the trends to help you grow online.

The choice is yours—bury yourself in social media work, or hire an entire team to help your online campus thrive.

With Pro Media Fire, you save time and grow online, while your digital team does all the work.

Complete social media management and digital growth is just a few clicks away.

As a listener of our podcast, you receive 10% off at promediafire.com/carey.

Barna Cities – with Barna Group and Gloo

I know many church leaders, like you, are navigating massive shifts in culture and technology. It’s exhausting, but there’s hope.

Our friends at Barna and Gloo have been working hard to support pastors and church leaders like you.

Last year, Barna and Gloo launched an effort to equip the Church through the “State of the Church” research and toolkits. Over 25,000 churches benefited.

This year, Barna and Gloo are launching Barna Cities. It’s a year-long journey, and it’s uniquely local. With Barna Cities, you will have access to new local research from Barna, monthly forums and the City Toolkit which includes a full membership to Barna Access Plus with on-demand reports, insights and tools.

And, you’ll get GlooConnect—cooperative, always on ads that run across your city and make it easier for more people to discover your church and programs.

Barna and Gloo want you to know and move every person you serve—to connect people with your church and program that provides help and transformation.

Learn more at BarnaCities.com.

Conversation Links

Books by Rick Warren

The ChurchPulse Weekly Podcast

A Grief Observed by C. S. Lewis

Choose Joy by Kay Warren

Pastors.com

7 Signs It’s Time to Leave by Carey Nieuwhof

Carey’s Daily Email

*As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Insights From Rick

1. In America, Christians no longer get their primary identity from either Jesus or the church but, rather, through politics

The politicization of American Christians is a terrible problem. Rick points out, “If you know anything about church history, you know that every time the church has gotten in bed with government, it got pregnant. And it was a bad situation.”

Rick cautions pastors and churches against taking a partisan stance as a church. Just don’t do it.

2. If you’re afraid to talk about race in your church, start building trust with your congregation first

So many pastors have avoided the conversation about racism in America out of fear of the backlash that they will receive from the members of their church. It’s understandable, but Rick recommends you start by building trust with your people. Everything in leadership is built on trust, and if you have enough trust with those people, they will follow you into difficult spaces, even where they might initially disagree.

Once you build that trust, Rick recommends you start asking minorities to regularly share their stories of racism with your people.

3. Grief will be a huge door to evangelism over the next few years

Rick is convinced that we’re going to go through a tsunami of grief over the next couple of years.

Many people have lost many things—loved ones, the prom, their graduation, the birth of their first grandchild and many even missed important funerals. There’s so many things that people have lost that, when it finally catches up and they realize what they’ve lost, there will be a lot of grief.

This grief is going to be a front door for evangelism in the next few years, because so many people are dealing with this. As a pastor, you need to find a way to prepare your church to reach the grieving people around them.

Quotes from Episode 409

There is no success without growth. There is no growth without change. There is no change without loss. And there is no loss without pain. @RickWarrenClick To Tweet

Every time the church has gotten in bed with government, it got pregnant. And it was a bad situation. @RickWarrenClick To Tweet

Racism is a discipleship issue. Financial overspending is a discipleship issue. Political stereotyping bias is a discipleship issue. @RickWarrenClick To Tweet

In God’s garden of grace, even broken trees bear fruit. @RickWarrenClick To Tweet

Sometimes getting up and putting one foot in front of the other is a successful day for a pastor. @RickWarrenClick To Tweet

Ministry is received not achieved. @RickWarrenClick To Tweet

Before you can give people the truth, you’ve got to show them that you love them. @RickWarrenClick To Tweet

All leadership is built on trust. If people don’t trust you, they’re not going to follow you. @RickWarrenClick To Tweet

You don’t change people by laws. There’s no law that’s going to turn a bigot, a racist into a lover. @RickWarrenClick To Tweet

Many Christians started putting their faith in government to change society rather than the church. @RickWarrenClick To Tweet

You refill your cup by connecting with people you love. @RickWarrenClick To Tweet

You need to start treating yourself the way God does. @RickWarrenClick To Tweet

Routine develops resilience, and predictability creates stability. @RickWarrenClick To Tweet

The church has survived every dictator, every war, every pandemic. @RickWarrenClick To Tweet

We have to really remember that God has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that we are to be peacemakers. @RickWarrenClick To Tweet

A passionless leader is an ineffective leader.Click To Tweet

Read or Download the Transcript for Episode 409

Looking for a key quote? More of a reader?

Read or download a free PDF transcript of this episode here.

Watch Back Episodes of The Podcast on YouTube

Select episodes of this podcast are now on YouTube. Our YouTube Channel gives you a chance to watch some episodes, not just listen.

DIDN’T SEE IT COMING WILL HELP YOU SOLVE THE PROBLEMS MOST LEADERS MISS

If you want practical help overcoming some of the biggest challenges leaders face, my book Didn’t See It Coming: Overcoming the 7 Greatest Challenges That Nobody Expects and Everyone Experiences tackles the seven core issues that take people out: cynicism, compromise, disconnectedness, irrelevance, pride, burnout, and the emptiness of success and provides strategies on how to combat each.

I wrote the book because no 18 year old sets out to be cynical, jaded and disconnected by age 35. Yet it happens all the time.

The good news is, it doesn’t have to be that way.

Here’s what top leaders are saying about Didn’t See It Coming:

“Seriously, this may be the most important book you read this year.” Jud Wilhite, Lead Pastor, Central Church

“Powerful, personal, and highly readable. ” Brian Houston, Global Senior Pastor, Hillsong

“Whatever challenge you’re facing, whatever obstacle you’re hoping to overcome, whatever future you dream or imagine, there is something powerful for you here.” Andy Stanley, Founder, North Point Ministries

“Uncommonly perceptive and generous…You have to read this book.” Ann Voskamp, NYT bestselling author

“Masterful.” Reggie Joiner, CEO Orange

“Deep biblical insight, straightforward truth, and practical wisdom to help you grow.” Craig Groeschel, Pastor and NYT bestselling author

“This book is sure to help you.” Daniel H. Pink, NYT bestselling author

Over the years, one of the things I’ve enjoyed most about being a public speaker is having opportunities to hang out with Carey…It’s not a matter of if you’ll run into these challenges; it’s a matter of when. Be prepared by spending a little time with a leader who has already been there.” Jon Acuff, NYT best-selling author

“Nieuwhof’s book provides expert guidance…with an accuracy that pierces the heart.” Nancy Duarte, CEO Duarte Inc.

“A refreshingly transparent guide for all leaders in a wide variety of industries.” Bryan Miles, Co-Founder and CEO, BELAY

You can learn more and get your copy of Didn’t See It Coming here.

SUBSCRIBED YET?

Subscribe for free and never miss out on wisdom from world-class leaders like Brian Houston, Andy Stanley, Craig Groeschel, Nancy Duarte, Henry Cloud, Patrick Lencioni, Francis Chan, Ann Voskamp, Erwin McManus and many others.

Subscribe using your favorite podcast app via

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Google Play

Stitcher

TuneIn

Spread the Word. Leave a Rating and Review

Hopefully, this episode has helped you lead like never before. That’s my goal. If you appreciated it, could you share the love?

The best way to do that is to rate the podcast on Apple Podcasts and leave us a brief review! You can do the same on Stitcher and on TuneIn as well.

Your ratings and reviews help us place the podcast in front of new leaders and listeners. Your feedback also lets me know how I can better serve you.

Thank you for being so awesome.

Next Episode: John Ramstead

John Ramstead shares leadership skills drawn from flight school and from the cockpit of F-14A Tomcat fighter jet and shares principles that apply to all crisis leadership. After suffering three life-altering injuries, John also talks about how to be resilient in the face of suffering and setbacks.

Subscribe for free now so you won’t miss Episode 410.

The post CNLP 409: Rick Warren Opens Up About the Coming Tsunami of Grief, Handling Personal Tragedy, and How Saddleback Grew During the Pandemic appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: CNLP 409: Rick Warren Opens Up About the Coming Tsunami of Grief, Handling Personal Tragedy, and How Saddleback Grew During the Pandemic

The post CNLP 409: Rick Warren Opens Up About the Coming Tsunami of Grief, Handling Personal Tragedy, and How Saddleback Grew During the Pandemic appeared first on Passion for Planting.

By Carey Nieuwhof: Craig Groeschel returns to talk about what he’s learned in the last year about church attendance, how to lead your team well when everyone has strong (and divergent) opinions, why he’s gone 100% in on digital church and 100% in on physical church, and how he’s winning the war in his mind.

Welcome to Episode 397 of the podcast. Listen and access the show notes below or search for the Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and listen for free.

Plus, in this episode’s What I’m Thinking About segment, Carey talks about disruptive church trends that will rule 2021 (part 1).

Guest Links

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Website

Episode Links

Pro Media Fire

Are you getting ready to hire a creative or digital staff member at your church?

There are two options:

Hire an internal staff member that is an expert in one or two main areas.
Hire Pro Media Fire and get an entire team of experts for less than the cost of a professional staff hire.

With Pro Media Fire, you save on employee taxes and health insurance with internal staff. And turnover becomes a thing of the past with a team that handles all your creative and digital needs.

The choice is yours, hire one person or get an entire team of professionals providing digital strategy and a creative framework to help your church grow online.

Teams win championships!

Book a free strategy session today at promediafire.com/churchgrowth.

Convoy of Hope

Convoy of Hope is a Christian humanitarian organization that exists to bring hope to the hungry through feeding initiatives, disaster response, women’s empowerment and agricultural training, empowering others to live with greater independence and freedom from poverty, disease and hunger.

In 2020, Convoy of Hope delivered 150 million meals to those affected by COVID-19, all in partnership with the local church.

Thousands of churches around the U.S. partner with Convoy of Hope to help those in need in their local community. You and your church can, too.

Convoy is one of the most trusted non-profit Christian humanitarian organizations in the world. They take your dollars and stretch it into 6 dollars because of their partnerships with companies like Wal-Mart, The Home Depot, Culligan, Nestle Water, Bass Pro Shops and more.

You can bring hope to the hurting and hungry by texting COH to 68828, or visit convoyofhope.org to donate.

Conversation Links

Winning the War in Your Mind by Craig Groeschel

The Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast

Life.Church

Dangerous Prayers by Craig Groeschel

Divine Direction by Craig Groeschel

Hope in the Dark by Craig Groeschel

Liking Jesus by Craig Groeschel

CNLP 173: Craig Groeschel Deconstructs His Approach to Preaching, Leadership, Success, the Future and More

CNLP 319: Craig Groeschel on What He’s Learning From His Performance Coach, How to Handle High Demand Leadership, and How to Avoid Entitlement in Leadership

CNLP 052: How Craig Groeschel Stays Healthy, Relevant and Passionate in Ministry

CNLP 228: Craig Groeschel on Handling the Pain That Comes with Life and Leadership, How God Can Redeem Self-Inflicted Pain and Bring Hope in the Dark of Personal Suffering

CNLP 207: Bobby Gruenewald on Leveraging First Mover Advantage, Innovation, AI, Technology and the Future Church

8 Disruptive Church Trends That Will Rule 2021 (The Rise of the Post-Pandemic Church) by Carey Nieuwhof

*As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Insights From Craig

1. As a leader, you can have extreme views but you need extreme empathy for those who disagree

The COVID-19 pandemic has likely revealed how far apart the views of some of your staff are. Mask or no mask, gather or not, all of these issues are highly-polarized, and as a leader, you need to be able to speak to and empathize with people on both extremes. If you can’t respect other people’s views, you’ll never be able to lead them.

2. Truly engaging people online takes a lot more work

There’s a lot to question when it comes to online attendance and results. Do online views count? Yes. But how you count them and how you engage with those viewers on a deeper level is difficult to know. Both Carey and Craig tend to be conservative in how they count online numbers and think you need to go beyond just views.

3. Go in 100% on online and 100% on in-person

As you build out the future of your church, there is opportunity both online and in-person. To capitalize on both places, Craig and his team are going 100% in on online and 100% in on in-person church services. He recommends that you be honest about the strengths and weaknesses of both ways to gather.

4. When it comes to models, be FOR what you are but not against what you aren’t

So many pastors cast stones at churches that don’t share the same model as them. Craig points out that there are strengths to large gatherings and strengths to micro-gatherings. Moving forward, be positive about the model that’s working for you, but don’t be against the model that you isn’t.

5. To have a great organization, get over your preferences

Over the years, Craig has learned that if he wants their organization to grow, he needs to be willing to give up more of his preferences for the sake of empowering others to make those decisions. He’s learned this through a lot of pain and anonymous 360 reviews. The longer he’s led, the less confident in his own preferences he’s become.

Quotes from Episode 397

Your life and leadership are always moving in the direction of your strongest thoughts. @craiggroeschelClick To Tweet

Be what you are without being against what you’re not. @craiggroeschelClick To Tweet

If you’re small minded, you’re always going to have a limited impact. @craiggroeschelClick To Tweet

Online is a higher priority, and it should be for everyone doing any form of ministry and leadership moving forward. @craiggroeschelClick To Tweet

If you don’t like what you have, change the way you think. @craiggroeschelClick To Tweet

Whatever you lead is a reflection of the thoughts you think. People may not ever hear you say it or think your inner dialogue, but they’re going to feel it. @craiggroeschelClick To Tweet

To have a great organization, you have to get over your preferences. @craiggroeschelClick To Tweet

We have to fight as leaders not to be overly optimistic or overly discouraged, but just tell the truth. @craiggroeschelClick To Tweet

You have to lead with grace, understanding and an explanation. @craiggroeschelClick To Tweet

Crisis leadership is not as hard as you think. There are some basics: You have to communicate over and over again. You have to bring the why behind everything that you’re doing. @craiggroeschelClick To Tweet

If we value the church gathering, then we may still stream our content but our strategy of how we engage people needs to be different. @craiggroeschelClick To Tweet

The number of people participating in the mission who are not in the building on a Sunday will surpass the number of people participating in the mission.Click To Tweet

In the post-pandemic church, your most engaged people may not be in the room.Click To Tweet

In the post-pandemic church, growing churches will shift their focus from gathering to connecting.Click To Tweet

Some pastors will try to fill auditoriums while others focus on fulfilling the mission.Click To Tweet

Full auditoriums do not guarantee a fulfilled mission.Click To Tweet

Read or Download the Transcript for Episode 397

Looking for a key quote? More of a reader?

Read or download a free PDF transcript of this episode here.

Watch Back Episodes of The Podcast on YouTube

Select episodes of this podcast are now on YouTube. Our YouTube Channel gives you a chance to watch some episodes, not just listen.

Help Your Team Crush Their Goals As You Move Into The Future

It’s never been more important for your organization to hit your goals. It’s also never been more difficult.

Lead a Better Team is the step-by-step approach to:

Get far better results with the same team
Create a system of accountability so you can actually achieve the goals you set; and
Boost the performance of your staff so you can stop micromanaging

All while freeing up time for you to do what you do best.

The best part? You’ll learn how you can do this even if you’re leading a virtual team.

Get instant access to Lead a Better Team here, and take your team to the next level.

SUBSCRIBED YET?

Subscribe for free and never miss out on wisdom from world-class leaders like Brian Houston, Andy Stanley, Craig Groeschel, Nancy Duarte, Henry Cloud, Patrick Lencioni, Francis Chan, Ann Voskamp, Erwin McManus and many others.

Subscribe using your favorite podcast app via

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Google Play

Stitcher

TuneIn

Spread the Word. Leave a Rating and Review

Hopefully, this episode has helped you lead like never before. That’s my goal. If you appreciated it, could you share the love?

The best way to do that is to rate the podcast on Apple Podcasts and leave us a brief review! You can do the same on Stitcher and on TuneIn as well.

Your ratings and reviews help us place the podcast in front of new leaders and listeners. Your feedback also lets me know how I can better serve you.

Thank you for being so awesome.

Next Episode: Christy Nockels

Christy Nockels has been singing in front of tens of thousands of people since she was 19. She shares the best and hardest parts of life on the road, how she dealt with a life-altering bout of burnout, how to work with your spouse and what she thinks the future of live events and the music industry might look like.

Subscribe for free now so you won’t miss Episode 398.

The post CNLP 397: Craig Groeschel on the Future of Church Attendance, How to Lead Well When Everyone Has Different Opinions, and on Winning the War in Your Mind appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: CNLP 397: Craig Groeschel on the Future of Church Attendance, How to Lead Well When Everyone Has Different Opinions, and on Winning the War in Your Mind

The post CNLP 397: Craig Groeschel on the Future of Church Attendance, How to Lead Well When Everyone Has Different Opinions, and on Winning the War in Your Mind appeared first on Passion for Planting.

By Carey Nieuwhof: Chances are a big chunk of what you’re going to do today in leadership is think.

Really, thinking is a big slice of what any leader is paid to do.

You try to solve problems, analyze opportunities, listen, facilitate and chart paths.

And this last year has likely required more thinking from you as a leader than the entire decade before it.

As a result, you’ve probably noticed that how you think will determine how well you lead.

Not surprisingly, there are four kinds of ways leaders commonly think that can actually damage your leadership.

You See It All The Time

Sometimes all we need to do is put language to things we see.

I’ve just been keeping notes on the kinds of thinking to which various leaders default. So this post isn’t scientifically about anyone, but if you’re like me, as you read through this list, specific people will come to mind.

I’d encourage you to focus on your own thinking, rather than theirs.

Nobody Intends to Sabotage Themselves

Few people intend to sabotage their leadership. They don’t plant landmines throughout their day and wait for them to go off. But let’s be honest. Many leaders end up sabotaging themselves every day despite their best intentions.

Intent has little to do with effectiveness.

When you and I can see how certain patterns of thinking trip us (and others) up, progress becomes easier.

Here are 4 kinds of thinking that can sabotage your leadership and have often tripped up mine:

Intent has little to do with effectiveness.Click To Tweet

1. Undigested Thinking

As a leader, I hate to admit I see this all the time in the church. You’ve seen it too.

Someone goes to a conference and comes away with two good ideas. Then they go to another conference and come away with three more. Add a dozen podcasts, blog posts, webinars and books into the mix, and they end up with a 9 raw ideas they’re intrigued with.

And then they make their critical mistake.

They implement the ideas without thinking much further about it.

And here’s the problem.

None of the ideas are compatible with each other.

Some of them directly compete with each other.

No idea is fully integrated into their existing model of ministry (which might actually be scrambled eggs to start with).

They didn’t digest any of it, synthesize any of it or even critically process it.

They leave their followers confused. And their systems dis-integrated (literally).

2. Overthinking

This is a leadership epidemic, especially in the church. I’m guilty of this sometimes.

Leaders often overthink issues.

They think about:

Everything that could go wrong

Who might feel left out

Why it might not work

How much it could cost

And they often wrongly believe they:

Need a bullet-proof plan before they start

Have to have every potential problem worked through before they begin

Should plan for every contingency ‘just in case’

Hey, in a perfect world that would be awesome. But last time I checked, this wasn’t much of a perfect world.

Great leaders often have a bias for action (I wrote about that here). Overthinking kills action.

If you want to be challenged to stop overthinking issues, read this account of how Sir Richard Branson started Virgin Airlines. It might freak you out, but it will show you why he has been so successful.

When it comes to church leadership, I believe we overthink. The pendulum has swung too far. It’s time to start acting.

Great leaders often have a bias for action. Overthinking kills action.Click To Tweet

3. Indecisive Thinking

The indecisive thinker may have some well-digested thoughts, and might even be ready to act.

But they come to a fatal point in the road.

They have usually narrowed the options to two, but they just can’t pull the trigger. And they really have no idea why.

I’ll tell you why I think leaders end up being indecisive.

One word: FEAR.

If you’re an indecisive thinker, drill down on your fear and you’ll find your future.

Don’t rest until you ask yourself “What am I afraid of?” Seriously, answer that. If you can’t, ask others. Go sit with a counsellor. Pray. Fast. Do what you need to do.

Keep asking. Don’t stop until you get a real, honest answer.

Then when you get an answer, take your fear to God in prayer until it no longer owns you.

Great leadership isn’t the absence of fear, it’s the courage to push through it.

Figuring out your fear and pushing through it will kill your indecision for good.

Great leadership isn’t the absence of fear, it’s the courage to push through it.Click To Tweet

4. Underthinking

I put this last because I think it’s a problem in the church, but because the church is dominated by overthinkers, most would criticize anyone who underthinks.

Sure, sometimes leadership is poor because leaders have underthought an issue – or underprayed it.  But like I said, that doesn’t often happen.

Do you think Paul pre-thought the explosion of the early church through to its conclusion before he started out on his first mission trip? Nope. He just went, and was blown away by what God did.

If you really sit down and talk to successful (and faithful) leaders, they will tell you they are the most surprised at what happened. All they did was start. They knew they didn’t quite know what they were doing, but they acted while everyone else sat in a boat and watched someone else walk on water.

Entrepreneurial business leaders are often more likely to underthink things, but I still applaud their efforts. And a surprising number of times, they go on to succeed anyway.

In the church world, few have underthought their future. Far too many have underacted on it.

If you really sit down and talk to successful (and faithful) leaders, they will tell you they are the most surprised at what happened. All they did was start.Click To Tweet

What’s Your Next Step?

Normally this is where the blogger-type-person says “what about you, what do you think?” and “leave a comment” (which you can certainly do).

But today I want to challenge you to work through this.

Seriously. Which kind of thinker are you?

And then consider taking this to your team or board. Because the truth is as much as you have a bias toward kind of thinking that sabotage your leadership, so does your organization.

There is a ‘group think’ that has developed among your organization that shapes your culture.

Do you generally overthink or underthink?

Are you indecisive?

Does fear rule you?

Are you trigger happy with undigested thoughts?

Work this through, and we’ll all be better off. So will our organization and the people we lead.

That’s what I’m going to do.

Notice: JavaScript is required for this content.

/* FORM STYLES */

#nf-form-40-cont .nf-form-title h3 {
font-size:35pt;
}

/* FIELDS STYLES */

.nf-form-content .nf-field-container #nf-field-550-wrap {
display:block;
}

TODO: Move to Template File.
var formDisplay=1;var nfForms=nfForms||[];var form=[];form.id=’40’;form.settings={“objectType”:”Form Setting”,”editActive”:true,”title”:”Lead a Better Team – Lead Copy”,”show_title”:0,”allow_public_link”:0,”public_link”:”https://careynieuwhof.com/ninja-forms/40qok7″,”embed_form”:””,”clear_complete”:1,”hide_complete”:1,”default_label_pos”:”above”,”wrapper_class”:””,”element_class”:””,”key”:””,”add_submit”:1,”changeEmailErrorMsg”:”Please enter a valid email address!”,”changeDateErrorMsg”:”Please enter a valid date!”,”confirmFieldErrorMsg”:”These fields must match!”,”fieldNumberNumMinError”:”Number Min Error”,”fieldNumberNumMaxError”:”Number Max Error”,”fieldNumberIncrementBy”:”Please increment by “,”formErrorsCorrectErrors”:”Please correct errors before submitting this form.”,”validateRequiredField”:”This is a required field.”,”honeypotHoneypotError”:”Honeypot Error”,”fieldsMarkedRequired”:”Fields marked with an * are required”,”currency”:””,”unique_field_error”:”A form with this value has already been submitted.”,”logged_in”:false,”not_logged_in_msg”:””,”sub_limit_msg”:”The form has reached its submission limit.”,”calculations”:[],”container_styles_border”:””,”container_styles_height”:””,”container_styles_margin”:””,”container_styles_padding”:””,”container_styles_float”:””,”container_styles_show_advanced_css”:0,”title_styles_border”:””,”title_styles_height”:””,”title_styles_width”:””,”title_styles_font-size”:”35″,”title_styles_margin”:””,”title_styles_padding”:””,”title_styles_float”:””,”title_styles_show_advanced_css”:0,”row_styles_border”:””,”row_styles_width”:””,”row_styles_font-size”:””,”row_styles_margin”:””,”row_styles_padding”:””,”row_styles_show_advanced_css”:0,”row-odd_styles_border”:””,”row-odd_styles_height”:””,”row-odd_styles_width”:””,”row-odd_styles_font-size”:””,”row-odd_styles_margin”:””,”row-odd_styles_padding”:””,”row-odd_styles_show_advanced_css”:0,”success-msg_styles_border”:””,”success-msg_styles_height”:””,”success-msg_styles_width”:””,”success-msg_styles_font-size”:””,”success-msg_styles_margin”:””,”success-msg_styles_padding”:””,”success-msg_styles_show_advanced_css”:0,”error_msg_styles_border”:””,”error_msg_styles_width”:””,”error_msg_styles_font-size”:””,”error_msg_styles_margin”:””,”error_msg_styles_padding”:””,”error_msg_styles_show_advanced_css”:0,”conditions”:[],”formContentData”:[{“order”:1,”cells”:[{“order”:0,”fields”:[“boost_your_team_s_productivity_and_hit_your_goals_1597338105384″],”width”:”100″}]}],”public_link_key”:”40qok7″,”drawerDisabled”:false,”ninjaForms”:”Ninja Forms”,”fieldTextareaRTEInsertLink”:”Insert Link”,”fieldTextareaRTEInsertMedia”:”Insert Media”,”fieldTextareaRTESelectAFile”:”Select a file”,”formHoneypot”:”If you are a human seeing this field, please leave it empty.”,”fileUploadOldCodeFileUploadInProgress”:”File Upload in Progress.”,”fileUploadOldCodeFileUpload”:”FILE UPLOAD”,”currencySymbol”:”$”,”thousands_sep”:”,”,”decimal_point”:”.”,”siteLocale”:”en_US”,”dateFormat”:”m/d/Y”,”startOfWeek”:”0″,”of”:”of”,”previousMonth”:”Previous Month”,”nextMonth”:”Next Month”,”months”:[“January”,”February”,”March”,”April”,”May”,”June”,”July”,”August”,”September”,”October”,”November”,”December”],”monthsShort”:[“Jan”,”Feb”,”Mar”,”Apr”,”May”,”Jun”,”Jul”,”Aug”,”Sep”,”Oct”,”Nov”,”Dec”],”weekdays”:[“Sunday”,”Monday”,”Tuesday”,”Wednesday”,”Thursday”,”Friday”,”Saturday”],”weekdaysShort”:[“Sun”,”Mon”,”Tue”,”Wed”,”Thu”,”Fri”,”Sat”],”weekdaysMin”:[“Su”,”Mo”,”Tu”,”We”,”Th”,”Fr”,”Sa”],”currency_symbol”:””,”beforeForm”:””,”beforeFields”:””,”afterFields”:””,”afterForm”:””};form.fields=[{“objectType”:”Field”,”objectDomain”:”fields”,”editActive”:false,”order”:1,”label”:”BOOST YOUR TEAM’S PRODUCTIVITY AND HIT YOUR GOALS”,”type”:”html”,”default”:”

HOW TO BOOST YOUR TEAM’S PRODUCTIVITY AND PERFORMANCEnnn

Have you ever thought the only way to get better results is to micromanage your team, do the important work yourself or even start over again and get a whole new team?nnn

In this free two-part video teaching series, you’ll learn: nnnnnnA system of accountability to help your team actually achieve the goals you setnnnHow to deepen employee engagement by creating a productive team culturenn

nnnnnnn

“,”container_class”:””,”element_class”:””,”wrap_styles_background-color”:””,”wrap_styles_border”:0,”wrap_styles_border-style”:””,”wrap_styles_border-color”:””,”wrap_styles_width”:””,”wrap_styles_margin”:””,”wrap_styles_padding”:””,”wrap_styles_display”:”block”,”wrap_styles_float”:””,”wrap_styles_show_advanced_css”:0,”label_styles_border”:””,”label_styles_width”:””,”label_styles_font-size”:””,”label_styles_margin”:””,”label_styles_padding”:””,”label_styles_float”:””,”label_styles_show_advanced_css”:0,”element_styles_border”:””,”element_styles_width”:””,”element_styles_font-size”:””,”element_styles_margin”:””,”element_styles_padding”:””,”element_styles_float”:””,”element_styles_show_advanced_css”:0,”cellcid”:”c8032″,”key”:”boost_your_team_s_productivity_and_hit_your_goals_1597338105384″,”drawerDisabled”:false,”id”:550,”beforeField”:””,”afterField”:””,”value”:”

HOW TO BOOST YOUR TEAM’S PRODUCTIVITY AND PERFORMANCEnnn

Have you ever thought the only way to get better results is to micromanage your team, do the important work yourself or even start over again and get a whole new team?nnn

In this free two-part video teaching series, you’ll learn: nnnnnnA system of accountability to help your team actually achieve the goals you setnnnHow to deepen employee engagement by creating a productive team culturenn

nnnnnnn

“,”label_pos”:”above”,”parentType”:”html”,”element_templates”:[“html”,”input”],”old_classname”:””,”wrap_template”:”wrap”}];nfForms.push(form);

The post 4 Types Of Thinking That Will Sabatage Your Leadership appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: 4 Types Of Thinking That Will Sabatage Your Leadership

The post 4 Types Of Thinking That Will Sabatage Your Leadership appeared first on Passion for Planting.

By Cary Nieuwhof: Feel like you need some encouragement?

Doesn’t every leader right about now…?

Most of what’s come at you in the last year has been discouraging…criticism from every side, events that are completely out of your control, operating in anything but ideal conditions. It’s a long list if you think about it.

So, this short post is designed to do one thing: Encourage you.

I love the word encouragement.

As a young leader, I never knew what to do with encouragement. Discount it? Shrug it off? Live for it?

I think I did all of the above.

But, the longer I’ve led, the more I realize how valuable encouragement is.

Think about the etymology.

To encourage someone literally means to give courage to them. Encouragement derives from an old French word that means ‘to make strong’ or ‘hearten.’

So, in the hopes of encouraging you and your team, here are some rather invisible things you’re doing really well right now as you’re leading.

To encourage someone literally means to give courage to them.

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

1. You Haven’t Quit

Some of the most important moments of leadership have come for me when, discouraged, someone pulls up alongside me, puts their hand on my shoulder, looks me in the eye and says, “Hang in there.”

When I’ve hung in there, I’ve never regretted it.

So, leader, you’re hanging in there. You’ve made it this far. You haven’t quit.

I’m not saying you can never quit. But here’s a good rule: Never quit on a bad day.

If you’re going to quit, quit on a good day.

Never quit on a bad day. If you’re going to quit, quit on a good day.

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

Then, at least you have a level head, have thought about it, prayed about it and hopefully talked to some really wise friends.

You haven’t quit. And, that thing you’re developing, as a result, has a name. It’s called resilience.

You haven’t quit. And, that thing you’re developing, as a result, has a name. It’s called resilience.

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

2. You’re Learning to Lead in Constant Uncertainty

Remember predictability in leadership? You could look ahead six months and have a relatively clear idea what was going to happen.

That, of course, is completely gone.

You’ve had to lead through crisis and are still facing tremendous uncertainty ahead…uncertainty that’s likely to remain for a while longer, even after the pandemic ends.

In the midst of it, perhaps without even noticing it, you’re developing an agility you’ve never known before.

In uncertainty, agility is ability and flexibility is a superpower.

Hint: Agility is an incredible skill to keep honing in leadership. Agile leaders have done better than inflexible leaders for years. In a highly disrupted world, they’ll do even better.

In uncertainty, agility is ability and flexibility is a superpower.

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

3. You’re Navigating Deep Divisions and Forging Unity

Every leader I’ve talked to tells me how hard it’s been navigating the division, tribalization and polarization that’s happening among the people you lead.

Numerous pastors have told me they’ve had to break up public arguments among staff, board members and even prayer team members. Wow.

This too, I hope, will pass.

One of the tasks of leadership is to bring diverse groups together around a common mission and purpose.

The Gospel unites what politics and prejudice often divide.

The Gospel unites what politics and prejudice often divide.

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

I’m guessing all the division is driving you deeper and deeper into the true mission of the church. That’s never a bad thing.

A divided nation needs a united church.

You’re leading toward that. Way to go.

4. You’re Bringing Hope

Hope is what people need right now, and hope is so hard to find.

Church leaders, you’re bringing it.

I know sometimes you look out on a Sunday and see 30% of the people who used to be in the room. Or, you can’t even get in a room with people, so you just look into the lens of a camera.

But, you’re bringing hope.

Every person who watches that video or stops on your post needs it.

Every person you see in those distanced chairs hungers for it.

And every person you’re trying to reach has no idea what they’re missing.

You’re bringing hope. Keep bringing it.

Hope is what people need right now, and hope is so hard to find. Church leaders, you’re bringing it.

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

5. You’re Deepening Your Faith

You probably don’t even realize it, but your faith is growing.

That’s what crisis does. It forces you to stop relying on yourself and start trusting God at a much deeper level.

I know it’s hard.

But, it’s like deciding you’re going to train for a 5k.  At first, it’s painful, you end up walking 2km of your ‘run’ and you’re so sore you need to stretch five times later that day.

The next day hardly feels easier, and now you’re running sore and through shin splints, but it’s done.

Fast forward to six months later, and you’ve just set a personal best and the endorphins kick in halfway through. Yeah, you’re tired when you’re done. But you’re so much further ahead than you were six months earlier.

Your faith is growing.

Your trust is deepening.

And, your reliance on God is probably more profound than you realize.

Keep going.

Crisis forces you to stop relying on yourself and start trusting God at a much deeper level.

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

6. You’re Learning New Skills

Every leader ends up in ruts…at least I do.

And right now, you’re learning new skills at a rate you may not have learned them in years.

Take online ministry for example. You probably feel out of your depth. You may be disappointed by the results.

But you’re doing a new thing.

That’s actually rewiring your brain and making you stronger. Cognitive and social engagement have even been shown to protect against cognitive decline as you age.

Whether you continue to do everything you’re doing now or not, you’re growing, stretching and learning.

That has long term benefits no matter what’s ahead.

Notice: JavaScript is required for this content.

/* FORM STYLES */

#nf-form-50-cont .nf-form-title h3 {
font-size:35pt;
}

/* FIELDS STYLES */

.nf-form-content .nf-field-container #nf-field-595-wrap {
display:block;
}

TODO: Move to Template File.
var formDisplay=1;var nfForms=nfForms||[];var form=[];form.id=’50’;form.settings={“objectType”:”Form Setting”,”editActive”:true,”title”:”The Art of Better Preaching – End of Blog”,”default_label_pos”:”above”,”show_title”:”0″,”clear_complete”:”1″,”hide_complete”:”1″,”logged_in”:””,”wrapper_class”:””,”element_class”:””,”key”:””,”add_submit”:”1″,”currency”:””,”unique_field_error”:”A form with this value has already been submitted.”,”not_logged_in_msg”:””,”sub_limit_msg”:”The form has reached its submission limit.”,”calculations”:[],”container_styles_show_advanced_css”:”0″,”title_styles_show_advanced_css”:”0″,”row_styles_show_advanced_css”:”0″,”row-odd_styles_show_advanced_css”:”0″,”success-msg_styles_show_advanced_css”:”0″,”error_msg_styles_show_advanced_css”:”0″,”conditions”:[],”formContentData”:[{“order”:1,”cells”:[{“order”:0,”fields”:[“the_preaching_cheat_sheet_1603377863588″],”width”:”100″}]}],”changeEmailErrorMsg”:”Please enter a valid email address!”,”changeDateErrorMsg”:”Please enter a valid date!”,”confirmFieldErrorMsg”:”These fields must match!”,”fieldNumberNumMinError”:”Number Min Error”,”fieldNumberNumMaxError”:”Number Max Error”,”fieldNumberIncrementBy”:”Please increment by “,”formErrorsCorrectErrors”:”Please correct errors before submitting this form.”,”validateRequiredField”:”This is a required field.”,”honeypotHoneypotError”:”Honeypot Error”,”fieldsMarkedRequired”:”Fields marked with an * are required”,”drawerDisabled”:false,”container_styles_border”:””,”container_styles_height”:””,”container_styles_margin”:””,”container_styles_padding”:””,”container_styles_float”:””,”title_styles_border”:””,”title_styles_height”:””,”title_styles_width”:””,”title_styles_font-size”:”35″,”title_styles_margin”:””,”title_styles_padding”:””,”title_styles_float”:””,”row_styles_border”:””,”row_styles_width”:””,”row_styles_font-size”:””,”row_styles_margin”:””,”row_styles_padding”:””,”row-odd_styles_border”:””,”row-odd_styles_height”:””,”row-odd_styles_width”:””,”row-odd_styles_font-size”:””,”row-odd_styles_margin”:””,”row-odd_styles_padding”:””,”success-msg_styles_border”:””,”success-msg_styles_height”:””,”success-msg_styles_width”:””,”success-msg_styles_font-size”:””,”success-msg_styles_margin”:””,”success-msg_styles_padding”:””,”error_msg_styles_border”:””,”error_msg_styles_width”:””,”error_msg_styles_font-size”:””,”error_msg_styles_margin”:””,”error_msg_styles_padding”:””,”allow_public_link”:0,”embed_form”:””,”public_link”:”https://careynieuwhof.com/ninja-forms/50wmda”,”public_link_key”:”50wmda”,”ninjaForms”:”Ninja Forms”,”fieldTextareaRTEInsertLink”:”Insert Link”,”fieldTextareaRTEInsertMedia”:”Insert Media”,”fieldTextareaRTESelectAFile”:”Select a file”,”formHoneypot”:”If you are a human seeing this field, please leave it empty.”,”fileUploadOldCodeFileUploadInProgress”:”File Upload in Progress.”,”fileUploadOldCodeFileUpload”:”FILE UPLOAD”,”currencySymbol”:”$”,”thousands_sep”:”,”,”decimal_point”:”.”,”siteLocale”:”en_US”,”dateFormat”:”m/d/Y”,”startOfWeek”:”0″,”of”:”of”,”previousMonth”:”Previous Month”,”nextMonth”:”Next Month”,”months”:[“January”,”February”,”March”,”April”,”May”,”June”,”July”,”August”,”September”,”October”,”November”,”December”],”monthsShort”:[“Jan”,”Feb”,”Mar”,”Apr”,”May”,”Jun”,”Jul”,”Aug”,”Sep”,”Oct”,”Nov”,”Dec”],”weekdays”:[“Sunday”,”Monday”,”Tuesday”,”Wednesday”,”Thursday”,”Friday”,”Saturday”],”weekdaysShort”:[“Sun”,”Mon”,”Tue”,”Wed”,”Thu”,”Fri”,”Sat”],”weekdaysMin”:[“Su”,”Mo”,”Tu”,”We”,”Th”,”Fr”,”Sa”],”currency_symbol”:””,”beforeForm”:””,”beforeFields”:””,”afterFields”:””,”afterForm”:””};form.fields=[{“objectType”:”Field”,”objectDomain”:”fields”,”editActive”:false,”order”:1,”label”:””,”type”:”html”,”default”:”

engage your congregation and reach the unchurched with the art of better preaching

Whether you’re preaching into a camera or in front of an audience, the core principles of sermon preparation and excellent preaching never change.

If you’re ready to start preaching better sermons and reach the unchurched without selling out, then it’s time to start using the right tips, lessons and strategies communicating better.

The Art Of Better Preaching is a 12 session video training (and comprehensive workbook) that will help you create, write and deliver more engaging sermons. It’s the lessons that Mark Clark (Lead Pastor of Village Church) and I have learned, taught and used over decades of preaching. 

It’s the complete course you need to start preaching better sermons, including: A new bonus unit on preaching into a camera The 5 keys to preaching sermons to unchurched people (to keep them coming back) How to discover power in the text and use it to drive your sermonWhy you need to ditch your sermon notes (and how to do it far more easily than you think) How to keep your mind and heart fresh over the long run 

… And much more!

Check it out and get instant access today.”,”container_class”:””,”element_class”:””,”wrap_styles_border”:0,”wrap_styles_width”:””,”wrap_styles_margin”:””,”wrap_styles_padding”:””,”wrap_styles_float”:””,”wrap_styles_show_advanced_css”:0,”label_styles_border”:””,”label_styles_width”:””,”label_styles_font-size”:””,”label_styles_margin”:””,”label_styles_padding”:””,”label_styles_float”:””,”label_styles_show_advanced_css”:0,”element_styles_border”:””,”element_styles_width”:””,”element_styles_font-size”:””,”element_styles_margin”:””,”element_styles_padding”:””,”element_styles_float”:””,”element_styles_show_advanced_css”:0,”cellcid”:”c8094″,”key”:”the_preaching_cheat_sheet_1603377863588″,”drawerDisabled”:false,”wrap_styles_background-color”:””,”wrap_styles_border-style”:””,”wrap_styles_border-color”:””,”wrap_styles_display”:”block”,”field_label”:”The Preaching Cheat Sheet”,”field_key”:”the_preaching_cheat_sheet_1603377863588″,”id”:595,”beforeField”:””,”afterField”:””,”value”:”

engage your congregation and reach the unchurched with the art of better preaching

Whether you’re preaching into a camera or in front of an audience, the core principles of sermon preparation and excellent preaching never change.

If you’re ready to start preaching better sermons and reach the unchurched without selling out, then it’s time to start using the right tips, lessons and strategies communicating better.

The Art Of Better Preaching is a 12 session video training (and comprehensive workbook) that will help you create, write and deliver more engaging sermons. It’s the lessons that Mark Clark (Lead Pastor of Village Church) and I have learned, taught and used over decades of preaching. 

It’s the complete course you need to start preaching better sermons, including: A new bonus unit on preaching into a camera The 5 keys to preaching sermons to unchurched people (to keep them coming back) How to discover power in the text and use it to drive your sermonWhy you need to ditch your sermon notes (and how to do it far more easily than you think) How to keep your mind and heart fresh over the long run 

… And much more!

Check it out and get instant access today.”,”label_pos”:”above”,”parentType”:”html”,”element_templates”:[“html”,”input”],”old_classname”:””,”wrap_template”:”wrap”}];nfForms.push(form);

Keep Going (Share and Leave a Comment)

So, keep going.

If you need some more reasons not to quit, here are some more.

If you want to encourage someone, share this post on social or with your team.

And, leave a comment about how you’re growing and what you think you and your team are doing well right now.

Let’s encourage each other.

The post Need Encouragement? 6 Invisible Things Church Leaders are Doing Really Well Right Now appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: Need Encouragement? 6 Invisible Things Church Leaders are Doing Really Well Right Now

The post Need Encouragement? 6 Invisible Things Church Leaders are Doing Really Well Right Now appeared first on Passion for Planting.

By Carey Nieuwhof: Harris III traveled the world as a teenage illusionist, making a million dollars by age 21 and losing it all at age 22. His growing cynicism almost took him down, but around age 30, he learned to recapture wonder.

He explains how wonder can not only recapture your personal hope (and faith), but how it’s an essential ingredient to leadership and crafting a story that rallies people.

Welcome to Episode 387 of the podcast. Listen and access the show notes below or search for the Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and listen for free.

Plus, in this episode’s What I’m Thinking About segment, Carey talks about how you can cultivate creativity.

Guest Links

 Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Website

Episode Links

Dwell App

Dwell is an audio Bible app with a simple mission: To help you get in the Word and stay in the Word! They have loads of inspiring voices, Bible translations, and original background music.

Some of Dwell App’s features include:

Listening Plans — Start a daily habit of engaging with God through one of Dwell’s many Bible listening plans.
Playlists — Dwell has tons of Scripture playlists, like ones based on mood.
Dwell Mode — Use Dwell mode to meditate, memorize and pray while listening to Scripture.
And, brand new, a sleep timer — You and your family can fall asleep to your favorite books and stories of the Bible without losing your spot or draining your battery!

Dwell App makes a great gift, so skip the wrapping and bless someone with the gift of Dwell this holiday season.

Get Dwell today by going to dwellapp.io/carey and get 20% off an annual or lifetime subscription.

Ministry Boost

My friends at Ministry Boost know you want your staff to be effective leaders, especially in leading their volunteers. The problem is, so much has changed, which makes staff feel stuck and discouraged.

Ministry Boost believes that church leaders should rethink our approach to leading volunteers in light of new opportunities online, volunteers who aren’t ready to serve, and the different needs for what ministry looks like currently.

They know what it’s like because they lead in local church ministry just like you, which is why they’re giving you free access to their brand new course, Volunteer Reboot. Volunteer Reboot includes 6 sessions on how to reboot your approach to volunteers so your ministry can thrive now.

Volunteer Reboot is free for listeners of this podcast, and you can get access at ministryboost.org/carey.

CONVERSATION LINKS

The Wonder Switch by Harris III

Story Gatherings

Istoria

Didn’t See It Coming by Carey Nieuwhof

5 Simple Changes That Can Make You a Better Thinker in the Next 7 Days by Carey Nieuwhof

Win Carey’s Leadership Bundle Giveaway!

Text CAREY to 33777 to join more than 78,000 subscribers to our leadership content

*As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

INSIGHTS FROM HARRIS

1. The rules of persuasion and illusion are universal

So, what actually is magic and illusion? And, what makes it work? According to Harris, there are a set of tactics and strategies that magicians use to persuade their audiences into amazement. Those same tactics can also be used by speakers, salespeople, marketers and pastors.

2. The more you know, the more you see, the more cynical you become

Many illusionists (and leaders in general) can become cynical because they “see how the magic is made,” and lose the ability to wonder or imagine for themselves. Knowledge and cynicism usually come hand-in-hand, and as a leader you need to protect yourself from it.

3. When telling stories, focus on connection not conversion

So many leaders (especially pastors) are looking to communicate a point, or get a conversion, when they tell a story to an audience. Harris has learned that a story is much more effective when you aim for connection with a story rather than conversion.

Quotes from Episode 387

A story’s greatest power is not in its ability to convert, it’s in its ability to connect. @HarrisIII

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

Leadership is simply inviting someone into a story. @HarrisIII

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

We came into the world with the wonder switch turned on, so wonder is our natural state of being. @HarrisIII

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

Science links creativity and innovation to curiosity. @HarrisIII

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

Worry and anxiety is a misuse of imagination. @HarrisIII

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

Wonder is connected to innovation because wonder gives you permission to believe in that new story. @HarrisIII

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

Those of us who are in leadership are in the power of persuasion. @cnieuwhof

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

Magic tricks work so easily because human beings think that the truth is equal to what our senses perceive. @HarrisIII

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

Facts that are absent of vulnerability, absent of illustration, absent of empathy, lessen the impact of all those facts. @HarrisIII

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

The secret to being a great magician is the same thing that makes you a great communicator on stage; your ability to tell a story. @HarrisIII

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

Smart phones have psychologically reconditioned an entire generation now to feel really uncomfortable with mystery, to the point where wonder feels disruptive. @HarrisIII

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

To stimulate creativity, limit meetings and email. @cnieuwhof

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

To stimulate creativity, schedule thinking and creative time. @cnieuwhof

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

Better thinking leads to better leadership. @cnieuwhof

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

Read or Download the Transcript for Episode 387

Looking for a key quote? More of a reader?

Read or download a free PDF transcript of this episode here.

Watch Back Episodes of The Podcast on YouTube

Select episodes of this podcast are now on YouTube. Our YouTube Channel gives you a chance to watch some episodes, not just listen.

Want To Get Ahead In 2021? 5 Skills You’ll Need.

What if 2021 could be a year of unprecedented growth for you and your church?

I know, that sounds crazy, but like most things, it’s crazy until it’s not.

2021 can be a great year for you and your team, and I’d love to help you make it happen.

That’s why I created the 2021 Church Leader Toolkit.

Inside, I cover:

How To Produce Content That Actually Gets Read & Watched
5 Keys To Better Digital Preaching
How To Keep You And Your Team Out Of Burnout
7 Strategies To Deepen Digital Engagement
3 Key Pivots For Every Organization In 2021

I’ll be releasing 5 parts of the toolkit throughout December. And it’s free.

You can get access and share these skills with your team here!

SUBSCRIBED YET?

Subscribe for free and never miss out on wisdom from world-class leaders like Brian Houston, Andy Stanley, Craig Groeschel, Nancy Duarte, Henry Cloud, Patrick Lencioni, Francis Chan, Ann Voskamp, Erwin McManus and many others.

Subscribe using your favorite podcast app via

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Google Play

Stitcher

TuneIn

Spread the Word. Leave a Rating and Review

Hopefully, this episode has helped you lead like never before. That’s my goal. If you appreciated it, could you share the love?

The best way to do that is to rate the podcast on Apple Podcasts and leave us a brief review! You can do the same on Stitcher and on TuneIn as well.

Your ratings and reviews help us place the podcast in front of new leaders and listeners. Your feedback also lets me know how I can better serve you.

Thank you for being so awesome.

Next Episode: Alli Worthington

Alli Worthington coached business leaders and ministry leaders through the crisis of 2020. She shares the mindset and actions the leaders who made progress in 2020 adopted and the mindset and action those who floundered embraced. She also talks about why you can have too many cheerleaders around you, and how to overcome negative thinking.

Subscribe for free now so you won’t miss Episode 388.

The post CNLP 387: Harris III on How to Recover from Cynicism, Recapturing Wonder as a Leader and the Power of Story appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: CNLP 387: Harris III on How to Recover from Cynicism, Recapturing Wonder as a Leader and the Power of Story

The post CNLP 387: Harris III on How to Recover from Cynicism, Recapturing Wonder as a Leader and the Power of Story appeared first on Passion for Planting.

by Carey Nieuwhof: Silicon Valley titan Pat Gelsinger, the CEO of VMWare and former CTO of Intel, and Scott Beck, who scaled Blockbuster Video, Boston Market, Einstein Brothers Bagels and Ancestry.com, and is the Founder of Gloo, talk about how the future church can use technology to reach people and connect people.

Pat and Scott also talk with Carey about why church leaders resist technology, privacy concerns and why the future is more relationally-connected than we imagine.

Welcome to Episode 372 of the podcast. Listen and access the show notes below or search for the Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and listen for free.

Plus, in this episode’s What I’m Thinking About segment, Carey talks about weird lies that pastors and church leaders believe about church online.

Guest Links

Pat Gelsinger on Twitter | Gloo | GlooConnect

Episode Links

Remodel Health

The season to reevaluate your health benefits is right around the corner. Are you ready for it?

These times are challenging enough for leaders within churches and faith-based organizations, let alone trying to navigate health insurance questions and rate increases! What if you could have an industry expert come alongside you to not only help you understand your options, but find a solution that could save you and your employees hundreds of thousands of dollars? I know this sounds too good to be true, but I promise you it isn’t.

Remodel Health is the health benefits software and consulting service that helps employers save money and care better for their teams. By switching organizations from traditional group insurance to individual plans for each employee, Remodel Health helps you and your team tap into significant savings on health insurance.

To date, Remodel Health has helped Carey Nieuwhof listeners save $2.1 million in the last year and a half! Imagine what your ministry could do with that extra money. We know right now is a very challenging time for churches, so why not take healthcare off your list of financial stressors.

If you’re interested in learning more, Remodel Health’s benefits consultants can run a free analysis for your unique team to help you evaluate all of your options.

Visit remodelhealth.com/carey today to learn more and get access to their free Savings Calculator, Church Buyer’s Guide and brand new e-book.

ServeHQ

Our partner, ServeHQ, is launching a new option for homeschool families and we want to tell you about it.

Homeschool Magnet supports homeschooling families by providing students with instruction from world-class credentialed teachers in a remote classroom with their peers. Parents choose the best teachers for each student based on values and teaching approach to ensure every child is receiving exactly the education they desire. This puts you, as the parent, in full control of your child’s education without the daily responsibilities of lesson planning, pre-learning, teaching, tutoring, and grading.

Each student will receive instruction in the four core subject areas of Math, English, Language Arts, Science and Social Studies. Parents ultimately have the freedom to involve their student in as much or as little learning as they prefer based on each student’s learning goals.

Every student has daily access to their teachers who know their learning needs and can help with instruction and tutoring. With Homeschool Magnet, you get the freedom and control of homeschooling without the burden.

Homeschool Magnet is only a fraction of the cost of private schools and the 30-day money-back guarantee upon enrollment means this choice is risk-free.

Learn more about Homeschool Magnet’s student experience, by going to homeschoolmagnet.com and join the growing waitlist.

CONVERSATION LINKS

GlooConnect

The Juggling Act by Pat Gelsinger

Moore’s Law

ChurchPulse Weekly

Barna

7 Weird Lies About Online Church Pastors Need to Stop Believing by Carey Nieuwhof

Text CAREY to 33777 to join more than 75,000 subscribers to our leadership content

*As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

INSIGHTS FROM PAT AND SCOTT

1. Your church should use technology, not rejecting it, to reach more people

If you look back at the times of Martin Luther, it’s obvious that it would have been foolish for him to say, “We shouldn’t use the printing press to print more bibles. We should keep doing things the way they’ve always been done.” The printing press was a groundbreaking advance of technology that allowed more Christians to have access to the Bible.

The problem is that many Christians and churches are doing the exact thing with the internet. A lot of pastors are looking at online technology and saying, “It’s only temporary.” Or, “We need to keep getting people into our buildings on Sunday morning.” Sadly, those leaders are going to miss out on the biggest opportunity to spread the Gospel in our lifetime.

2. Privacy needs to be a priority as you move forward with technology

While technology is great, there are some dangers that come with any new technology. One of the biggest concerns with using the internet is data privacy. If your church has an email list or an online database of any kind, you know this is a challenge. Where do you store your members’ data? What happens if it gets hacked? How should you use it?

As you move online, you should put more energy into making sure your church’s data is secure. Platforms like Gloo and GlooConnect are backed with the highest data security in the world and have the resources to continually watch for potential breaches. Most churches don’t have the bandwidth or resources to do this, so it’s critical to outsource this.

3. Digital churches need to scale 1-to-1 interactions along with the 1-to-many

Pastors are focused on three things right now when it comes to online church: Video broadcasting, video broadcasting and video broadcasting. That’s great, but if you want to begin engaging more people online, you need to do more than just broadcast. You need to scale online 1-on-1 interactions as you scale up your broadcast interactions online.

As you put more and more of your effort online, ask yourself, “How am I helping my church have more 1-on-1 or 1-on-a few interactions online?” Are you providing Zoom rooms? Running ad campaigns around certain felt needs? Whatever you do, your ability to scale your reach will match your ability to scale healthy and helpful 1-on-1 interactions.

Quotes from Episode 372

90% of humanity will be persistently connected to the internet by 2030. 10 billion people are part of your potential congregation. @PGelsinger

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

There are going to be two types of churches going forward. There’s going to be the phigital church, that is digital and physical, or the church that’s all digital. @PGelsinger

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

This is the opportunity for churches to really scale, to really reach the world. – Scott Beck

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

If you’re a physical-only church, you’re dead in the future. I just don’t think that you’re going to be able to survive in this increasing digitally-connected world. @PGelsinger

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

Christ didn’t command us to go build churches, he said, ‘Go make disciples.’ @PGelsinger

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

There’s nothing more important today than to be able to make sure that the smallest recovery center, the smallest church has the world-class capabilities to be able to leverage technologies. – Scott Beck

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

Church is limited today by the capital of the edifices that we’re building. @PGelsinger

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

We have to bring technology into the right design in order for it to be used for personal growth and for God’s purposes. – Scott Beck

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

The average American spends 152 minutes a day on social media alone. @cnieuwhof

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

People are screened out on things that aren’t interesting to them. They’re screened out on bad content, but are they screened out? Nope. @cnieuwhof

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

Read or Download the Transcript for Episode 372

Looking for a key quote? More of a reader?

Read or download a free PDF transcript of this episode here.

Watch Back Episodes of The Podcast on YouTube

Select episodes of this podcast are now on YouTube. Our YouTube Channel gives you a chance to watch some episodes, not just listen.

Turn Online Viewers into Real Relationships: Meet GlooConnect

Ever wondered how to turn online viewers into real relationships?

Every day, people visit your church website and access your content, but few ever really identify.

GlooConnect is a new solution that gives people watching the opportunity to introduce themselves to your church.

It can help your church:

Get a steady stream of introductions to people ready to connect with your church
Build real relationships with the people visiting your church’s website
Connect with people who are looking for guidance, hope, and support in life’s challenges where their church is already equipped to serve
Participate in world-class digital campaigns to reach people with needs in your community
Do digital outreach in a way that’s compliant with the strictest privacy laws in the world

GlooConnect lets you pastor while GlooConnect programs. No extra staff. No complex tech. Get started in as little as 15 minutes, and get ready to meet the people already connecting with you online.

To get instant access to GlooConnect and learn more, click here, and make 2021 a year of unprecedented growth for your church.

SUBSCRIBED YET?

Subscribe for free and never miss out on wisdom from world-class leaders like Brian Houston, Andy Stanley, Craig Groeschel, Nancy Duarte, Henry Cloud, Patrick Lencioni, Francis Chan, Ann Voskamp, Erwin McManus and many others.

Subscribe using your favorite podcast app via

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Google Play

Stitcher

TuneIn

Spread the Word. Leave a Rating and Review

Hopefully, this episode has helped you lead like never before. That’s my goal. If you appreciated it, could you share the love?

The best way to do that is to rate the podcast on Apple Podcasts and leave us a brief review! You can do the same on Stitcher and on TuneIn as well.

Your ratings and reviews help us place the podcast in front of new leaders and listeners. Your feedback also lets me know how I can better serve you.

Thank you for being so awesome.

Next Episode: Andy Stanley

In July 2020, Andy Stanley made national news when he announced North Point would not reopen until 2021. In this interview, Andy explains his reasons for the decision, the methodology he uses to find clarity, what he’s learning about preaching to a camera and the hardest part of the pandemic for him personally.

Subscribe for free now so you won’t miss Episode 373.

The post CNLP 372: Pat Gelsinger and Scott Beck on the Future Church, How to Connect with the People Watching Your Church Online and Why So Many Church Leaders Resist Tech appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: CNLP 372: Pat Gelsinger and Scott Beck on the Future Church, How to Connect with the People Watching Your Church Online and Why So Many Church Leaders Resist Tech

The post CNLP 372: Pat Gelsinger and Scott Beck on the Future Church, How to Connect with the People Watching Your Church Online and Why So Many Church Leaders Resist Tech appeared first on Passion for Planting.

by Carey Nieuwhof: Greg Atkinson returns to the podcast to talk about welcoming guests online.

So much has changed since COVID hit, and Greg shares best and worst practices for engaging online and in-person guests, how to move attenders into engagers, and how to best deal with trolls and other people who threaten to take you off mission.

Welcome to Episode 369 of the podcast. Listen and access the show notes below or search for the Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and listen for free.

Plus, in this episode’s What I’m Thinking About segment, Carey talks about vanity metrics and why we should stop focusing on attendance.

Guest Links

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Connect with Greg

Episode Links

Pro Media Fire

Are you a leader of a church facing these challenges?

Your digital team is at max
Your social media team can’t keep up with the need for content
Your creative team is overwhelmed
And you’re cautious about spending money with new staff to help

But how do you increase your quality and output of content without a huge expense?

The solution is Pro Media Fire, where you can hire an entire creative team of professionals for less than the cost of a staff hire. And the best part is the plans are month to month.

You can get help today with professional graphics, videos and content to make an impact while navigating this season of digital expansion.

Book your free strategy session today at promediafire.com/churchgrowth.

The Ascent Leader

This is a unique season that is often the most challenging environment to lead. You may find that you’re inheriting a prior leader’s staff, culture, elders and much more.

If you’re a new lead pastor who is leading a church after a recent senior leader transition, I want to invite you to The Ascent Leader cohorts.

In these cohorts, you’ll get to learn from many of the best transition leaders in the church, you’ll be connected with like-minded A-level peers and you’ll have access to a coach who has experience with dozens, and even hundreds, of church leadership transitions.

Apply today at theascentleader.org.

CONVERSATION LINKS

First Impressions Conference

CNLP 132: Greg Atkinson on the Secrets of a Secret Church Shopper: What People are Looking for When They Come to Your Church

CNLP 132 Transcript

CNLP 185: Greg Atkinson on How First Time Guests Get Alienated by Your Church Services

CNLP 185 Transcript

CNLP 357: JP Pokluda on the Future of Online Preaching, What Pastors Can Learn from YouTubers, and How to Influence the Next Generation

Church Online Platform

Crossroads Church Cincinnati

Church Anywhere

Elevation Church

Life.Church

Churchome

Hillsong East

The Summit Church

North Point Community Church

ChurchPulse Weekly: with Thom Rainer and Myron Pierce

Some Awkward Questions About How to Measure Online Church Attendance (+ 5 Growth Strategies) by Carey Nieuwhof

The Online Church Engagement Summit

Text CAREY to 33777 to join more than 70,000 subscribers to our leadership content

INSIGHTS FROM GREG

1. Questions your team should be asking in the online chat

It seems like most online chat experiences are either trivial or divisive. People are asking questions like, “What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?” Or, there are trolls who make everything political, making it a point to disagree with anyone who speaks up. How can you avoid this?

To avoid trivial conversations, have the members of your greeting team intentionally go into the chat and ask highly emotionally intelligent questions and give great answers. The quality of your questions will determine the quality of your chat.

For the trolls, Greg recommends that you try and take the conversation offline. If they’re a member of your church, have a phone call or text with that person. If they’re someone you don’t know, and refuse to take it offline, you will likely have to ban that user. Greg and Carey both often have to ban people online. It’s okay.

2. You’ll be tempted to view your online audience as “secondary” to your in-person audience, don’t

Greg has watched pastors completely forget about their online audience over and over throughout his career, and he thinks that pastors will begin to fall back into that habit as they come out of the current crisis.

Many pastors are already saying things like, “The 30% who have returned to in-person church are the devoted ones, and those staying home are less committed members.” This simply isn’t true.

Some of your most committed members have serious health risks that are keeping them at home. Don’t forget about them in your quest to refill your room.

3. Your church’s future depends on what you learned (or didn’t learn) in the crisis

One of the big questions coming out of the COVID crisis is, “Will church attendance go back to what it was pre-COVID?” Greg thinks that it will return for some churches and won’t for others. He thinks it will totally depend on whether a church learns the lessons that we need to learn from this pandemic.

If you go back to the old way of doing things, your church isn’t going to thrive. But if you learn from this season about how powerful online can be, reinvent yourself, and add a healthy online experience and community to your church, your church will likely thrive.

Quotes from Episode 369

If a church feels like they can’t be a church because of missing a one-hour service out of building, we were missing the point all along, ministering to people. @GregAtkinson

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

During times of uncertainty, lead with your humanity. @Andy Stanley

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

The gospel has never been proclaimed so largely, so broadly, so loudly as in the past five, six months of this COVID experience. @GregAtkinson

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

Never forget your online audience. We’re in that phygital world from here on out. There are always people watching at home. @GregAtkinson

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

That front door experience, that very first impression, starts online. @GregAtkinson

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

When you tune into an online experience, there should be somebody that sees you and acknowledges you and thanks you for tuning in. @GregAtkinson

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

Pastoral care has never been so important. @GregAtkinson

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

Let people see your heart, because people really resonate with emotionally engaging content. @cnieuwhof

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

Read or Download the Transcript for Episode 369

Looking for a key quote? More of a reader?

Read or download a free PDF transcript of this episode here.

Watch Back Episodes of The Podcast on YouTube

Select episodes of this podcast are now on YouTube. Our YouTube Channel gives you a chance to watch some episodes, not just listen.

The Online Church Engagement Summit

So you’ve got people watching your church online. How do you turn them into engagers?

On October 8th, 2020, Carey Nieuwhof is hosting The Online Church Engagement Summit. It’s a free, 90-minute value-packed event where Levi Lusko, Nona Jones, and Bobby Gruenewald will give you their best practical strategies to turn viewers into engagers.

If you feel like you don’t even know where to begin, or if you’ve had success but want to reach and engage more people, this is for you and your team.

Learn more and register for free.

SUBSCRIBED YET?

Subscribe for free and never miss out on wisdom from world-class leaders like Brian Houston, Andy Stanley, Craig Groeschel, Nancy Duarte, Henry Cloud, Patrick Lencioni, Francis Chan, Ann Voskamp, Erwin McManus and many others.

Subscribe using your favorite podcast app via

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Google Play

Stitcher

TuneIn

Spread the Word. Leave a Rating and Review

Hopefully, this episode has helped you lead like never before. That’s my goal. If you appreciated it, could you share the love?

The best way to do that is to rate the podcast on Apple Podcasts and leave us a brief review! You can do the same on Stitcher and on TuneIn as well.

Your ratings and reviews help us place the podcast in front of new leaders and listeners. Your feedback also lets me know how I can better serve you.

Thank you for being so awesome.

Next Episode: Brad Lomenick

Brad Lomenick returns to the podcast to talk about his new podcast, H3 Leadership, and how to grow your influence without producing more content. Brad explains the power of curating content and connecting people, and how he used that to build one of the largest leadership networks out there. Brad also discusses future trends every leader should watch. Plus, Carey and Brad talk about the launch of a brand new podcast network: Thrivicity.

Subscribe for free now so you won’t miss Episode 370.

The post CNLP 369: Greg Atkinson on How to Grow Engagement in Online Attendance, Best and Worst Digital and In-Person Church Practices, and Improving the Church Guest Experience appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: CNLP 369: Greg Atkinson on How to Grow Engagement in Online Attendance, Best and Worst Digital and In-Person Church Practices, and Improving the Church Guest Experience

The post CNLP 369: Greg Atkinson on How to Grow Engagement in Online Attendance, Best and Worst Digital and In-Person Church Practices, and Improving the Church Guest Experience appeared first on Passion for Planting.