By Carey Nieuwhof: Knowing what you should do as a leader in normal times is hard enough.

As you may have noticed, these aren’t normal times.

Trying to figure out what to do in the midst of a global crisis is so much more complicated.

So how do you cut through the mess and noise to chart a course that leads you into a better future?

Here’s a simple place to begin: start by asking the right questions. After all, the quality of the answers you get as a leader are determined by the quality of the questions you ask.

Ask better questions, you get much better answers and, as a result, a much better future.

The challenge is that it can be difficult to know which questions are the best questions to ask. In addition, you’ve got more agitated and angry voices than ever trying to tell you what to do (for more on that, see Pastors, Here’s Why Everyone’s So Mad At You Right Now).

So to help cut through the noise, here are five questions about the future that in my view, are helpful ones to be asking right now.

They’re questions I’m asking, and I think two years from now, they’ll turn out the be questions leaders who are making progress found themselves asking in this season.

The quality of the answers you get as a leader are determined by the quality of the questions you ask.

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1. How much of the current change is permanent?

People in the midst of a revolution often don’t realize they’re in the midst of a revolution.

It’s not like people woke up on November 1st, 1517—the day after Martin Luther nailed his 95 thesis to a cathedral door—and said “Hey, it’s day 2 of the Reformation.” No one knew the Reformation was underway. They didn’t even realize a seismic shift was underway that would change the course not just of the church, but of human history.

When carriages and horses first starting begin replaced by cars, or radio went from Marconi’s curious invention to the launch of KDKA in Pittsburgh in 1920 (America’s first radio station), no one realized this was the cusp of a massive and permanent cultural change. The first cars and first radios seemed like anomalies, until, of course, they weren’t.

People in the midst of a revolution often don’t realize they’re in the midst of a revolution.

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Crisis is an accelerator, and many of the ‘temporary’ trends we’re seeing right now are likely more permanent than we realize.

The COVID disruption that started off as a medical disruption is now also accelerating cultural disruption. Work, school, shopping, entertainment and fitness (all of which has become more home-based or morphed in other ways) will never quite be the same again.

Neither will church.

Whether you and I like change or not is kind of irrelevant. Culture never asks permission to change. It just changes.

If you want more on what I see changing, these posts can help.

The Original 2020 is History: 7 New Disruptive Church Trends Every Leader Should Watch

Why Going Back to “Normal” church Seems So Compelling and Can Be So Dangerous

Avoid This Big Mistake: Stepping Back Into the Past When You Step Back Into Your Building

Leaders who see the future have a better chance of seizing it.

Culture never asks permission to change. It just changes.

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2. What do I now have permission to stop doing?

This is a fun question for most leaders.

Remember all those things pre-disruption you wished you weren’t doing but didn’t have the courage or energy to kill? Yep, now’s the time.

If you haven’t gone back to ‘normal’ yet, this is the time to redefine what normal is.

I’ve found that changing one big thing (like say a move to a new facility) can give you permission to change a lot more things.

It’s like moving from one era to another. People expect there will be change, dislocation and new things.

So often when we’ve gone through a big change, we’ll change a lot.

Hint: There’s never been a bigger disruption in our life-time. You’ve already stopped doing so much…only bring back those things are are mission-central as you move into the future.

Remember to focus on the why of change, not just the what and how. But if there was ever a time to change what wasn’t working, this is it.

If you’re wondering how to lead change without blowing up your organization or your own leadership, this might help.

If you haven’t gone back to normal yet, this is the time to redefine what normal is.

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3. What would I do if I was leading a start-up? 

It can be hard to transition an existing church or organization into a new future, but one helpful way to think about it is how you would approach things if you were a start-up.

Old models rarely do well in new eras.

If you were a brand new church plant, opening a new restaurant, launching a new business…how would you approach it?

That kind of thinking can be exceptionally clarifying.

Old models rarely do well in new eras.

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For example, speaking at conferences and events was a big part of my life pre-COVID. Like many people, I haven’t been in a plane since March 2020.

With COVID still surging and mandatory quarantines in place where I live for returning visitors, I don’t know when I’ll be back on a plane again or speaking in person.

If you were launching out as a speaker right now, well, how would you behave?

If you were launching a church right now, what would your strategy be?

Or say you were opening a new restaurant, how much would you focus on indoor dining v. take out, delivery and patio space? Or helping people create their own food experiences?

Once you know the answer to that question, go there.

For me, we’ve written speaking out of our business plan indefinitely, launched a second podcast (which doesn’t, of course, require travel) and done any speaking events I accept digitally instead. At this point, it doesn’t matter when in-person speaking at events will be feasible again. We don’t need it.

Existing organizations who behave like start ups will have a much better future than organizations that don’t.

You can bet the future on things changing, or you can change. The second is a much wiser strategy.

You can bet the future on things changing, or you can change. The second is a much wiser strategy.

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4. Where are we seeing real momentum?

This is another fun question.

It might feel like you have no momentum anywhere, but that won’t be true for most organizations. (If it is true for you—that you have zero momentum anywhere— the problems are much deeper than a global crisis.)

You likely have momentum somewhere, and chances are it’s happening somewhere different than it did before.

Pay attention.

Example: you might be hyper-focused on getting people back in the building because that’s where you historically had momentum. You can end up being so fixated on trying to manufacture momentum where you used to have it that you completely miss that your YouTube channel is growing quickly and you have a far bigger open rate on your emails than in the past.

And when someone points out that you’re growing your open and subscriber rates, you dismiss them because it’s not where you want to see momentum.

Continue that for long, and you become the music industry executive focused on CD sales who keeps ignoring the 20-year-old who are focused on streams that keep growing while your CD sales keep dropping.

“Streams aren’t real”  you tell yourself, and make fun of people who don’t want to ‘own’ their music or have a physical copy of it.

Soon, you’re staring out the window watching the future pass you buy.

You probably have momentum somewhere.

Study it. Try to figure it out. Ask yourself why that’s growing and how you can leverage it to reach more people.

If you want to get your mission going, fuel what’s growing, not what’s declining.

If you want to get your mission going, fuel what’s growing, not what’s declining.

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5. How will I find a sustainable pace? 

This one is really close to my heart.

I’m running into so many exhausted leaders right now.  I’ve been there.

One of the best questions (perhaps the best question) you can ask yourself is how you can find a sustainable pace.

As I shared in this post, most leaders look to time off to heal them.

The problem with that strategy is you can never have enough time off to recover from ridiculously stressful, unattainable days.

Time off won’t heal you when the problem is how you spend time on.

Time off won’t heal you when the problem is how you spend time on.

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A decade into leadership, I went through a season of burnout that was so intense I thought I was finished. By the grace of God, I wasn’t. But I’ll never forget how painful it was. (If it’s helpful, here are 11 signs you might be burning out.)

My heart for leaders is that you find a sustainable pace heading into year two of the crisis that will give you the regular rest and renewal you need.

My formula for staying out of burnout for the last decade a half can be summed up in this phrase: live in a way today that will help you thrive tomorrow. 

Most leaders live in a way that will make them struggle tomorrow: too many hours, not enough sleep, poor diet, too little exercise, and failing to nurture life-giving friendships. Living that way slid me into burnout.

So as you move forward, ask yourself: what changes can you make spiritually, emotionally, relationally, physically and even financially (financial stress is stress) that can help you thrive moving forward?

If the crisis is a long term thing, which it appears to be, you need a longer term strategy for personal renewal.

Time off isn’t the solution for an unsustainable pace. A sustainable pace is the solution for an unsustainable pace.

Time off isn’t the solution for an unsustainable pace. A sustainable pace is the solution for an unsustainable pace.

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Stay Out of Burnout: A Strategy That Will Help You Thrive

So how do you live in a way today that will help you thrive tomorrow?

In The High Impact Leader Course, I outline the strategies and principles that have helped me (and now thousands of others) stay out of burnout and get far more done in far less time.

The course will help you thrive by helping you find healthy, sustainable rhythms that move your life and leadership to a new level.

This 10-session online course will show you highly practical, proven strategies on how to finally get time, energy and priorities working in your favor. It includes 10 videos, an online workbook and 10 specific exercises that will help you create a personalized plan to help you get productive and accomplish the things you know are most important, but rarely have time for.

The course, which proceeds at your personal pace whenever you’re ready to tackle a unit, is designed to help you:

Get your most important priorities done early in the week, every week.

Spend more of your time at work doing the things that energize you and less time doing the things that drain you.

Invest more of your time with the people who energize you and less time with the people who drain you.

Discover time to finally exercise, pursue a hobby,  launch a blog, start a podcast or write that book.

Actually be OFF when you have a day off.

Be far more focused on your family when you’re with your family.

Learn how to say no nicely, so you can free up time for the things you’re truly called to do.

In short, it’s designed to help get your life and leadership back, or maybe find them for the very first time.

Learn more  and gain instant access here. 

What Questions Are You Asking?

These are five questions I’m finding helpful right now.

Any other questions you’re asking that are helping you navigate the future?

Scroll down and leave a comment!

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Source: 5 Simple Questions About the Future Every Leader Should Be Asking Right Now

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Source: Cast Vision Effectively

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By: Carey Nieuwhof

As much as you wish things were getting easier in church leadership, they don’t appear to be heading in that direction.

If anything, things are more complicated than they were a month ago. And infinitely more complicated than they were a year ago.

My guess is you’ve had a thousand different thoughts rush through your mind (and heart) in 2020, not all of them, well, great.

This post was inspired by a clever and accurate post my friend Rich Birch wrote on his blog recently outlining some thoughts church staff had but wouldn’t tell their senior leaders.

I thought I’d pop into the senior leader’s head and see if anything resonates.

Please hear the tone behind this post. I’m with you as a leader.

I’ve cried actual tears for church leaders in this season and I empathize deeply with how challenging this moment is.

Yes, this is a hard time. But you will make it through. The capital C church will make it through, and it will thrive.

Sometimes naming what you’re feeling brings things to the surface you didn’t even realize were there. And yes, I’ve personally struggled with most—if not all–of these.

So what are you really thinking as a church leaders in 2020?

See if any of these ten things resonate.

1. I don’t know how much longer I can do this

Right now, most leaders are more tired than they’ve ever been.

I interviewed Levi and Jennie Lusko recently to talk about the coronavirus crisis, racial reconcillation and how they, their family and church were responding.

Levi gave me a great metaphor. He said we feel this exhaustion because we didn’t know we were running a triathalon. It’s like we got to the end of our run, we thought we were finished, and someone handed us a bicycle and then told us later we also had to swim.

Exactly.

If you’re thinking about alternative careers, other things you can do with your life, or just taking a long, extended sabbatical, hang in there.

Never quit on a bad day. If you’re going to quit on a good day. Hint: there aren’t a lot of good days right now. So hang in there.

Never quit on a bad day.Click To Tweet

In the meantime, please get the rest you need this summer (here are some simple ideas for better rest).

Taking a restorative break this summer is a great idea. A rested you is a much better you.

Leaders who never take a break end up breaking.

Leaders who never take a break end up breaking.Click To Tweet

2. I’m too tired to address the things I know I’m supposed to fix

So much is changing right now.

Long term disruptive trends that are causing decline and stagnation in the church are accelerating rapidly, and if you look at the list of issues to address and things to do, it’s arguably never been longer.

The longing you feel for everything to go back to normal is in part a natural reaction against the massive task ahead.

Denial is not a great strategy. But irrelevance and ineffectiveness are arguably worse.

So what can you do?

Get the rest you need, and lean into God and the team to give you the strength ahead to do what you need to do.

Denial is not a great strategy. But irrelevance and ineffectiveness are arguably worse. Click To Tweet

3. My thoughts and emotions are a total yoyo

Many leaders right now are feeling yoyo emotions: up one minute, down the next, and everything in between.

I get it.

One of the first casualties, when I’m stressed, are my emotions.

Sometimes they go numb, and I feel nothing. Other times, they end up being completely inappropriate or disproportionate.

Physical rest and spiritual health are key to me keeping my emotions healthy.

Your emotions impact you, your family and your team.

While this is a season, just remember that emotionally healthy leaders tend to lead emotionally healthy teams. The opposite is also true.

Emotionally healthy leaders tend to lead emotionally healthy teams. The opposite is also true. Click To Tweet

4. I’m angry at people for not coming back

Not only has the crisis accelerated long term trends of declining attendance, the possibility that many people aren’t coming back to church regularly even after coronavirus has lifted is also real.

And you’re angry at people who aren’t coming back.

If you’ve opened, you’re angry with healthy people who haven’t returned.

And if you haven’t even reopened yet,  you’re probably already mad at the people you think won’t return.

So what do you do?

Feel that emotion.

Pray through it.

Vent to a friend.

And then move on.

As you know, anger is a pretty ineffective evangelism strategy.

Anger is a pretty ineffective evangelism strategy. Click To Tweet

5. I feel best about myself when the room is full

Oh this one’s so ugly you can’t even say it out loud.

But the truth is you only really feel great about yourself when the room is full.

And as much as you said you’d never do it, you’ve tied your identity to your success.

It’s hard to post that shot to Instagram when the room is empty or 25% full because of social distancing, or half as full as it used to be pre-virus.  And screenshotting your online numbers doesn’t quite give you the rush a full room used to.

You wish you didn’t feel best about yourself when the room is full. But you do.

I’m not saying this is good. I’m just saying for many of us, it’s just a little too true.

And if you really want to drill down, the people who benefitted most from the old ways are the most motivated to try to bring them back.

So you’ll either spend a lot of energy trying to make things the way they were before, or you’ll spend more time on your knees and with a therapist trying to break the idolatry of a full room.

As much as I hate that option, it’s probably the best one.

Most pastors feel best about themselves when the room is full.Click To Tweet

6. I like the convenience of church online more than I want to admit

I needed to buy some shorts and sandals for our summer vacation. I could have gone to the mall, but that’s minimum 2 hours with the drive.

So before writing this post, I spend 15 minutes online and picked up the shorts and sandals I needed. They’ll be here this week.

That’s convenient, and it’s been life (retail-wise) for years.

All my life, church has been an almost full Sunday morning commitment…sometimes longer. It has been for most of you reading this too.

What’s shocked me most in 2020 is how what was a full morning or almost full morning (I’m Founding Pastor now and not as involved in the day to day as I was when I was a Lead Pastor), when I’m not teaching it’s now down to about an hour on a Sunday.

That’s a big change.

If you pre-record your messages, maybe Sunday feels different than it used to.

Even when I teach live now on a Sunday in an empty room, if we get a good take of the message during the first service, I can finish up. After all, there’s no one in the room to talk to anyway besides a minimal crew.

As much as most church leaders have railed against the challenges of online church, you probably enjoy the convenience more than you want to admit.

As much as most church leaders have railed against the challenges of online church, you probably enjoy the convenience more than you want to admit. Click To Tweet

7. I hate the prospect of church online for the future

And that said—and as much as you like online shopping personally— you hate the prospect of church online for the future.

No one has done this before, and you were good at church in the old model.

Besides, you’re a relational person. You love ministering to people you can see, touch and engage with personally.

When it comes to ministry, the internet feels like a vapor.

And you’re not sure you’re up to it.

8. I’m not sure more or my team has the skill set for the next chapter

If you drill down further, you’re a little frightened.

No one trained you for this. There wasn’t a single class in seminary in online ministry.

Other people are better at the camera than you are. Your church isn’t really staffed for this.

Maybe you just don’t have the skill set for the next era of ministry.

And perhaps your staff doesn’t either. You didn’t hire your team for this moment.

And now you’re into something you didn’t sign up for.

The truth is you can probably learn the skill set and so can your team. It just takes time and energy.  Which takes up straight back to points 1-3 of this post.

Most church leaders’ silent fear: I’m not sure me or my team has the skill set for the next chapter of ministry. Click To Tweet

9. I can’t handle any more change

2020 has been one thing stacked up on the other. You feel like everything is breaking – your routine, your systems, the economy, the culture…and you don’t know how to put it back together.

And as important as some of these things are, you just can’t take any more.

So please stop. Just stop.

Can we go back to normal? I know normal is dead. But I’d really like to go back.

Of course—and you know this too–change is unkind to the unprepared. But still….

Change is unkind to the unprepared.Click To Tweet

10. I haven’t taken any time to grieve

Everybody around you is grieving and craving a return to normal, and secretly so are you, but you know in your head you haven’t really processed much. You’ve been too busy.

And as a leader, what you do is cast vision and bury your grief because you’re afraid that if you stop, you’ll break.

And as a leader, what you do is cast vision and bury your grief because you’re afraid that if you stop, you’ll break.Click To Tweet

I can personally assure you that this is a little too true.

I spent a decade not grieving the losses that piled up, and it was a major factor in my burnout.

A mentor once told me that ministry is a series of ungrieved losses. He’s right. And now more than ever.

When you grieve your losses, you’re able to move through them to a new tomorrow.

So this summer, take time to rest…and grieve. You’ll come back with fresh energy.

The situation may not be any better, but you will be. And that’s what makes the difference.

This summer, take time to rest…and grieve. You’ll come back with fresh energy. The situation may not be any better, but you will be. And that’s what makes the difference. Click To Tweet

A Simpler Way to Navigate a Complex Future

Yes, there’s a ton of change happening right now. And it’s exhausting.

As complex as things are, having a simple framework to navigate the change will make the task ahead much easier.

If you want to position yourself for the future, my brand new online training, the 30-Day Pivot, will show you how to develop your agility as a leader and as an organization to position yourself for growth.

The 30-Day Pivot is a simple 3-step process you and your team can utilize every as often as every 30 days to respond to the change around you and capitalize on it.

In the 30-Day Pivot, you’ll learn:

A simple 3-step process your team can use to arrive at your next pivot in 90 minutes or less.
An approach that fosters team-generated innovation.
An implementation and evaluation framework that will help your team move quickly and accurately.

I’ve led teams through multiple pivots, and in the 30 Day Pivot, I show you the strategy and framework you need to make quick, accurate and responsive moves that can position your organization for growth, even in the midst of deep uncertainty and change.

Some organizations and churches will thrive in the new normal.

Others won’t.

While the future is uncertain, yours doesn’t have to be.

You can learn more and gain instant access to the 30 Day Pivot here.

What Are You Feeling?

I’m so glad we’re in this season together. Sometimes, just naming what you’re feeling or thinking can be the first step to addressing it.

What are you feeling?

Scroll down a leave a comment.

The post What Church Leaders Are (Really) Thinking in 2020 appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: What Church Leaders Are (Really) Thinking in 2020

The post What Church Leaders Are (Really) Thinking in 2020 appeared first on Passion for Planting.

by Carey Nieuwhof: Leadership is hard. I totally get that, because I’ve been in it for over two decades.

But to be perfectly honest, leadership never gets easy. The reason it’s never easy is because what’s hard keeps changing. You solve one problem, and now a new, likely larger on appears. That’s true when things are declining when they’re stagnant. And surprisingly, it’s even more trying when things are growing.

And in all scenarios, your next task as a leader is to tackle what’s ahead, which, of course, you’ve often never done before. Which is why it stays hard.

Naturally, that can get tiring. As a result, it’s remarkably easy for a once inspiring leader to descend into to stop leading, to stop leading into new vistas, and as a result, to stop inspiring their team.

Your team will put up with that for a while, but inevitably, they’ll lose motivation too. Keep it up, and any leader with options, especially the best ones, will leave. If you won’t lead your team with passion and purpose, your best leaders will leave. They’ll simply find someone who will.

I’ve had seasons where I know my leadership hasn’t been as inspirational as it should be, and over the years I’ve made it a point to start recognizing the signs that it’s happening. If I know the signs, it’s easier to snap back and begin leading and inspiring again.

If you won’t lead your team with passion and purpose, your best leaders will leave. They’ll simply find someone who will.Click To Tweet

1. You Don’t Feel Inspired

So let’s start with an obvious one. It’s hard to inspire others when you’re not inspired.

I’ll the first to admit that passion waxes and wanes in season. Sometimes you’re tired or you’ve been running hard, but if you’re the leader, you’re supposed to be inspired by the mission you’re on.

One of the key principles of leadership is this: the passion of your team will rarely exceed your passion as a leader.

Do whatever you need to do to stay inspired. Revisit the mission, daily. Spend time alone, pray and meditate about why you’re not inspired. Talk to a friend, or a counselor.

Sometimes (not always, but sometimes), the reason you’re not inspired is that your vision is too small. If your mission doesn’t inspire you, get a bigger or better mission. Personally, I think it’s great to be fueled by somethign that’s bigger than you are, and that seems almost impossible to pull off.

When you have something that big, it’s also impossible for you to take the credit if it happens.

It’s hard to inspire others when you’re not inspired. The passion of your team will rarely exceed your passion as a leader. Click To Tweet

2. You’re Showing Very Little Gratitude

When you’re no longer inspiring your team, check your gratitude. Gratitude is usually one of the first things to go when you’re not in a good season, and it’s one of the most devastating things for team members to lose.

Lose gratitude, and you’ll soon discover it gets replaced by its nemesis: expectation.

Not only are you not grateful, you begin to tell yourself things like:

I pay these people for more than that.

Sure, she’s volunteering, but her effort doesn’t even come close to the pressure I’m facing.

What do you mean you want to go home? There’s work to do.

The more tired you are, the more likely you expect things from people rather than be grateful for them.

And that’s a great way to lose good people.

The more tired you are, the more likely you expect things from people rather than be grateful for them. And that’s a great way to lose good people. Click To Tweet

3. Your Vision is Fuzzy

It’s hard to rally people around a fuzzy vision for the future.

When casting vision, clarity is your friend.

It’s hard to rally people around a fuzzy vision for the future. Click To Tweet

If your vision is clear, you’ll have a compelling answer to questions like these:

What hill are you taking next?

Why are you taking it?

What happens after that?

Who are you helping?

What difference is it making?

Why is your mission so critical?

If you can’t answer those questions, don’t expect your team to rally or throw their whole heart behind the mission.

Clarity is your best friend when it comes to vision.

If you don’t have it and feel things might be slipping away, you might start to want to control people.

Poor leaders substitute control for clarity.

Here’s why. If you don’t know with absolute clarity what your organization is, where it’s going and how it’s going to get there (in other words, if you’re fuzzy about your mission, vision and strategy), you can never truly align a team.

And as a result, you will always want to control it.

Clarity around the vision is a far better alternative.

Poor leaders substitute control for clarity.Click To Tweet

4. You’re managing, not leading

Management is a good thing in the right measure. I agree with some of the voices of late who say we’ve overfocused on leadership and underfocused on management. Good point.

Leadership without good management usually results in chaos instead of progress.

But no matter how well managed an organization is, every organizaiton still needs leadership.

Management oversees what what needs to be done today. Leadership moves people into tomorrow.

Because leadership takes energy, passion and clarity, a lot of leaders default to managing. The bold new idea is to make next year incrementally better than this year. To tweak, not to reboot. To improve, but not to challenge or rethink.

Leadership inspires in a way management doesn’t.

Management oversees what what needs to be done today. Leadership moves people into tomorrow. Leadership inspires in a way management doesn’t.Click To Tweet

5. You’re out of new ideas

One sure what to inspire a team is to have new ideas for the future. The longer you’ve been in leadership, the harder this can feel.

We live in an exceptional disruptive age. How we communicated two decades ago is not how we communicate today.

The same is true of

Shopping
Transporation
Accommodation
Music
Journalism
Entertainment
Photography

I’m not saying you have to come up with disruptive ideas, but I am saying that unless you have some new ideas, about how to accomplish your mission, it’s difficult to keep mobilizing people.

I’ve seen so many leaders who run out of vision cling to old methods—doing the same thing over and over again hoping for better results.

If there’s no plan for the future, there’s usually no future.

If there’s no plan for the future, there’s usually no future. Click To Tweet

3 Tips For Regaining Your Inspiration

It’s great to point out the problem, but how do you move toward a solution.

Well, in some cases, it might be that you’re burned out (here are some signs of that), or that you need some counselling, or perhaps that it’s time to move on (here are 7 signs it’s time to leave.)

But if it’s just a season, what do you do to get inspired?

Here are a few things that have helped me.

Revisit the mission. Reminding yourself why you do what you do can go a long way to keeping your passion strong.
Study industry leaders. Who do you know that’s crushing it? Go hang out with them and take your notebook.
Get out of your echo chamber. Chances are you need some fresh influences, so go learn from some leaders and people who are different than you are.

I wrote some more on how to renew your leadership here (something that I think has to happen every 5-7 years regardless of how you feel).

Stoke Your Passion Over the Long Haul

How do you stay inspired year after year?

It’s more possible than you think. And it starts with how you lead yourself and others each day.

My High Impact Leader course, is my online, on-demand course designed to help you get time, energy and priorities working in your favour.

It’s perfect for leaders who feel like they never have enough time in the day to get it all done.

Many leaders who have taken it are recovering 3 productive hours a day.  That’s about 1000 hours of found time each year. That’s a lot of time for what matters most.

Here are what some alumni are saying about The High Impact Leader Course”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you for providing the course again. It has absolutely made an impact in my life and family already that I can’t even describe.” – Joel Rowland, Clayton County, North Carolina

“Just wow.  Thank you, thank you.” Dave Campbell,  Sioux Falls South Dakota

“A game-changer.” Pam Perkins,  Colorado Springs, Colorado

Curious? Want to beat overwhelm and have the time to reflect, rest and reinvent yourself?

Click here to learn more or get instant access.

What Are Some Other Signs?

Any other signs you see that maybe you’re no longer inspiring your team?

Scroll down and leave a comment!

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Source: 5 Signs You’re No Longer Inspiring Your Team

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by Carey Nieuwhof: Sean Cannell started at almost nothing on YouTube a few years ago. Today his channel has over 750 thousand subscribers and his videos have been viewed over 40 million times.

Sean shares his YouTube secrets, talks about how to get started on YouTube even if you don’t have money or staff, and why the future online has to include video.

Welcome to Episode 264 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.

Guest Links

Sean Cannell | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

 YouTube Secrets | YouTube for Churches

Think Media | Video Influencers | Sean Thinks

Episode Links

94% of churches today are either not growing or not growing at the same rate as their community. Head over to churchgrowthmasterclass.com today and discover why. Whether your church isn’t growing or your seeing growth, but hitting barriers, this new course can help. Take advantage of introductory pricing before it’s too late.

Get your volunteers ready to serve with simple online training. Try TrainedUp free for 14 days at servehq.church.

Prairie College

Clear Vision Media

Amazon Associates

Pro Church Tools

Financial Peace University

Trey Van Camp – YouTube

Smartcuts: The Breakthrough Power of Lateral Thinking by Shane Snow

That Christian Vlogger

Think International – YouTube

Will Smith – YouTube

Leadershift by John Maxwell

3 Insights from Sean

1. If you want to succeed in the long term, you must be willing to fail in the short term

People often ask Sean how he got to be so successful on YouTube. Sean’s answer is that he has failed more times than he has succeeded. He has just learned from those failures and become better as a result. He has six YouTube channels, but only 2 of them are successful.

Failure can be an invaluable teacher. Sean says that “the master has failed more times than the amateur has even tried.” If you want to have a successful company, church, or organization, you have to be willing to push through the failures to get to the successes that you dream about.

2. There is massive growth and outreach potential in video

One of the beautiful parts of video content is that it is another way that we can get the message out to our people. It allows us to give our people options for how they consume our content. We may already be producing a mid-week email or podcast. Adding video might allow us to reach a whole other audience that would have never found your church or business in those other formats.

We need to give our people options because we can not try and predetermine what our audience wants (which is what we do when we give out our content in only one format.) Our online presence is a chance to “become all things to all people.” It’s meeting people where they are, dressed in the format that they would prefer. We can’t miss video.

3. There are 5 major aspects of getting noticed online

Leverage – YouTube is a search engine. As a content producer, you can leverage the people already on YouTube by having quality titles and descriptions of your videos.

Collaborations – Working with already existing platforms to get the word out about your content is an effective way to get noticed by more people.

Current Social Media or Email Lists – Using your present influence on other social media platforms or an existing email list is a way to get the word out about your content.

Paid Traffic – Paid traffic online is now the most effective way to get the word out about your product or service to massive amounts of people. A note of warning; paid traffic only works if you are directing people to quality content. Paid ads are like gasoline for a fire that’s already going.

Shareability- Is your content high enough quality and created in a way where it can be easily shared?

Quotes from Episode 264

The master has failed more times than the amateur has even tried. @seancannellClick To Tweet

Success is moving from failure, to failure without loss of enthusiasm. -Winston ChurchillClick To Tweet

If a picture speaks a thousand words, a video can communicate a million. @seancannellClick To Tweet

Begin with the end in mind. Stephen Covey via @seancannellClick To Tweet

You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great. -Zig ZiglarClick To Tweet

Paid ads are like gasoline for a fire that’s already going. @seancannellClick To Tweet

Great marketing makes a bad product fail faster. -David OgilvyClick To Tweet

If you stop at a place where your needs are met, you’re being selfish. @seancannellClick To Tweet

Read or Download the Transcript for Episode 264

Looking for a key quote? More of a reader?

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

Get Your Church Growing

Did you know that 9 out of 10 churches don’t grow? Are you one of them?

You likely didn’t get into ministry to watch your church plateau or, worse yet, decline. You wanted God to use you to reach new people with the good news. You wanted to see your church grow. You wanted to make an impact on your community that would outlast you.

But the odds are, it’s not happening. And the thing is, you’re not alone. We live in an era where 94% of churches aren’t growing or aren’t growing as fast as their communities. Barely 1 out of 20 churches are effectively reaching their neighbors for Jesus. Despite how desperately our communities need to hear and engage with the good news about Jesus, many churches are lost when it comes to reaching a postmodern culture.

That’s why I put together the Church Growth Masterclass. It’s everything I wish I knew about church growth when I got into ministry more than 20 years ago.

I can’t make a church grow. You can’t make a church grow. Only God can do that. But I believe you can position your church to grow. You can knock down the barriers that keep you from growing. You can eliminate the things that keep your church from growing and implement some strategies that will help you reach far more people. That’s what I’d love to help you do in the Church Growth Masterclass.

In the Church Growth Masterclass I’ll show you:

The 10 reasons your church isn’t growing
Why even committed church-goers aren’t attending as often as before
How to tell if your church leaders are getting burned out
The five keys to your church better impacting millennials.
What to do when a church wants to grow … but not change

You can learn more and gain instant access to the course today.

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.

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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: Les McKeown

Les McKeown is back on the podcast, this time talking about the difference between growing organizations and organizations that are ready for scale. The two often get confused, and just because you’re growing doesn’t mean you’re ready to scale. Les shares the keys to scale, which, coincidentally, also reduce the stress the senior leader and entire team feel. Getting bigger doesn’t mean getting more frenzied. Often, it’s the opposite.

Subscribe for free now and you won’t miss Episode 265.

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Source: CNLP 264: Sean Cannell Shares YouTube Secrets, Why The Future Online is Video, and How to Get Started on YouTube (Even From Scratch)

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by Carey Nieuwhof: Everything has its season.

And the season of the cool church is, in many ways, coming to an end.

Recently, I wrote a post that generated a lot of discussion online and offline about why charismatic churches are growing and attractional churches are past peak. You can read that post here.

To drill down further, here’s more on what’s been happening as the culture changes around us.

So flip back a few decades…There was an era when simply being a cooler, more relevant church than the church down the road helped churches reach unchurched people.

There was a day when all you had to do was improve the church you led to gain traction.

Trade in the choir for a band. Turn the chancel into a platform. Add some lights, some sound, some haze. Get some great teaching in the room. And voila, you had a growing church.

But we’re quickly moving into a season where having a cool church is like having the best choir in town: it’s wonderful for the handful of people who still listen to choral music.

Somethings changing. And a hundreds of thousands of dollars in lights and great sound gear are probably not going to impact your community like they used to.

So what’s changing? Plenty.

…

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Source: Why Cool Church Doesn’t Work Anymore (More on the Future Church)

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by Carey Nieuwhof: Leadership takes courage, and my guess is that some days it feels the cynics and pessimists have sucked almost all the courage and hope out of you.

I get that. We’ve all had our share of cynics and pessimists try to dissuade us from action.

We live in an age in which there is no shortage of opinion. The challenge these days in leadership (and in life) is that a lot of those opinions are not particularly helpful.

On most teams, boards and in most organizations and churches you’ll find cynics and pessimists who are constantly offering opinions on what you should do, or more frequently, not do.

The question you have is this: how do you handle the cynics and pessimists, whose usual response to your new idea is to explain to you why it won’t work, why it’s doomed to fail or why it’s simply not worth pursuing?

Of course, cynics and pessmists rarely own up to being who they are. Instead, they tell you they’re realists.

Realism is often just a thin disguise for the much deeper problems of cynicism and pessimism.

Realism is often just a thin disguise for the much deeper problems of cynicism and pessimism.Click To Tweet

The worst thing about the constant barrage of negative voices is that they snuff out hope. And you never get to a better future without hope.

So how should you respond? How do you keep hope alive when the cynics and pessimists keep telling you it can’t happen and it won’t happen?

Here are five ways to handle the negative voices that come your way…

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Source: How to Handle the Cynics and Pessimists in Your Life

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by Carey Nieuwhof: It’s a tough question to answer: so, is your church ready for the future?

A lot of the time, I’m afraid the answer is no.

Culture is changing so rapidly that’s it’s hard for anyone to keep up.

Ask people what’s changing faster, the culture or the church, and pretty much everyone will tell you the culture is changing much more quickly. Hands down more rapidly.

The gap between how quick your church changes and how quickly culture changes is called irrelevance.

So how would you know if your church is ready for the future?

Here are 5 signs it’s not.

The gap between how quick your church changes and how quickly culture changes is called irrelevance.Click To Tweet

1. You Don’t Understand the Culture

Listen, this one’s hard.

Culture is changing rapidly. But in addition to that, it’s also fragmenting, fast.

Knowing the culture is changing and understanding how it’s changing are two different things.

Knowing the culture is changing and understanding how it’s changing are two different things.Click To Tweet

There are two primary reasons it’s becoming difficult to truly understand the culture:

First, the pace of cultural change continually speeds up. The internet has both increased connectivity and speed. As a result, we know about trends faster and they tend to change faster.

Second, tastes and preferences are far more fragmented than they used to be. For example, since music has switched to on-demand streaming, there’s not much a common playlist anymore.

Don’t believe me? Check out the top 40 songs on iTunes or Spotify and I guarantee you most church people wouldn’t know the majority of artists, let alone like them. Matchbox 20 and Celine Dion aren’t exactly lighting up the charts much these days.

The point? If you don’t understand the culture, you lose the ability to speak into it.

You don’t have to agree with what’s happening to speak into it, but you do need to understand it.

If you don’t understand the culture, you lose the ability to speak into it.Click To Tweet

2. You’re Not Taking The Internet Seriously Enough

It’s 2018, people. Pretty much everyone slips seamlessly between a digital and analog life these days.

Think about it. You’re reading this online. We’ve probably never met personally. And, about 70% of you are reading this on your phone.

Here’s what will happen next. You’re going to put your phone back in your pocket or purse when you’re done and likely talk to a real person who’s next to you or who just interrupted your reading.

We all slip unthinkingly between the digital and non-digital.

So why does this matter?

Well, it matters because that’s how the world behaves too. And everyone who you want to reach but isn’t in your church is online.

Church leaders, everyone who you want to reach but isn’t in your church is online. Click To Tweet

Despite knowing that everyone we want to reach is online, most churches staff, allocate resources and strategize about 99% of their time, energy and money for ministry within their physical buildings.

Want to really stretch your thinking? Start thinking of your church as a digital organization with a physical presence, not a physical organization with a digital presence. Let that bend your mind for a while.

Remember, everyone you’re trying to reach is online. Why aren’t you taking that more seriously?

What if you thought of your church as a digital organization with a physical presence?Click To Tweet

3. You Think Small Changes Are Good Enough

Change can be hard in the church. (For example, here are 7 signs your church will never change).

So when it comes to change, most leaders settle. Any change is better than no change, right?

Well, that’s true.

But just know this: small changes never solve big problems.

Small changes never solve big problems.Click To Tweet

And when the vast majority of churches aren’t accomplishing the potential of their mission…that’s a big problem.

Small changes won’t move you into a substantially better future. If the problem is big, the change needs to be big too. Small changes never solve big problems.

This is true for stuck and declining churches, but it’s also true for larger and successful churches.

One of the biggest challenges for larger or even growing churches is, as Jim Collins puts it, the hubris born of success.

Don’t focus just on what God has done through you or is doing through you. Pray about what he might do through you yet. Does your current success give you a sense of satisfaction? Let the mission drive you to further action.

If you don’t, you’ll settle for small changes that will inevitably lead you into future decline.

Does your success give you a sense of satisfaction? Let the mission drive you to further action.Click To Tweet

4. No One In Your City Even Knows You’re There

A growing problem for many churches is not persecution, it’s indifference.

Most leaders tend to overestimate how well their church is known, loved and respected in their community.

But the next time you drive by a church you know nothing about, ask yourself if you’d notice if it was gone. Most of us have no idea what goes on inside.

That’s how most people who live in your community probably feel about your church.

How can you change that?

Jeff Henderson of Gwinnett Church has pioneered something that’s spread to thousands of churches—the #FOR initiative—in which churches demonstrate to their communities that God is for them and the church is for them. Rather than waiting for people to love us, the #FOR initiative shows the city that we love them. I interview Jeff Henderson about the #FOR initiative on my leadership podcast. You can listen for free here.

A growing problem for many churches is not persecution, it’s indifference.Click To Tweet

5. You’re Not That Passionate About the Mission

You know what’s missing in so many churches and so many leaders?

Passion.

The church has the best mission in the world. There’s none better, and it has the potential to transform the entire planet.

But so many church leaders have lost their passion. So have many churches.

It’s easy to get distracted by challenges that take you off mission. Or to have life and leadership suck the juice out of you.

Leaders, your church will never be more passionate about the mission than you are.

And congregations, your passion for the world should be so white hot that people can’t help but wonder what’s going on.

Leaders, your church will never be more passionate about the mission than you are.Click To Tweet

Reignite Your Passion

You may read a post like this and think “I don’t really have the time to make the changes we need to make at our church. I’m already overwhelmed with trying to keep with everything that’s going on, despite the fact that I know it’s not working as well as it should be.”

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by life and leadership, you’re not alone.

What if it could be different?

What if you could have the time to fix what’s broken, re-engineer the future AND have more time with your family?

That’s the heart behind The High Impact Leader Course.

This 10-session online course will show you highly practical, proven strategies on how to finally get time, energy and priorities working in your favor. It includes 10 videos, an online workbook and 10 specific exercises that will help you create a personalized plan to help you get productive and accomplish the things you know are most important, but rarely have time for.

Check it out here

The course, which proceeds at your personal pace whenever you’re ready to tackle a unit, is designed to help you:

Get your most important priorities done early in the week, every week.

Spend more of your time at work doing the things that energize you and less time doing the things that drain you.

Invest more of your time with the people who energize you and less time with the people who drain you.

Discover time to finally exercise, pursue a hobby,  launch a blog, start a podcast or write that book.

Actually be OFF when you have a day off.

Be far more focused on your family when you’re with your family.

Learn how to say no nicely, so you can free up time for the things you’re truly called to do.

In short, it’s designed to help get your life and leadership back, or perhaps find them for the very first time.

Find the Time to Work on the Future

Does the course help leaders? You can ask over 3000 alumni.

Dave from Invitation Church in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, a married pastor of a new church plant who has two kids under the age of five says:

“Just wow. Thank you. The course helped me identify my priorities and work to bring clarity in all phases of my life.  I feel SO, SO, SO much more freedom.”

Listen to Isaac’s story. He recently completed the High Impact Leader course:

If you asked me earlier this year if I would want a repeat of 2017 I would have said, no way.

After walking through the High Impact Leader though, I would and will repeat what I have been doing in the last few months.

It has allowed me to be more strategic with my time, energy, and priorities like never before. I have held a full schedule for the last few months and unlike ever before, my family did not feel the weight of it, my family was prioritized at the top of it.

Thank you, Carey, for helping the end of 2017 be great and I’m very excited about what 2018 is going to hold!

Pam from Red Rock Church in Colorado Springs calls the High Impact Leader “a gamechanger.”

And that’s the goal. I hope that’s what will happen in your life.

The High Impact Leader course has already helped over 3000 leaders accomplish far more.

Registration is open now for a very limited time, and for the last time at its current pricing. I’ve added some special bonuses for this launch you won’t want to miss.

To enroll and get instant access, click here.

See Any Signs?

What are some signs you see that tell you whether your church is ready for the future or not?

Scroll down and leave a comment!

The post 5 Signs Your Church Isn’t Ready For the Future appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: 5 Signs Your Church Isn’t Ready For the Future

The post 5 Signs Your Church Isn’t Ready For the Future appeared first on Passion for Planting.