By Carey Nieuwhof: One of the biggest challenges most pastors are facing right now is that a meaningful percentage of their congregation seems to have disappeared.

Or at least they think that’s what’s happening.

In the current climate of reopened in-person services, online church, so many people moving and the uncertainty of the post-pandemic world, it’s hard to tell who’s still around and who may have left.

According to Tony Morgan’s Q1 2021 Unstuck Church Report, physical church attendance is down 28% from even 2020 levels, which means that a chunk of most congregations has slipped away. (In more encouraging news, online service views are up 123%, which likely reflects the work churches have put into their online services over the last 12 months.)

But this still leaves the nagging question: where did the missing people go?

Are they watching online?
Are they still with us?
Have they gone to another church?
Are they upset with me because of what I said/didn’t say about _______
Are they simply gone?
Why did they disappear?

Combine that with the fact that, according to the Barna Group, by the end of 2020, 20% of church attenders said they stopped attending church altogether during the pandemic, and it leaves pastors really wondering.

So…what do you do?

How do you respond to what feels like an emotional gut punch?

Here are some ideas on how to lead when a good chunk of your church simply disappears. But first, a story.

The Year Half of Our Church Disappeared

I’ve led through the dynamic of disappearing attenders before, so I recognize the pain and confusion it causes. It get it.

In 2007, I left the denomination I was part of at the time. The congregation voted 96% in favor of becoming non-denominational, even if it meant losing the building we had just built a few years earlier.  While any story like this is complex, the goal was simple: to reach even more people.

In the end, it turned out the denomination kept the building (which is fine) and we started over again, launching Connexus Church in two cities with two portable locations.

Opening Sunday for Connexus broke all previous attendance records, teetering on just under 1000 attenders, which for us at the time was deeply encouraging.

But the church plant wasn’t exactly as sexy as what we left.

The almost paid-for comfortable new building was gone. We exchanged it for movie theatres that smelled like popcorn and had sticky floors from all the spilled soda the night before (don’t worry, we soon hired our own cleaning crew). Portable church also meant volunteers were on site by 5:30 a.m. to set up.

With the new church, we were also deeply focused on reaching unchurched people. Our previous growth had involved unchurched people, but there was honestly a lot of transfer growth too. I really wanted to create a church the unchurched loved, so we went for it.

Within 18 months, under my leadership, I grew the church from 900 down to about 450 attenders. Ugh.

Volunteers left. Donors walked out. Leaders quit.  What was really hard is that a few left angrily, but most just quietly disappeared.

There were just fewer and fewer people in the room every month.

So what do you do when half your church disappears?

1. Process Your Pain

To pretend it doesn’t hurt when people leave is a lie.

As Terry Wardle taught me, ministry is a series of ungrieved losses. When our church shrank that year, it was demoralizing and exhausting for everyone who stayed, and I felt depleted and utterly discouraged. I even offered my resignation to the board. They didn’t accept it, but it was so hard.

So what do you do when your church shrinks or moves into the kind of uncharted territory so many find themselves in now?

Start here: process your pain.

If you don’t, your loss will come out as anger, aggression, cynicism, despair, defeat, physical illness or about a hundred other ways.

Call a friend.

Pray.

Vent.

Weep.

See a therapist.

Release it…all of it.

I found that the only way through the pain is to process the pain. On the other side of that, you’ll find healing.

It took a while, but I did.

The only way through the pain is to process the pain. On the other side of that, you’ll find healing.

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2. Don’t Lose Hope

At the same time you process your pain, it’s critical to never lose hope.

And if the mission of reaching new people and making new disciples isn’t a hope-filled vision, I don’t know what is.

It can be tempting to get lost on the pain or to try to avoid the pain altogether, thinking that denying the pain will make you stronger. It won’t.

Pain and hope are strange companions, but great companions.

Pain and hope are strange companions, but great companions.

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In Good to Great,  Jim Collins said the chief job of leaders is to never lose hope AND name the reality they’re facing, no matter how brutal it is. He called it the Stockdale Paradox, quoting from POW Jim Stockdale:

You must never ever ever confuse, on the one hand, the need for absolute, unwavering faith that you can prevail despite those constraints with, on the other hand, the need for the discipline to begin by confronting the brutal facts, whatever they are.

What’s your vision?

What’s your why?

Focus on that…because sometimes that’s all you’ve got left. I promise you it’s enough.

The chief job of leaders is to never lose hope AND name the reality they’re facing, no matter how brutal it is. – Jim Collins

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3. Look For The People You Can Build the Future of the Church On

Despair is overrated.

Despite what you might feel, there are still passionate people at your church who are serving, inviting their friends, giving and leaning in hard on the mission.

Giving them a crystal clear vision for the future is key to keeping them engaged.

Despair is overrated.

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There are two real options you face as a leader when people are leaving.

You can try to win people back. This one’s tempting. It’s easy to think that backing off of change or trying to please unhappy people is your ticket to a better future.

The reality is that many of the people who left had other churches to go to that were more ‘traditional’ or insider-focused. The church we were trying to build was for people who didn’t go to church…and that meant we were going to focus on doing things differently.

Instead of trying to win people back, focus on moving the remaining people forward.

That will get you much further down the road.

Fickle, upset, and disengaged people are hard to build the future of the church on.

Ask yourself: do we still have engaged, passionate people who believe in the mission?

Almost always the answer is yes.

So, focus on them.

By the way, you’ll find that group deeply energizing.  Focusing on the people leaving, by contrast, can be very depleting.

Fickle, upset, and disengaged people are hard to build the future of the church on.

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4. Focus on Engagement, Not Attendance

The best thing you can do when people are leaving is to engage or re-engage the people who remain.

Engaged people are your future.

Over the long-term in a church, you can accomplish more with 300 engaged Christians than with 3000 disengaged attendees.

The disengaged group will dwindle. The 300 engaged Christians will advance the mission and never stay the same.

Over the long-term in a church, you can accomplish more with 300 engaged Christians than with 3000 disengaged attendees.

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It’s true that only God can bring growth. But he uses engaged Christians to do it.

Engaged people are passionate people. They know what the mission is, they serve in it, and they live it out.

They’re passionate enough about it to invite their friends.

Getting crystal clear about your mission and granular about friends, family, coworkers and neighbors that everyone would love to see discover the love of Christ is a great way to move forward.

Only God can bring growth. But he uses engaged Christians to do it.

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5. Invest Even More In Church Online

In an attempt to win people back in the building, I’ve heard some speculation online among pastors that they might cut back the resources they’re putting into church online or perhaps stop it all together.

In my view, that’s a big mistake.

We’ve been online at our church for over a decade, and for years now virtually 100% of our in-person first-time guests have come after checking us out online.

Sure, online church is new. Yes, it can be confusing. But there’s so much opportunity.

In the last few weeks over 4000 church leaders have completed the Church Outreach Assessment, an assessment designed to help you see how well your church is positioned to reach new people in the future. (It also comes with a free teaching series on how to reach more people.)

We’ll be sharing more data soon, but here’s one surprise.

Only 35% of churches have a process to capture the personal information of people online.

Only 35% of churches have a process to capture the personal information of people online.

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While all of this is new to many churches, don’t give up. Keep investing in online.

Learning how to do things like capture the data of people when they visit you online is key to reaching more people. (Hint…I’ll have a lot of practical help coming up on this shortly.)

Everyone you want to reach in your city is online, and digital scales in a way that physical church doesn’t.

There’s a growing group of pastors and leaders, who are fully embracing a hybrid church model: deciding to become 100% physical and 100% digital.

They see digital not as an ‘accommodation’, but as both real ministry and an abundant opportunity.

Forward-thinking pastors realize that the best answer to the question “Should ministry be digital or physical?” is “Yes”.

If you want to reach more people: go to where they are, which these days, is online.

Forward-thinking pastors realize that the best answer to the question “Should ministry be digital or physical?” is “Yes”.

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Our Story: A Much Better Future

So what happened at Connexus after that steady 18 month decline after launch?

Well, we processed our pain, never lost hope, found the people we could build the future of the church on, focused on engagement, not attendance and invested a lot in online ministry.

The result?

After 18 months of decline, new people started coming. People made decisions to follow Jesus and got baptized. They then invited their friends.

Fast forward to today, and over 4000 people call Connexus home. And every week thousands attend online (and soon again) in person.

What’s best is that over 50% of our growth over the last decade has been from people who previously didn’t attend church.

Winning people back isn’t the way forward. Moving people forward on a crystal clear mission is the way forward.

Winning people back isn’t the way forward. Moving people forward on a crystal clear mission is the way forward.

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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.

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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);

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How Are You Staying Encouraged?

What are you doing emotionally to keep yourself encouraged and engaged, and what are you doing strategically to help reach more people?

Scroll down and leave a comment!

The post How to Keep Leading (And Growing) When 10%, 20% or 40% of Your Church Disappears appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: How to Keep Leading (And Growing) When 10%, 20% or 40% of Your Church Disappears

The post How to Keep Leading (And Growing) When 10%, 20% or 40% of Your Church Disappears 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

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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.

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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: 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

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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.

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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: 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.

Source: The Moment We’re In and the Mission We’re On

The post The Moment We’re In and the Mission We’re On appeared first on Passion for Planting.

This is a post written by Rich Birch. Rich is the founder of Unseminary and is a member of my Speaking Team. You can book Rich to consult with your team or speak at your next event here.

By Rich Birch

If you’re not familiar with YouTube culture, you might not have heard of MrBeast.

Jimmy Donaldson (aka MrBeast) is the top content creator on the platform for 2020, and he’s super engaging. Over the years, he’s produced some amazingly creative content that has earned him over 54 million subscribers and all kinds of awards. He struck viral gold in January 2017 when he posted a video of himself counting to 100,000 that was viewed tens of thousands of times in just a few days. That might seem like a strange start, but it gained him a lot of notoriety and launched him into the stratosphere of YouTubers.

In December 2020, MrBeast launched MrBeast Burger, a restaurant chain with 300 locations, and he did it all in one day. To put that in context, his restaurant chain is similar in size to Shake Shack, Smashburger, or In-N-Out Burger. However, those burger chains took years to achieve the size and clout that MrBeast Burger accomplished in a single day.

The unique spin that MrBeast brings to the burger business is that his 300 locations are completely virtual. The food is prepared by existing restaurants, ordered online, and delivered by third-party delivery services. MrBeast launched a MrBeast Burger app that provides relatively seamless ordering, payment, and delivery options. This is an astonishing achievement for any organization, and it provides all kinds of lessons for your church and my church as we think about what comes next in the life of our communities.

Obviously, MrBeast, being a YouTuber, launched his new burger restaurant with an amazing video. Jimmy and his team rented an actual restaurant for just a single day and gave away burgers, fries, and drinks. They gave away more than just their new, delectable food, however. On opening day, they gave away cash, computers, and even a car! This launch video has become a viral hit, and it is well worth your time to watch it and get a sense of the enormous scale of what MrBeast is doing. 

On launch day, the line of cars trying to get to the restaurant was 20 miles long. In fact, the line was so long that police eventually had to close down the restaurant because of all of the traffic problems it was creating in this North Carolina town.

MrBeast Burger is more than just an interesting fad or a YouTube story that came and went. It provides some lessons for our churches as we look to the future and think about the development of our ministries. Here are six lessons from the launch of MrBeast Burger that you can apply to your church.

Online and In Person // Leveraging the Best of The One to Make the Other Better!

It’s fascinating to watch these online celebrities and digital businesses push into the in-person world.

MrBeast Burger represents an interesting hybrid because it is clearly an online digital platform but it delivers an actual in-person experience.

Although I’m excited about all the digital innovation that’s happened over the last year or so, as we look to the future, we also need to consider how our in-person experience is going to be impacted by all that we’ve been learning online.

Rather than trapping ourselves in a false dichotomy of online versus in-person, how can we recognize the hybrid nature of our experiences? We obviously don’t live in a purely online world, and our offline world is increasingly injected with digitally connected technology. How can we find a unique combination of the two that acknowledges the world we live in?

I’m struck by Peloton when I think about this question. Earlier this year, Peloton commented in an investor call that, even though they’ve seen such strong sales online due to the pandemic, they have continued to be committed to their in-person locations. [ref] They recognize that the need to connect in person is not going away any time soon.

Rather than trapping ourselves in a false dichotomy of online versus in-person, how can we recognize the hybrid nature of our experiences? – @richbirchClick To Tweet

Audience Building // Who is Following Along With Your Church’s Story?

MrBeast didn’t spend any money on Facebook ads, direct mail, or any other paid media. Think about that for a minute. It’s astonishing, really.

He turned his sizeable audiences on to his concept, and it launched rapidly. This is an important lesson for our churches. Audience building is core to MrBeast Burger’s business. In their case, that means building YouTube subscribers, Instagram followers, and an email list that they can reconnect with over time to keep drawing fans into their business. Even the decision to launch their own app rather than rely on third-party delivery apps indicates their interest in connecting and communicating with their audience.

Our churches need to be thinking about the ever-increasing audience around our ministries.

Years ago, Rick Warren explained that churches have five “circles of commitment”—community, crowd, congregation, committed, and core. As church leaders, we are aiming to move people from the community to the core. However, there is a larger halo of people outside of the “community” that we need to build strategies to stay connected with. These are people who are aware of us but maybe attended only a service or two in the last year. Or maybe they downloaded content that they found helpful from the church’s website.

How can we capture this group of people’s contact information so that we can keep them connected over time and eventually move them closer and closer to our ministries?

Audience building needs to be part of our strategy as we look into the future. Effective ministries have always made space for people to belong to the community first without requiring them to behave in a certain way. Audience building allows us to do that at scale—to have a wide variety of people in the general orbit of our ministry who we hope will eventually connect in a more substantial way.

Effective ministries have always made space for people to belong to the community first without requiring them to behave in a certain way. – @richbirchClick To Tweet

Partnership Potentials // Working Together For a Better Future.

It’s fascinating to me that a YouTuber struck up relationships with hundreds of restaurants all across the country to make his food and that third-party companies he’s never met will deliver for him. Talk about effective partnership building!

A partnering restaurant might be a local Italian place or a hometown burger joint. MrBeast Burger is focusing their efforts on marketing while relying on third-party organizations to ultimately deliver the food, meaning online delivery services cover the last mile to connect the restaurant and its customers.

It’s a fairly seamless experience that creates all kinds of value along the chain. Restaurants all across the country have seen a boost in business because of their connection with MrBeast Burger.

In the future, there may be new opportunities for us to work together as churches across the country in a similar way.

We’ve often drawn strong lines between our churches. However, one thing that we’ve seen pretty clearly during COVID is that churchgoers don’t necessarily hold to those lines. A person may attend Sunday morning services at one church, engage in weekly Bible study at another, listen to worship music from a third, and maybe even reach out to a fourth for some other kind of assistance.

As we look to the future, can we dream up creative new approaches to partnership that will ultimately propel our ministries forward, reach more people, and connect them with the teachings of Jesus?

As we look to the future, can we dream up creative new approaches to partnership that will ultimately propel our ministries forward, reach more people, and connect them with the teachings of Jesus? – @richbirchClick To Tweet

Authenticity Keeps Winning // Is There a Higher Cultural Value Than Excellence?

If you don’t normally spend time on YouTube or engage with vloggers, you might be slightly put off by how much authenticity these personalities exhibit.

So much of this content is behind the scenes and isn’t pretty or polished. This authenticity draws the community in even more. People want to engage when they see folks who are doing something online that is real and maybe just a little bit gritty.

This was exhibited in the early days of MrBeast Burger, when there were, understandably, a few complaints about some of the burgers. Rather than hiding behind corporate statements, MrBeast himself took to the airwaves and spoke publicly about the challenges of opening a restaurant chain overnight, committing to improving the warmth of the burgers and the crispiness of the crinkle cut fries.

This has spawned an incredible amount of community content. In response to the complaints, people are now posting videos and photos to show off their freshly delivered burgers and celebrate an amazing meal.

All of this authenticity, ultimately, is more endearing to MrBeast’s fans.

We’ve said it before, and we will definitely say it again. Behind-the-scenes content that draws your community into the production is key when it comes to creating great social media content for your church today. If you’re launching new projects in the weeks and months ahead, how can you show people the process behind the scenes? How can you let them in on what you’re doing?

Don’t hide behind a fake “quality” veneer. Show some authenticity. Let people know what it actually takes to do what you do as a church.

Don’t hide behind a fake “quality” veneer. Show some authenticity. Let people know what it actually takes to do what you do as a church. – @richbirchClick To Tweet

Community Service as a Growth Strategy // They Think It’s a “Good Thing” … We Know It’s a God Thing!

A core part of MrBeast Burger’s offering is a “buy one, give one” strategy.

We’ve seen this with TOMS Shoes and many other brands over the years. The idea is that a portion of sales will actually go to feeding people in the communities where orders are placed. Based on comments online and the way people talk about MrBeast Burger, this is clearly an important part of the appeal of this new restaurant. It doesn’t just make great burgers—it actually helps other people.

Our churches are called to make a difference in the lives of our community. Rather than hiding this away in some committee or as a sub-point on a strategic plan, community service needs to be seen as a part of your growth strategy. Time and again we’ve seen the draw of churches that focus on getting their people out of their seats and into the streets. And obviously, this kind of community service is not just good for your image in the community—it’s a God thing.

Narrow the Focus for a Bigger Impact // Simple Church is Still The Best Path Forward.

Take a look at the MrBeast Burger menu. It has just a few items. In comparison to the McDonald’s around the corner from you, MrBeast Burger has a much narrower focus, and it’s hard at work improving the quality of what it delivers.

This small menu gives them the ability to focus on a few items and do them well.

Remember Simple Church? The idea is that churches should do only a few things and do them well in order to have more impact. Clarity. Movement. Alignment. Focus. Work on those things that move people closer to the mission and strip everything else away.

There was a time when churches would actually brag about how many services or ministries they had. “We have 102 services at our church!” However, we’ve seen all kinds of evidence that simple church is the way for our churches to grow and reach the people in our communities.

One of my fears as we come out of COVID and its impact on our churches with the addition of a robust online ministry is that our churches will become increasingly complex and we will lose this power of being a simple church.

What can we remove from our church today to make us more effective tomorrow?

We need to cut back on things that don’t push the mission forward. What areas of our ministry are not effective? What projects are holding us back and siphoning resources? Now would be a perfect time for us to trim those things away so that we can focus our effort and energy on the aspects of our ministry that push us closer to our mission.

What can we remove from our church today to make us more effective tomorrow? – @richbirchClick To Tweet

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A Framework for Change: Get More People On Board (Free Resource)n

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

There are 5 different ways a leader can respond to change, and each means a different outcome for their organization. With the free Pivot-Ready Cheat Sheet, you’ll find out: nnWhich kind of leader you arenWhat it means for your organization; andnThe mindset that will propel you into a new (and better) futurenn

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A Framework for Change: Get More People On Board (Free Resource)n

n

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

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Looking for more information about MrBeast Burger?

Here are a few links:

The Untold Truth of MrBeast Burger
The North Carolina Kid Who Cracked YouTube’s Secret Code
MrBeast Burger Crashes the Virtual Dining Scene

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the model down below!

The post How to Launch 300 locations in a single day. What MrBeast, YouTube, Ghost Kitchens can teach your church appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: How to Launch 300 locations in a single day. What MrBeast, YouTube, Ghost Kitchens can teach your church

The post How to Launch 300 locations in a single day. What MrBeast, YouTube, Ghost Kitchens can teach your church appeared first on Passion for Planting.

By Carey Nieuwhof: Finally, it seems like the post-COVID world is finally coming into view.

While different countries, regions, provinces and states will emerge out of COVID at different times, 2021 appears to be the year we will be able to move into a post-pandemic world.

So, as you get ready to embrace the new reality, what should you be focused on?

It’s obviously a tough question to answer because neither in-person church or online church is a panacea. Each has its unique challenges, promises and limits. In-person church attendance has been declining for decades before the pandemic, and online church hasn’t solved all the issues the church is facing either.

That said, there are some guidelines that can help moving forward.

Here are 5 critical mistakes it would be so easy to make right now as a church leader.

1. Taking Your Foot Off the Digital Gas Pedal

There will be a real temptation to once the world moves past COVID to think of digital ministry as an afterthought or something that’s no longer necessary.

You’re certainly free to make that decision, but in many ways that would be a mistake.

Barna research shows that 7 in 10 churched adults agree that, post-pandemic, churches should use digital resources to reach and engage their neighborhoods. In addition, 21% of US unchurched adults are open to watching an online service alone. For those unchurched adults with a high digital openness though, that percentage climbs to 87%.

While in-person church is here to stay, to back off on digital now is to back off on the future and to back off on outreach. If you care about reaching people, that’s a mistake.

While in-person church is here to stay, to back off on digital now is to back off on the future and to back off on outreach. If you care about reaching people, that’s a mistake.

Click to Tweet

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Hybrid church (churches offering great in-person experiences and digital experiences) will be the future because everyone has lived a hybrid life for years. Once moment you’re on social media, the next you’re having coffee with a friend in real life. .

If you want more on the interplay of physical and digital church in the future, including how your online presence serves as both a front door and side door, I wrote more here.

Treating digital as something interesting or nice to have may have been an acceptable strategy in 2011. But this is 2021.

Treating digital as something interesting or nice to have may have been an acceptable strategy in 2011. But this is 2021.

Click to Tweet

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2. Allocating Most of Your Staff and Volunteers to Ministry In the Church Building

Not much has changed since I wrote this post last year aruing that too many church leaders will step into the past as they step back into their buildings. The same dynamics are very much in play right now.

While it’s true that most churches feel short-staffed and under-resourced, the pre-COVID habit of assigning your online ministry as one line in a job description to your tech person or creative person is history. Or at least if you want a future it’s history.

As distributed gatherings, micro-gatherings and online ministry continues to grow, dedicating a meaningful percentage of your staff, budget, and volunteers to ministry that happens outside the church building is critical.

The pre-COVID habit of assigning your online ministry as one line in a job description to your tech person or creative person is history. Or at least if you want a future it’s history.

Click to Tweet

END .ss-ctt-wrapper

How much of your resources should be allocated to online and distributed gatherings?

I talked to one leader who said that post-pandemic, 40% of his team, time and energy will go into online.

I think that’s a healthy percentage.

While that might seem like a complete stretch for most churches, gradually increasing the resources you devote to online and off-building ministry is possible for everyone.

Don’t have staff or feel understaffed?

Look for 15-25 year old volunteers to help you with your online presence. They see the future because they are the future. And the present.

Don’t have staff? Look for 15-25 year old volunteers to help you with your online presence. They see the future because they are the future. And the present.

Click to Tweet

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3. Resuming In-Person Services Exactly As They Were Pre-COVID

The jury is still very much out on what’s going to happen to services once the world is re-opened.

But many church leaders are considering running two kinds of services: in-person and then a separate one devoted to online.

In other words, online will become something other than just a live-stream of whatever is happening in the auditorium or sanctuary on Sunday.

While this presents challenges from both a time and resource standpoint, this approach makes sense for a few reasons.

First, almost every church leader has come to realize that online services are best when they’re shorter.

Second, nobody has really figured out what to do with worship music online. The four or five song set that works in church just doesn’t translate online.

Third, preaching to a crowd is great, but it feels less personal when you’re watching on a device. Direct-to-camera preaching (including different camera positions and even the use of DSLRs) can make the online experience much better.

More than a few pastors I talk to are shooting an online version of their message and service mid-week for broadcast on Sunday and for access on-demand, but then doing a different experience in the room live on Sunday that doesn’t get streamed. By different, it could be the same message, just delivered live (or via video), but more music and other elements that may not translate as well online.

This IS a lot of work. I get it.

If you don’t have the resources for it, and least consider doing something different online that’s direct to camera…something like a 5 minute devotion, talk or something other than just the stream of your Sunday morning in-person gatherings.

I have a full training session and application guide on how to create great online content inside The Leader’s Circle. You can get instant access to a free trial of The Leader’s Circle on-demand training for you and your team here.

Finally, when it comes to your in-person gatherings, make the experience more…personal.

Many re-opened churches that are seeing some traction are making the in-person experience different than online by offering food, coffee, parking lot or side room gatherings for people to connect. And they’re providing kids experiences that provide something other than a carbon copy of what you can get online.

The principle here is clear: if everything your church does in the future feels downloadable, probably all you’ll get is a lot of downloads, not a lot of gathered people. (For more on that, read this.)

If everything your church does in the future feels downloadable, probably all you’ll get is a lot of downloads, not a lot of gathered people.

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4. Posting Every Thought You Have On Every Issue Online

Let’s switch gears for a minute and talk less about how and more about what.

This deserves a post of its own, but it’s becoming clear that one of the reasons people who don’t go to church don’t want to go to church is simple: your social media posts.

According to a recent Barna survey, only 30% of non-Christians have a positive reaction when they see people post things about their Christian faith on social media. (45% don’t have a positive reaction, and 25% indicated they don’t know.)

Only 30% of non-Christians have a positive reaction when they see people post things about their Christian faith on social media.

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I am increasingly concerned about the number of church leaders who feel the compulsion to post their opinion online about everything. From negative rants or arguments on vaccines to politics, to legislation, to climate change, to some grievance against a neighbor or celebrity, whatever else they happen to have an opinion on in the moment, the daily tirade I see on my social feed is exhausting.

You know the world is watching and listening right?

Even if you’re posting from your personal account, you’re leaving an impression on the unchurched who follow you.

Influence takes years to build and second to lose. Church, we’re losing a lot of influence right now.

Influence takes years to build and second to lose. Church, we’re losing a lot of influence right now.

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5. Resenting People Who Aren’t Doing What You Want Them To Do

One truth you’ve consistently faced as a leader is this: people rarely do exactly what you want them to do.

That’s going to get more intense in the post-pandemic era.

People won’t follow the patterns you want them to follow. Maybe people will come back in droves. Maybe they won’t. The early evidence hasn’t been encouraging.

The question is this:

How do you interact with infrequent church attenders who don’t seem to be embracing the mission of your church the way?

I think it’s simple.

You embrace them anyway.

I chose the word ’embrace’ on purpose. Because I know there’s something deep-seated in many of us that wants to reject people if we sense they’re rejecting us. And people who don’t come out to church much on Sunday can feel like rejection if you’re an insecure church leader.

Grow up. Be more secure.

Rather than judging them, why not love them? Judgment is a terrible evangelism study. You run from people who resent and judge you. Why should you expect any different from the people you lead?

Ultimately, people gravitate to where they are valued most. So value people.

Judgment is a terrible evangelism strategy.

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Simplify Staff Training and Save Time With Done-For-You Leadership Development

I’d guess that you know how important team training and development is… but doesn’t it always seem like a scramble to get everything lined up for staff meeting?

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What Do You See?

Those are some potential mistakes I see on the horizon.

What do you see? Scroll down and leave a comment!

The post 5 Critical Mistakes Church Leaders Should Avoid In the Post-COVID World appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: 5 Critical Mistakes Church Leaders Should Avoid In the Post-COVID World

The post 5 Critical Mistakes Church Leaders Should Avoid In the Post-COVID World appeared first on Passion for Planting.

By Carey Nieuwhof: What will drive future church growth in the post-pandemic era?

It’s an important question to ask, because for most church leaders the pandemic has been a question of adaptation and survival, both personal and organizational.

The pandemic has been both discouraging and frustration for many church leaders.

Not only are the return-to-church numbers remarkably low,  but there’s evidence as many as 1 in 5 people dropped out of church in 2020 (see this post on the new exodus for why so many suddenly left the church).

There’s no question that many habits and patterns are being reset right now, but with every obstacle comes opportunity.

So what’s going to accelerate the growth of the future church?

Time, of course, will tell, but here are five things that will in all likelihood help churches accelerate growth into the future.

1. A Focus on the Core Mission

Before the global crisis hit in 2020, most churches were struggling, but so was church. Liberal and conservative churches were transfixed on politics and ideas (more than the core message of Christianity) were often struggling to reach new people.

Even attractional churches, which made up the majority of growing churches in the last two decades, were finding growth much harder than it used to be. (I wrote more about why here.)

If there’s one trend to watch moving forward, it’s that America likely accelerated its journey into becoming a post-modern, post-Christian culture.

Which means the future church will have to stand as an alternative to the culture, not an echo of it.

The future church will have to stand as an alternative to the culture, not an echo of it.

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As a result, in the future church:

Cool won’t cut it

Hype won’t cut it

Fun won’t cut it.

Real will.

A focus on the core purpose of church: introducing people to a relationship with Christ, with each other and life-changing discipleship, will be the one thing that church can offer that the world doesn’t.

Churches that focus on this will grow. Churches that get lost in politics, ideology, hype or anything off mission won’t—at least not the long term.

In the future church, cool won’t cut it. Hype won’t cut it. Fun won’t cut it. Real will.

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2. An Actual Experience

So what kind of experience will help people move into an authentic faith?

For years, churches have grown through delivering great content. And trust me, excellent preaching still matters.

The problem is that great content is no longer scarce.

What used to drive church attendance—join us in the building at 10 a.m. for a brand new series—will no longer do so, because everyone now knows whatever message you’re preaching will be live-streamed or available later on demand.

And if your message isn’t, no worries. They can choose from a million others that are. For free. Here’s more on the new scarcity and why content alone won’t cut it in the future.

Our culture is drowning in a sea of information.

When people come to church, they’re not just looking for information—they’re looking for transformation.

Sure, people definitely need some information, but fewer are looking for information about God; they’re looking for an experience of God.

When people come to church, they’re not just looking for information—they’re looking for transformation. They’re not looking for information about God; they’re looking for an experience of God.

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Today, information is everywhere. Transformation is scarce.

What does this mean?

Churches that focus on something more than head knowledge in their services or a ‘fun’ experience will likely see greater traction than those that don’t. Even pre-pandemic, churches that had a more charismatic, emotional experience were growing when many other churches weren’t.

In addition, churches that have a clear path into discipleship…that get people engaging their faith or at least experiencing it, will see greater success than churches that invite you to merely attend.

Today, information is everywhere. Transformation is scarce.

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3. Community and Connection

Content used to be a competitive advantage. For the most part, it isn’t any more.

What is deeply scarce right now are community and connection.

A year into the pandemic, people are more isolated than ever. That’s playing out the crisis in mental health, rising addictions and the fractionalized tribes we’ve seen form in our culture.

Authentic, loving and genuine community are more scarce than they have ever been in our lifetime.

Every church should be running to fill that hole.

Community means connecting people to each other in groups, serving, friendship and relationships.

Nobody should be able to out-community the local church.

Connection means that even for those joining online or attending in person for the first time, the primary job becomes connecting with them and then helping them find connection with each other.

In the same way the purpose of a dating app isn’t to get people to connect with the app, but with each other, the goal of the church should be to get people to connect with one another, not just the senior leader. I realize that’s not a great analogy, but you get the point, right?

Moving forward, the competitive advantage of the local church isn’t content, it’s community and connection.

Moving forward, the competitive advantage of the local church isn’t content, it’s community and connection.

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4. Church Online

What happens to online church once we’re move into a post-pandemic world?

Simple…it becomes your front door and side door, and as a result, becomes the greatest opportunity for you to reach new people (front door) and keep people in your church connected (side door).

In the pre-digital era, it took a lot to get someone to come to your church for the first time.

They had to gather the family, dress up (at least out of their PJs), show up and set aside hours for a first time experience. In a Christian culture, that was far easier and less intimidating than it is in a post-Christian culture.

The good news about church online is that the cost of entry is almost nothing to a first-time guest. Just one click and they’re with you.

In the future, wise leaders will realize that this is the best way to reach people, and if you develop a great way to meet people, connect with them and move them into relationship and a discipleship path, you’ll see significant growth.

The other opportunity for church online is its ability to act as a side door for people who are away for the weekend (or a season).

Again, in the pre-digital era, if you were gone…you missed everything. Now you don’t have to miss a thing.

So a robust digital presence moving forward can result in both greater growth and deeper engagement.

Plus digital church scales in a way that physical church doesn’t.

The old thinking was (and still is in many cases) that you’re competing with your in-person services by having a great online experience. That’s scarcity thinking at its finest.

You’re not competing with yourself by investing in a digital future, you’re expanding your mission.

Digital church scales in a way that physical church doesn’t. You’re not competing with yourself by investing in a digital future, you’re expanding your mission.

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5. Agility

One of the biggest temptations for all of us when the post-pandemic era arrives will be to take our foot off the accelerator, find a method that works and lock it in.

That might be a fatal mistake.

The era of set-it-and-forget it strategy is over.

In all likelihood, culture will continue to morph and change quickly. The pace of change will continue unabated, and that will create the need to stay agile.

The gap between how quickly you change and how quickly the culture changes is called irrelevance.

Too many leaders sacrifice the mission in the name of finding predictable methods. Agile leaders are willing to continually sacrifice methods to advance the mission.

Too many leaders sacrifice the mission in the name of finding predictable methods. Agile leaders are willing to continually sacrifice methods to advance the mission.

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I realize that sounds exhausting, and here’s some encouragement (and advice) on how to hang in there for the long haul.

What you’ll realize though is that remaining agile, open and ready to change is one of the greatest strength you can have moving forward.

And ultimately, agility is far less exhausting than decline is.

The era of set-it-and-forget it strategy is over. Agility is far less exhausting than decline is.

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What Do You See?

What do you see as you look to the future?

Anything you’re seeing that’s getting traction as you move into the future?

The post 5 Post-Pandemic Church Growth Accelerators appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: 5 Post-Pandemic Church Growth Accelerators

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By Carey Nieuwhof: So, any idea whether your church or business grow after the pandemic?

Will things spring back to pre-COVID levels? Or will you struggle for years to come?

With so much still up in the air, you might think that question is unanswerable.

Well, yes and no.

To be fair, nobody knows exactly how it will go. We could be for a much longer haul than anyone wants. Not to mention the likely instability of the post-pandemic era ahead.

But the question is answerable at much deeper level, because the difference in attitude between leaders who flourish and leaders who flounder predict the future in a surprisingly accurate way.

One of my favorite leadership books is Jim Collins’ How the Mighty Fall,  written after the Great Recession about formerly iconic companies that ended up failing. (Here’s a more complete list of my top leadership book recommendations.)

With the global crisis causing most of us to entertain thoughts and strategies we’ve never embraced before, I find Collins’ insights as compelling today as they were a dozen years ago. Collins’ observations are based on extensive research. Hence, the accuracy.

The principles I’m sharing in this post are taken from Collins’ book and  they serve as both a solid predictor and warning about the kind of organizations and leaders who will thrive in the post-pandemic world and those who won’t.

Quick side note: I first heard about the book when it first came out in 2009 from a mentor who asked me whether I could possibly be setting myself up for failure based on Collin’s insight.

Those are never fun questions to hear…but my friend was right. His correction saved me and the people I was leading a hundred heartbreaks and possible failure.

Yes, the insights are a bit of a gut-punch, but the kind of gut-punch, as I discovered, that ultimately helps.

So with that in mind, here are five signs you’ll flounder, not flourish after the pandemic.

The difference in attitude between leaders who flourish and leaders who flounder predict the future in a surprisingly accurate way.

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1. You’re Pretty Certain Everything Will Spring Back To Past Levels Because the Rules Don’t Apply to You

Collin’s first sign of failure is something he calls ‘the hubris of success’.

Maybe you were highly successful before COVID. Or, even if you wouldn’t call yourself highly successful, you had a system figured out that kept everything running just fine. Good enough, in other words.

Collins says that’s exactly the trap successful leaders fall into.

Hubris will get you believing your success is deserved rather than something that was fortuitous, fleeting, grace or happened against the odds.

As a result, you’ve stopped learning and growing because you’ve got this figured out and people come to you for answers…so, of course things will snap back in your favor.

Sure, you’ve read that 1 in 5 church-going adults left the church in 2020, but you think your current numbers are solid enough and your number are higher than your friends’ or peers’ numbers. So you’re good.

The rules don’t apply to you, you tell yourself.

And of course, the rules never apply to you until they do.

Pride born of past success is the first sign you won’t see success in the future.

Pride born of past success is the first sign you won’t see success in the future.

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2. You’re Obsessed With Growth

Collins calls the second marker you’re heading for a fall “the undisciplined pursuit of more.” It surfs off the entitlement mentality that the hubris of success brings, and leaders who fall prey to this get hyper-focused on growth.

Collins highlights one pharmaceutical company whose CEO said publicly that they were totally focused on growth as their #1 business objective—not on product breakthroughs, drug development, scientific excellence, not R&D or even increasing productivity.

Growth, Collins points out, is usually a by-product of other things.

It’s not that growth is a bad thing. The problems is the undisciplined pursuit of more. More for more’s sake is the issue, or as Collins puts it, addiction to scale is the problem.

When growth is undisciplined, leaders become ready to sacrifice principles, people and integrity to grow.

You’ll reopen to satisfy your ego and thirst for growth rather than do what’s right (I outlined the idiot’s guide to reopening here).

Look, this one hits me hard personally. I love it when things growth. I hate it when things stagnate or decline.

But I’ve already realized that my desire to grow at all costs ultimately sets everyone up to fail. That by focusing on the fundamentals (these days for me, it’s helping people thrive in life and leadership), far more can be accomplished over the long haul than by simply finding growth hacks that will bring temporary wins.

Here’s the irony: Leaders who are obsessed with growth often face futures filled with decline.

Leaders who are obsessed with growth often face futures filled with decline.

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3. You’re Amplifying The Positive and Discounting the Negative

Look, we’re all trying to stay encouraged. I posted about things to be genuinely encouraged about here.

But here’s the challenge: you can’t motivate your way out of a crisis like this. As hard as it is, you have to lead your way through it.

You can’t motivate your way out of a crisis like this. As hard as it is, you have to lead your way through it.

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Collins calls Stage 3 of how the mighty fall “denial of risk and peril.”

In this stage, leaders amplify the positive and discount the negative—you discount or explain away the negative data rather than presume something is wrong with your organization or leadership.

In other words, leaders highlight and amplify external praise and publicly, pointing out the positive and eliminating the negative.

Truth-tellers get dismissed or punished in this stage and team debate grinds to a halt. The leader only allows opinions he or she likes to come forward.

Finally, almost all the factors associated with the challenges get blamed on external forces or other people.

It’s not us, it’s the pandemic.

The real challenge is the economy…

The statistics lie…that’s not what’s happening

Look, as soon as government lifts the lockdowns everything gets solved

If you want to know what discounting the negative looks like in real life, scroll through the comments on this post. This stage is rampant in a lot of churches and organizations right now.

Leaders who can’t handle the truth get angry…and that’s not healthy for anyone.

If you amplify the positive and discount the negative, you’re likely to run into far more negative in the future.

If you amplify the positive and discount the negative, you’re likely to run into far more negative in the future.

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4. You Think You’ve Discovered A Silver Bullet

As the slide down into failure accelerates, meany leaders find themselves grasping for salvation.

In this stage you find yourself announcing that you’ve discovered a silver bullet solution that will change everything. Or if you haven’t found a silver bullet, you’re searching for one, and trust me, that will turn everything around.

Collins points out that when things start to slide in organizations, leaders grasp at straws, making big dramatic moves that they claim will be game changing or truly innovative.

Another tell tale sign is the hype around the silver bullet or new strategy…hype that isn’t predicated on results but instead precedes results.

Think of “this is going to change everything” or “we’ve totally got this figured out” kind of language, before you’ve really done anything.

This is a particular trap for visionary leaders. Just because you think one thing will change everything doesn’t mean it will.

Just because you think one thing will change everything doesn’t mean it will.

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You might push back and say well isn’t game changing innovation required?

Absolutely.

But real innovation is usually more nuanced, deliberate and comprehensive than the grasping-at-straws desperation you get to when you desire growth at any cost but your strategy doesn’t match.

One additional sign that you’re falling prey to this trap is that as soon as your silver bullet doesn’t work, you grow angry, cynical and start flailing in a new (even opposite) direction out of panic a desperation.

What the team needs in a time like this is calm, deliberate action that moves toward a new direction.

5. You’re Capitulating to Irrelevance or Death

A year into the global crisis, some leaders already find themselves at this stage: capitulation to irrelevance or death.

Maybe you haven’t said anything out loud, but you kind of sense in your spirit that it’s over. That it will never be the same. Or that you don’t have the skills to take things into the future.

Collins makes the argument that it’s very difficult (if not impossible) to move yourself out of this stage.

I’ve you think it’s over, it probably is. After all, the vision of the leader determines the vision of the team.

I’ve you think it’s over, it probably is. After all, the vision of the leader determines the vision of the team.

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I agree with Collins (and Les McKeown, who argues a similar point), that this is a very difficult stage to pull out of, but perhaps it’s not impossible.

The remedy, is to go back through points 1-4 and reverse the action.

Stop assuming things will bounce back, or that the rules don’t apply to you, and humbly work with the entire team to develop a new strategy.

Get over your insecurity and obsession with growth and focus on the fundamentals that bring growth.

Welcome truth tellers and embrace the reality that without deep and systemic change, it may not go well.

Stop looking for silver bullets and embrace calm, deliberate action that moves toward a new direction.

If you find that difficult (and it is difficult), as yourself this simple question: five years from now, what will you wish you had done?

Now go do it.

As you know, innovation (real innovation at least) beats capitulation.

Innovation beats capitulation.

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Any Insights?

As I indicated, this post is a bit of a gut-punch. But over a decade ago, it was exactly the gut punch I needed and I’ve occasionally needed since.

Embrace hard truths like these pave the way to a much better future.

I encourage you to read Collin’s book as it gives a much more detailed insight than this 1500 word post does, but I hope this helps.

Curious—any other signs you see that might indicated struggle or decline is ahead in the post-pandemic world?

I’d love to hear your insights in the comments below.

The post A Surprisingly Accurate Way to See If Your Church or Organization Will Flounder After the Pandemic appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: A Surprisingly Accurate Way to See If Your Church or Organization Will Flounder After the Pandemic

The post A Surprisingly Accurate Way to See If Your Church or Organization Will Flounder After the Pandemic appeared first on Passion for Planting.

By Brandon Cox: So, what do we do about all this stuff?

Years of preaching and listening to sermons about how to be positive, happy, and successful definitely did NOT prepare us to endure a lengthy global pandemic, which triggered a recession, which occurred during an election year, in which racial injustice was brought to the forefront. and income inequality mushroomed.

You can’t follow Jesus and turn a blind eye to those who are suffering while enjoying personal peace and prosperity. It’s simply not an option for a disciple, or for a church full of disciples.

As much as I’d love to go back to business as usual, it’s simply not an appropriate response to all that is happening around us.

But we also can’t get down about all the problems and disengage and retreat. So what can we do?

We CAN listen to the voices of prophets who speak on behalf of the outcast and marginalized.

We CAN develop the compassion and empathy we see exemplified by Jesus.

We CAN think about news and culture through a biblical framework and a gospel lens.

We CAN give out of our extra to help those who lack. We can befriend the lonely. We can serve the sick.

And we CAN do it all as those who have HOPE in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ who is reconciling the world back to himself from its lostness.

We can’t just coast at ease in our own comfort.

We can engage and become love to a world that desperately needs it.

I don’t know what the rest of 2021 will bring, but no matter what happens, our communities and our culture will need people who follow Jesus faithfully to show up again and again full of truth and full of grace.

Just keep showing up. Let’s start there.

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Photo Credit: Matt Bero.

Source: What Can We Do About All the Problems? We Can Keep Showing Up

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By Carey Nieuwhof: Just when you thought the world couldn’t get any more turbulent or surprising, the opening moments of 2021 still have everyone trying to catch their breath.

So what are the leadership trends you should be tracking in 2021?

For years I’ve done a series of church trends posts. You can read the 2021 Disruptive Church Trends post here (along with backlinks to the trends series over the last five years). While those trends are aimed at church leaders, the implications are broader than that.

Last year, I added a more general Leadership Trends post, focusing on a broader swath of issues facing all leaders, business, entrepreneurs, non-profit, professional—essentially all of us who lead.

5 Disruptive Leadership Trends That Will Rule 2020

Despite the insanity that became 2020, those trends outlined in January of 2020 continue to play out right into today.

Which leads us to 2021.

In all likelihood, this year will take us into the post-pandemic world. It won’t be the light switch you hope for (and suddenly, we’re all back!). Instead, it will be a gradual emergence into whatever our normalized future looks like. But at some point in 2021 you’ll look back and realize most of the pandemic is behind you and the future is ahead of you.

The question is, what kind of new reality will emerge? What should you expect as a leader?

So, in the hopes of helping every leader lead more effectively, here are seven disruptive trends every leader needs to watch in 2021.

1. Super-High Turnover (Far More People Than Usual Will Quit, Move and Leave)

As hard as this is to hear, every leader should brace themselves for higher than usual turnover in the next twelve months.

In 2021, far more people—staff, volunteers, team members, and tribe—will quit, move and leave than typical. There’s a lot of lag in the system, and more options than ever as the world reopens.

This is a short term trend, but a real one. Some of the turnover will be natural and healthy. Some of it won’t be.

In 2021, far more people—staff, volunteers, team members, and tribe—will quit, move and leave than typical. There’s a lot of lag in the system, and more options than ever as the world reopens.

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I discussed this trend with the CEO of a staffing search firm who said that some of it is due to a storm surge in the system. Very few people moved or quit in 2020 given what was going on. (If you want more, check out Episode 382 of my Leadership Podcast with William Vanderbloemen.)

As the post-pandemic world emerges, many employees will rethink their future—from what they want to do,  what they want their life to look like and where they want to live (witness the exit from NYC, California and other major cities/states).

In addition, in light of the stress levels, many leaders who were contemplating retirement or succession may end up accelerating the time line.

The point in all this is both to nurture your current team (especially your top people) and to prepare.

If you value your team, now’s the time to let them know and the time to show them you’d love to keep them.

Also, be sure to read to Trend  5. In 2021, the good news for employers and employees is that changing cities doesn’t have to involve changing jobs.

In 2021, the good news for employers and employees is that changing cities doesn’t have to involve changing jobs.

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2. Nothing and No One Will Quite Go Back to Normal

They say it takes 21 days (or 66 days, depending on who you read) to form a habit.

The pandemic will easily pass 365 days before its resolved. That means a lot of new habits have been formed.

Think about how much your patterns have shifted in the last year. From work, to schooling, to shopping and eating habits, to travel and vacationing, to how you entertain yourself and your family, to your work out routine—so much has shifted.

Personally, as a public speaker who was flying over 100,000 miles a year leading into the pandemic, I’ve decided not to be on the road as much in the future.  It’s better for me, my company and the people I love.

Multiply the new and shifted habits by millions of people and you’ll quickly realize that normal has changed a lot in the last year.

That said, many leaders are still counting on things ‘going back to normal’ in the post-pandemic era and they’ve aligned their strategy around it.

Going back to normal only works if normal still exists. And leaders, normal as you knew it, appears to have died.

Going back to normal only works if normal still exists. And leaders, normal as you knew it appears to have died.

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That’s because crisis is an accelerator.

Trends that might have taken years to materialize have embedded themselves more permanently in the last year (like, for example, the remote work, take out, delivery and drive-thru in the food industry, or the much deeper adoption of online shopping).

As much as you may wish that weren’t true (depending on your industry), ignoring it, arguing against it, pretending it’s not happening and arguing it shouldn’t be the case will not reverse it.

For sure, there will be some snap back (I’d love to go to a concert too and sit on a beach somewhere warm).

The world we left in 2019 has morphed into something new and different in 2021 and beyond.

Denial is not a strategy (or at least not a very good one).

The world we left in 2019 has morphed into something new and different in 2021 and beyond. Denial is not a strategy (or at least not a very good one).

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3. Loyalties Will Shift…Significantly

When everything’s changing, people change.

As a result, when culture moves into the post-pandemic era and the dust settles enough to see clearly, leaders will realize people’s loyalties have shifted— in some cases, dramatically.

In light of Trend #2, the question the becomes how many of your existing clients, customers or congregation will still be with you in the post-pandemic era?

For most leaders, it’s been almost impossible to track who your customers are, who you’ve gained and who you’ve lost.

You see overall numbers, but knowing exactly who those people are can be challenging.

When things normalize, you’ll get a much clearer picture or who has left, who’s still here and who you’ve picked up.

When everything’s changing, people change. As a result, when culture moves into the post-pandemic era and the dust settles enough to see clearly, leaders will realize people’s loyalties have shifted— in some cases, dramatically.

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It’s obvious that if you’ve grown, you have new people on board in 2021. But even if the last year has been a flat or declining year for you, there will in all likelihood be people who came for the first time who are now part of what you’re doing.

Naturally, you may want to focus on who you’ve lost and try to bring them back. That’s worth a bit of time and energy.  But it’s important to remember, they left for a reason…and multiple attempts on your part might feel desperate and end up being futile.

It’s probably wiser to focus the majority of your time, energy and resources nurturing the people you’ve kept and the people you’ve picked up.

People who are on mission with you will create a better future that people people who are off-mission or have left the mission.

People who are on mission with you will create a better future that people people who are off-mission or have left the mission.

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4. Home Will Emerge As The New Hub

As much as people are longing to get out of their homes and back into culture, the home will never be quite what it was before COVID.

In 2021 and beyond, home will emerge as the new hub.

Since the crisis began, home became the new hub for six things that more usually happened outside the home: fitness, schooling, work, shopping, entertainment and church.

Some of that will snap back, but not all of it.

In 2021 and beyond, home will emerge as the new hub.

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The world we left in 2019 was still a ‘come to us’ world: Amazon was making major inroads and malls were already struggling (as were churches, theatres and other sectors).

Many people have already reconfigured their homes from fitness, offices, entertainment and (when it’s okay again) better hospitality (so many people have rediscovered or discovered cooking).

In the post-pandemic world, leaders who are waiting for people to come to them will realize it’s much smarter to go to people instead.

And if your organization is designed to have people come to you (live events, restaurants, gyms, theatres, churches) you will likely need better experiences to lure people away from their redesigned homes and new habits.

In the post-pandemic world, leaders who are waiting for people to come to them will realize it’s much smarter to go to people instead.

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5. Remote Work Will Move from An Emergency or Luxury to A Necessity

Remote work has been accelerated at a rapid pace.

Some predictions are that in 2021, the number of people working permanently from home will double over even 2020 levels.

As DropBox explains here, most companies are never going back to how it was. That’s even more true in the for-profit world than in the non-profit world.

Long before COVID,  many employers were already frustrated with (youngish) team members who want to work from home, from coffee shops and have flex hours.

Now, many workers have discovered they love working from home and will insist on it moving into the future.

If you want to attract and keep highly talented team members, remote work options have become a necessity, not just an emergency measure or a luxury.

The future workplace is a flexible workplace, at least if you want to compete.

Having led a virtual team for years, I agree it can be challenging but it’s immensely rewarding, far more rewarding in fact than it is challenging.

If you want more, here are my top 7 practices for leading a digital team. I also offer an online course on how to coach top performance from your team remote or hybrid team here.

The future workplace is a flexible workplace, at least if you want to compete.

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 6. Instability Combined With Rapid Change Will Require Even More Agility 

2021 will also bring two things no leader is hoping for: instability coupled with rapid change.

The externally imposed rapid changed in 2020 caused by the pandemic and global shut down will be replaced by the rapid change demanded by to a newly reopened and different world.

And as much as you won’t likely see the same level of cataclysmic change you saw in 2020, the future will likely be both volatile and unstable.

The combination of prolonged instability and rapid change will create new leadership challenges in 2021.

The combination of prolonged instability and rapid change will create new leadership challenges in 2021.

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Agile leadership will help you tackle that challenge exceptionally well.

Agile leadership is flexible leadership, the ability to pivot and change not just once, but as often as changing conditions warrant.

In a crisis, agility is ability. Flexibility is a superpower.

In a crisis, agility is ability. Flexibility is a superpower.

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7.  A Sustainable Pace (For Everyone) Will Become Non-Negotiable

I know. The last year and the challenges ahead are exhausting.

Leading through a crisis is one thing. Leading through a prolonged crisis is another.

Even in the post-pandemic world, things will be far from stable or predictable for a while to come.

So how will you and your team make it through all that’s ahead?

In 2020, many leaders naturally looked to time off to heal them: a week in the summer, a year-end break, time at the beach.

All that is great, except you know what exactly happens when you return: you’re exhausted by 11 a.m. and silently weeping at your desk by 4.

The vacation solved nothing.

Here’s why that happens: time off won’t heal you when the problem is how you spend time on. When every day grinds you into the dust with long hours and extra effort, you may not even make it to your next vacation.

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

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The cure for an unsustainable pace is to create a sustainable pace.

For me, that means mastering the art of saying no, clearing my calendar, deciding to quit doing the things that aren’t working and building in margin to the every day.

If you think you can’t afford to do that, you’re wrong. You can’t afford not to do that.

Having burned out years ago, I know the pain burnout causes. Since then, I’ve not only developed a very sustainable pace (it works even in crisis), I’ve also trained thousands of leaders on how to find their ideal pace.

So here’s to deepening your personal reserves.

If you have deep reserves, tackling everything else in this post becomes not just easier, but doable.

The cure for an unsustainable pace is to create a sustainable pace.

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What Do You See? 

What trends are you seeing for 2021?

Scroll down and leave a comment!

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