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

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

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

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

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

Guest Links

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Website

Episode Links

Pro Media Fire

Are you looking to grow your online campus?

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

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

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

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

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

Barna Cities – with Barna Group and Gloo

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

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

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

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

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

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

Learn more at BarnaCities.com.

Conversation Links

Books by Rick Warren

The ChurchPulse Weekly Podcast

A Grief Observed by C. S. Lewis

Choose Joy by Kay Warren

Pastors.com

7 Signs It’s Time to Leave by Carey Nieuwhof

Carey’s Daily Email

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

Insights From Rick

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Quotes from Episode 409

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

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

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

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

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

Ministry is received not achieved. @RickWarrenClick To Tweet

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A passionless leader is an ineffective leader.Click To Tweet

Read or Download the Transcript for Episode 409

Looking for a key quote? More of a reader?

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

Watch Back Episodes of The Podcast on YouTube

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Masterful.” Reggie Joiner, CEO Orange

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

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

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

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

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

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

SUBSCRIBED YET?

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

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TuneIn

Spread the Word. Leave a Rating and Review

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

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

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

Thank you for being so awesome.

Next Episode: John Ramstead

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

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

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

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

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

Source: Have You Lost the Vision?

The post Have You Lost the Vision? 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.

---

Photo Credit: Matt Bero.

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

The post What Can We Do About All the Problems? We Can Keep Showing Up appeared first on Passion for Planting.

By Doug Holliday:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Matthew 11:28-29 NIV

How are you doing with rest these days?

There’s this interesting encounter Jesus had with a Canaanite woman who pleaded with Him to heal her daughter. It’s interesting because at first Jesus ignored her. Then, when her persistent pleading grew annoying, the disciples wanted Jesus to send her away. Instead of immediately sending her away, Jesus told her that He had come for the lost sheep of Israel.

All this seems very un-Christ-like. Where’s His compassion? This would be a simple healing. It’s not like Jesus to ignore people who asked Him for help.

“Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, ‘Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.’”

Matthew? ?15:23? ?NIV??

Eventually, her pleading convinced Jesus to act. But why the delay? Why the debate?

One thought we should consider is that Jesus had taken the disciples to Tyre and Sidon not to do ministry, but to rest. After John the Baptist’s death, when the disciples returned from being sent out two by two for a period of intense ministry throughout Galilee, He told them He wanted to get away with them to rest (and likely grieve). This planned rest was interrupted by the large crowd who followed and found Him when Jesus and the disciples got off the boat in Bethsaida. After a full day of ministry meeting the overwhelming, pressing needs of the crowd, Jesus fed the 5,000.

Was the journey to the coastal cities of Tyre and Sidon intended to be a seaside retreat to escape the crowds and find desperately needed rest? Is this why Jesus didn’t want to heal the Canaanite woman’s daughter? News would spread, and crowds seeking healing would come to find the miracle working Messiah, making rest impossible. Was Jesus’ not responding to the Canaanite woman initially the equivalent of Him turning off His cell phone?

This interaction could be viewed as callous and uncaring when He initially ignored her, but could the reality be that in fact Jesus was demonstrating the priority of rest, especially in light of the fact that He’d soon tell the disciples He’d be going to Jerusalem to die?

Jesus knew it was about to get intense. And it did!

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The crowds continued to grow. The demands continued to increase. Where a few months earlier Jesus drew a crowd of 5,000 men plus women and children in Jewish town of Bethsaida, after being in Tyre and Sidon He drew a crowd of 4,000 men plus women and children in Gentile region of the Decapolis.

“Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them.”

Matthew? ?15:30? ?NIV??

We find Jesus again and again, in the midst of ministry intensity, getting away from the crowd. Perhaps this was to prioritize rest.

“After Jesus had sent the crowd away, he got into the boat and went to the vicinity of Magadan.”

Matthew? ?15:39? ?NIV??

Magadan (possibly another name for Magdala) was a smaller town south of Jesus’ base of operations in bustling Capernaum.

“Jesus then left them and went away.”

Matthew? ?16:4?b NIV??

“When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’”

Matthew? ?16:13? ?NIV??

Caesarea Philippi, north of Galilee, was a center for Pagan Worship, somewhere Jews would not go. The crowds from Galilee would not follow Jesus there, so was this another way to escape the crowds and retreat with His disciples?

“After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.”

Matthew 17:1 NIV

The hike up the mountain with Peter, James and John where Jesus was transfigured was another way to escape the crowds to find a place to pray, reflect, rest, and be with the Father.

It was absolutely critical that Jesus and the disciples prioritized rest at this point because of the intensity of what was coming. The emotional toll would be great.

“From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” ??

Matthew? ?16:21? ?NIV??

Jesus continually modeled the priority of rest.

“But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”

Luke 5:16 NIV

“Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the people of Judea. Instead he withdrew to a region near the wilderness, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples.”

John 11:54 NIV

“Each day Jesus was teaching at the temple, and each evening he went out to spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives.”

Luke 21:37 NIV

Jesus prioritized rest. He got away from the crowds. He practiced solitude.

Jesus prioritized rest. He got away from the craziness. He practiced stillness.

Jesus prioritized rest. He got away from the challenges. He practiced soul-care.

How intense is ministry for you right now? What kind of emotional toll are the demands of ministry taking on your soul and in your relationships? Jesus prioritized rest. Are you? Burning the candle at both ends leaves nothing in the middle. You know what’s in the middle?

Your heart.

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”

Proverbs 4:23 NIV

By Doug Holliday

Used by permission. Originally posted here:

The post How to Prioritize Rest Like Jesus appeared first on Discipleship.org.

Source: How to Prioritize Rest Like Jesus

The post How to Prioritize Rest Like Jesus appeared first on Passion for Planting.

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

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

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

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

Guest Links

 Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Website

Episode Links

Dwell App

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

Some of Dwell App’s features include:

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

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

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

Ministry Boost

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

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

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

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

CONVERSATION LINKS

The Wonder Switch by Harris III

Story Gatherings

Istoria

Didn’t See It Coming by Carey Nieuwhof

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

Win Carey’s Leadership Bundle Giveaway!

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

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

INSIGHTS FROM HARRIS

1. The rules of persuasion and illusion are universal

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

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

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

3. When telling stories, focus on connection not conversion

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

Quotes from Episode 387

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

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Leadership is simply inviting someone into a story. @HarrisIII

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

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Science links creativity and innovation to curiosity. @HarrisIII

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Worry and anxiety is a misuse of imagination. @HarrisIII

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

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

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

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

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

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

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To stimulate creativity, limit meetings and email. @cnieuwhof

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

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Better thinking leads to better leadership. @cnieuwhof

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Read or Download the Transcript for Episode 387

Looking for a key quote? More of a reader?

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

Watch Back Episodes of The Podcast on YouTube

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

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

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

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

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

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

Inside, I cover:

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

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

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

SUBSCRIBED YET?

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

Subscribe using your favorite podcast app via

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Google Play

Stitcher

TuneIn

Spread the Word. Leave a Rating and Review

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

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

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

Thank you for being so awesome.

Next Episode: Alli Worthington

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

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

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

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

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

Source: Six Mistakes as a Church Planter

The post Six Mistakes as a Church Planter appeared first on Passion for Planting.

Source: How to Work Full-Time and Plant a Church

The post How to Work Full-Time and Plant a Church appeared first on Passion for Planting.

This post is written by Dillon Smith, a Gen Z team member at Carey Nieuwhof Communications.

By Dillon Smith

Even before the pandemic struck, the western church has been filling fewer and fewer stadiums over the last few decades.

As Gordon Macdonald talked about in this interview, the days of Billy Graham’s evangelistic crusades where he packed out arenas are long over.

According to Gordon:

“Billy Graham’s way of saying the gospel doesn’t work anymore. Bill Bright’s doesn’t work anymore. So get ready for something new.”

Sadly, I think we’ve needed a whole new evangelism strategy for the last 10-20 years, and COVID-19 is finally forcing us to figure out what it should be.

So, in an age where…

The Gospel isn’t filling very many stadiums,
Sunday morning church attendance is at all-time lows,
and our best evangelism strategies are producing diminishing returns,

…what can your church do to reach more people?

As a young church leader who has had the privilege of working closely with Carey Nieuwhof and seeing behind the scenes of A LOT of churches and church models, I see 5 promising options:

We’ve needed a whole new evangelism strategy for the last 10-20 years, and COVID is finally forcing us to figure out what it should be. – @Dillon_M_Smith

Click to Tweet

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1. Online influencers that talk about their faith

In case you haven’t noticed, It’s pretty difficult to grow a following on YouTube. Especially if you’re a church.

Why is that?

I’ve spent the last year and a half trying to figure out why some content is performing well online, and other content isn’t.

What I’ve realized is that there are 2 types of binge-worthy content that will allow you to grow a massive following online.

Those 2 types of content are:

Entertaining Content

This would include channels that are based on gaming, sports, comedy, and a long list of other things that we would classify as entertaining.

Helpful Content

This would include channels that are based around “How-to” videos, educational videos, makeup tutorials (Which are HUGE on YouTube,) and anything else that makes the viewer feel like they have learned something new from watching.

If a channel can consistently produce one of these types of content, it has the potential to become huge.

Sadly, many online church services aren’t densely packed with helpful or entertaining content, and that’s one reason why they aren’t growing.

Many preachers, myself included, take 35 minutes to solve a problem that a different Youtube video would only take 10 minutes to solve. This is likely one reason why our YouTube channels aren’t growing.

But, there are a lot of Christian influencers that have built a massive following based on some other helpful or entertaining topic.

And when they talk about their faith, millions of (mostly young) people are watching.

Some examples: 

One of the world’s largest YouTube Channels is called DudePerfect.

Because of their early start in YouTube, and explosive growth, they have 54 MILLION YouTube Subscribers today. (And that’s just their main channel.)

That’s huge, and as you follow them for the entertaining videos, eventually you hear them talk about their faith, and how it’s the most important thing in their lives.

So, just by creating entertaining YouTube videos, they’ve been able to talk about Jesus to tens of millions of people. It’s easy to see how God is using them.

Another example is Matt Carriker of DemolitionRanch, OffTheRanch, and VetRanch.

He has 15 Million Subscribers across his 3 channels and has built a very personal relationship with his followers through his OffTheRanch vlog channel.

Anyone who’s followed him for a while knows that he has had a few tragic deaths in his friends and family recently. The closest of which has been the passing of his little brother Mark.

In the video titled “Rest In Peace Little Brother”, Matt talks about why his entire family got baptized during his Brother’s cancer journey.

This 33-minute video has been seen 4.5 Million times by Matt’s followers.

Essentially, Matt preached the gospel to 4.5 MILLION people even though his YouTube Channels have nothing to do with the Church or faith.

Forward-thinking churches should see online Christian influencers as a part of their evangelism strategy.

Whether it’s creating great content online yourselves or partnering with online influencers in your area that already have a following, you can’t afford to miss this opportunity.

Forward-thinking churches should see online Christian influencers as a part of their evangelism strategy. – @Dillon_M_Smith

Click to Tweet

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2. Multiplying churches reaching college-age people

This one isn’t so much an “evangelism” strategy as it is a “stop losing so many teenage Christians when they go to college” strategy, but I’m including it anyway.

There are very few church models that give me as much hope as churches that are focused on multiplication. And that “multiplication” effect is amplified further if they’re actively reaching college-age students.

I don’t have enough room to explain exactly how the model works, but the best example of this that I’ve seen is CityLight Church in Omaha, Nebraska.

They’ve planted 10 churches over the last 10 years, and have reached thousands of people with the gospel.

You can listen to an interview with Chris Hruska, their lead pastor here.
Or, you can listen to Carey’s recent ChurchPulse Weekly interview with their newest church plant here.

Here’s the bottom line: Millions of Christians are becoming stagnant in stagnant churches. Multiplication-focused churches might hold the key to solving this problem.

Millions of Christians are becoming stagnant in stagnant churches. Multiplication-focused churches might hold the key to solving this problem. – @Dillon_M_Smith

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3. Apologetics online

Today’s young people are taking their hardest questions to Google, not their parents, friends, or pastors.

So as they begin to ask serious questions like “Is there a God?” “Why do I need to believe in God?” or “Which God is the real God?” they end up typing it into a search bar rather than asking a person.

And what is your Church doing about this?

…

Most churches have no clue what to do about this.

But there is a massive opportunity here. According to VidIQ, 5400 people search “Is there a god?” on YouTube every month.

What if your church was on that first page of results?

Now here’s a warning:

When you try to answer this question, you’re competing with the world’s best minds because their video will pop up next in the “recommended” section right after yours.

So, whether you create the video yourself, or you send your people to your favorite apologist’s video, make sure your video and argument stands a chance at competing with Steven Hawking or Sam Harris.

Today’s young people are taking their hardest questions to Google, not their parents, friends, or pastors. – @Dillon_M_Smith

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4. Calling people to unity (because technology is dividing us)

The internet is becoming a more and more divided place.

I know you know that. Just look at what happened with the election.

Because of all of the things we’ve seen online, the US (where I live) is more divided and destabilized than it ever has been since the civil war.

To find out why, we have to look at the algorithms that run our social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube.

Because they want more ad revenue, these algorithms are prioritizing whatever content that keeps you on their platform the longest.

Sadly, the content that keeps people engaged the longest (and gets them to see the most ads) is proving to be whatever content is more and more extreme.

Tristan Harris does an outstanding job of explaining this on The Joe Rogan Experience here.

So why is this an opportunity for the church?

Roughly 40 million people have seen Tristan Harris’ Netflix Documentary The Social Dilemma.

That’s 40 million people whose eyes have been opened to the dangers of social media and division online.

If you start producing intentionally unifying content, some of these people will take notice, and they will be quick to share your unifying content and tell their friends about what you’re doing.

We at Carey Nieuwhof Communications are “trying to create a place for the good people on the internet.” Your church can and should be doing the same.

5. Felt-need marketing

This might be the most doable of these 5 options for your church. And most churches are doing this already on a small scale.

But here’s what’s true about every single person that you’re trying to reach:

They have needs.

Whether it’s financial, mental, relational, or spiritual needs, your community has them. Your church should be helping them with those needs.

But, as Carey has pointed out for years, most churches have been answering questions that nobody in their community is asking.

When you write sermons and produce resources that help people with specific problems and then market those sermons to your community, you’re practicing “felt-need marketing.”

And if you want to start bringing new people into your church, you need your communities to know about the felt-needs that you can help them solve.

So what Christian organizations are doing this well? Look at organizations like Griefshare, Alcoholics Anonymous, or Dave Ramsey and Ramsey Solutions.

These organizations see a need and are filling it. Your church can do the same.

If you want to start bringing new people into your church, you need your community to know about the felt-needs that you can help them solve. @Dillon_M_Smith

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There are 2 major ways that your church needs to be broadcasting the felt-needs that you can help with:

Word-of-mouth/person-to-person marketing based on your weekly services

Rich Birch does a phenomenal job of outlining how a church can do this well here.

Using digital ad space and social media to reach people with specific struggles.

Some larger churches can afford to hire a digital marketing/social media agency to run these ads for them. But the majority of churches don’t have 10’s of thousands of dollars to spare.

Many of the more normal-sized US-based churches are putting their resources together into a nation-wide ad campaign called GlooConnect.

Here’s a bit more information about them:

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Get started in as little as 15 minutes and make 2021 a year of unprecedented growth for your church by joining GlooConnect today: n

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GlooConnect lets you pastor and focus on what you do best. No additional staff. No complex tech. Plus, it’s way more cost effective than doing it on your own. n

Get started in as little as 15 minutes and make 2021 a year of unprecedented growth for your church by joining GlooConnect today: n

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Which of these things will you try? 

This list isn’t exhaustive, but I think these are 5 strong contenders for the church’s next evangelism strategy.

Also, I’d love for you to leave a comment below talking about which of these you’d like to try!

The post The Western Church Needs A New Evangelism Strategy: 5 Promising Options appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: The Western Church Needs A New Evangelism Strategy: 5 Promising Options

The post The Western Church Needs A New Evangelism Strategy: 5 Promising Options appeared first on Passion for Planting.

Today’s post is written by Kadi Cole. Kadi is a top voice leading the church to better develop and support female leaders. She’s also the bestselling author of Developing Female Leaders and is the founder and CEO of Kadi Cole and Company. 

By Kadi Cole

I have been so impressed with how pastors and churches are embracing tough conversations about female leaders and how we can do a better job, regardless of our theology, to maximize their gifts for the Kingdom.

But during the Covid-19 pandemic, at a time when it would be easy to make this a back-burner issue, I am proud to share there is a growing collection of strong and healthy churches using this opportunity to move their leadership culture forward for women.

Here’s what they are doing:

I am proud to share there is a growing collection of strong and healthy churches using this opportunity to move their leadership culture forward for women. – @kadicole

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1. Tangibly Rewarding Female Essential Workers

Up until now, women have made up less than 15% of leadership roles in the average church. The disruption of the pandemic, however, and the focus on “essential workers” has created a shift. Early research is showing that women tend to make up the majority of our essential workforce, and we are seeing this in the church as well.

I work with several large, conservative multi-site churches that normally employ over a dozen campus pastors and worship leaders to create engaging weekend experiences at their individual campuses, but now they’ve had to turn their efforts to a single, online weekend service.

Guess who’s leading the charge?

The Communications and Programming Arts Directors who often are women.

And these churches have stepped up to acknowledge it by offering significant raises, title promotions to fit these new levels of responsibilities, increased budgets and resources, and inviting these female leaders into higher-level meetings so they can be a part of strategic discussions and implement their vision more seamlessly.

In addition, when re-assigning pastors from the campuses to these women’s teams, they’ve been clear in the new roles of authority and responsibility (nothing is more de-motivating to a female leader than to have a male pastor assigned to “help” her department only to watch him take it over and create all sorts of havoc in an area in which he has less experience).

Churches like this are not only doing the right thing by acknowledging and rewarding their essential female leaders, but they are also watching female leaders grow in confidence and passion for ministry (and their church), and that’s a win for everyone!

Ask yourself:

Do we have any female leaders that are “essential” to our mission whom we haven’t properly acknowledged through promotion, raises/bonuses, resources, or extra vacation time?

Do we have any female leaders that are ‘essential’ to our mission whom we haven’t properly acknowledged through promotion, raises/bonuses, resources, or extra vacation time? – @kadicole

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2. Embracing Flexible Work Schedules as the New Normal

The pandemic shifted us quickly into remote work, but most experts agree these changes will last long after shelter-in-place orders have ended. This is good news for churches for several reasons.

Flexible work schedules create higher productivity, lower costs, improve retention, and increase morale (what leader doesn’t want these?) But they also nurture leadership cultures that are more independent, flexible, and results-oriented – and female leaders tend to thrive in these types of cultures, especially as they add responsibilities to their plate such as children, aging parents, or pursuing advanced degrees to further their career.

In addition, healthy churches are finding that flexible work schedules open up leadership pipelines to include many more volunteer leaders.

As churches grow it’s easy to fall into a staff-centric mentality where all leadership meetings and decisions are made between 9a-5p by the “professionals” on staff and in the office.

By embracing a more flexible work mindset, your team can begin accessing leaders at all levels of your pipeline, including volunteers.

This is a great opportunity to begin inviting leaders from your congregation – both female and other minorities – to begin leading in your church, rather than simply attending or serving. And we all win when every leader in our church begins investing their gifts toward our Kingdom mission.

Ask yourself:

What fruit are we seeing from our teams working from home that we want to keep? How can we embrace flexible work schedules in order to include more of our church’s leaders moving forward?

Ask yourself: What fruit are we seeing from our teams working from home that we want to keep? – @kadicole

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3. Acknowledging and Practically Helping Moms

Not every female leader is a mom, but those who are, are feeling the weight of the pandemic more than most – especially the moms on your staff and those in your congregation who have kids under the age of twelve.

Although we clearly see men stepping up to help with children and housework more than ever, women are still carrying the majority of the responsibilities, with an average investment of 71 hours per week (keep in mind, that’s 71 hours in addition to her actual professional work).

Early research is showing the pandemic is hitting the average woman harder than the average man with 31% of women reporting they have “more to do than they can possibly handle”, while only 13% men feel the same. And, although half of men believe they do most of the homeschooling, only 3% of women agree.

Healthy churches are talking about this reality – in their staff meetings and in their weekend sermons.

A few years ago, Barna reported that nearly half of women (43%) said they do not feel any emotional support at all from church.

This is a serious problem and, I believe, one of the reasons we are seeing such a decline in church engagement overall. (How many families go to church if the mom doesn’t find it valuable?)

If women are being pulled in more directions and under more stress than ever, shouldn’t her church be the first place to acknowledge and bring comfort and encouragement? Keep in mind, women are also 30% more likely to volunteer.

So we are not only talking about your female staff leaders, but likely the majority of your volunteer base (by the way, these same women are likely the ones deciding where to send their family’s tithes and offerings, so this has huge financial implications as well!)

Meeting the emotional and spiritual needs of moms right now is not only good ministry to women and the “next generation”, it’s also a critical strategy to keeping your church leadership base strong, engaged, and wanting to come back when you re-open.

Ask yourself (and the working moms in your church):

Are we adequately acknowledging the increased stress for the women on our team and in our congregation? What can we do to practically relieve their burden?

Not every female leader is a mom, but those who are, are feeling the weight of the pandemic more than most. – @kadicole

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4. Not Letting Female Leaders Quit Too Easily

In my book, Developing Female Leaders, I write about the “Sticky Floor” – those internal dialogues and limitations women place on themselves that keep them from flourishing in leadership opportunities. And let me tell you, nothing flares up the sticky floor like a crisis.

Scarcity thinking sets in, choices are limited to “either/or” options, and women easily double-down on what they know they can do well. Please don’t let her perspective on what she thinks is possible limit what actually is possible.

I’m not saying to dismiss a female leader’s decision if she wants to quit her job or take a demotion, but I do want to encourage you to have a direct, leadership conversation with her first.

Challenge her assumptions. Find out what the real issue is. Offer her resources. At the very least, see if she’ll take a leave of absence or go part-time instead of completely ending her role.

You could keep her title and pay her the same hourly rate, but allow her the flexibility to make her life work while still leading in ministry.

Most guys don’t quit when life gets bigger or they are offered a promotion, but women do it to themselves all the time. Help her see the possibilities you see.

You can also proactively help your female leaders stay in the game.

When Covid hit, most churches cut staff development money. I get it – it’s an easy “want” versus a “need.” And I agree.

However, I’ve had over twenty churches reach out to me in the last 3 months to either keep their female leaders engaged in development programs (which aren’t cheap!) or begin coaching to make sure their top performers stayed that way through the pandemic.

This not only was a shot in the arm to their female leaders who felt valued and supported, but we were able to solve some of her biggest challenges in real-time and move her and her ministry forward at a time when many are shrinking back.

Ask yourself:
Have I let any female leaders take themselves out of the game too easily? Is there any way I can invest in our female leaders to grow their leadership to meet the demands of the pandemic rather than shrink back?

Most guys don’t quit when life gets bigger or they are offered a promotion, but women do it to themselves all the time. – @kadicole

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The juggle is real

All of us are feeling the impact of the pandemic on our life and leadership – but for women, this season could make or break their leadership and impact in the Kingdom for decades to come.

As leaders, we have the opportunity to challenge and support women to not only rise to this challenge, but to fully fulfill all the callings God has placed on her life.

If you have a story or example of how your church is moving the ball forward for female leaders, please let me know at www.kadicole.com or @kadicole on social media.

Learn more about my book, Developing Female Leaders, including The Eight Best Practices you and your church can implement to better steward the leadership gifts of the women in your life and congregation, or download our free Theological Cheat Sheet to help you move this conversation forward with your team at www.kadicole.com.

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So what do you need to change? 

Have you found any of these questions convicting?

Leave a comment below!

The post What Healthy Churches are Doing to Support Female Leaders During the Pandemic appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: What Healthy Churches are Doing to Support Female Leaders During the Pandemic

The post What Healthy Churches are Doing to Support Female Leaders During the Pandemic appeared first on Passion for Planting.

By: Carey Nieuwhof

Let me guess. You feel like you really need to de-stress.

2020 has been unreal, and almost unbelievably trying—far different than any year you’ve led through before.

Every leader I talk to is tired. Well, more than just tired. Stressed. Deeply stressed.

And kind of exhausted.

There’s a fatigue that comes with crisis that’s a little hard to describe.

The adrenaline that got you through the first month gave way to the sustained drone of decision after decision, assault after assault, and disappointment after disappointment.

So you’ve lived for your summer break. I get it.

Everybody has.

There’s a fatigue that comes with crisis that’s a little hard to describe.Click To Tweet

Now the bad news. And as tough as it is to hear, your time off this summer probably won’t be enough to refuel you or even fully destress you.

Yeah, I know.

In fact, if you look back on your leadership, you probably already know that you rarely if ever completely destress on your time off. If you’re not sure about that, just ask your spouse or kids. They’ll tell you what it’s like to vacation with you.

And even if you get a few fleeting glimpses of peace at some point in your weeks off, they usually evaporate the moment you head back to work. It’s like two weeks of progress get erased within minutes of heading back to work.

So two questions:

First, “why?”

And second, “what should you do?”

Let’s tackle each in turn.

Why Doesn’t Time Off ‘Work’?

1. Time Off Won’t Heal You When Your Problem Is How You Spend Your Time On

The problem with most leaders is not how we spend our time off. It’s how we spend our time on.

I learned the lesson of time off that doesn’t refuel you the hard way. The worst summer of my life happened back in 2006.

Personally, after 11 years in leadership, I was burning out. I suspected burnout but I thought I could stop it with a vacation, because, you know, I’m strong like that and only weak people burn out. (Yes I know, but tell that to young me who didn’t listen well.)

I took three weeks off that July. I was convinced I would heal and everything would be back to normal by August 1st.

What scared me to death that year is that instead of getting better during my vacation, I got worse.

I moved into a deep slide and cratered out in August…a burnout deep enough that it took me months to get out of and then a few years to finally shake.

You know what I learned in that season (along with about 1 million other lessons)?

How I spent my time off wasn’t the solution, because how I spend my time off wasn’t my problem.

Your time off can’t save you if the problem is how you spend your time on.

Your time off can’t save you if the problem is how you spend your time on.Click To Tweet

The problem for most exhausted and depleted leaders isn’t how you spend your time off, it’s how you spend your time on.

Back in 2006, my crisis was personal. I was living at an unstainable pace. As the church I led grew, my formula was more people equals more hours. And that’s fundamentally unsustainable.

Today, the crisis is global and we’re all going through it. If the formula is more crisis equals more hours, we’re all doomed as leaders.  Sure, the initial stages of a crisis require long hours and hard decisions. But when you head into a prolonged crisis, well, you need a new strategy.

Which takes us back to this summer: when you’re exhausted, how you spend your time off isn’t the solution. How you spend your time on is.

The initial stages of a crisis require long hours and hard decisions. But when you head into a prolonged crisis, well, you need a new strategy.Click To Tweet

2. This is Why Sabbaticals and Leaves Generally Don’t Solve Burnout

You might be thinking, Exactly, Carey—which is why I need a sabbatical or leave of some kind. 

Well, maybe. But probably not.

For years I’ve puzzled over why so many sabbaticals and other forms of leave generally don’t solve burnout.

I can’t tell you the number of leaders I’ve known on the verge of burnout who have taken a sabbatical to deal with their stress or fatigue, get better, and then come back only to feel as bad or worse within months of their return. And then often, they leave—for good.

Although I’ve never taken a Sabbatical or extended leave, I think they can be great when they have a defined purpose and you’re not running into them or back out of them into a frantically unsustainable life.

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

When the way you’re living and leading is broken, all the time in the world off won’t fix it.

When the way you’re living and leading is broken, all the time in the world off won’t fix it. Click To Tweet

So…What Will Help?

If the problem is how you spend your time on, here are a few things that can help.

First, when you’re off, take some time to take stock of what happened.

You have been through so much and my guess is you’ve hardly stopped to process it.

I found myself unusually tired a few weeks ago. There was nothing ‘wrong’ with my schedule. I’d taken a full weekend off,  and my day wasn’t jammed full with meetings.

I actually had writing time scheduled in my calendar, which is something I love, and it was designed to help me finish writing a new course on leading a better team we’re launching in a few months.

But I was struggling to get motivated. I was far more tired than I should be.

When I wondered what was going on, I realized that although I love writing and producing online courses for leaders, I was writing my fourth course in four months, something I’d never done before.

That, on top of all the crisis leadership all of us have been through left me feeling, well, not myself.

In the end, the course production and filming went really well, but the lesson wasn’t lost.

What’s the best thing to do about that? Well, name it, surrender it and make a note to file for the future you that writing and producing four courses in four months is super taxing.

Until you understand why you’re tired, it’s hard to figure out how not to get that tired.

So what’s making you tired?

If your answer is everything, take a little more time to break it down. You’ll likely discover some things weigh more heavily than others.

Until you understand why you’re tired, it’s hard to figure out how not to get that tired.Click To Tweet

Finally, grieve your losses. A mentor once told me that ministry is a series of ungrieved losses. Oh man, is he right.

When he shared that with me I realized how many losses I’d experienced that I never grieved (as small as someone leaving your church, which isn’t that small).

Ministry is a series of ungrieved losses. So is life.

Do you know how much loss you’ve experienced since March?

Take some time to pray through them, grieve through them, and maybe even sit down with a good friend or therapist to process it all.

You’ll be glad you did.

Ministry is a series of ungrieved losses. So is life. Click To Tweet

With all that processed during the relative quiet of summer, how do you avoid being eaten alive heading back into leadership?

While I have a deep and robust strategy that’s helped me deal with everything life and leadership have thrown at me for years now, here are three things that can help right now.

1. Make Some Categorical Decisions

Categorical decision making is a superpower for leaders who have too much to do, which these days is most leaders.

By default, you make decisions one by one in leadership…as they come at you or need to be made.

One of the best ways to simplify decision making is to think in categories.

For example, when the COVID crisis hit, I had a lot of internal decisions to make as a leader (things my organization needed to do to survive), and soon I was faced with a bunch of requests for podcast interviews, webinar appearances, online events and even to join staff meetings virtually.

At first, my team and I looked at each request individually, but as they piled up (often a half dozen requests a day), we moved to categorical decision making. I decided to politely decline all podcast interviews, virtual events, webinars, online events of staff meetings.

Done, decision made.

We made a couple of exceptions, but not many.

The result? My team had clarity. I had clarity. And people understood.

Plus, I had time to work on some big projects I needed to get done.

Heading back into leadership, what things can you categorically eliminate?

This will take you a while to think through, but over the years I’ve done things like categorically eliminate doing weddings and funerals, pastoral visitation,  breakfast meetings (I’m most productive in the morning), lunch meetings or even meetings over an hour (and much more).

This will also force you to create systems for these important things that are not dependent on you and far more deeply empower your team.

I always get asked Do you make exceptions? And yes, I do.

I’ve done a few weddings, some visitations, a few funerals and even the odd breakfast meeting. But the exceptions are so much easier to manage than the deluge of yesses that probably should have been nos. And if I participate in your wedding, it’s probably because you’re on my staff or are family, a pretty easy exception to explain.

And ideally, your elimination of one category should free up time to focus on something more important or strategic. Another way to think about it is to reach more people, I need to eliminate X. 

If you’re skittish or worry about FOMO, try this: make it time-limited. In other words, for three months I’ll do no breakfast meetings. Or until the end of the year, I won’t do outside projects or requests.

Categorical decision-making saves mental energy and a tremendous amount of time because you already made the decision. Case closed. Move on.

Categorical decision-making saves mental energy and a tremendous amount of time because you already made the decision. Case closed. Move on.Click To Tweet

2. Simplify, Simplify, Simplify

This one’s easy to understand and very difficult to do.

At the best of times, complexity is your enemy. And many leaders have a strategy that’s overly complex.

Complexity doesn’t scale, and at a certain level, it’s also exhausting.

Complexity doesn’t scale, and at a certain level, it’s also exhausting. Click To Tweet

Simple is not simplistic.

As Woody Guthrie is quoted as saying, “Any fool can make something complicated. It takes a genius to make it simple.”

Great leaders stick with a problem or idea long enough and engage it deeply enough to clear away the fog and reduce the concept to its simplest forms so anyone can understand it and implement it.

Ask yourself, what things can you stop doing so you can start doing more important things?

A simple, leaner model will likely help you thrive in complicated times.

One easy cut from most churches or organizations is anything you have to ‘manufacture’ energy for (I explain that here).

The more complex the world becomes, the simpler your approach to it needs to be.

The more complex the world becomes, the simpler your approach to it needs to be.Click To Tweet

3. Ditch The Endless WorkDay/WorkWeek

If you haven’t worked from home as much in the past as you are presently, the boundaries between work and home and likely as blurry as they’ve ever been.

I’ve been working from home part of the time for much of the last 25 years and full-time for the last five. It took me years to figure out how to do it well, but I’m more convinced than ever that you need a strategy to make sure your work doesn’t envelop your life.

Technology has not made this simpler.

You’re watching Disney+ with your daughter after dinner and a co-worker texts you about your expense report.

You used to go to the office, but thanks to technology, now the office goes to you. And it’s fully capable of interrupting you any time, anywhere, even on vacation.

Because I love what I get to do, I’ve had to force myself to make hard stops, putting my laptop away, turning off all notifications on my device, moving my phone out of my bedroom at night, and deciding that some things can wait.

Want a good little hack to help you break your work/technology addiction? Get a hobby.

You’ll get so engrossed in it that you’ll lose the desire to even check your phone.

You used to go to the office, but thanks to technology, now the office goes to you. And it’s fully capable of interrupting you any time, anywhere, even on vacation.Click To Tweet

Something To Focus On

Since I burned out, my mantra has been to try to figure out a way to live in a way today that will help you thrive tomorrow.

I think that’s a good principle. I don’t always get it right, but when I do, things are so much better.

If you’re not thriving—and many leaders aren’t, even in the best of times—adjust today to improve tomorrow.

Living in a way today that will help you thrive tomorrow will help you win the marathon ahead.

Simplify the Changes You’re Going To Make…

How are you going to make the change you need to make without exhausting yourself or your team?

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

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

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

In the 30-Day Pivot, you’ll learn:

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

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

Some organizations and churches will thrive in the new normal.

Others won’t.

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

What Helps You?

What helps you figure out the relationship between time off and time on?

How do you refuel in every season?

Scroll down and leave a comment!

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