#335: Re-Discovering the Art of Listening

If another contentious political cycle tells us anything (and I like to think it does), it's that in our culture, we don't really listen. In fact, we often concentrate more on what to say next instead of what the other person is saying. The result is that we end up talking past each other. The truth is, that your forward progress as a leader will come to a screeching halt if people think you don't care about what they have to say. Let's cultivate our listening skills:

• Active Listening (to God and others): a.) Focus b.) Non-verbal cues c.) Exercise care and clarity d.) Send a follow-up after the conversation
• Proactive Listening (inviting feedback): a.) Regular staff check-ins b.) Ask non-complainers c.) Debrief everything d.) Ask them what could improve
• Real-time Listening (what's bubbling up?): a.) What are people saying? b.) What ideas are bubbling up organically from the people?

#334: Helping Churches Flourish (with Kaitlyn Wood)

Today, we welcome Pastor Kaitlyn Wood back to the podcast (our last guest before the COVID lockdown) and now, 4 years later, she's the Director of Church Health for ECO (Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians). We talk leadership, revitalization, and helping churches revitalize. Kaitlyn shares encouragement and practical resources from FLOURISH (a ministry non-profit) designed to equip churches for turnaround change.

• About Kaitlyn
• FLOURISH resources for churches

#333: 3 Leadership Axioms Hanging on My Wall

This month, we're starting a new series on leadership. What kind of leader do you need to be in order to lead change? Seminary doesn't really teach it - it's usually on-the-job-training. Today, we start with 3 questions designed to activate your leadership in a new way:

• That's a great question; you decide: most leaders tend to struggle with delegation. Usually, it's because we're trying to protect the vision or worry it won't get done with the same excellence. But, the key to healthy churches is: healthy, shared responsibility.
• What would a great leader do?: this question is perfect for when leaders are struggling with imposter syndrome, or feel inexperienced. It's a way of channeling your inner Winston Churchill.
• Did you remind and follow-up?: Sometimes the reason we are disappointed by results is because we failed to set others up for success. This question gets to the heart of the problem.

#332: Engagement Boost - A Step-By-Step Pre-Easter Checklist

Easter may not be as big an outreach as Christmas, but there are still many people who will visit. It's also a huge in-reach. People on your own roles (and guests, of course) will come out for big church holidays - are you ready to welcome them? Here's a quick pre-Easter checklist to help.

#331: 5 Steps to Launch Your Guest Services Team (Even if You're a Small Church)

Welcoming first-time guests and ensuring a great experience may not have always been a primary focus. But, maybe now, you're convinced that it should be. Are you looking to launch a guest services ministry, but don't know how to get started? Or are you trying to take what you have and make it better? Here's 5 tips to make it happen:

• Anyone can greet, but not everyone can welcome (it's about find people gifted - but warm bodies can also be used in places)
• Start with who you already have (staff, elders, deacons, etc.)
• Recruit and train (be intentional)
• Give guest services a meaningful budget (whatever that means to your context)
• Develop a first-time guest process with accountability (who is responsible for what?)

#330: A Great First Impression: Elevating the Guest Experience (with Greg Atkinson)

Yes, you can overcome a bad first impression. But, it's not easy. The truth is, first impressions matter. Whether it's your online worship experience, social media channels, parking lot, or kids' check-in, guests are deciding whether they'll come back based on their first impressions. We're excited to share our conversation with first impressions expert, Greg Atkinson. Greg is an entrepreneur, best-selling author, international keynote speaker, leadership and life coach, and business consultant. His book, Secrets of a Secret Shopper: Reaching and Keeping Church Guests, is one of the best resources your team can invest in.

#329: How to Help Your People Move From Greeting to Engaging (with Stan Ott & Lee Zehmer)

Have you ever been in conversation with someone who is looking past you to someone else? Or did you show up to church only to be ignored while people caught up with their friends? Today we welcome Stan Ott and Lee Zehmer from the Building One Another Podcast. Join us as we talk about helping congregations move from greeting to engaging.
It's an act of Christ-centered love to welcome and serve those made-in-God's-image guests who've come looking for something more.

• Inside North Point (Guest Services) - this link takes you to North Point Community Church resources on how they approach guest services and some best practices
• Blog post about church hospitality (from Tithe.ly) - a nice summary of key hospitality idea

#328: All-In Immersion: How to Cure Your Church's Indifference

Everyone says it's busyness that's causing church attendance decline. And, there are many reasons why that could be true. But, what if it's something else? What if, at the center of it all, is an uncomfortable truth: churchgoers are just indifferent. 
In this episode, we talk about 3 "buckets" to help re-engage their hearts:
#1 Leverage spiritual waypoints: sacraments, life-stages, life-changes, visceral experiences
#2 Shake up a typical Sunday: what if you did something you don't normally do?
#3 Share stories of life transformation at every turn: remind people of the transformative power of the gospel by sharing lots and lots of stories (in all settings)

• "Are Christians Too Busy For Discipleship Community?" by Barna
• Article about: The Church Has Left the Building

#327: I Love to Tell the Story (Unless it Gets Me Stuck)

The reason many churches get stuck in the past is because they believe the wrong story about themselves. How do we settle on a new story?
#1 Change the Dynamic: sometimes it just takes 1 new member to disrupt the status quo
#2 Do Something You Ordinarily Wouldn't Do: shake up the routine
#3 Re-frame the Future as Part of Your Legacy: remind people that their legacy only matters if their are younger generations to hand it to

• Rising Strong, by Brene Brown
• "The Psychological Power of Storytelling," by Pamela B. Rutledge