#367: Dreaming Big for 2025 (Part 1: Vision)

In the middle of the holiday push, you may not want to think about 2025. But, just a little thought now can help you hit the ground running after the calendar turns. So, today we start our series on Dreaming Big for 2025. How do you develop (and launch) a vision for your church? Maybe you're not a visionary - did you know that it doesn't matter? What does matter is having a good process for discerning vision as a team. 

#366: Multiplying Christmas Outreach (Nathan Teegarden)

The stores have all their Christmas stuff on display - and our churches should too! Today we continue talking about strategic Christmas planning with our guest, Nathan Teegarden from Church Fuel. Church Fuel helps churches increase outreach and engagement - there's a special offer at the end of this episode.

Links from this Episode:

• Church Fuel Site (Ultimate Christmas Kit)
• ICYMI: Download our free Christmas guide

#365: 5 Tips for Maximizing Christmas

Christmas prep is in full effect. And, it's probably the biggest outreach opportunity we'll have all year - so how do we make the most of it? Today we start a 2-part series about how to leverage Christmas for engagement and discipleship. We have 5 practical tips to increase your impact.

Links from this Episode:

• Download our free Christmas guide

#364: Election Aftermath - 4 Thoughts for Navigating It

In today's short episode, we share some thoughts about navigating the election aftermath with our churches. Because, the reality is, there will be some clean-up to do. After all, there are people on both sides of the political aisle who love Jesus. Some are vocal about their political leanings. Others are quiet. The truth is, in this contentious election cycle, there will be a lot of hurt one way or the other.

#363: Break the Cycle of Burnout - Build a Support System (Pastor David Burke)

Today, we conclude Pastor Appreciation Month as we interview a pastor-to-pastors, Rev. David Burke. We talk about his organization, Standing Stone Ministry, and how it helps provide FREE resources to battle pastoral burnout. It's time to pay attention to your low-battery notification!

Links from this episode:

• Standing Stone Ministry

#362: 7 Important Truths We Learned From Our Pastor Interviews

As we near the end of Pastor Appreciation Month, we distill what we learned from our pastor interviews. While we walk away from these conversations feeling very encouraged, we discovered 7 important truths from the trenches. We share those with you AND give away our free month of coaching.

Links from this episode:

• Barna's State of Pastors Report

#361: Stories from the Trenches (Pastor Robbie Ytterberg)

We continue Pastor Appreciation Month by focusing on interviewing pastors like you (in the trenches of ministry) - what they're doing, what they're learning, and how God is showing up. Today, we interview Pastor Robbie Ytterberg from The Presbyterian Church of Toms River, NJ. Robbie talks about what it takes to help a church look forward instead of backward.

Links from this episode:

• To enter our pastor appreciation giveaways, sign up for our weekly newsletter right here!

#360: Stories from the Trenches (Pastors Austin & Sara Hill)

We continue Pastor Appreciation Month by focusing on interviewing pastors like you (in the trenches of ministry). Today we have a great conversation with Austin & Sara Hill.  They share how they've seen God show up in the good, the bad, and the ugly in ministry together and the new chapter God has opened for them.

Links from this episode:

• Previous episodes with Austin and Sara: #23 What Happens When You Lose Your Roots, #150 The Enneagram and Leadership
• To enter our pastor appreciation giveaways, sign up for our weekly newsletter right here!

#359: Stories from the Trenches (Pastor David Kling)

Today we start pastor appreciation month (although I think pastors may be the only ones to know about it). But, we are kicking off a few episodes where we interview pastors just like you (in the trenches of ministry). We talk about what they're doing, what they're learning, and how God is showing up. Today we have a great conversation with David Kling from Covenant Presbyterian Church.

Links from this episode:

• Study from the Harvard Business Review: https://hbr.org/2006/10/the-tools-of-cooperation-and-change
• To enter our pastor appreciation giveaways, sign up for our weekly newsletter right here!

#358: Growth Always Outpaces Funding (So, Where is the Money Coming From?)

No matter what new church vision or ministry comes along, there's always a guy in the back of the room saying: "That's great, but how do we pay for it?" Whether you need to fund new initiatives or keep current ones going, we can escape the need for funding. Today, we finish up our momentum series with how to fund the vision: capital campaigns, weekly giving, and more.

A quick fundraising tool:

• Label 100 envelopes from 1-100
• Ask people to donate the amount on their envelope of choice
• Generates just over $5k
• Combined with a compelling vision, it's very easy (and simple)

#357: Excited People Invite Others to Experience Your Church

Have you ever eaten at a restaurant and, because you had a great experience, you told all your friends about it? Did you have to do any strategic thinking, like: how can I convince my friends? Of course not - it just came up in conversation because you were excited about it. What if that's part of the key to growing your ministry?

It's about language and posture (here are the 7 ways to develop a culture of invitation - that we talk about):

• Ground it in Missio Dei (God invites, and asks us to invite)
• Have easy things to invite people to
• Have easy ways for your people to invite
• Encourage new attenders to invite
• Challenge insiders to invite outsiders
• Small groups - utilize evangelism training
• Celebrate the behavior you want and it will be repeated

#356: 4 Ways to Spark Momentum in Your Church

Momentum is a bit of a mystery. How do you know you have it? Is there a way to drive it? Momentum is a flywheel that takes a lot of energy to get going, but once it does, it moves with incredible force. When it comes to this 4-pronged approach to ministry, there's a good chance momentum will be a byproduct.

Here are the 4 ways to spark momentum:

• Outreach: how are people hearing about/experiencing your church? What are you doing online to draw them in? 
• Worship: is the experience engaging to both insiders and outsiders?
• Next Gen: Are kids excited to come, or are they dragging their feet?
• Small Groups: it's where relationships are cultivated and care is done

#355: 4 Critical Focal Points For Your Fall Leadership

It's launch time in our churches! As we adjust to the new rhythm of back-to-school life, some pastors have been asking us: what are the most important things we should be working on this Fall? Today, we discuss 4 focus areas to help you move the needle on God's mission. 

Links from this Episode:

• Do you want to design your church's discipleship pathway and get clarity on your Christmas strategy all before November 1? Join our 6-week cohort that begins Sept. 24 - space is limited so reserve your spot now
• Episode 309: Developing a Pathway to Christmas
• Episode 280: Creating Moments that Lead to Movement

#354: Fixing a Broken Leadership Chain

Today, we talk about a real-time ministry challenge (closing the gap between ministry needs and elder participation), how it happened, and what we're doing to address it. Leading a church toward greater faithfulness (and health) will always have its ups and downs, the key is to deal with challenges quickly and directly. 

#353: You Can Have Both - Efficiency AND Excellence in Your Worship Resources

In this digital age, why is it so hard to find great resources like sermon illustrations and liturgy? Well, it just got a whole lot easier. Today, we talk with the Founder of The Pastor's Workshop (a curated digital library of resources), Stuart Strachan, about how his non-profit can make your life easier. Stuart is an ordained Presbyterian pastor whose primary passion is equipping the saints for the ministry of the church.

Links from this Episode:

• thepastorsworkshop.com (save 20% off by using the coupon: RECLAIMED)
• About Stuart Strachan

#352: Facing Your Fear Now - Why You Shouldn't Avoid Tough Conversations

How do you know that you need to have a tough conversation with a volunteer, staff member, or church member? There are usually 2 tensions: 1) Tension in you (blood pressure goes up whenever they're in the room) or 2) Tension with others (other people are complaining about that person). So, what should a good leader do about it? Well, there are several ideas but the 1 thing you should NEVER do is ignore it. Today we talk about 3 things to help you navigate those tricky conversations.

Links from this episode:

• https://danreiland.com/how-to-face-tough-conversations/

#351: Get Out of My Dreams, Step Into My Church (Having Strategic Vision)

What do you daydream about in the life of your church? If you could make 1 wish, what would magically happen? Now, let me ask: why isn't it happening? What obstacles would need to be removed (or worked around) in order to achieve the dream? Dreams aren't typically very practical (I mean, they're dreams), but it doesn't mean that they can't be. When NASA sent astronauts to the moon, or when Kevin Costner built a baseball field in a corn crop, eventually someone had to take action. They had to put math to the mission. Today we talk about how to do that as you listen to the dreams of the Holy Spirit (ooooh, sounds cool).

Links from this episode:

• BHAGs from Jim Collins' Built to Last

#350: 3 Ways to Strengthen Your Planning by Incorporating it Into Your Routine

Links from this episode:

• We found a FREE sermon planning calendar from growchurch.net 

#349: Charting the Course: 3 Benefits of Knowing What's Next

#348: 7 Practical Questions to Evaluate Church Programs

#347: Busting the Young Adult Myth

Most mainline churches don't have many 18-25 year-olds. And yet, despite what you may have heard (or observed), spiritual interest among U.S. adults is not declining. It's growing. The myth is that young adults aren't interested in Christianity because of "wokism," or "atheism," or other "isms." But, this isn't what the data tells us. In fact, according to Barna's research, roughly half of U.S. teens and young adults are "very motivated" to learn about Jesus. Even 1-in-5 non-Christian Gen Z adults are open to scripture-based experiences and conversations. So why aren't they anywhere near the church? In this episode we talk about 6 realities to consider when it comes to reaching young adults

Links from this episode:

• https://www.barna.com/research/spiritual-openness/

#346: Editing Jesus with Rick Lawrence

Jesus can't be reduced to a series of life-hacks or principles. He's not the leader of an American political party. He's not a god that we control or contort to serve our own convictions (however noble we perceive them to be). He is the I AM. He is the Alpha and Omega. He is the Word of God, our Lord and Savior. We are because He is. In this week's episode, we interview Rick Lawrence, Executive Director of Vibrant Faith, about his new book, Editing Jesus - and why he thinks the primary reason for church decline isn't cultural, but spiritual.

Links from this episode:

• Editing Jesus: Confronting the Distorted Faith of the American Church, by Rick Lawrence
• About Rick Lawrence at Vibrant Faith
• RickLawrence.com

#345: How to Optimize Your Traditional Space for Contemporary Worship (On a Budget)

Have you been thinking about adding a contemporary service in a traditional church? Or just improving an existing service? How do you do it without spending money you don't have? These were some of the questions we were asking when our fledgling contemporary service in our fellowship hall (with indoor/outdoor speakers and a card table projector stand) needed space to grow. We ended up renovating our main sanctuary to accommodate both styles. In this episode, we unpack how we did it and the 4 critical steps your church can take to do the same.

Links from this episode:

• If you want to see the full story of how Tower Hill Church did it (and a time-lapse video of our 15-minute changeover from traditional to contemporary), click here
• Episode 330: A Great First Impression with Greg Atkinson
• Episode 259: Funding the Mission

#344: Re-Thinking Preaching for a Visually-Engaged Culture

Research shows that, of the four learning styles (visual, auditory, reading/writing, and kinesthetic), 65% of people are visual learners. However, it seems safe to say that nearly 100% are visual engagers. And yet, most sermons are optimized for auditory learning. So, how to we have a greater impact when trying to land the timeless truth of Jesus in people's everyday lives? We need to start thinking visually.

Some ideas for thinking about sermons visually (much more in the episode):

• If you're going to be creative, you need time to work ahead (no Sat. night specials)
• Start thinking about the sermon like story-boarding a movie
• Start writing your sermon in the presentation software; you can write it out later​
• Start incorporating physical props/demonstrations for multi-sensory learning
• For examples to use, simply visit: https://reclaimedleader.com/sermons

#343: Training Churches to Share Their Faith

Did you know that most Christians only have 10 or less spiritual conversations a year? Maybe it's a healthy sensitivity for others, or maybe we just don't teach them how to share Jesus through authentic relationship. (3 questions to get them thinking through the challenges: 1. Do they know God's story? 2. Are we equipping them to have spiritual conversations? 3. Are they meeting people where they are? )

Resource Links:

• I Once Was Lost, by Don Everts and Doug Schaupp
• Glad You're Here, by Craig Allen Cooper and Walker Hayes
• True Story: A Christianity Worth Believing In, by James Choung
• Alpha Program: https://alpha.org

#342: The Truth in True Crime (with J. Warner Wallace)

So, are you into true crime? Then, you've probably heard of this week's guest: J. Warner Wallace. He is a Dateline featured (award-winning) cold-case homicide detective, popular national speaker, adjunct professor of apologetics, and best-selling author. He continues to consult on cold-case investigations while serving as a Senior Fellow at the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. In his new book, The Truth in True Crime, he explores the clues lying behind our human nature and uncovers 15 life-truths gleaned from both murder investigations and scripture (wild, right?).

Links for J. Warner Wallace:

• The Truth in True Crime book
• Special offer if you buy the book: https://thetruthintruecrime.com/#offer
• If you have a RightNow Media subscription, here is the video series: https://app.rightnowmedia.org/en/content/details/849156 ​
• J. Warner Wallace primary website: https://coldcasechristianity.com/
• Our last time he was on the podcast: Episode 216 about his book Person of Interest

#341: 3 Truths About A Leader's Spiritual Health

There's a real danger when the pastor is spiritually depleted. Not only does it lead to ineffective ministry, but also (quite often) moral failure. Isn't that what we've learned from cautionary tales like Carl Lenz, Bill Hybels, Perry Noble, Tullian Tchividjian, or even comedian John Crist? All of them are super-gifted. But they also admitted to a degree of spiritual depletion. Of course, it doesn't just happen to celebrities - they're just the ones you hear about. For any one of us, we are one decision away from disaster. We must make sure we're cultivating our own spiritual health.

#1 Re-Connect with the Goal (Your discipleship is critically important)
#2 Develop a Rule of Life (You must do what you teach)
#3 Remember it's God's Mission (Not Just Yours) (You don't have to control everything)

#340: Attentive Church Leadership

Sometimes, best practices are just a mask for our incessant need to upgrade. Make no mistake, improving our ministry systems, programs, and pathways are an essential part of creating environments that drive discipleship. But, sometimes we become distracted by what other churches are doing and we fail to be attentive to what the Spirit is leading us to do in our context. Jim Singleton, in his book, Attentive Church Leadership, reminds us that we can't best practice our way to church health.

Links for Jim Singleton:

• https://flourishinstitute.online/faculty/jim-singleton/
  

#339: 1-1-1 Discipleship Approach

Following Jesus is more than attending a series of bible studies. It's an apprenticeship that has a particular goal in mind: Christlikeness. Join us as we talk about the 1-1-1 strategy to help your congregation understand the difference between believing and following.

1. The Fundamental Question: Who am I becoming as a result of who/what I'm following?
2. What does it actually mean to follow Jesus? It's an apprenticeship program: we train in order to do
3. John Mark Comer and the 3 Discipleship Goals: Be with your rabbi, Be like your rabbi, Do as your rabbi did
4. How do we help disciples arrange their lives around following Jesus? Spiritual Practices. Try the 1-1-1 method: 1 preaching series, 1 small group, 1 serving opportunity
5. Resources: Get sermon resources you can use right here: Sermon Series - Finding Your Way

#338: The Problem with Discipleship

There's a problem with spiritual formation in most churches - many think it's a combination of faithful attendance and volunteerism. But, is that really the same thing as following Jesus? Of course not. It may be a byproduct, but discipleship runs so much deeper. How do we help our congregations make that shift?

1. We need to re-frame it: following Jesus is often viewed as knowledge, but it's more like an apprenticeship. It is a way to walk (knowledge + action).
2. We need to understand the tension: disciples are hand-crafted, not mass-produced. We must scale relationships.
3. We need a clear strategy: otherwise we don't really know if we're making disciples.
4. Resources: I Once Was Lost (Don Everts and Doug Schaupp), Practicing the Way (John Mark Comer), 5 Things God Uses to Grow Your Faith (Northpoint Community Church)

#337: The Importance of Self-Leadership

It's been said that the hardest person you'll ever have to lead is yourself. But, it's absolutely key if you want to keep growing as a follower of Jesus and a leader in the church. We close our series on leadership with a final topic: the value of self-leadership (and how to do it).

• Develop your identity
• Invest in yourself (pick 1 area)
• Healthy in, healthy out

#336: Misalignment and How to Get Unstuck

Jesus was always trying to align people with the Father's mission. Alignment is critically important for churches because it's about faithfulness: closing the gap between the church you are and the church God is calling you to be. How do we get alignment?
#1 Purpose, Vision, Means (PVM)

• Purpose: what we need to understand clearly (in a sentence or two)
• Vision: what we hope happens (in a sentence or two)
• Means: what we can do to make it happen (bullet list)

#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