Cornerstone Pastors Network: Recent Episodes
Warren Schuh
The Cornerstone Pastors Network Monthly Resource Calls. A monthly one-hour interactive call with proven ministry leaders who provide practical ministry insights. Leaders who have been on previous episodes include Larry Osborne, George Bullard, Steve Macchia, Dave Kinnamon, Reggie McNeal, Neil Cole, and Dan Southerland among others.
The youth coming out of our churches are in spiritual trouble. More than half of all students raised in Christian homes and participating in local churches forsake their faith sometime during their college years. What changes do we need to make in the local church to change this alarming trend?
Join Campus Pastor, Jim Musser, and CPN Executive Director, Kevin Huff, as they discuss this growing trend and how churches and parents can make a difference.
Jim Musser was raised in a church-going home, but came to understand what it meant to follow Jesus early in his freshman year at Ball State University. He was a student leader in his campus ministry and graduated with a degree in Social Work. He went on to complete a Master of Divinity degree at Emmanuel Seminary at Milligan University in Tennessee. After graduating, he served as Director of Campus Christians at the University of Kansas for 21 years, where he also earned a Master of Education degree in Counseling Psychology. He then was called in 2004 to the same position with Campus Christian Fellowship at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina where he lives with his wife, Marianna. He is serving as Campus Minister Emeritus with CCF until July 2022. He also leads UpStream Ministries and is the author of the book, Letters from Downstream: Why Teaching Young People HOW TO Follow Jesus Is So Important—Insights for Parents and Churches.
In this second part to the discussion with Jon Ritner and Warren Schuh, Jon discusses more of the "how to's" to renewing the focus of discipling like Jesus and how that can look in the modern world. Jon points out the challenges non-christians have with the church and the subtle items like language that creates confusion and apprehension to walking into a traditional church program.
This discussion's purpose is to give perspective to how to grow followers in Christ and not just church numbers with practical ideas.
Jon Ritner shares, with Warren Schuh, his experiences with discipleship in Europe and how bringing this paradigm back to the States has increased believers in Christ and grown the church.
He talks about the differences in measuring church growth and challenges if we are really growing at all. His ideas are authentic and inspiring, check out this next podcast by Cornerstone Pastors Network.
https://www.cpnonline.net
Jon Ritner shares, with Warren Schuh, his experiences with discipling in Europe and how he is using the same structure to renew discipling in his community in the United States and how true discipling increases believers and not just church members.
Lance Witt and Warren Schuh discuss the difficulites for pastors and church leaders with taking time for themselves. Lance shares his experiences and supportive information to help pastors. Cornerstone Pastors Network strives to give pastors resources to help with all the different challenges they face.
Brad Leeper and Warren Schuh discuss the generosity present in your church, end-of-year-giving, and the ongoing recovery of the pandemic.
Listening the the podcast feels like you are just one of the members of the discussion as these two comfortably chat about the issues many pastors and churches are facing.
We have left Egypt and going back is not an option.
Our world is in a moment of both profound change and Kingdom opportunity, literally at the intersection of chronos and kairos in human and divine history. For pastors and church leaders , this is a time to learn and lean into the moment rather than hope that it will pass and we return to "normal."
This "season of COVID" has forced many churches to begin to do things that they had never thought about doing previously or if they had thought about them, they resisted the change and now they are being forced to make changes. And forced change is always more difficult to successfully implement.
Carol Childress is known for her ability to help leaders “connect the dots” and enable churches and organizations to create a healthy internal culture, craft strategic direction, navigate change, and process transition in our twenty-first century world. "My greatest concern is that I hear everyone talking about changes, but few are talking about transition. Change and transition are not the same and without paying attention to the process of transition, most efforts at managing change fail." This is a time for pastors and churches to be hopeful rather than fearful.
Carol Childress is the founder of the CarolChildress Group, a consulting practice that helps leaders and faith-based organizations understand today and more importantly lead for tomorrow. With four decades of leadership experience in city management, community development, non-profit and faith-based organizations, including thirteen years as a Knowledge Broker at Leadership Network and work with the Cornerstone Pastors Network team, Carol is a trusted advisor and experienced consultant to churches and nonprofit organizations across the country.
A resident of the Dallas area, Carol is graduate of Texas Tech University, The Institute of Urban Studies at the University of Texas at Arlington, and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Conway Edwards & Jeff Jones: Working Together To Address Racial Injustice
Jeff Jones and Conway Edwards will challenge us to engage with others who don’t look like us. They will share the lessons they’ve been learning during their journey and help us understand the personal growth that has resulted from stepping outside of comfort zones.
You won’t want to miss this insightful conversation. We hope to see you there!
About Our Speakers:Dr. Conway Edwards is the founding and Lead Pastor of One Community Church, a fast growing church in Plano, Texas ministering to the communities of Collin County and hosting 7000 weekly in attendance. Dr. Edward’s unique ability to communicate the truths of the Bible in a relevant and uncompromising manner has helped to reach a generation of men, women, singles, couples and families embedded in a culture defined by individualism, materialism and humanism.
Dr. Edwards holds a Master of Theology, with an emphasis in Pastoral Ministry, from Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS). While at DTS, he was a Leadership Fellow with the Center for Christian Leadership, under the guidance of Dr. Howard Hendricks. Dr. Edwards also holds a Doctorate in Strategic Leadership from Regent University.
Dr. Edwards is passionate about leadership and the local church. He is the author of Leading a Turnaround Ministry: A Process for Exponential Growth and is co-author of When Love’s In View and The Undercover Woman, with his wife, Jada.
Dr. Edwards and Jada have a son named Joah and daughter named Chloe.
Since 2004, Jeff Jones has served as Senior Pastor of Chase Oaks Church. He is a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary and helped launch the Center for Church-Based Training, an organization that helps churches around the world disciple and develop new ministry leaders. He is co-author of the book, The Leadership Baton.
Do you feel like you are leading in a context that you were not expecting? You may even feel that your training holds you back more often than it carries you along. Tod Bolsinger brings decades of expertise in guiding churches and organizations through uncharted territory to help you reimagine what effective leadership looks like in our rapidly changing world. This Pastors Resource Call will give you the tools you need to live and lead in a COVID19 culture.
Tod Bolsinger is the vice president for vocation and formation and teaches practical theology at Fuller Theological Seminary. He has also served as senior pastor of San Clemente Presbyterian Church and associate pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood.
At such a volatile time in our history, many pastors are struggling with the right way to lead their congregation in giving a biblical response to racism. Renowned scholar Craig Blomberg will be discussing the New Testament theology on racism and what we can learn from a deeper look into the Biblical text. Dr. Blomberg's teaching will be incredibly helpful in allowing you to clearly communicate the Biblical framework of race and justice to your congregation.
Dr. Craig Blomberg is Distinguished Professor of New Testament at Denver Seminary in Littleton, Colorado. He holds the B.A. from Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois, the M.A. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois, and the Ph.D. from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. Craig is the author of sixteen books and has co-authored or co-edited ten more, along with more than 150 journal articles or chapters in multi-author works. His books include four on the historical reliability and interpretation of parts or all of the Bible (esp. the Gospels), two on interpreting and preaching the parables, three commentaries (on Matthew, 1 Corinthians and James), a textbook on Jesus and the Gospels and another on Acts through Revelation, a handbook on exegetical method, a New Testament Theology, and three books on material possessions in the Bible. He is a member of the Committee on Bible Translation for the New International Version and served on the subcommittee tasked with producing the 35th anniversary edition of the NIV Study Bible.
Life as a pastor has changed a LOT in the past three months! We’ve been in a non-stop season of adjustment to the challenges of each day. Not only are we figuring out how to engage with our congregations during a time of social-distancing but now we’re also called to help people respond in meaningful ways to the newly exposed deep divides of our society at large.
Larry Osborne has always been able to provide clarity and biblically-based wisdom for pastors and church leaders. We are thrilled to be able to provide time for you to process the challenges of these days with Larry during this month’s Pastor Resource Call.
Together we will address current concerns like re-opening the building, addressing racial reconciliation in our communities as well as the stress levels being experienced by pastors in these days. This will not be a ‘webinar’! This will be a conversation with Larry…pastor to pastor. Register today and plan to bring your questions for Larry!
Larry Osborne is one of the pastors at North Coast Church in Southern California. During his tenure, the church has grown from 128 to over 13,000 in weekend attendance with 7 regional campuses. Known for its innovative approach to ministry, North Coast has played a pioneering role in prototyping and helping churches around the globe adopt teaching teams, sermon-based small groups, video venues, and multisite ministry.
Larry writes and speaks on both discipleship and leadership. His books on the Christian life include: Thriving in Babylon, Accidental Pharisees, A Contrarian’s Guide To Knowing God, and 10 Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe. His leadership books include: Sticky Teams, Sticky Church, Sticky Leaders, Mission Creep, The Unity Factor and Lead Like a Shepherd.
In a time when we have more questions than answers and more problems than solutions, all the uncertainty can rattle your confidence. Authentic confidence is never easy to achieve, and in this COVID season, it can be more challenging than ever. The good news is that your confidence can be developed! ADAPTABILITY is one of the essentials to your confidence and this call will focus on the practical nature of how that works.
Dan Reiland has been a pastor and leader for 39 years. Formerly John Maxwell’s Executive Pastor; Dan is the author of four books including leadership titles Shoulder to Shoulder and Amplified Leadership. He blogs regularly and is considered among the top church consultants and leadership coaches. For the past 19 years, Dan has served as Executive Pastor of 12Stone Church in Lawrenceville, Georgia. He and his wife, Patti, have two children.
Unprecedented. That's the buzz word of the year. 2020 has brought unexpected twists and turns to our nation, our families and our ministries. Twenty-year family ministry veteran, Jessica Bealer, will be joining us on our April 16th call to discuss the impact COVID-19 has had on our ministries, particularly how we serve kids, students and parents. She'll be discussing best practices in relation to content creation and delivery as well as what's next for our churches when this season comes to an end. We hope you'll choose to participate as we strive to keep families connected during this unusual season.
Jessica Bealer has been leading children’s ministry for 19 years. Six of which were spent overseeing standards, systems, staffing and atmosphere for the children’s ministry of Elevation Church. She has overseen the launch of twenty locations, and is considered a specialist in kidmin multisite. Jessica currently oversees the Family Ministry Services Division of Generis, an organization dedicated to helping churches see their mission accomplished. Jessica is a mother of four, published author and host of the Women’s Leadership Workshop podcast. She is married to Frank, the CEO of Phase Family Centers and Executive Director of Leadership Development at Orange.
Lots of church leaders dream about kingdom advance. Why do few actually experience it? That's because specific competencies and practices are required. Want to know what those are and how you can add them to your leadership skill set? Author and consultant Reggie McNeal has spent several decades working with high-octane kingdom leaders. His latest book, Kingdom Collaborators, identifies and explores 8 signature practices of leaders who make significant kingdom impact. Join us for a conversation as he unpacks his insights for us.
Culture is changing so rapidly that our trusted ways of reaching those we are called to reach are working less, leading some to throw up their hands and think the world is spiraling away from God and there isn’t much we can do. The truth is, God is always at work in the harvest. We just have to discern where and how he is working. What are the new realities, challenges, and opportunities in reaching people?
Jeff Jones is the Senior Pastor of Chase Oaks Church in Plano, Texas. He’s the author of Distinct by Design and co-author of "The Leadership Baton.”
How Jesus Turned 12 Nobodies Into Leaders Who Changed The World.
We all know that leadership development is critically important for growing a healthy church. There are thousands of books, articles, and podcasts on this topic.
Yet how often do we actually look into how Jesus developed leaders? He was able to take 12 nobodies from a backwood corner of the Roman empire and change the world! Dan will share the 8 principles of leadership development that can be seen directly in the ministry of Jesus.
If you have ever felt struggled to raise up great leaders in your church, then this is the PRC for you!
Dan Reiland is Executive Pastor at 12Stone Church in Lawrenceville, Georgia. He previously partnered with John Maxwell for 20 years, first as Executive Pastor at Skyline Wesleyan Church in San Diego, then as Vice President of Leadership and Church Development at INJOY.
Steve will be teaching us the same system he has used at Saddleback Church since 1998 to have a massive impact with small group discipleship. It will help you to increase your small group engagement 100%. He will teach the systems and strategies that encourage spiritual growth through deepened relationships to make mature disciples.
Steve has been Pastor of Small Groups at Saddleback Church since February 1998 and serves as an Elder of the church. He oversees the strategic launch and spiritual development of over 7,000 adult small groups on multiple campuses. He has authored Small Groups With Purpose, which has been translated into twelve languages to date, Leading Small Groups With Purpose and Planning Small Groups With Purpose.
He has a driving passion to see each church attendee connected to a qualified leader and become an integral part of their church body, living purposefully for Christ. He frequently speaks at conferences and consults with church leaders from many denominations both in the United States and around the world.
Prior to joining Saddleback, Steve has been on four other church staffs of varying sizes. He earned a Masters of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary in 1985, and a B.A. in Biblical Studies, with minors in Greek and Philosophy in 1982, from Evangel University. Steve and Lisa have been married since 1989 and have two children, Erika and Ethan.
Every leader in ministry works with and through a team. Whether paid staff or dedicated volunteers, we all rely on a team. It is not a stretch to say that your church’s impact has direct correlation to the health and effectiveness of the team around you. The two critical components of great teams are Health and High-Performance. The very best teams focus on BOTH relationships and results. During this call, we will explore best practices result in the synergy of Health and High-Performance.
Lance is the founder of a ministry called REPLENISH (www.replenish.net). Replenish has been around for 10 years and is dedicated to helping people live and lead from a healthy soul.
Along with speaking, consulting and training, Lance does Life Plans, individual coaching, and staff training and development. Lance has also authored a book entitled Replenish. His newest book High Impact Teams … Where Healthy Meets High Performance will release in 2018.
Lance served 20 years as a senior pastor before serving 7 years as an Executive/Teaching pastor at Saddleback Church in Southern California. He led Saddleback’s Spiritual Growth Campaigns, such as 40 Days of Purpose and 40 Days of Community.
Lance has been married to his wife Connie for 39 years and they have two married children and four beautiful grand daughters.
Do you feel like you’re doing everything? You probably are. Now is the time to change it.
Me to We: It is an all-too-common reality that pastors feel buried by too much to do and often pulled in too many directions. The pastor-centric congregation is a formula for continuing this dynamic. This Pastor Resource Call identifies the telltale signs of this style of leadership and suggests practical ways to develop shared ownership of the vision and workload. We’ll focus on practical ways to move from Me to We, developing people and avoiding burnout.
Alan E. Nelson, Ed.D., practiced leadership as a pastor the first 20 years of his life. After earning a doctorate in the field, writing books and teaching seminary courses, he hit midlife. Catalyzed by a conversation with futurist, George Barna, Nelson moved from pastoring to becoming a social entrepreneur. The last decade he’s focused on studying the gift of leadership in the very young (ages 3-23), for the purpose of getting to leaders while they’re moldable, not moldy (www.LeadYoungTraining.com). He also teaches leadership at USC Marshall School of Business and the Naval Postgraduate School. Alan lives with his wife of 38 years (Nancy), in Thousand Oaks, CA.
Someone once said, “Vision frames the future, leaders activate the future, and generosity fuels the future.” If that’s true, then we ought to be creating a culture of generosity in our churches that goes way beyond a two-minute offering moment in the weekend service. Dave Dummitt will help us understand what it takes to create a deeply rooted culture of generosity. When a church is generous at its core, individual disciples are strengthened, the church is healthier and the church’s community can be impacted in amazing ways.
David Dummitt is an innovative leader with a strong passion to see church leaders win and have fun doing it. He is a “pastor to pastors,” committed to equipping and coaching church leaders to lead themselves and lead their churches well.
Dave is the Founding and Lead Pastor of 2|42 Community Church, ranked by Outreach Magazine for six years in a row as one of the fastest-growing churches in America. 2|42 has grown from a 40-member launch team meeting in Dave’s living room to over 7500 people meeting at four different campuses each weekend. As a church committed to community outreach and radical generosity, 2|42 builds award-winning Community Centers with indoor sports and fitness facilities, cafes, playscapes for kids, and a school for the arts.
Dave and his wife, Rachel, reside in Howell, Michigan with their four awesome children.
Every day in the news media, there are stories about sexual abuse, shootings or embezzlement in the church. The key method of prevention is to change our thinking about predators. They are smart, cunning and have a plan to bring crime to your congregation! Stories from around the nation show that predators can quickly find vulnerabilities in your church. The 8 Principles of Shark Thinking are illustrated through a predator at Wheat Fields Good News Church (a factitious composite example) and from recent real cases in the national media.
For 35 years, David Fletcher, founder of XPastor.org and the “Hey Fletch” column, led churches from 1,000-8,000 members, single and multi-site, churches with camps, schools, apartments and cafes. Fletch brings an objective perspective, broad knowledge and vast experience to this PRC. He has a heart for pastors and is a “church doctor”. He brings biblical principles and best practices to your church’s unique culture and setting.
David received two graduate degrees from Dallas Seminary and did executive education classes at the Kellogg School of Management and Harvard Business School. He loves to walk and exercise with his wife, Tami, and he loves scuba diving and rowing 10,000 meters a day.
The friendless pastor is doing so much solo work, there’s little time for cultivating friendship…does this sound like you?
Jesus said, “I no longer call you servants; instead I call you friends.” (John 15:15-17) If you’re attempting to do ministry life without friends, you are heading in a dangerous direction. None of us should be flying solo. Even with the demands for our time and attention on the sharp incline, don’t for a minute think you can be effective and lonely at the same time. In this month’s conversation, Steve Macchia will facilitate reflection on the importance of spiritual friendship for every pastor. What are the hurdles to cultivating friendship? What about the blessings and joys that accompany meaningful spiritual friendship?
After serving eleven years on the pastoral staff of Grace Chapel in Lexington, MA and an additional fourteen years as President of Vision New England, Steve Macchia founded Leadership Transformations in 2003. Since then he’s served as President of LTI as well as Director of the Pierce Center for Disciple-Building at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, where he also serves on the teaching team in the Doctor of Ministry department. He also teaches a Doctor of Ministry course on “Spiritual Replenishment” as an adjunct faculty member at Phoenix Seminary. Steve is an ordained minister, conference speaker, ministry leader, retreat facilitator, ministry mentor/coach, and spiritual director. He’s also the author of several books, including Broken and Whole (InterVarsity Press), Crafting a Rule of Life (InterVarsity Press), the Baker Best-seller Becoming A Healthy Church (Baker Books), Becoming A Healthy Church Workbook (Baker Books), Becoming A Healthy Disciple (Baker Books/LTI Publication), Becoming A Healthy Disciple: Small Group Study and Worship Guide (LTI Publication), Becoming A Healthy Team(Baker Books/LTI Publication), Exercises for Becoming A Healthy Team (LTI Publication), Legacy: 60 Life Reflections for the Next Generation (LTI Publication, 2017), Outstretched Arms of Grace (LTI Publication), Path of a Beloved Disciple<!--
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The events of Easter stand at the living center and bedrock foundation of the Christian faith. No season has greater claim to our attention, deeper hold of our affections. And yet, many of us feel a vague dread as another Easter season approaches: how do I speak of Christ’s passion and death and resurrection in ways that are both faithful and fresh? How do I tell the old, old story as though it’s late-breaking news? In this webinar, pastor, professor and author Mark Buchanan will explore three ways to bring fresh vitality to your Easter message, and to help your people – and your own heart – hear, believe and rejoice that Christ is risen, he is risen indeed.
Mark is an associate professor of Pastoral Theology at Ambrose Seminary in Calgary, AB, and formerly was pastor of New Life Community Baptist Church in Duncan, BC. His work has been published in numerous periodicals, including Christianity Today, Books & Culture, Leadership Journal, and DiscipleshipMagazine. He is also the author of Your God Is Too Safe, Things Unseen, The Holy Wild, The Rest of God, Hidden in Plain Sight, and Spiritual Rhythm. He has also written Your Church is Too Safe and the Four Best Places to Live. His upcoming book (summer 2019) is called Walking.
Mark and Cheryl live in Cochrane, Alberta, and have 3 children that are all grown up & on their own.
Regardless of what form, style, or history of the church you serve in, our present day missionary context removes the option to do more of the same, or just make minor tweaks. The world and those we serve will no longer respond to church in the same form or fashion. What missionary context needs more than any single thing is…Missionaries. People that understand how to cross the street and make meaningful engagement with the lost world around us. Join us for a great learning experience with Hugh Halter who has specialize in missionary training for the local church the last 25 years. Hugh says, “When Jesus called us to make disciples, was essentially giving us the mandate to make church a missionary farm system.”
Hugh lives with his wife Cheryl in Alton, IL. After two church plants, Hugh and Cheryl moved from Denver in 2016 where Hugh pioneered the Lantern Network, a new-trappist kingdom and business collective. He has authored eight books and shares his time encouraging and training the greater body of Christ for doable and tangible engagement with the world around us.
Without interruption, every church has the potential to go through a very similar life cycle. Most start, grow, thrive, lose momentum, decline and eventually end-but that’s not God’s plan for the church. Churches can get stuck in any phase of growth on their way to sustained health. They can also get stuck sliding down the other side of the life cycle, experiencing the pain of ineffectiveness and decline. Our data has found 80% of churches are plateaued or in decline. Join Tony Morgan for an honest, practical conversation about what it takes to get unstuck.
Tony is founder and chief strategic officer of The Unstuck Group, a company that helps churches get unstuck through consulting and coaching experiences designed to focus on vision, strategy and action. For 14 years, Tony served on the senior leadership teams at West Ridge Church in Dallas, Georgia, NewSpring church in South Carolina, and Granger Community church in Indiana. He’s written several books, as well as articles that have been featured with the Willow Creek Association, Catalyst and Pastors.com. He writes about leadership regularly at tonymorganlive.com His latest book, The Unstuck Church: Equipping Churches to Experience Sustained Health, is available from Thomas Nelson.
This month’s Pastor Resource Call will feature Matt Larson, Lead Pastor of Anthem Church in Thousand Oaks, CA. You’ll find that his perspective on the local church is refreshing, insightful, and inspiring. We think you just might sense “fresh wind in your sails” as a result of the PRC.
Here is what Matt says about our time together on November 15th:
“We set out 9 years ago to plant a church that would be a distinctly reproducing church. It was partly my passion and partly our theology … that’s what God has asked us to do. In the 9 years since we planted, we have been directly involved in 12 church plants (11 domestic and 1 international). Obviously, we have a long way to go to establish a truly multiplying movement, but we’ve been excited about the start that God has given us.
Along the way we’ve learned a few things and I get the honor of sharing with you 2 key things that we’ve learned about leading a sending/multiplying/reproducing church. We will talk about pathways for leadership development and the engine of generosity that makes a multiplying movement go. Looking forward to talking with you all! – Matt ”
What if you stopped seeing your main job as doing work or motivating your staff to do work, and started seeing it as giving people tools to work–helping people missionally engage and have gospel conversations with those around them? What “tools” could you create that make it easy for congregants to serve their neighbors and city…tools to help them live on mission? How can we expect our people to make disciples if we don’t provide the tools and the platform for them to carry out their mission?
In this month’s Pastor Resource Call, Eric Swanson will help us understand what a ministry platform is and how to practically set one in motion in the local church context.
Eric has a passion for engaging churches worldwide in the needs and dreams of their communities toward the end of spiritual and societal transformation. He is a UC Berkeley grad and holds a DMin in Transformational Leadership in the Global City from BGU. He served with Cru for twenty-five years before joining the staff of Leadership Network where he works with scores of missional churches around North America. He is an adjunct professor at Denver Seminary and is co-author of The Externally Focused Church (Group, 2004), The Externally Focused Life (Group, 2009), The Externally Focused Quest (Jossey-Bass, 2010) , and To Transform a City (Zondervan, 2010), and numerous articles on churches that are transforming their communities. Since 1999 Eric has also been working with Tango, currently working on a mobile-digital platform designed for life change and since 2001 with Leadership Network as a missional specialist.
On average, each of us has 8 to 15 people, whom God has supernaturally and strategically placed in our relational world so that He might use us to both demonstrate and discuss faith. The Greeks used one word to describe this personal world—OIKOS, or “extended household.” OIKOS is not an evangelism program. It’s not an event. It’s not an emphasis. The oikos principle is the heartbeat of Christ’s Church. Jesus designed it, modeled it and taught us how to use it. Since then, it’s been instrumental in bringing 95% of believers into the body of Christ. Tom Mercer has not only experienced the oikos principle firsthand, he has committed his life to helping the church understand and utilize this incredibly simple yet effective strategy for changing a world that just might be smaller than you think!
Tom has been married to his wife Sheryl for thirty-seven years, and they have been blessed with three married children, who have in turn blessed us with the greatest core oikos imaginable—nine grandchildren. Tom received his formal education at Biola University and Talbot Seminary. He has been the Senior Pastor and primary teacher at the High Desert Church in Victorville, California since 1984. During that time, HDC has grown from 125 regular participants to over 12,000; from one campus to four.
He has authored two books, 8 to 15: The World Is Smaller Than You Think and Common Sense Is the New Brilliance. These books highlight the oikos principle, which Tom believes is the simplest and most effective form of Kingdom growth that Jesus gave us.
Your staff culture sets the pace for your church culture. In the same way a toxic staff culture can stall a church, a healthy staff culture is one of your greatest assets to help your church gain momentum and thrive.
This Pastor Resource Call with Dan Reiland will include conversation around how to get honest about your real staff culture, what breaks and builds culture, and insights on how to make culture the real you rather than a list of stuff conceived on a retreat. Dan has years of experience and practical know how on this topic. You won’t want to miss out on this very special opportunity to interact with him on this key factor in church leadership!
Dan Reiland is Executive Pastor at 12Stone Church in Lawrenceville, Georgia. He previously partnered with John Maxwell for 20 years, first as Executive Pastor at Skyline Wesleyan Church in San Diego, then as Vice President of Leadership and Church Development at INJOY.
What does it mean to genuinely “shepherd” a flock in our modern day cultural and ministry contexts? What is the proper balance between pushing for spiritual growth and adapting to the weaknesses and limitations of the people we are trying to disciple? Is vocational ministry the highest calling or is it simply one of many options for a fully committed Jesus follower? Join us for a great learning experience with Larry Osborne as he addresses these and other important pastoral issues.
Larry Osborne is one of the senior pastors at North Coast Church in Vista, California. During his tenure the church has grown from 128 to more than 12,000 in weekend attendance and become widely known for its biblical teaching and innovative approaches to ministry. Larry’s books include Thriving in Babylon; Accidental Pharisees; A Contrarian’s Guide to Knowing God; Sticky Church; Sticky Teams; Sticky Leaders; and Ten Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe.
Most churches are over-managed and under-led. They often find themselves drowning in unnecessary meetings or stuck in “business as usual” mode. Romans 12:8 says, “If your gift is leadership, then lead with diligence.” Most pastors are ministry managers, teachers and counselors, but not gifted in leadership. That’s okay, but how can they tap those gifted in leadership within their congregations? This Pastors Resource Call focuses on leading, ways to identify the gift, practical steps to unleash it responsibly, and why it is essential to the Church, whether pastors possess it or not.
Alan E. Nelson, Ed.D., practiced leadership as a pastor the first 20 years of his life. After earning a doctorate in the field, writing books and teaching seminary courses, he hit midlife. Catalyzed by a conversation with futurist, George Barna, Nelson moved from pastoring to social entrepreneurism. The last decade he’s focused on studying the gift of leadership in the very young (ages 3-23), for the purpose of getting to leaders while they’re moldable, not moldy (www.LeadYoungTraining.com). He also teaches leadership at USC Marshall School of Business and the Naval Postgraduate School. Alan lives with his wife of 36 years (Nancy), in Thousand Oaks, CA.
We stand on the edge of an opportunity unlike any in history. For every moment we hesitate, the distance between irrelevance and influency doubles exponentially. Our time is now. There are four exponential growth trends that are rising like tides in our culture today and leading us towards a crushing break. These four tides are: The population boom, the technology tsunami, the rising economic gap and the increasing polarization of worldviews.
Neil Cole is an apostolic catalyst for the global Organic Church Movement and the founder of Church Multiplication Associates, CMAResources and Starling Initiatives. He has authored over a dozen books including Organic Church, Cultivating a Life for God, Church 3.0, and Primal Fire.
Neil makes his home in Long Beach, CA and is an avid Laker’s fan.
“A significant realignment in mission is currently underway in the North American church,” declares Reggie McNeal. In our time together Reggie will explain this shift as well as detail how church leaders can self-select into this movement. He will also provide insights on how culture is re-shaped (“nothing less than a culture-shift for the church is required,” he often says). Time permitting he may comment on his latest work of identifying key characteristics and practices of kingdom-centric leaders.
Dr. Reggie McNeal enjoys helping people, leaders, and Christian organizations determine and experience epic wins in their pursuit of greater intentionality and impact. He currently serves as the Missional Leadership Specialist for Leadership Network. Reggie’s past experience involves over a decade as a denominational executive and leadership development coach. He also served in local congregational leadership for over twenty years, including being the founding pastor of a new church. Reggie has lectured or taught as adjunct faculty for multiple seminaries, including Fuller Theological (Pasadena, CA), Southwestern Baptist (Ft. Worth, TX), Golden Gate Baptist (San Francisco, CA), Trinity Divinity School (Deerfield, IL), and Columbia International (Columbia, SC). In addition, he has served as a consultant to local church, denomination, and para-church leadership teams, as well as seminar developer and presenter for thousands of church leaders across North America. He has also resourced the US Army Chief of Chaplains Office, Air Force chaplains, and the Air Force Education and Training Command. Reggie’s work also extends to the business sector, including The Gallup Organization.
Reggie is also a prolific author of books and articles including his two most recent books, Kingdom Come: Why and How the Church Needs to Change Our Story and Kingdom Collaborators: Eight Signature Practices of Leaders Who Turn the World Upside Down.
Reggie and his wife, Cathy, make their home in Columbia, South Carolina.
In this Pastors Resource Call, professor and author (and former pastor) Mark Buchanan will explore the life of King David in three seasons – David’s youth and rise in the court of Saul, David’s 20s and his fugitive and exile years in the wilderness, and David’s 4 decades on the throne. Throughout the seminar, we will pay attention to David’s challenges and opportunities, his achievements and failings, and what these say about our own seasons of life and leadership.
To prepare, please read through 1 and 2 Samuel.
Mark and his wife Cheryl live in Calgary, Alberta, where Mark is associate professor of Pastoral Theology at Ambrose Seminary. They have three adult children and one “God-daughter.” Mark is a pastor, teacher, speaker, and the author of seven books as well as the forthcoming novel on the life of King David and forthcoming book on the theology of walking. He enjoys scuba diving, fishing, and motorcycles.
We all know that vision is crucial for a church’s sense of purpose and direction. But many churches struggle to take meaningful action steps toward their stated vision. Dan Reiland is a master at knowing how to help church leaders build a culture of implementation throughout the organization. In this PRC, Dan will unpack his process for creating an organization that gets and stays focused on vision implementation.
Dan Reiland is Executive Pastor at 12Stone® Church in Lawrenceville, Georgia. He previously partnered with John Maxwell for 20 years, first as Executive Pastor at Skyline Wesleyan Church in San Diego, then as Vice President of Leadership and Church Development at INJOY.
Dan is best known as a leader with a pastor’s heart and a coach’s instincts. He truly loves the local church, and is described as one of the nation’s most innovative church thinkers. His passion is developing and empowering leaders who want to grow, are willing to take risks, and enjoy the journey.
Dan is married to Patti and they have two kids, Mackenzie and John-Peter, who have both graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University. Dan is a lover and collector of fine guitars and in a previous life is pretty sure he was a lead guitarist in a rock band.
John Calvin put it this way, “Nearly all the wisdom which we possess, that is to say, true and sound wisdom, consists of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves.” St. Augustine once prayed, “Grant, Lord, that I may know myself, that I may know Thee.” Consider this too: “Self-awareness is our only defense against self-deception.” No matter how you slice it, without clarity in regards to our awareness of self, we will not fully know the true God who created us in the first place. And, discovering the truth about ourselves is only possible through the work of the Spirit in our lives…and our willingness to prayerfully receive the input of others.
Rick Anderson and Steve Macchia, from Leadership Transformations, have been coming alongside pastors, leaders and teams for many years. They help leaders get to know the true God and their true selves with a strong conviction that both are necessary for the sanctifying process of transformation. They will lead us in this important discussion on Thursday, January 25 at 11am CST and introduce us to a self-awareness tool that they have found to be extremely fruitful in spiritual formation work with Christian leaders. Rick Anderson serves as Senior Vice President and Steve Macchia is the Founder and President of Leadership Transformations.
The Rev. Dr. Stephen A. Macchia became the founding president of Leadership Transformations, Inc. (LTI) on July 1, 2003. LTI is a ministry which focuses on the spiritual formation needs of leaders and the spiritual discernment processes of leadership teams in local church and parachurch ministry settings nationwide. He is the author of several books, including Broken and Whole (IVP, 2016), Outstretched Arms of Grace (LTI Publication, 2015), Path of a Beloved Disciple (LTI Publication, 2014), Wellspring (LTI Publication, 2014), Crafting a Rule of Life: An Invitation to the Well-Ordered Way (IVP, 2012), and the Baker Best-seller Becoming a Healthy Church.
The internal culture of a church is the most important social reality within the church. Often more powerful than vision, mission, strategy or doctrine, it is deep, complex, difficult to articulate and largely unseen because so much of it is “below the water line.” A church can have the right vision, mission, strategy or doctrine but if the internal culture is not aligned with those elements, the best efforts to live into vision, execute against mission and strategy, and preach and teach doctrine will be thwarted by its internal culture.
If you can’t figure out where you are stuck or not sure what obstacles are in the way of creating the culture you want in your church then join us for this informational and timely Pastors Resource Call. One of the most important skill sets that a 21st century pastor must have is the ability to lead and manage change. Changing a church’s internal culture is difficult because it requires altering the behavior of both individuals and the church itself.
Carol Childress is the founder of the Carol Childress Group, a consulting practice that helps leaders and organizations understand today and lead for tomorrow. Gifted in bringing clarity to complex issues, Carol is known for her ability to help leaders “connect the dots” and enable organizations to craft strategic direction, navigate change, and process transition in the 21st century world. A trusted advisor, experienced consultant, frequent speaker and workshop leader, Carol has worked with church leaders in every region of the U.S. as well as selected international areas.
The gospel is meant for every people group in the world without exception, since all are made in God’s image and are specially designed for relationship with him.
Across the world there are an estimated 1 billion Muslims who are considered unreached (less than 2% of the human race are known Christians). Of those, there are over 1,000 Muslim people groups that remain completely unengaged (having no known Christians among them). If you are searching for help in how you can love Muslims well along with other unreached people groups this call is designed for you.
Our Resource person for this call is Brian Newman. Brian grew up in a secular, cultural Jewish family on Long Island (outside New York City). His family celebrated the Jewish holidays, he was bar mitzvah, but he was a functional agnostic. At 20 years old as a college student Brian had a dramatic conversion to Christ, which launched him into a life of serving God overseas for 20 years and now in the United States. He has worked In Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and elsewhere for over 25 years.
In 2011, Brian founded The Isaac-Ishmael Initiative to bring together the three monotheistic faiths of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. At a time when Christians, Muslims, and Jews are in conflict around the world, he believes there is a way forward together.
Brian has earned two Master of Arts degrees from Fuller Theological Seminary – one in multi-cultural studies and the other in theology.
Ed Stetzer, Ph.D., holds the Billy Graham Chair of Church, Mission, and Evangelism at Wheaton College and serves as Executive Director of the Billy Graham Center for Evangelism. He has planted, revitalized, and pastored churches, trained pastors and church planters on six continents, holds two masters degrees and two doctorates, and has written dozens of articles and books.
Previously, he served as Executive Director of LifeWay Research.
Stetzer is a contributing editor for Christianity Today, a columnist for Outreach Magazine, and is frequently cited or interviewed in news outlets such as USAToday and CNN. He is the Executive Editor of The Gospel Project, a curriculum used by more than one million individuals each week. Stetzer is also Executive Editor of Facts & Trends Magazine, a Christian leadership magazine with a circulation of more than 70,000 readers.
In 2015, he began serving as the co-host of the BreakPoint This Week radio program with John Stonestreet. He also serves as Visiting Professor of Research and Missiology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Visiting Research Professor at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and has taught at many other colleges and seminaries.
He serves as interim pastor of Moody Church in Chicago.
Preaching today is not without its challenges. With the average “regular attender” showing up just 1.5 times a month, it is getting more and more difficult to be an effective communicator. Barna Research shows that the number one reason people come to church is to hear a good message. Jeff Jones brings over a decade of preaching experience to the Pastors Resource Call. Jeff is an extremely good communicator with a passion to see and help people experience godly transformation. He will speak to the importance of preaching for transformation – not just information. What is the difference? Sign up early to get a hand out for the call.
Since 2004, Jeff Jones has served as Senior Pastor of Chase Oaks Church, a large multi-campus church in North Texas. He is a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary and helped launch the Center for Church-Based Training, an organization that helps churches around the world disciple and develop new ministry leaders. He is co-author of the book The Leadership Baton and most recently authored, Distinct by Design. Jeff has been married to his wife Christy for twenty-eight years, and they have two adult sons, Collin and Caleb.
“Twenty years of research involving more than 100,000 people reveals that the key skill of effective leaders, teammates, parents and loved ones is the capacity to skillfully address emotionally and politically risky issues. Period.” From the book Crucial Conversations
We will cover …
– Why uncomfortable conversations are so difficult for pastors
– How to know when to initiate an uncomfortable conversation
– Practical steps on how to successfully have an uncomfortable conversation
– A litmus test of your leadership…. your willingness to invite an uncomfortable conversation
Lance is the founder of a ministry called REPLENISH (www.replenish.net). Replenish has been around for 10 years and is dedicated to helping people live and lead from a healthy soul.
Along with speaking, consulting and training, Lance does Life Plans, individual coaching, and staff training and development. Lance has also authored a book entitled Replenish. His newest book High Impact Teams … Where Healthy Meets High Performance will release in 2018.
Lance served 20 years as a senior pastor before serving 7 years as an Executive/Teaching pastor at Saddleback Church in Southern California. He led Saddleback’s Spiritual Growth Campaigns, such as 40 Days of Purpose and 40 Days of Community.
Lance has been married to his wife Connie for 39 years and they have two married children and four beautiful grand daughters.
– What is the role of the board/leadership team?
– What should the board be focusing on?
– How can we recruit great board members?
– How do we eliminate unhealthy communication and triangulation in our church?
– How can I create board meetings that are engaging and meaningful?
Mike Pate will share on these topics and take your board related questions. Mike serves as presenter and coach for the Murdock Trust Board Leadership and Development Program. This program gives nonprofit Christian organizations the insight, tools and templates for building board and staff capacity and creating a sustainable future.
Mike is the Executive Director of Camping for Transformation Ministries (TM), a national association of more than 170 churches. He leads three camps and two outdoor education LLC’s that operate in four states. TM camps impact tens of thousands of people of all ages every year and under Mike’s leadership, the camps have doubled in impact, size and revenue in the past 10 years. They have a combined staff of over 150 full time and seasonal employees.
Mike lives in the mountains of Southern California, with his wife, Shell. They have four children and two grandsons.
Why is same-sex marriage the law of the land? Why is euthanasia available to one in five Americans? Why is religious liberty more challenged than ever before? Why has our culture gotten to where it is today? There are reasons why we think the way we do. Americans are influenced by three cultural metanarratives. When we understand them, we are better able to understand where our society is and where we’re going. And we’ll discover practical ways to engage our fallen culture with the transforming truth of Scripture.
Jim Denison bridges faith and culture by engaging contemporary with biblical truth. He co-founded the Denison Forum in February 2009. Since that time, he has spoken to over 100,000 people on five continents. He is the author of eight books, including his most recent, The State of Our Nation: 7 Critical Issues. Dr. Denison also serves as Resident Scholar for Ethics with Baylor Scott & White Health, Senior Fellow as well as with the 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative in Washington D.C. He writes a daily article available at www.denisonforum.org/subscribe. His free column is distributed to more than 110,000 subscribers in 203 countries.
How do you contend with people who are never happy with the worship experience? Do you feel like you have to be a “people pleaser” concerning worship? What are some helpful steps in creating a Christ-centered worship experience? Is there a difference between “Christians worshipping” and “Christian worship”? Does the church calendar, pastoral prayer, reciting creeds, etc., have a place in today’s worship? What expressions of faith are relevant in today’s worship? What is the purpose and place of worship in the church today? Are you still doing worship that feels like you’re in the 1950’s? Is that wrong?
Kevin J. Navarro serves with CRM Empowering Leaders and their Spiritual Formation Community, Imago Christi. He is the author of The Complete Worship Leader (Baker Books, 2001) and The Complete Worship Service (Baker Books, 2005). He served as the senior pastor of Bethany Evangelical Free Church in Centennial, Colorado for fourteen years and on the staff of Bethany for 23 years. He and his family make their home in Centennial Colorado.
Hugh says that many people have asked, “Hugh, what is the one key to turning a typical small group into a true missionary community?” Another asks, “Hugh, how did all those people find faith…really how did it actually happen?” Another asks, “How do you disciple people to live more human lives like Jesus?” Hugh’s answer is always the same. “You have to teach and disciple people in how to throw a good party. It’s where everything starts.” It’s where we learn to listen instead of judge. Where we become advocates instead of adversaries and where people cease to be targets or projects because they are our friends. Remember, when teaching about the gospel of the kingdom, our living metaphors are that of a wedding feast, a banquet, and a supper. It’s time to include this in our own spiritual formation.
Hugh Halter moved from Denver in 2016 to Alton IL, with his wife Cheryl and three grown children to participate in a brand new missional living adventure which is allowing them to live out the incarnational ministry values they hold deeply. He speaks extensively across the country encouraging and equipping pastors in incarnational ministry and missional leadership. For more information about Hugh and his organization go to hughhalter.com.
Every Christian is either a missionary or an impostor.
– Charles Spurgeon
Has the routine of day to day ministry made you lose your passion? When was the last time you wept for your city? Dan Southerland is one of the very best when it comes to knowing, understanding and engaging with those who have not yet met Jesus. Dan brings great passion, compassion and understanding when it comes to sharing faith with those who are lost. He is a great role model as he continually works at bringing people together at his home, local cigar shop, restaurants … you name it. He exudes and personifies a true incarnational model of Christ wherever he goes. Do you need your fire stoked up a bit? Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to learn how Dan reaches the lost and trains others to do the same.
Dan Southerland is Lead Pastor of Westside Family Church, Lenexa, KS. He serves as the lead teaching pastor and chief visionary at Westside. He also leads the church planting effort anticipating 20 locations and church plants in the Kansas City area by 2020. He has authored four books, including “Chair Time” (an e-book about prayer) and “Transitioning” (a guide for helping churches navigate change). He has shared his leadership experiences with thousands of pastors worldwide. Dan has a passion for teaching, developing leaders, planting new churches and sharing Jesus with those who are far from God.
“The glory of God,” Origen said, “is a man fully alive.” Or George Whitfield, when asked why so many people came to hear him preach, answered, “I’m on fire, and they come to watch me burn.” Alas, too many in vocational ministry, struggling with the daily strains and demands of serving a local congregation, find those sentiments a distant memory. In this Pastors Resource Call, pastor, author and professor Mark Buchanan will lead a conversation about flourishing in life and ministry. Using Caleb as an example, Mark will explore the nature of deep contentment, and particularly how the practice of Sabbath nurtures this.
Mark Buchanan is a pastor, award-winning author, and father of three who lives with his wife, Cheryl, on the West Coast of Canada. Educated at the University of British Columbia and Regent College, his work has been published in numerous periodicals, including Christianity Today, Books and Culture, Leadership Journal, and Discipleship Magazine. He is the author of six books: Your God Is Too Safe, Things Unseen, The Holy Wild, The Rest of God, Hidden in Plain Sight, and Spiritual Rhythm.
Vision is everything.
Dan Reiland has spent decades working side by side with some very well-known visionary church leaders. On this Pastors Resource Call, Dan will give us first hand insight into what it’s like to be around people who get it about the deep impact of well communicated vision. We’ll investigate the importance and value of clear vision as it relates to accomplishing God’s mission for the church. He’ll talk about who’s responsible for vision development, what compelling vision looks like, and what it takes to keep the vision flame burning over time. You will NOT want to miss this high-value conversation with Dan!
Dan Reiland is Executive Pastor at 12Stone® Church in Lawrenceville, Georgia. He previously partnered with John Maxwell for 20 years, first as Executive Pastor at Skyline Wesleyan Church in San Diego, then as Vice President of Leadership and Church Development at INJOY.
Dan is best known as a leader with a pastor’s heart and a coach’s instincts. He truly loves the local church, and is described as one of the nation’s most innovative church thinkers. His passion is developing and empowering leaders who want to grow, are willing to take risks, and enjoy the journey.
Dan is married to Patti and they have two kids, Mackenzie and John-Peter, who have both graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University. Dan is a lover and collector of fine guitars and in a previous life is pretty sure he was a lead guitarist in a rock band.
For many church leaders, this time of the year can be filled with financial anxiety. Time to make budget is running out. Year-end excitement can be replaced with last-minute angst. Your end of year giving can be lackluster, routine or exceptional. Let’s make it exceptional.
Year-end giving is an important part of an overall stewardship strategy. Taking advantage of this natural on-ramp to giving provides the opportunity for you to highlight your vision, celebrate your church’s generosity, and add crucial financial resources allowing you to expand your God-inspired vision.
This Pastor Resource Call will give you five easily implemented steps to guide your planning and execution around year end giving. Start 2017 with more financial resources for your ministry and church.
Brad and his wife Lisa have two delightful adult daughters, Laura and Sarah. Both are married to incredible men who have made their family even better.
Brad earned a Masters in Theology degree from Dallas Seminary and a B.S. in Economics from West Virginia University. He has professional certifications in church risk management and human resources with diverse experience in financial analysis, adult education, cross-cultural missions and strategic planning.
Listen Now
Many Christians today feel overwhelmed trying to live faithfully in a culture that seems increasingly hostile to their beliefs. As our communities feel the pressure to divide around race, politics, economics, sexuality and an ever-growing list of contentious issues, believers find it harder than ever to hold on to their convictions while treating their friends, neighbors, coworkers, and even family members who disagree with respect and compassion.
During our conversation Gabe will share key insights about how to lead with love instead of fear. How to hold to conviction and demonstrate courage while respecting those with whom we disagree. It’s his belief (and the research bears this out) that the majority of Americans are looking for leadership on how to get along, despite differences. This is an incredible opportunity for the church, but will we be prepared to take the lead?
Gabe Lyons is co-author of Good Faith: Being Christian When Society Thinks You’re Irrelevant and Extreme and founder of Q Ideas—a learning community that mobilizes Christians to advance the common good in society. Called “sophisticated and orthodox” by The New York Times, Q represents the perspective of a new generation of Christians. Additionally, he is author of The Next Christians: Seven Ways You Can Live the Gospel and Restore the World and co-author of UnChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity and Why It Matters, a bestselling book based on original research that revealed the pervasiveness of pop culture’s negative perceptions of Christians. Gabe speaks on cultural issues where faith intersects public life. He lives in Nashville with his wife, Rebekah, and their three children.
When’s the last time you said a definitive “no”? Or, is that two letter word simply not a part of your vocabulary? Many of us in ministry don’t know how to utter or stutter the word. Why is it so hard? If we did say no, who would understand, affirm, and/or accept our response? Much of the time when a “no” is stated it comes out of our anger and frustration about one too many requests for our time and energy. Or, we say no because we’ve run out of time to say yes once more. So, when have you said “no” for a good reason, a thoughtful reply that comes from a place of wisdom and strength deep within? We can’t build margin in our lives without a clear sense of calling, giftedness, and reasonable expectations. Let’s dialogue about when, how and why a “no” might be best used a majority of times rather than rarely, or worse yet: never.
The Rev. Dr. Stephen A. Macchia became the founding president of Leadership Transformations, Inc. (LTI) on July 1, 2003. LTI is a ministry which focuses on the spiritual formation needs of leaders and the spiritual discernment processes of leadership teams in local church and parachurch ministry settings nationwide. He is the author of several books, including Broken and Whole (IVP, 2016), Outstretched Arms of Grace (LTI Publication, 2015), Path of a Beloved Disciple (LTI Publication, 2014), Wellspring (LTI Publication, 2014), Crafting a Rule of Life: An Invitation to the Well-Ordered Way (IVP, 2012), the Baker Best-seller Becoming a Healthy Church.
Many of the statistics today have the church in decline. We read about the “nones” (those who choose not to identify with any faith tradition) and the exodus of the “dones” (those 2.7 million per year who have been faithful and active church members in the past but now are de-churched by choice). Recent surveys also point to the fact that people attending church only twice a month consider themselves regular attenders. So are there any churches shattering these trends and seeing success in people coming to faith in Christ? You might be surprised.
Eric Swanson is missional lead specialist for Leadership Network. He has a passion for engaging churches worldwide in the needs and dreams of their communities. His passion is seeing local churches impact spiritual and societal transformation. He is adjunct professor at Denver Seminary and is co-author of four books including The Externally Focused Church and To Transform a City, along with numerous articles.
Eric and his wife Liz have three married children and eight grandchildren, and live just outside of Boulder, CO.
Having mediated hundreds of church splits and forced pastoral exits, I’ve never seen a pastor lose his pulpit because of poor Hebrew skills. Poor technical skills (exegesis, preaching, leading, etc.) can certainly weaken pastoral ministry, but they will seldom destroy it. When a pastor is forced to leave a church, it is almost always because of conflict and relational failure, either with a leadership team, a spouse or a church faction. In this Pastors Resource Call we will look at six core relational skills that can help pastors get upstream of conflict and build a relationship in their family and church that restore the joy of ministry and provide a compelling witness to the transforming power of Jesus and his gospel.
Ken Sande was the founder of Peacemakers which he led for over 30 years. In 2011, he sensed that God was calling him to shift his focus from resolving conflict to preventing conflict by building healthy relationships. He began to develop and teach a concept called“relational wisdom” or simply “RW.”
He also had the privilege of serving as an Editorial Adviser for Christianity Today’s Building Church Leaders, Managing Your Church, and Church Law and Tax panels. He is a Certified Christian Conciliator™, as well as a Certified Emotional Intelligence Instructor, trained through TalentSmart.
In his free time, he enjoys reading, running, hiking, and skiing in the Beartooth Mountains just south of his home in Billings, Montana. He and his wife Corlette are members of Great Plains Gathering (PCA), a church plant dedicated to bringing the hope and peace of the gospel to the Native Americans in our community.
Everyone wants to enjoy their ministry team environment! Whether your ministry team is all volunteer, all paid or a mix, it should operate in an environment that is healthy spiritually and conducive to leading the church in a healthy way. Sometimes as leaders we forget how important it is for us to be proactive about caring for our team’s spiritual well-being.
On this PRC, Lance Witt will share practical ideas and strategies for building spiritually healthy teams. What kind of leadership does it take to raise the spiritual temperature of your team? What does true team community look like? How can you build a team covenant that gives guidance to your work together? You won’t want to miss this conversation with Lance!
Lance Witt, founder of Replenish Ministries is often called a “Pastors pastor.” He has served for over thirty years as a pastor, twenty as a senior pastor. He also served as an executive and teaching pastor at Saddleback Church. Lance helped develop and lead the 40 Days of Purpose and 40 Days of Community campaigns.
We Should Be Bringing A Revolution To Our World!
Doing good can be the enemy of being good. Neil Cole has always been one of our favorite PRC guests. He always pushes the envelop in causing pastors to think about their trajectory as pastors and leaders. In today’s world it is more important than ever to stay on mission. Neil’s new book One Thing is all about staying on task. He will interact with many different cultural mores and provide thoughtful guidance into how the scriptures ask us to live in the world today.
As author Neil Cole dramatically points out, it’s all about One Thing. It’s a revolution of love! Grounded in the love found in the new covenant, this book passionately calls the church back to its true spiritual roots and provides tangible examples of how that was done in the past and how we can do it today. One Thing offers an alternative that is biblical, effective, subversive, and loving all at the same time.
Neil Cole is a prolific author. He describes himself as the father of three, the husband of one, author, coach and spiritual director. He makes his home in Long Beach, CA and is a UCLA Bruins fan.
Leaving a legacy of young people involved in ministry is one of the greatest gifts you can give.
A big concern of every pastor today should be the lack of young people missing in ministry. How do we engage young people to have a passion for the lost and His church? What does a godly relationship look like to a young person? How do we mentor and develop future leaders for ministry? Bill Staffieri, lead pastor at Beachpoint Church of Huntington Beach, CA will share his thoughts and ideas on how to pick, develop and mentor young leadership for ministry.
Bill has a great passion for young people and wants to see them become leaders and Christ followers. Under Bill’s guidance and mentoring there have been dozens of young people who have gone on to be everything from youth pastors to missionaries.
Bill Staffieri has been the Senior Pastor of Beachpoint Church for the past six years. Over the past six years the church has grown from 300 to over 900 and planted a new campus. Prior to that he served as the church’s youth pastor for 17 years. He is also an adjunct professor of Christian Leadership at Biola University and recently completed his Doctor of Ministry focusing on intergenerational ministry. Bill is a product of ministry mentoring, pastoring the very church he became a Christian in and interning at for several years.
“Whether it’s a church of hundreds/thousands in a developed community or a church of 50 illiterate farmers in a developing community the biblical principles are the same.”
This is a great opportunity to learn and hear great stories of what God is doing in the world today. I have known Mike Constantz since we were in grade school together. He is a great leader and has incredible experience in following God’s call to the far corners of the earth. You will appreciate Mike’s heart and particularly the stories he has about what God is up to.
Mike Constantz: The Pastor of PEACE at Saddleback Church since December of 2003. Mike graduated from the University of Colorado and studied at the International School of Theology. Mike served as a medical missionary in the Philippines and then as the Sri Lanka Country Director for Campus Crusade for Christ. Mike then served as the Int’l Community Director (the adult ministries of Campus Crusade for Christ). Since moving to Saddleback Church late in 2003 he has helped with the sending of over 26,000 Saddleback members to all 197 official countries of the world. Mike is married to Cathy and their daughter Tali is living in Sri Lanka.
Mike will be speaking about a four step process to help engage your people in mission. Don’t miss out on this unique experience with a leader who has a proven track record with a global perspective.
Fresh insights into crafting sermons that connect with peoples lives and hearts…and open the door for God’s transformative work.
Join us for an hour long conversation with Mike Breaux! Mike is Teaching Pastor for Heartland Community Church in Rockford, IL. Prior to Heartland, Mike was on the teaching team at Willow Creek Community Church, Lead Pastor at Southland Christian Church in Lexington, KY and prior to that, Lead Pastor at Canyon Ridge Christian Church in Las Vegas, NV. Mike currently also preaches regularly at Real Life Church, Valencia, CA and Mission Church, Ventura, CA. All of these experiences have sharpened Mike’s ability to develop thought provoking, challenging and life change oriented sermons. He gets regular requests from pastors all over the country to provide mentoring and coaching regarding sermon crafting skill sets.
This is a very special opportunity to interact with a leader in the field who can provide specific, actionable suggestions that will elevate your ability to communicate the Word of God. Don’t miss this special opportunity!
Big Churches, Small Churches and the Small Thinking that Divides Us
Small, Big, Mega…Is there a Venti? 93% of American churches are smaller than 350, and 85% are smaller than 200. What if those percentages aren’t a problem? What if that’s the way it’s supposed to be?
Karl’s new book, The Grasshopper Myth, is bringing hope and liberation to many small church pastors. Many small church pastors struggle with their own perceptions of what it means to be a successful pastor. Let’s face it at every pastor gathering the dreaded question usually comes up, “How big is your church?” You will love to hear what Karl has to say about those questions and more on this Pastors Resource Call.
Karl Vaters is the author of the book, The Grasshopper Myth: Big Churches, Small Churches and the Small Thinking That Divides Us. He is a regular columnist for Leadership Journal and writes the Pivot blog at ChristianityToday.com. He’s also the founder of NewSmallChurch.com, a ministry that encourages, connects and equips innovative Small Church pastors.
Karl’s passion is neither to help pastors grow churches bigger or to settle for less. He believes Small Churches are not a problem, a virtue or an excuse. They just are. And they can be pastored well.
His heart is to help pastors of Small Churches (about 90% of churches) find the resources to pastor their current church well, and to capitalize on the unique advantages that come with pastoring a Small Church – something virtually every pastor will spend at least some of their ministry years doing. He also believes that big and small churches can and should work together more often – to the benefit of each.
Karl has been in pastoral ministry for over 30 years and has been the lead pastor of Cornerstone Christian Fellowship in Fountain Valley, California for over 23 years.
Do you suffer from ministry envy? Does the church down the street always seems to be more blessed than yours? Pride, envy, jealousy, and other ministry traps are always in a battle for your heart.
In his nearly four decades of pastoral, parachurch and nonprofit ministry leadership Steve Macchia has come to understand his own brokenness. He writes: “I’ve experienced great success and embarrassing failure. I’ve considered myself effective, and I’ve watched myself implode. I’ve brought others a lot of joy, and I’ve dished out my share of disappointment. In essence, as much as I like to view myself as a good or very good leader, in fact I’m more truthfully a blessed and broken leader—one who is daily in need of being renewed by the Spirit of God who resides in me.”
Steve Macchia is the founder and president of Leadership Transformations. He is also on the faculty of Gordon-Conwell Seminary and directs The Pierce Center for Discipling. Steve is a pastoral teacher, conference speaker, ministry leader, retreat facilitator, ministry mentor/coach, and spiritual director.
So you really think you are productive? The real question is, “Are you getting the right things done?”
What does it mean to move the ball down the field? Productivity, effectiveness, fruitful are all buzz words but do you really have a grip and understanding on what it means as a pastor leader?
No one knows the answers better to these questions than Dan Reiland. A popular guest on the Pastors Resource Call, Dan will give you more to think about than anyone we know.
Dan Reiland is the Executive Pastor at 12Stone Church in Lawrenceville, Georgia. He previously partnered with John Maxwell for 20 years, first as Executive Pastor at Skyline Wesleyan Church in San Diego, then as Vice President of Leadership and Church Development at INJOY.
What are the factors that cause the church to lose real gospel influence in its culture? How do we as leaders in the church identify those factors and reverse them? What can church history teach us about this dangerous trend? We’re excited to have Neil Cole with us again for this month’s PRC to help us understand what’s happening to the church’s influence in our culture and discuss Biblical responses we should adopt.
Neil Cole is the founder and executive director of Church Multiplication Associates & CMAResources, which has helped start hundreds of churches in thirty-five states and thirty nations. He is seen by many to be one of the key founders of what is known as the organic or simple-church movement. One of the key training components of this expanding movement is the Organic Church Planter’s Greenhouse – Story 1 and Story 2 Trainings.
Neil would rather be known for instigating radical discipleship and created a discipleship tool known as Life Transformation Groups (LTG); which is making and multiplying disciples all over the globe. He is also the author of multiple books including recently released Journeys To Significance, Church 3.0, Organic Leadership, Search & Rescue, Cultivating a Life for God, Organic Church, TruthQuest, Beyond Church Planting and Raising Leaders for the Harvest.
Running On Empty? Need Replenishment? Struggling Just To Keep Up On Your Own Spirituality?
Are you buried up to your eyeballs in techniques, books, tools, strategies but your soul is hanging out to dry? Are you suffering from “curvature of the soul”? Don’t miss this great opportunity to be with Lance Witt, author of REPLENISH. Lance is a true “pastor’s pastor” and really gets what ministry is like and the wear and tear it takes on pastor’s souls. Lance will be talking about the “Replenishment Cycle” and will walk you through what it takes to be a replenished pastor.
Founder of Replenish Ministries, Lance Witt has served for over thirty years as a pastor and executive pastor. He also served as an executive and teaching pastor at Saddleback Church. Lance helped develop and lead the 40 Days of Purpose and 40 Days of Community campaigns. He and his wife Connie, have two married children and love doing ministry together.
I’m writing this introduction for this Pastors Resource Call because I have known Pastor Dane Aaker for over twenty years. He has been the pastor of Centerpoint Church of Colton, CA for over 25 years. When we were considering moving to California I took my wife to visit Dane and his church. If you go to California, Colton usually is not in the top ten places you want to visit. It clearly is in a poorer area east of LA. Dane has been a faithful, loving and thriving pastor to this community and has seen amazing results of God’s hand on his people. But it has not come easy. I have watched him reduce staff when income was not there. I have seen him try about every imaginable venue in terms of worship service times, places, etc. He never gave up. He has been offered pastorates that were much more attractive in numerous ways but has always been faithful to Gods call.
More than once while living in Orange County I would make the trek out to Colton to get my batteries recharged. Even now I am tearing up a bit while writing this as I remember how passionate his people were at singing praises to our Lord. They would almost blow the roof off of that place. It was inspirational and freeing unlike anything I have experienced. – Bill Nicoson
Dane Aaker has an earned doctorate from Fuller Seminary. Over half of his church is under the age of 30 and the church is over 70% Hispanic. Over this time the church has grown from 89 to over 1700 people on a 2 acre campus in downtown Colton.
Talk about hot buttons! When is the Middle East not in the news? Everyone in your church gets bombarded with the news media and all those talking heads! In addition, it’s highly likely that you have people in your congregation who have widely divergent ideas and opinions on this particular topic.
This month’s PRC will be dedicated to a discussion about how we as pastors can develop a Biblical and historical perspective on the Middle East and its current events. The hour together will provide a safe context to interact about the challenges facing us as we help people in our congregations develop godly responses to tough questions. Our Resource person for this call is Brian Newman. Brian grew up in a secular, cultural Jewish family on Long Island (outside New York City). His family celebrated the Jewish holidays, he was bar mitzvah, but he was a functional agnostic. At 20 years old as a college student Brian had a dramatic conversion to Christ, which launched him into a life of serving God overseas for 20 years and now in the United States. He has worked In Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and elsewhere for over 25 years.
In 2011, Brian founded The Isaac-Ishmael Initiative to bring together the three monotheistic faiths of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. At a time when Christians, Muslims, and Jews are in conflict around the world, he believes there is a way forward together.
Brian has earned two Master of Arts degrees from Fuller Theological Seminary – one in multi-cultural studies and the other in theology.
Fresh insights into crafting sermons that connect with peoples lives and hearts…and open the door for God’s transformative work.
Join us for an hour long conversation with Mike Breaux! Mike is Teaching Pastor for Heartland Community Church in Rockford, IL. Prior to Heartland, Mike was on the teaching team at Willow Creek Community Church, Lead Pastor at Southland Christian Church in Lexington, KY and prior to that, Lead Pastor at Canyon Ridge Christian Church in Las Vegas, NV. Mike currently also preaches regularly at Real Life Church, Valencia, CA and Mission Church, Ventura, CA. All of these experiences have continually sharpened Mike’s ability to develop thought provoking, challenging and life change oriented sermons. He gets regular requests from pastors all over the country to provide mentoring and coaching regarding sermon crafting skill sets.
This is a very special opportunity to interact with a leader in the field who can provide specific, actionable suggestions that will elevate your ability to communicate the Word of God. Don’t miss this special opportunity!
Ministry Will Transform Your Marriage … For Better or For Worse
Ministry has its pressure points. Questions from pastors are usually, “How do I balance my life between my family, my spouse, ministry and personal spiritual and physical health?” Keith and Cheri Meyer will be talking about four stages of marriage and ministry development. Learn how to transform the story of your marriage.
Keith is lead pastor at Hope Evangelical Covenant Church in Minnesota. Keith has been the pastor of small, large and mega churches and his most recent experience was executive pastor of the Church of the Open Door in Maple Grove. He writes, speaks, teaches, leads retreats, coaches pastors and leaders, and consults through his own organization, Becoming the Change Ministries. Keith and his wife Cheri make their home in Buffalo, Minnesota.
All the blessings we enjoy are Divine deposits, committed to our trust on this condition, that they should be dispensed for the benefit of our neighbors. – John Calvin
One of the greatest needs in every church is to help people understand that God wants us to love our neighbors. Who are our neighbors? How do you break the “silent” barrier and begin talking to them?
These questions and many more will be answered by Dave Runyon, who is the co-author of “The Art of Neighboring”.
Dave Runyon is the co-founder and director of CityUnite, which helps government, business and faith leaders unite around common causes. He also serves as a consultant for businesses that have a desire to make a difference in their communities. Previously, Dave served as a pastor for nine years at Foothills Community Church and The Next Level Church. In 2010 he launched a neighboring movement that mobilized over 70 churches and 40,000 people in the Denver Metro area.
“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”
– Victor Hugo
Preaching on Easter is said to be the equivalent to the pastors Superbowl.
Every pastor struggles with how to approach Easter. This is especially true for those who have been preaching on Easter for a number of years.
Dr. Blomberg completed his PhD in New Testament, specializing in the parables and the writings of Luke-Acts, at Aberdeen University in Scotland. He received an MA from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and a BA from Augustana College. Before joining the faculty of Denver Seminary, he taught at Palm Beach Atlantic College and was a research fellow in Cambridge, England with Tyndale House.
“Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there.”
– Will Rogers
Many churches are on the right track but they are just sitting there.
For a variety of reasons, they are content with the mundane – the normal, common place and routine of day to day operations. They lack momentum – that strength or force that moves them beyond the mundane to an ongoing position of moving forward.
According to Dan Reiland, executive pastor at 12 Stone Church and nationally known as “The Pastor’s Coach,” creating and sustaining momentum in the life of a church is one of the most important, but often under-developed, skills of church leaders, especially pastors.
Dan Reiland will launch Cornerstone Pastors Network’s 2015 Pastors Resource Call series and discuss how to develop this skill and apply it to your unique church setting and context.
In 2014, The Pastors Resource Call has hosted eleven outstanding pastors and ministry leaders. Pastors Larry Osborne, Dan Southerland, Gene Getz, and Jeff Jones joined with ministry leaders Neil Cole, Dan Reiland, Ed Stetzer, Lance Witt, Brad Leeper and Phill Martin to share their insights on leadership, being missional and taking care of one’s soul.
On the December PRC, the Cornerstone Team of Bill Nicoson, Warren Schuh and Carol Childress will review key learnings from the 2014 calls and preview the 2015 PRC schedule.
The landscape of the American church is shifting and the results are re-shaping the form and practices of the church today and more importantly the church of tomorrow.
No longer is the church viewed as a “privileged community.” How people connect to the church is changing. So are how churches communicate, fund their mission and staff their ministries.
On the November PRC, Phill Martin will discuss these shifts and their implications for pastors and church leaders. In his role as the Deputy CEO of The Church Network, Phill brings a national perspective of working daily with churches of all sizes and a wide variety of denominational affiliations.
Faith can’t be rushed. A “faith-cultivating environment” is about creating the kind of place and experience in our churches, especially in worship services, that results in evangelism.
According to Dan Reiland, “In our church, we want the worship service to be a place where a person can pursue, discover, and ultimately commit to faith in God. We are also intentional to ensure that our services inspire believers to grow in their faith.”
On the October PRC, Dan Reiland, executive pastor at 12Stone Church and nationally known as “The Pastor’s Coach,” will discuss six elements of creating a “faith-cultivating” environment.
12Stone Resources for Church Leaders
“Generosity is not a silo. It must be a thread that runs through your entire church. People do not have a giving problem. They have a giving to your church problem.”
In his role as a Principal and now President of Generis, Brad Leeper, has worked with thousands of pastors and churches of all sizes to help create a culture of generosity.
He’ll be leading Cornerstone’s “Growing Generous People” DIG that begins in October but this month, he’ll be discussing five keys to help pastors, regardless of the size of their church, to grow a generous congregation.
How can pastors connect with gifted lay leaders in their church? How can they leverage this relationship to be on mission together?
Larry and Bob Osborne (and yes, they are brothers) bring a unique perspective on the answers to these questions.
For three decades, Larry Osborne, senior pastor at Northcoast Church in Vista, CA, has engaged and involved talented and gifted lay leaders in his congregation for Kingdom ministry. Through his books and frequent speaking to pastor groups, including the PRC, he has provided strategic insight and encouragement to pastors across the nation.
Bob Osborne has been one of those gifted laypersons, serving for almost four decades through his church, Grace Church in Glendora, CA. He’s done everything from working with pre-schoolers to teaching adults to serving as an elder for 20 years, including 10 years as Chairman of the Elder Board. His “day job” was serving as a Commander with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department where over the course of his career, he led the Major Crimes Bureau, the Detective Division, and the Homeland Security Division until his retirement in 2012.
Bob’s passion to see local churches be led by healthy leadership teams is now being lived out as the Director of Church Leadership and Organizational Development for the Western District of the EV Free Church.
The format of this PRC will be a little different in that it will be more of a “give and take” conversation between Larry and Bob in response to pastor’s questions.
“The order of these words is important. Pastors have become so leadership focused that we aren’t living well. The greatest gift you can give those you lead is your own authentic walk with Christ.”
Lance Witt understands the challenges that come with being a pastor, regardless of the size of the church. He has lived it, written a book about it, and now leads Replenish, a ministry committed to helping pastors stay healthy and “finish well.”
On July’s PRC, Lance discusses the importance of pastors taking personal responsibility for the health of their soul, the toxins that poison one’s soul, how to find personal space and rhythm in soul care and spiritual practices that help a pastor live well in order to lead well.
The internal culture of a church is more powerful than its vision when it comes to making disciples and transforming your community and the world beyond.
Internal culture is shaped by a church’s unique DNA. But sometimes pastors and church leaders find it hard to describe their uniqueness and then communicate it to the broader membership and community.
Jeff Jones, senior pastor at Chase Oaks Church, in Plano, TX, describes their internal culture as “What Makes Us, Us.” “Our uniqueness doesn’t make us better than another church, just unique. It is who we are.” says Jones.
Over the last 18 months Jeff has led his church to both identify and communicate their uniqueness. They profiled ten DNA “markers” that shape Chase Oaks’ culture and are finding ways to communicate their culture throughout the life of the church from Sunday sermons to Life Group discussions to hands-on missions.
Jeff will discuss “What Makes Us, Us” and creating a healthy internal culture on the June 19th Pastors Resource Call.
“Developing Men As Spiritual Leaders In Your Church”
Spiritual leaders in your church don’t just happen. Identifying them and helping them grow is both biblical and intentional. One of the leaders in recognizing the importance of developing and equipping men as spiritual leaders in today’s church is Dr. Gene Getz.
It was an important foundation for the churches he planted and pastored through the Fellowship Bible Church network, a part of his teaching as a seminary professor and now a part of his role as a mentor to other pastors and church leaders.
Dr. Gene Getz is the pastor emeritus of Chase Oaks Church in Plano, TX, President of The Center for Church Renewal, author of 27 books and General Editor of the new Life Essentials Study Bible.
Developing men as spiritual leaders is the topic of the May 15th Pastor Resource Call with Gene Getz.
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“Structure + Culture = A Missional Church”
“If you want your church to be missional, you need to implement a structure that encourages the culture you are trying to develop in your church,” according to pastor, church planter, author, and leading missions researcher Ed Stetzer. “The right structure provides an intentional pathway for people to follow and the culture is what pushes everyone towards that pathway.”
But what if your church does not yet have a missional culture? Can a structural change help in the process of creating a new culture? “Absolutely,” says Stetzer.
Creating the right structure and culture will be the topic of the April 17 Pastor Resource Call with Ed Stetzer.
As President of Lifeway Research, Stetzer studies, teaches, writes and communicates with pastors and ministry leaders in the U.S. and around the globe about what it means to be missional in the 21st century.
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“Moving Into God’s ‘More'”
“God’s vision is always MORE than where you are” says pastor and author Dan Southerland.
Moving into the “more” that God has for you involves several things but especially having a long term perspective of ministry.
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“The Best of 2013 and What’s Ahead for 2014”
We’ve had some great Pastor Resource Calls in 2013 with outstanding ministry leaders such as Dan Southerland, Keith Meyer, Larry Osborne, Carol Davis, Dane Aaker, Sam Williams, Steve Macchia, Dan Reiland, and Neil Cole.
The Cornerstone team – Bill Nicoson, Warren Schuh and Carol Childress will discuss highlights of these PRC’s and preview Cornerstone’s plans for the coming year.
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“The Life Cycle of a Congregation”
Every church, just like every community, has a life cycle and stages of development. From birth to growth through maturity and beyond, knowing where your church is its normal life cycle is essential for a pastor and congregation.
No one has identified and described the life cycle and stages of development of a church better than George Bullard. His model and original writing on the topic have been effectively used by pastors, churches, church planters, consultants and coaches to plant and grow churches across North America.
George Bullard is one of the most respected and experienced church consultants and coaches in the U.S. For four decades, he has used his insight and experience of working with pastors, churches, communities and denominations to help leaders move strategically forward in the work of the Kingdom.
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“The Healthy DNA of a Disciple and Inside Out Change”
The problems our churches face in the West are not structural, strategic or mechanical. The problem is a lack of life in the core…or the lack of a healthy DNA.
If you are wondering where to start, this is it – integrating the DNA into the life of the individual disciple instead of finding it in an agenda, curriculum, program, ministry style or leader’s personality. If you skip this, then everything else will likely be in vain.
Neil Cole is a pastor, church planter, author, teacher, and thought leader to pastors and churches around the world. Join us for a discussion about the healthy DNA of disciples and changing your church organically from the inside out.
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The original call audio can be accessed here.
In introducing Dan Reiland and the topic of the call, Warren Schuh observed that while churches need to have a clear sense of vision or at least a statement about their vision, nothing seems to happen until everything they are doing becomes focused around that and aligned to it. A lot of churches never get there – the vision just stays a statement and that’s all. So how do you get ministries and staff aligned and going in the same direction? And use the Ministry Action Plan or MAP in the process?
Dan Reiland
Warren, your introduction was perfect. I want to open our time with a question, “Which is easier as a pastor – dreaming up vision or developing strategy?”
I have worked with lot of leaders for a long time but rarely are both skills packaged together. Dreaming vision is more about idea, direction, and future. Developing strategy is more about plan, steps and now. These are are sequentially matched – idea vs plan, direction vs steps and future vs now.
I can’t tell you which one is more difficult but I can tell you that by far the most common reason for failure in a local church is lack of strategy. Churches are pretty good at doing the dream part but if we are willing to set aside the skill level and quality of the leader (that’s a big aside!) and be academic and observational for a moment, I have three observations.
Pastors don’t have a problem coming up with a dream but typically they have a problem coming up with a strategy that makes the dream come true. Second, when they do have a plan, they often do not stick to it. Third, often when they do have a plan, they do not break it down into simple, clear, concise, and measurable bite size pieces. We used the language of goals in the 80’s, initiatives in the 90’s and now in the 2000‘s we call it stuff or pieces. I call it “stuff to get done.”
This is where the MAP comes in…the Ministry Action Plan is what really helps things become reality.
Now, I don’t actually believe that 12 Stone can become all it can be because we have reached our goals. Let me explain that statement a little bit. A MAP is not “one more thing for staff to do.” We really believe the staff will become better leaders, better people and better Christians by practicing new skills or practicing known skills at a new level while going after goals. The real secret of a MAP is development. This process helps them gets better. It is a developmental process and not a managerial process.
Warren Schuh: Dan, I appreciate the way you think and operate in developing people around you and that is different mindset for most churches. We tend to think about getting things done – you are always thinking about developing people who get things done.
Dan Reiland
Let me give you the three areas of the MAP – it’s framework – and then the three critical questions that a MAP answers.
The three components we use are Core Responsibilities, New Territory Goals and Leadership Development Focus. All three work together in concert with each other.
The key question for Core Responsibilities is “Are you doing the right things?” Our core responsibilities are the equivalent of many people’s job descriptions. I have never liked the big fat narratives in a job description because no one pays any attention to them. Our core responsibilities look like a series of six or seven or eight or nine bullets with maybe three headings and they are very clear and concise.
New Territory goals are what we are going after in a specific season of the year. The key question is “Does it advance the organization?” Is your church a better church? Is the church advancing, moving toward the mission or the vi
“Aligning Your Ministry Around Vision”
While many churches have a vision, they do not always have their resources – people, ministries and finances – aligned to their vision. So how is alignment accomplished? According to Dan Reiland, “Every staff member has to be both a vision caster and a vision carrier.” One way to keep ministry teams moving in the same direction is the use of an individual Ministry Action Plan or MAP. A MAP is also an important tool in developing leaders, both paid staff and volunteers.
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On the December Pastor’s Resource Call, Doug Webster talked about preaching through Advent and Christmas and helping people celebrate but also better understand the theological connection of the Incarnation and the birth of Christ to God’s entire redemptive narrative found throughout the Bible. One suggestion was to use as a preaching text the Scripture found in George Frederick Handel’s majestic work Messiah, often a Christmas musical tradition even though it was originally written for the Easter season.
But it is not just Handel’s Messiah. Without Charles Jennens, there would have been no Messiah. Every word of Messiah was taken directly from the Bible, primarily the King James version and the entire Libretto was written by a man named Charles Jennens, an English nobleman and frequent collaborator with Handel. He completed the manuscript in July, 1741 in the hope that his friend, George Handel, would compose the music to accompany it. In September, Handel would write day and night for 24 days and produce the masterpiece that is known throughout the world as “The Messiah.”
In December 2010, a well-known seminary president delivered the Fall commencement address using the “back story” of Charles Jennens and the prophetic passage of Isaiah 40 that begins the Messiah. His address ends with a charge for those in ministry and Christian service. “The Christian ministry is deadly serious business. The preacher stands to preach — what will he say?
Click here for the full address.