unSeminary Audio Blog: Recent Episodes
Rich Birch
It’s presidential election season again and the conversation on cable news is about what will happen to the “evangelical vote.” This conversation drives me crazy! “Evangelicals” have been my tribe for the majority of my ministry career. It’s the group that I call family — not a demographic. The nuance that’s missed by so many […]
How your church presents itself visually is incredibly important. People are increasingly visual learners, so your church needs to ensure it presents a compelling visual aesthetic in everything you do. Even if you have a graphic designer on your staff, the increased visual needs can be difficult to keep up with. You need to keep […]
Today we’re honored to have Steve Caton guest posting for us. Steve serves as a member of the Leadership Team at Church Community Builder and is passionate about helping churches make disciples. Having an incredible weekly worship experience is awesome. There is most definitely power in having the people of God gathering together to praise and celebrate. But most often, the real […]
Taking time to visit other churches in your area or across the country is a great way to grow in your leadership. I love seeing a church in action and I always come away with pages of notes about things I want to do differently or consider for my church. Whether it’s a small church […]
Churches making a difference in their community have a robust stewardship system that encourages people to give to the mission. [ref] Core to that system is ensuring that when people give to your church for the first time, you acknowledge it. It’s a strategically important “first contact” that helps shape a donor’s experience. We asked […]
Way back in the mid-1990s there were a lot of companies gunning to be the leader in “online retailing.” (Who remembers Pets.com?) Amazon was an early leader. Since then, it has cemented its place as the “everything store” by offering a massive selection of items that are delivered at a shockingly quick rate. Google is the […]
Today we’re honored to have John Finkelde guest posting for us. He pastored at C3 Church Hepburn Heights in Western Australia for 30 years and now provides church consulting and coaching with his wife, Dianne, to the larger body of Christ. The atmosphere was colder than an arctic winter. Palpable hostility was written all over some faces. Yes that’s right. I […]
There are two kinds of church leaders … those who worry about finances and those who lie about not worrying about it. If we’re honest, many of us have lost sleep over the generosity of our churches. We’re filled with God-given vision but we wonder how that vision will be funded. What separates churches where […]
What if this was the year your church multiplied? Rather than putting it off until some future date, what would happen if your team leaned in and made the decision to do it this year? You’re going to have to start before you feel ready. So … you don’t feel ready? Perfect! Today’s the day […]
This time of year brings reflection on the past 12 months and wondering what could have been done differently. Or you may be looking to the future and asking what needs to change and where to start. Consider this: The vast majority of churches in our country aren’t making an impact in their communities. In […]
Does your church have momentum? Can you quantify it? Do you understand how to gain it? What can your team do to sustain and direct the momentum you have? Momentum is critical for leaders to steward and leverage. In fact, in my years of studying thriving churches, it is the sense of organizational momentum that is the […]
A well-planned interview for a new leader at your church is a critical part of the hiring process. Rather than “winging it” or asking the “same old, same old” questions, take time to plan the interview. It’s important to get a clear picture of the candidate in these three areas: Competency // Can the individual […]
Most churches take an offering at some point during their services. Churches looking to make an impact in their communities invite people to join their mission through giving back to God. How you deliver this part of your service is one of the pieces of the generosity puzzle: Do it poorly and the finances at […]
Today we’re honored to have Ben Stapley guest posting for us. He is the Director of Programming & Media at South Ridge Community Church — and he’s a fantastic, multi-talented leader! Ben provides oversight and leadership for a wide variety of areas at his church. The church has the most important message to communicate: Everyone is unfathomably […]
Christmas is just around the corner and it’s a strategically important time of year for churches looking to grow. How should you focus your communications efforts leading up to the big day at your church? Here’s a core truth for growing churches when it comes to special days like this: The majority of guests who […]
A programming trend we’re seeing is the use of a “pre-service” video played every Sunday, which is designed as an introduction to the church. Similar to the title sequence in a television show, this video provides an overview of what people can expect from the church. Increasingly, it seems as if the only people in […]
Christmas is a time of year when people want to get out and serve their community. It is a great opportunity to increase community engagement and participation … it’s also a super busy season. Finding positive ways to serve that aren’t extremely taxing on the church leadership can be difficult. Here are a few simple […]
Leadership Network has once again released a study that church leaders should consume to understand the dynamics of leading today. This study is all on large Canadian churches and what we learn from them. It points out things these churches have done well, which caused them to grow and reach a younger audience. Even if your church […]
A few weeks ago, Hal Seed from New Song Community Church in Oceanside, California, was on the unSeminary Podcast. He shared about his church’s strategy for hosting “Wow! Weekends” as part of their growth strategy. Liquid Church has had a similar strategy over the last few years. It has helped us reach people year after […]
Church leaders come in all shapes and sizes. Some of us are strategic thinkers … some aren’t. You might be called to teach the Bible … while others don’t have that same burning drive. Some of us love being around and helping other people … while others don’t. Does not being “pastoral” let you off the […]
Christmas is coming! Don’t miss one of the best opportunities to connect with people and grow your church in a significant way. People in your community will be looking for a church to attend this time of year … how are you leveraging this opportunity? I used to be one of those leaders that look […]
Growing churches will at some point need to ask their community to give “above and beyond” normal giving to support the needs of the church. More than just “fundraising,” these campaigns are often “faithraising” experiences in which the church focuses on the bigger vision of what God is calling the church to do. Often, churches will […]
You have a meeting coming up with your team in which you need to walk them through a change at your church … how should you structure the information? The way you communicate change is a critical part of the process. The following approaches work well as frameworks for presentations in meetings. You could also use them […]
If you traveled to most communities around the world, you’d find a local church fueled by volunteers who are making a difference. Your church is powered by volunteers who show up week in and week out to serve other people and make ministry happen. I challenge us all to create compelling volunteer experiences that gather rather than repel people. Consider […]
Astronauts use checklists to ensure they’re doing tasks in order and they don’t miss anything. It’s been statistically proven that hospitals that require surgeons to use checklists have fewer accidents, lower death rates and better outcomes. The use of checklists by airline pilots has made that form of travel the safest by a long shot. If […]
“We’re now addicted to meetings that insulate us from the work we ought to be doing.” ― Al Pittampalli, Read This Before Our Next Meeting Leaders who don’t like meetings are like dentists who don’t like teeth. Leaders who don’t think critically about their meeting cultures are like dentists who don’t know their tools. Most […]
Hiring “from within” is a common value in many churches. In fact, some leaders see it as a badge of honor that they only hire people who have “come up” through their ministry context. In the worst cases, leaders are condescending about churches that bring in people from other communities. That is a narrow way to think and […]
Whether you call it teaching or preaching, the message in your main service leads your church. It’s core to what makes your church … your church. In fact, in a very real sense your community is simply gathered around the main teaching at your church. Here are ways that teaching is leading your church: Critical […]
“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” – John Fitzgerald Kennedy Developing leaders is core to what church leaders do. We constantly look for ways to raise up the people around us … to help them take their next step in the development journey. We don’t always have the financial resources to do what […]
Google Maps has a handy (AND FREE!) tool that you can use to import a spreadsheet of addresses onto a map for use at your church. Our brains are very good at picking out patterns and visualization of data like this can be a powerful tool for decision-making. It could be used by your church […]
Brian Williams seems like a good guy. He’s been married for almost 30 years … consistently reported news to the American public for NBC News for almost as long … gosh, the guy even won “Father of the Year”!
Core to every approach to multisite church are campus pastors. There are thousands of these local pastoral leaders enabling churches to reach more people faster than any other approach to church growth today. They are my heroes! I’ve had the privilege to see dozens of them up close over the last dozen years or so. Here […]
Leaders always attempt to anticipate what is going to change, so they can prepare for those changes in their organizations. Great church leaders are like sailors who are reading the breezes and adjusting the sails to catch the winds of change. While we worry about the latest social media trend or where music in the church is […]
Email continues to be the killer communication tool for churches today. It’s ubiquitous, inexpensive, response driven and easy to use. It’s a great way to move people to action within your church … whether it’s getting them to attend, volunteer on a team, give to your mission or anything else. Like all digital communications tools, […]
Last Sunday we canceled all 11 of our regular services at Liquid Church and asked people to join us at the Jersey Shore for one large service. It was an amazing Sunday as thousands of people from all our locations came together to celebrate what God has done through our church and talk about the future! […]
Our culture is placing increasing value on the look of our church materials. Many church leaders work with graphic designers to ensure that the visual aspects of their ministries are compelling. I’ve made some bone-headed comments to designers over the years and seen the consequences in the work that they then turned out. Learn from my […]
Generosity needs to be baked in, not bolted on. There is a lot of conversation about how to encourage people to give to your church. [Like this!] Part of the generosity equation that isn’t spoken about as much is how a church itself can be generous. My experience has been that as people see churches […]
I recently finished reading Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler’s book Bold, which is all about looking at areas of exponential change in the culture around us and leveraging those opportunities. It is a great read for leaders looking to expand their thinking about the future. One part of the conversation is recent breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and […]
The vast majority of multisite churches don’t get beyond 3 locations. According to Leadership Network‘s study of multisite churches, 85% have 3 or fewer total locations. Why do so many get stuck at this number? What’s holding them back from fully leveraging this approach to ministry? I believe part of the problem is the way […]
charity: water is a non-profit organization that provides clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations. The organization was founded in 2006 and has helped fund 13,641 projects in 22 countries, benefiting over 4.6 million people. As of December 8, 2014, it has raised over $155 million. [ref] If you’ve been a part of the unSeminary community for a while, […]
Susan Wojcicki is the CEO of YouTube (Google’s category-dominating video service). She has seen Google grow from the very start … the company was once based in her garage! In 2011, Wojcicki authored an almost instant classic article entitled “The Eight Pillars of Innovation” about how the company pushes itself forward. These Eight Pillars made me think about […]
Blockbuster video was amazing in its prime. Just 10 years ago, they had 9,000 locations and over 60,000 employees. [ref] It made renting a movie “simple and convenient” because they had so many locations. We only had to drive across town to access hundreds of movies from a wide variety of categories. They purchased the […]
Some weekends at your church are better than others. Things seem to fall into place and everything clicks. The band is in the pocket. The announcement time goes well. People connect with the message. Then there are weekends that seem like a total train wreck. Everything goes wrong. Nothing seems to work. The chances that […]
Is your church launching a new campus? Or are you moving from one rental facility to another? At some point in your church’s journey, you’re going to be looking at new sites. Here are some tips for what to bring along when you visit potential locations: Smartphone Camera // You can’t take too many pictures when you’re […]
1/3 of all “prime time” internet traffic is from Netflix. [ref] We can’t ignore the popularity of Netflix. It’s a mixture of clever marketing, excellent deployment and being in the right place at the right time. In a move similar to what iTunes did in the music industry 10 years ago, Netflix has found a model that encourages […]
Announcements are the part of your service that move people to action. They help people take their next steps into community with your church. Why would you want to take a break from that on any given weekend? Here are a few reasons why I think it’s wise to stop doing announcements occasionally at your church: Variety // […]
Clarity is the highest goal of all church communications. Our role is to cut through the clutter and deliver the message we are giving with as much precision as possible. In order to do that we employ a wide variety of tactics to persuade people towards the goals that we’ve set. In an effort to […]
The first church I served at was in the middle of a worship war when I started there. It was like a cold war with a lot of passive-aggressive leadership on both sides of the debate. The “Hymns & Organ Crowd” declared that their music was rich with theological significance, whereas the “Praise Chorus Crowd” was fervently […]
As I reflect on my almost 20 years of ministry experience, one of the things that I’m proudest of is serving a handful of amazing communicators. I’ve played that “second seat” role to support great teaching pastors as they use their gifts and skills to communicate the message of Jesus. Here are some reflections on what I’ve learned […]
Recently in the unSeminary Premium private Facebook group, there was a discussion about the best Spiritual Gift Assessment tools for church use. When people serve within their area of gifting rather than just in your area of need, they experience more freedom and joy. Thriving churches focus on releasing people in their area of gifting! Here are […]
Easter is the biggest of big days at your church. People are more likely to invite friends … and their friends are more likely to attend! You have a lot to consider when preparing. Here are some smaller details that will add to your Easter experience. Don’t debate them — just take action and put them […]
Meetings can be an incredible tool to push the mission of your church forward. A well-executed approach to meetings will ensure people focus on the right ideas and issues. However, meetings can drift to places where they actually slow down the mission. Some common problems that I’ve seen creep into churches with too many unfocused meetings […]
I’ve heard too many people say that “email is dead.” They celebrate the early results of every hot up-and-coming social network. People get taken in by the vanity numbers of these networks and lose focus on their most important digital communication tool. Email continues to outperform social media because of its ability to connect and […]
Churches use their annual report as a tool to communicate with leaders, volunteers, donors and the general community about what happened over the past year. Done well, annual reports engage people in the mission … done poorly, they aren’t worth the paper they are printed on (or the hard drive space they are stored on)! […]
There are only two kinds of church leaders when it comes to money for their ministries … those who want more of it and those who lie about not wanting more of it! Like a seed planted in fertile soil, I believe each one of the following ideas can bear huge fruit down the road. […]