On day one of the Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit, It's been said asked this question: What is your current leadership challenge? There are three possible answers: Under-challenged Appropriately challenged Over-challenged Where you find yourself determines both your effectiveness and your satisfaction. Those who are under-challenged are probably bored and playing Angry Birds on their phone. They might be overqualified or simply misplaced. At any rate, those who are underchallenged eventually leave -- physically or mentally. Those who are appropriately challenged may seem to be the happiest, most effective of all. For a while this may be true. But if they are not stretched and asked to grow, they will eventually atrophy or move downward to the under-challenged level. That leaves the over-challenged level. Ironically, the most effective leaders are those who straddle the area just between appropriate and over-challenged. In other words, they are stretched but not over-stretched. This…
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This past Thursday and Friday was spent at a simulcast of the Willow Creek Leadership Summit. It was another challenging summit ... personally and pastorally. We (Mountainview) took nearly forty staff and volunteers -- and had the privilege of bringing pastors from two of our sister churches. For the event itself, I unleashed the power of Evernote for note-taking and found it very helpful. But I wasn't as nerdy as my friend who used his iPad. Over the next few days and week I'll share thoughts and reflections from the summit. So, stay tuned. Posted from WordPress for Android
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Yesterday's post dealt with the options available to struggling churches that want to turn things around. Today, I'll address the challenge inherent in each approach. Rebrand, retool, and relaunch. Just as every person has a certain DNA, so do churches. The DNA of a church represents their values and philosophies, often dating back to the earliest days of the church. Unlike humans, I don't believe a church's DNA is set-in-stone. That being said, I also don't believe it is easily modified. To modify a history of division or myopic vision requires deliberate, intentional action. In some cases, it may mean that the existing leadership (pastor, elders, staff) must move on in order for new leadership DNA to be installed. Retooling an existing church may turn out to be a painful process. Many small churches remain small because they have ceased existing for those who aren't there. In short, they exist…
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In yesterday's post, I wrote about how small, struggling churches often search for that one change that will stop the hemorrhaging and allow them to grow again. That search is most often futile -- there is no silver bullet waiting to be discovered. According to the Barna Group, the average church in America has 90 people in attendance. While "mega churches" get most of the attention, only 2% of churches in America average over 1,000 in weekend attendance. I serve one of those large churches and I need to be reminded there are more of "them" than there are of "us." The average church of 90 (which includes men, women, and children) will struggle to employ a full-time pastor and still have enough money left for outreach, missions, and ministry. If the ultimate goal is to simply exist, most will succeed. If the goal is to impact their community for…
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I spoke this morning for a small, struggling church here in Denver. Early in my ministry years, I tended to be almost exclusively focused on growing the church -- the church I happened to be serving at the time. My "kingdom perspective" was quite limited. Over the last ten years or so, God has expanded my concern for the larger kingdom, including small, struggling churches. The reality is this: there are many small, struggling churches here in the United States. The reasons are as varied as the churches themselves. Division, dishonesty, changing neighborhoods, lack of vision, lack of money. The list could go on and on. In fact, it does. Small churches are not more faithful than their larger counterparts; likewise, larger churches are not more successful than the small ones. Each serves a different purpose in the kingdom. If the focus is being healthy, then even a small church…
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