Most leaders don’t intentionally do it. It just happens. The shift is so subtle that we hardly even notice it until the signs appear that we’ve lost touch with the people that we lead. Over time…
Church planting is harder than ever. As David Kinnaman points out in 3 Reasons Why Leading Is Harder Than Ever, we aren’t battling other churches as much as we are battling a culture in transition.
David points out three trends he discovered in his research: anti-institutionalism, accelerated life, and increased expectations. The risk in planting churches is great, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a viable way we can grow the Kingdom and engage this world with the gospel. I want to offer some encouragement to those who call themselves churches planters: Continue Reading >
Jenni Catron is one of those people I pay attention to. She has earned her way as a practitioner in local church ministry as executive director of a very influential church, Cross Point Church. She is also deeply invested in helping leaders grow to be more effective in their work.
The Leadership Distinctive outlines are thoughts on the difference between a leader, influencer, or manager. I’ve never really separated those words before, so it was a good exercise for me follow her line of reasoning. In my own life, I can see myself filling those three distinct roles. Sometimes it’s my responsibility to make a decision and move a team forward. Sometimes it’s my responsibility to encourage others to reach for a goal that seems beyond their ability. Sometimes it’s my responsibility to make sure all the boxes are checked and things get done. All of these roles are important. But as Jenni points out, they’re not all leadership. Continue Reading >
Will Mancini is not only a friend but one of the most respected leaders in the church space. I’m grateful he takes my calls and am excited about new opportunities for us to collaborate and work together. He’s even been helping the leadership team at Church Community Builder become clearer and more specific about who we are and where we are headed. His process will exhaust you, but it’s so worth it. We want to be good stewards of the resources and opportunity God gives us to help churches make better disciples and multiply their Kingdom impact.
In Great Vision, Bad Execution, Will outlines six reasons why great vision won’t help you achieve the results you want in your church. Two of them stood out to me: Continue Reading >
Seth Godin always seems to be one step ahead; I love that about him! In The trap of social media noise, he points out:
Now that everyone is a marketer, many people are looking for a louder megaphone, a chance to talk about their work, their career, their product… and social media looks like the ideal soapbox, a free opportunity to shout to the masses.
While some churches effectively use technology and social media to engage with others, too many churches are just creating noise. They are using–probably not intentionally–Facebook and Twitter as a free, electronic billboard rather than a tool to engage people and lead them towards something meaningful. Traditional marketing is based around the idea that organizations have the right to interrupt your life because they know what’s best for you. Social media has shifted the power back to the individual, which means you have the power to tune in or shut someone off completely. (That includes the church!) Continue Reading >
I love technology because it can be leveraged in amazing ways to support processes and strategies, which lead to greater effectiveness and growth. It can also be a bit mysterious and intimidating at times. However, as church leaders, we can’t put our heads in the sand and ignore it. We must think critically about ways we can leverage technology to further our mission.
It goes without saying that we leverage a lot of technology at Church Community Builder to help us serve the local church more effectively. Here are five new trends we are paying close attention to in 2012: Continue Reading >
