How to Change Tour Church Without Killing It

“People aren’t looking for solutions to problems they don’t understand. I would have spent a lot more time in my younger years selling the problem, rather than selling the solution that people weren’t in the market for.” Since 2008 Gene Appel has been leading Eastside Christian Church in Anaheim, CA. Prior to his long tenure and catalytic leadership at Eastside, he has modeled (twice) what it looks like to successfully transition into the senior leader role. In this episode, Gene shares the 6 things he set out to do in the first 100 days at Eastside, how important a united front really is in your new position, and the three stages that come before you should expect the harvest. Lastly, Gene shares with listeners the one metric Eastside is using to measure success post-pandemic and why it’s so important. 

Welcome to Episode 057 of the Leaders in Living Rooms Podcast with Sean Morgan. 

EPISODE LINKS

• How To Change a Church Without Killing It (Many Years Ago) by Gene Appel
• Leading Change by John P. Kotter
• If you’re a new lead pastor stepping into a transition, we want you in our Fall 2022 cohort. Visit https://theascentleader.org/cohorts/ to learn more.

PODCAST PARTNERS

• Food For The Hungry - Combine your church's heart for the poor and Food for the Hungry’s global experience at fh.org/churches.  
• The Art of Leadership Academy - The online courses and learning community you need to lead, run, and grow your church. Learn more at https://careynieuwhof.com/the-art-of-leadership-academy/