5 Leadership Questions Podcast on Church Leadership with Todd Adkins and Dan Iten

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins is joined by Dean Inserra, pastor of City Church in Tallahassee, Fla., and author of The Unsaved Christian. During their conversation, they discuss the benefits of being willing to learn from your younger staff members and engaging the home and family to make an impact. BEST QUOTES "Take heart and commit to learn from your staff. It's not just their job to be learning from you.""When it comes to our lives, there is so much drama nowadays, and in that reality I think self-awareness is really important.""If there is a conflict on our staff at church, we probably did a bad job communicating somewhere along the line.""If people are on edge around you all the time, that's a you problem and eventually you have to say why is that?""Work hard at not taking yourself so seriously.""I focus better when I am surrounded by people.""God gave us our family and our home to share it with other people.""The idol of family that happens in much of evangelical life has closed us off from using our family to make an impact.""Your seminary professor is not in your congregation, quit preaching to impress him." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network The Unsaved Christian by Dean Inserra This Episode's Sponsor: With Ministry Grid’s library of over 3,500 training videos and 800 courses, it's now simpler than ever to train every volunteer and leader in your church. For the month of August, you can get unlimited access to Ministry Grid for YOUR ENTIRE CHURCH for just $399 a year. If you want to take advantage of this incredible deal, just go to ministrygrid.com/podcast.

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im are joined by Mindy Caliguire, founder of Soul Care and the executive director of Gloo. During their conversation, they discuss the importance of soul health and learning from those who are candle lighters and those who are jet fuel drinkers. BEST QUOTES "Over time God continued to not only heal me, but bring me to environments where I could serve this bigger conversation among others, and in particular among leaders.""I want to talk to anyone who will listen about the primacy, the deep importance, of finding a way of life that keeps the health of your soul at the forefront of your truest responsibilities.""Leaders are leading courageously and dying inside at the same time.""Of all the thing that God has challenged us to die to in the pursuit of living a life with Him, I don't think that an ever diminishing life was one of those things.""We are so prone to self-deception and when we are unhealthy we have huge resistance to God and God's love.""The deeper work of the soul is often messy, has mystery, is ugly and confusing.""God is wildly creative and personally knows both you and your entire team and will know how to meaningfully intersect that.""Leadership is all about getting as much clarity as you can about what's next and how to motivate people to go there.""If God has you at the table and in the conversation, it is your way of serving to contribute to the conversation." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network Soul Care Gloo REVEAL for Church Text "soulcare" to 474747 to receive a link for the Soul Care Assessment New Churches Q&A Podcast This Episode's Sponsor: The Overcomer movie has inspired the creation of several resources. For small groups, there is the Overcomer Bible study. For individuals, there is a book called Defined. Both are based upon powerful insights from the Book of Ephesians. Learn more about all the resources at Lifeway.com/Overcomer

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im are joined by Hal Donaldson, cofounder of Convoy of Hope and author of Disruptive Compassion. During their conversation, they discuss the importance of spiritual growth to the health of an organization and putting family first before even presidential invitations. BEST QUOTES "It started out of the back of a pickup truck and we've now been able to serve and share with Jesus with more than 100 million people.""If I'm your friend and you are my friend, I am going to try to give you more than you give me.""We don't want to have compassion for the world and our community but then not be able to serve one another.""Convoy of Hope will never grow beyond the strength of the relationships of the team that makes up Convoy of Hope.""The greatest threat to Convoy of Hope is not lack of resources, it is pride.""If you have a crisis at home, it is going to spill over to the workplace.""Journaling is something I have to do. When I don't do it, I feel out of step and I'm not the leader God has asked me to be.""When your mission is right, and you are doing what God has asked you to do, you can expect a rhythm of hardship and miracles.""Your children and your wife need to see that you are the same person in the pulpit as you are at home and in the living room.""I wish I had understood that the work of my hands isn't as important as the condition of my heart." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network Your Next 24 Hours by Hal Donaldson Disruptive Compassion by Hal Donaldson Convoy of Hope New Churches Q&A Podcast This Episode's Sponsor: The Overcomer movie has inspired the creation of several resources. For small groups, there is the Overcomer Bible study. For individuals, there is a book called Defined. Both are based upon powerful insights from the Book of Ephesians. Learn more about all the resources at Lifeway.com/Overcomer

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im are joined by Ryan Myers the COO of He Reads Truth, She Reads Truth, and Kids Read Truth. During their conversation, they discuss planning and executing goals and the importance of Bible reading in the life of a Christian. BEST QUOTES "When you overload everywhere, you under-produce everywhere.""If you are not pursuing one of the defined goals, then it's a waste of time.""We are out of the startup phase, our infrastructure is in place, and we have a clear product direction. It's time to say, "how can we scale?""I really do need a plan for the day, I have a tendency to get on rabbit trails.""I have hours set on Tuesdays and Thursdays reserved for reading or dreaming.""Leadership in our home is a tag-team job.""My wife, Raechel, is a born CEO. She has an incredible awareness for the big picture at work and at home.""Be slow to speak and quick to gather information.""From the start, She Reads Truth has always been about biblical literacy.""22% of church attending Christians in the United States read their Bible regularly during the week.""One of our goals this year has been to partner with churches and provide them with tools and resources that can easily integrate into their congregation." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network He Reads Truth She Reads Truth Kids Read Truth He Reads Truth Bible She Reads Truth Bible Building a StoryBrand with Donald Miller Podcast Do Scale by Les McKeown The 4 Disciplines of Execution by Chris McChesney, Sean Covey, and Jim Huling 5LQ Episode 161: Raechel Myers and Amanda Williams of She Reads Truth That Sounds Fun Podcast with Annie F. Downs Unseen Leadership Podcast This Episode's Sponsor: The Overcomer movie has inspired the creation of several resources. For small groups, there is the Overcomer Bible study. For individuals, there is a book called Defined. Both are based upon powerful insights from the Book of Ephesians. Learn more about all the resources at Lifeway.com/Overcomer

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins is joined by Louie Giglio, author of Not Forsaken, communicator, and founder of the Passion movement. During their conversation, they discuss the following questions: Why did you write Not Forsaken?How does this book address fatherlessness and anxiety?How can those who had positive relationships with their earthly dads benefit from Not Forsaken?When did you come to that place in your life where you understood that God, your Heavenly Father, fulfilled your need to be treasured, affirmed, accepted by your earthly father?What impact have you seen in Christians who fully begin to grasp who God is as their perfect Heavenly Father? BEST QUOTES "What Jesus taught us most about God is that He is a Father.""The wounds that exist in our generation because of broken earthly father relationships are extremely large.""Identity is that ballast that keeps us upright in a crazy competitive world.""The invitation of Not Forsaken is the promise of living as a loved son or daughter of the King.""Almost everything in our culture comes down to trust.""My dad was speechless when I told him as a freshman in college that God was calling me to be a preacher.""My dad didn't think God wanted him or loved him and I was so glad I had that spiritual family tree because from that I could send the blessing I had been getting back up my family tree to my dad.""Revelation is when my eyes are open to grasp how information actually changes my life.""I know, above all things, ultimately, my God is not going to let me fail.""When the Holy Spirit awakens our spirit and our spirit says, "Father," that's the moment I know I'm born again.""That born again confidence is what leads us out into the world with the hope and the light of Jesus." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network Goliath Must Fall by Louie Giglio Not Forsaken by Louie Giglio The God You Can Know by Dan DeHaan The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer Follow along with Todd Adkins on Twitter Unseen Leadership Podcast This Episode's Sponsor: The Overcomer movie has inspired the creation of several resources. For small groups, there is the Overcomer Bible study. For individuals, there is a book called Defined. Both are based upon powerful insights from the Book of Ephesians. Learn more about all the resources at Lifeway.com/Overcomer

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im are joined by Missy Wallace, executive director of Nashville Institute for Faith and Work. During their conversation, they discuss how a day of silence can positively affect your spiritual life and how to have a personal relationship with Jesus while also holding a faith-based job. BEST QUOTES "I had such a transformative aha! moment when I figured out that I had worked for 20 years with bad theology.""I'm really learning how to separate talking about Jesus as a job and vocation versus a personal relationship with Jesus.""Sometimes things about Jesus, or reading a Bible passage or a theological text, ends up on a to-do list because I need to prepare for a class. That is great knowledge, but it does not penetrate the heart at all.""I was really scared that God would not say anything, or He would say too much. And I was worried about both of those.""I'm trying to work toward at least an hour a day of the phone turned off.""We see leadership in our family as something we embark on together.""What does it look like to see our marriage flourish separate from the children?""Abiding in Christ stabilizes you in the middle, which is where you need to be.""I spent a whole lot of time running really hard on a treadmill, being really good at achieving things, for the affirmation of other people.""Being in Scripture for 8 hours of silence with zero distractions in a moderated quiet day setting is transformative." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network 5LQ Episode 326: Scott Sauls Nashville Institute for Faith and Work Harvard Business Review Dovehouse Ministries The Common Rule by Justin Earley Above All by J.D. Greear This Episode's Sponsor: The Overcomer movie has inspired the creation of several resources. For small groups, there is the Overcomer Bible study. For individuals, there is a book called Defined. Both are based upon powerful insights from the Book of Ephesians. Learn more about all the resources at Lifeway.com/Overcomer

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im are joined by Luke Dooley, president of OCEAN Programs. During their conversation, they discuss transitioning out of a busy season and considering what new practices can be helpful for the next season and ways to support entrepreneurs. BEST QUOTES "Fear and isolation are real concerns in the life of an entrepreneur.""Our point of emphasis right now is around trying new things.""We are doing three intentional habits as a team this summer.""We are not going to just be focused on what pops up on the screen in front of us.""I try to use my commute time well to reflect on the day and to prepare my heart and mind to leave the office and walk into the house with my wife and kids.""My wife and I are wrestling with what it looks like to grow our kids up and model Christ-likeness for them.""The 20-year-old version of any of us is probably ill-equipped to handle what the current version of us is handling.""As early as possible, choose the things in your life that you value most and how you are going to bring order to the chaos of your life to make sure that those things happen." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network OCEAN Programs "A Start-Up Church Plant" New Churches conversation with Luke Dooley Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand Chasing Francis by Ian Morgan Cron Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War by Robert Coram This Episode's Sponsor: The Overcomer movie has inspired the creation of several resources. For small groups, there is the Overcomer Bible study. For individuals, there is a book called Defined. Both are based upon powerful insights from the Book of Ephesians. Learn more about all the resources at Lifeway.com/Overcomer

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Daniel Im is joined by Gary Haugen, CEO and founder of International Justice Mission and author of Good News About Injustice and The Locust Effect. During their conversation, they discuss focusing on God through prayer while working on His mission and the realities of slavery in today's world. BEST QUOTES "If what the common poor person was facing was violence, there wasn't a Christian ministry addressing that.""IJM started as a response to that biblical call to care for the poor and to seek justice and to make sure there was a vehicle by which Christians could be loving their neighbors who were victimized by violent abuse and oppression.""There are more people in slavery today than in any other time in human history.""After the first 7 years, we started to sense that God wanted to pour more of His presence and power out among us, but that we weren't really spiritually prepared to receive it.""If we don't have a work that we are engaged in that has us running to God in prayer, it might suggest that we have found some cozy cul-de-sac of work that is a bit more tame than God would intend.""If this is God's work and ministry, why wouldn't we be talking to Him about it throughout the day?""Protecting the poor from violence is God's weight and we are going to do it Jesus' way.""Most of my challenges and weaknesses in my spiritual life don't come from what I don't know about the Scriptures, it's what I don't act upon.""Don't seek to lead. Seek to serve, and people might ask you to lead if you serve well." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network International Justice Mission Good News About Injustice by Gary Haugen The Locust Effect by Gary Haugen The Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin Leadership in Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership by Ruth Haley Barton This Episode's Sponsor: The Overcomer movie has inspired the creation of several resources. For small groups, there is the Overcomer Bible study. For individuals, there is a book called Defined. Both are based upon powerful insights from the Book of Ephesians. Learn more about all the resources at Lifeway.com/Overcomer

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im are joined by Jana Magruder, director of Lifeway Kids. During their conversation, they discuss the following questions: What is the state of Kids Ministry?Why is all of this important?What surprised you most about writing Nothing Less and about the research in general?What are the 10 greatest influencers of spiritual health for kids?What should parents and churches do with this? BEST QUOTES "The primary discipleship of a child should be in the home.""We like to encourage Kids Ministry leaders to lead up and lead out.""As a mom, one of the things that surprised me, is that family who ate meals together at least once a week did not make the list.""Standing around the island and grabbing a quick bite counts, but it's not necessarily what moves the dial.""School choice is important, but it's not what moves the dial in spiritual health later in life.""The greatest infleuncer of spiritual health for kids is a child regularly reading their Bible while growing up.""In Lifeway Kids, we like to promote a full-text Bible that was developed for parents to read to kids.""A deeper prayer life can be modeled at home.""Modeling Bible reading, prayer, and serving is something that should be done by parents and church leaders.""Help kids learn how to share their faith and live on mission." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network 5LQ Episode 343: Jana Magruder Nothing Less: Engaging Kids in a Lifetime of Faith by Jana Magruder Settle for Nothing Less: Engaging Kids in a Lifetime of Faith Leader Kit The One Thing Podcast This Episode's Sponsor: The Overcomer movie has inspired the creation of several resources. For small groups, there is the Overcomer Bible study. For individuals, there is a book called Defined. Both are based upon powerful insights from the Book of Ephesians. Learn more about all the resources at Lifeway.com/Overcomer

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im are joined by Alex and Stephen Kendrick, directors and producers of "Overcomer," "Courageous," "Fireproof," and "War Room." During their conversation, they discuss leading a team in love and unity and moving from Ephesians 2:8-9 to 2:10. BEST QUOTES "The Lord's not done with you until He's done with you.""When I hear about everything you've been through in your life, I realize God has saved you from this and now He has uniquely gifted you to carry out the Great Commission.""God was in the middle of all of it preparing us to take the gospel and speak and communicate it in the terms of this generation through visual media.""The cross is the perfect picture of His mercy, but also His wrath.""We have to set the tone for attitude, work ethic, and unity.""As a leader, better to go down path B in unity to accomplish your goal, than to stay on path A and fight all the time.""In the busyness of the work day, we should never neglect loving on one another in the process.""We are not going to grow unless we sometimes have people step into our lives and tell us the truth.""God wants to bless the work of my hands, but I have to stay right before Him.""I have to set God-honoring parameters for my kids where they know that ultimately in our home we want to please the Lord.""God's call should be the engine, ambition should help you pursue God's call.""The journey has just begun when you give your life to Christ." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network Kendrick Brothers Overcomer Facing the Giants Courageous Fireproof War Room The Love Dare by Alex and Stephen Kendrick Ephesians by Tony Merida Experiencing the Father's Love by Os Hillman Forgotten God by Francis Chan This Episode's Sponsor: The Overcomer movie has inspired the creation of several resources. For small groups, there is the Overcomer Bible study. For individuals, there is a book called Defined. Both are based upon powerful insights from the Book of Ephesians. Learn more about all the resources at Lifeway.com/Overcomer