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

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im are joined by Whitney Capps, author of Sick of Me and speaker for Proverbs 31 Ministries. During their conversation, they discuss the importance of listening to God's Word for it's truth and discerning wise decisions in ministry. BEST QUOTES "I wrote it as an act of obedience, not fully convinced that anybody would read it." "It was really a book for me walking through the process and realization - a painful one - that I had traded sanctification for self-help." "To some extent I thought sanctification was about doing better and missed that the call is actually for us to be better." "One of my goals for 2019 is to read more from people who are not my contemporaries." "There is no excuse for a person breathing millennial air to not know and understand God's Word." "God's Word is so pregnant that He can do a lot with a little." "There is something about appreciating what it is to read God's Word for its truth rather than my personal application." "There is embracing who I am and then there is embracing God's call on my life." "There is a level of discernment of 'who do I trust to help me make those good and wise decisions?'" "The most important lesson we hope you learn from us doing ministry is that you are not the center of our world." "I don't think it is possible to miss God's call on your life if the daily prayer of your life is, "I'll say yes to today.'" RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network WhitneyCapps.com Bible Study: We Over Me  Sick of Me: From Transparency to Transformation by Whitney Capps Proverbs 31 Ministries Augustine's Confessions by St. Augustine First 5 App Warren Wiersbe Be Series Ask Me Anything Podcast with J.D. Greeer

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im breakdown the leadership book The Power of Moments by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. In their conversation they discuss the following questions: What's the book and why does it matter? Overview of the book How applicable is the book to leadership in my church? What are things churches should ignore from the book? What can you do this week in light of the book? BEST QUOTES “Research has found that in recalling experiences we ignore most of what happened and focus instead on a few particular moments." "There are a lot of powerful moments that happen in a person's life that often are a turning point for them to come to know the Lord." "Defining moments shape our lives, but we don't have to wait for them to happen, we can be the author's of them." "A defining moment is a short experience that is both memorable and meaningful." "How do you build peaks in your ministry appeal?" "What's that transformational sweet spot for us? Knowledge, experience, and coaching." "Pride is about capturing that defining moment when someone achieves something impressive." "I don't think we encourage often enough in our churches." "Baptism is a pivotal, powerful moment in the life of that person and that family." "Transitions are natural, defining moments we will remember. How can you elevate them?" RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network The Power of Moments by Chip Heath and Dan Heath Switch by Chip Heath and Dan Heath Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath Leading Small Groups by Chris Surratt Ministry Grid The Experience Economy by James Gilmore and Joseph Pine New Churches Q&A Podcast This Episode's Sponsor: One of the greatest predictors of a disciple’s spiritual growth is regular Bible reading. That’s why Lifeway created the Daily Discipleship Guide. To download four free sessions of the Daily Discipleship Guide, visit BibleStudiesforLife.com/DDG.

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im are joined by Jana Magruder, director of Lifeway Kids and author of Kids Ministry that Nourishes and Nothing Less. During their conversation, they discuss how the Levels of Biblical Learning can provide a framework for kids ministry and how technology impacts parenting today. BEST QUOTES "The Levels of Biblical Learning is truly a framework that a church can use from the baby room to high school graduation." "My heart and mind is in the research of Gen Z and technology." "VBS is quality-time with Godly men and women who are pouring into the lives of kids and families." "The majority of American parents would say yes to a child who is invited to a VBS by a friend." "I have challenged my smaller strategy team to re-engage with their giftedness." "We are pioneer parents because we are in uncharted territory in the digital world." "Don't get wrapped up in the Instagram family dinner. Standing around the island chatting about your day still counts." "Just slow done. And quit wishing for the next season to come." "I'm trying to coach myself to not wish the years away, to sit and be still before the Lord and love where you are." "It's hard to slow down when all you know is that you are wired to keep doing the next thing and the next thing." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network Kids Ministry That Nourishes by Jana Magruder Nothing Less by Jana Magruder Text "Kids" to 888111 to download and learn more about the levels of biblical learning iGen by Jean M. Twenge The Tech-Wise Family by Andy Crouch Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport 5LQ Episode 330: Personality Assessments for Leaders with Steve Cockram New Churches Q&A Podcast This Episode's Sponsor: One of the greatest predictors of a disciple’s spiritual growth is regular Bible reading. That’s why Lifeway created the Daily Discipleship Guide. To download four free sessions of the Daily Discipleship Guide, visit BibleStudiesforLife.com/DDG.

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im are joined by Jonathan Pokluda, lead pastor of Harris Creek, former leader of the Porch, and author of Welcome to Adulting. During their conversation, they discuss Jonathan's transition from The Porch to Harris Creek and how our phones are affecting our lives. BEST QUOTES "The whole context of leading has changed for me from leading a staff of 150 to leading a staff of 15." "I think you are leading well when people are making fun of you for saying your values so much." "What do we need to keep doing? What do we need to start doing? What do we need to stop doing?" "We don't talk about people, we talk to people." "What makes you love God more?" "It was your weakness that got you in ministry, but you think your giftedness will keep you there." "The idea of deep meditation is something that's always been asked of Christians, but right now even the secular world is catching on." "We are looking at our phone thousands of times a day and it is killing us with comparison." "Our phone is the adulteress woman now." "I lived my adult life studying Millennials, then Gen Z shows up on the scene." "I've wrestled with is it a calling to young adults or a calling to the Millennial generation?" RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network Welcome to Adulting by Jonathan Pokluda The Porch Harris Creek A Praying Life by Paul Miller The Tech-Wise Family by Andy Crouch Becoming Something Podcast This Episode's Sponsor: One of the greatest predictors of a disciple’s spiritual growth is regular Bible reading. That’s why Lifeway created the Daily Discipleship Guide. To download four free sessions of the Daily Discipleship Guide, visit BibleStudiesforLife.com/DDG.

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im are joined by Scott McConnell, Executive Director of Lifeway Research. During their conversation, they discuss the following questions: How do you know your church is growing? What's the difference between church growth and reproduction and multiplication? What are the 5 levels and what is the research about? What did you discover in the research? What did you discover about the state of the church? BEST QUOTES  “A good thing to compare is the growth rate of your church to the growth rate of your city." "If you are in a community that has 25% turnover every year, and you are holding steady, that is a huge accomplishment." "Reproduction and multiplication is an investment and activity outside of your church. You are working to open new churches outside of your church." "This was a chance to nationally register how many churches are in each of the levels." "93% of protestant churches did not help a church open their doors this last year." "If you trace it back, there are a lot of churches that helped open another church once or twice in their history." "It's planting churches again and again that gets you in the zone of reproduction." "Attendance is the biggest piece in determining if a church is adding, subtracting, or plateauing." "The larger churches that are more likely to be adding are getting people from smaller churches." "54% of pastors say that fewer than 10 people indicated a new commitment to Christ in the last year." "As your church begins to show the love of Christ to each other that means some attention is turned from reaching new people." "28% of churches are declining in their attendance. 39% are in a growth trajectory." "Economically churches are in a great spot. Only 15% of churches reported that they had a decline in offerings." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network 5LQ Episode 278: Scott McConnell on VBS Research 5LQ Episode 294: Scott McConnell on Bible Research 5LQ Episode 299: Research on the Unchurched 5LQ Episode 305: The State of Theology Text "research" to 888111 to receive a link to download this research 5 Leadership Questions and Lifeway Research Group Answers Podcast This Episode's Sponsor: With Ministry Grid’s library of over 3,000 training videos, it's now simpler than ever to train every volunteer and leader in your church. And this is training you can trust. Each Ministry Grid video features an experienced ministry leader who has been where you are now. Learn how to get unlimited access for you and your church at MinistryGrid.com.

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im are joined by Santiago "Jimmy" Mellado, the CEO of Compassion International. During their conversation, they discuss what's needed for true authenticity and teams working together to hear from God. BEST QUOTES "In vulnerability, if you actually aren't risking something, it's not vulnerability." "Over the long haul your heart can either become hard like a rock or cynical or stay soft." "There are disciplines in my life that I live in so I can protect a soft, authentic heart." "The more compelling the mission of the organization the more tempting it will be for leaders to cut corners on their soul in pursuit of that mission." "What are the disciplines that the team or the board needs to engage to be able to develop the competency of actually listening to God as a group?" "Often we blame too much of the weight we carry as leaders on stress, but really it's our incompetent recovery strategies." "My rest and replenishment days go on the calendar first and then the work stuff." "I'm giving you my best thoughts on this subject matter, but you can take it or leave it and it doesn't affect our relationship." "I went there for an athletic experience, but I came home with a calling to serve the church." "Get in touch with enough. What is enough achievement? Where are you getting your identity from? Is it Christ or is it achievement?" "Understand that the most important contribution you make to the Kingdom will, in fact, be the person you are becoming in Christ." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network Compassion.com/churches Wydick Research Summary Willow Creek Association Strong and Weak by Andy Crouch Soul Keeping by John Ortberg Pursuing God's Will Together by Ruth Haley Barton This Episode's Sponsor: One of the greatest predictors of a disciple’s spiritual growth is regular Bible reading. That’s why Lifeway created the Daily Discipleship Guide. To download four free sessions of the Daily Discipleship Guide, visit BibleStudiesforLife.com/DDG.

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im are joined by Bethany Lewis, vice president of forums and content at The Veritas Forum, contributor at The Gospel Coalition, and a senior fellow at The King's College. During their conversation, they discuss talking about faith in non-Christian settings and trusting God in the process of reorganizing. BEST QUOTES “We are equipping, training, and deploying 500+ student editors and writers into doing the student-led thought journals on their campuses." "We're not interested in questions Christians are asking. We're interested in questions that all people are asking and then having a Christian perspective on it." "When you are trying to move the needle on people's opinions who disagree with you, you need to get someone up there who nobody expects to say what they are saying." "What does it look like to think through how do we shepherd and care for the people we have on our team that we love but also think through what's the work that we actually feel called to do in the future?" "God has a plan for different people's lives and you need to trust in that more than you trust in your own ability to take care of everybody." "What I think sets apart a Christian leader is that we recognize where we are not better." "Before I go out in the world and I am going to try to be satisfied by anything else, I try to have my heart in a place where it's satisfied with God's unfailing love." "I find it pretty difficult to lead at the level I'm leading at my organization and also be a very invested lay leader in my church." "I know at this point how to live without a spouse. I don't know how to live without friends and a community." "If you are single and a leader, you actively need to seek out people who know your daily stuff and you are able to be vulnerable with." "Be patient. You don't know what you are growing in yet." "You will eventually get to the point where when you are faithful in small things you will become more competent in big things." "Create a culture where curiosity and doubt are totally welcome." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network The Veritas Forum The Gospel Coalition The King's College Redeemer Church The Rainer on Leadership Podcast Leading Small Groups: How to Gather, Launch, Lead, and Multiply Your Small Group by Chris Surratt This Episode's Sponsor: One of the greatest predictors of a disciple’s spiritual growth is regular Bible reading. That’s why Lifeway created the Daily Discipleship Guide. To download four free sessions of the Daily Discipleship Guide, visit BibleStudiesforLife.com/DDG.

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im are joined by Dhati Lewis, lead pastor of Blueprint Church in Atlanta and vice president of Send Network at the North American Mission Board. During their conversation, they discuss the importance of emotional health and having an impact in local schools. BEST QUOTES “I'm listening to the stories as a missionary." "That wall is a missiological issue that we aren't addressing." "We can't even talk about tense issues because emotions get in the way and no one listens." "If we are going to have healthy conversations we have to address our inability to even express ourselves." "You can't be spiritually healthy without being emotionally healthy." "We want to be known as a family of churches that are about planting healthy multiplying churches everywhere for everyone." "A problem is not a real problem unless it's your problem." "The way we define leadership is proactively meeting the needs of others or taking initiative for the benefit for others." "How do we come with a heart posture of being an advocate?" "This book was written in a way to tell you not how to think but how to engage the conversation." "Don't overestimate what you can do in a year, but don't underestimate what you can do in five." "We need to figure out the difference between how we make a living and how we live our life." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network Blueprint Church Send Network at North American Mission Board The Voice of the Heart by Chip Dodd Duolingo Duolingo Podcast NewChurches.com Among Wolves by Dhati Lewis Advocates: The Narrow Path to Racial Reconciliation by Dhati Lewis The One Thing Podcast This Episode's Sponsor: One of the greatest predictors of a disciple’s spiritual growth is regular Bible reading. That’s why Lifeway created the Daily Discipleship Guide. To download four free sessions of the Daily Discipleship Guide, visit BibleStudiesforLife.com/DDG.

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im breakdown the leadership book Team of Teams by General Stanley McChrystal. In their conversation they discuss the following questions: What's the book and why does it matter? Overview of the book How applicable is the book to leadership in my church? What are things churches should ignore from the book? What can you do this week in light of the book? BEST QUOTES “How do you scale teamwork in an organization?" "Once you have people that are able to instinctively make the right decisions, it's all about adaptability to whatever it is their facing." "What posture did they approach the problem with?" "What would it look like for us to move from chess masters to gardeners?" "If your church listed their top 10 problems, the church down the street or across the world would list at least 7 of the same ones." "As your church grows, it becomes increasingly complex and it is very difficult to bring clarity to all the necessary pieces." "Think about leading via policy vs. leading via values and culture." "The higher you go in an organization the less decisions you should be making." "The person that is best able to solve the problem is the person that is closest to the problem." "What are ways you can build resilient leadership and resilient systems so you can adapt to the changes in our culture today?" RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network Team of Teams by General Stanley McChrystal Accelerate by John P. Kotter Ministry Grid 5LQ Episode 330: Personality Assessments for Leaders with Steve Cockram Starfish and the Spider by Ori Brafman and Rod A. Beckstrom Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin Adaptive Decision Making, Change, and Leadership - Part 1 Adaptive Decision Making, Change, and Leadership - Part 2 Leading Small Groups by Chris Surratt Group Answers Podcast Rainer on Leadership Podcast This Episode's Sponsor: One of the greatest predictors of a disciple’s spiritual growth is regular Bible reading. That’s why Lifeway created the Daily Discipleship Guide. To download four free sessions of the Daily Discipleship Guide, visit BibleStudiesforLife.com/DDG.

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im are joined by Scott McConnell, Executive Director of Lifeway Research. During their conversation, they discuss the following questions: Background of the research What is the next level insight gleaned from the research? Discuss what the research said about ethnic diversity. How is women in leadership another significant change or factor? What encouragement would you give the church leaders about something they can do next week in light of this research? BEST QUOTES  “Are we really in love with the church enough that those on the outside would say, 'I want to be a part of that.'?" "The largest group of pastors, 4 out of 10, indicated that reaching the next generation is the thing they are most concerned about as a church." "These are the difficult things that pastors are ready to address." "For a third of pastors, they have had an increase in diversity. Going forward, 62% says they expect it to increase in the next 5 years." "In light of all this, if you are of the majority culture wherever you're living, make an intentional effort to go to restaurants where you are going to be the minority and just see how that feels." "47% of pastors say the number of women in leadership has increased over the last 5 years." "If your church doesn't have very many women in leadership roles, how do you cultivate that?" "Wrestling through the why question is an important thing to do." "Have a next step in mind. If you aren't taking steps toward the goals you have for your church, you aren't going to get there." "Where are we doing well and where do we have room for improvement?" RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network 5LQ Episode 278: Scott McConnell on VBS Research 5LQ Episode 294: Scott McConnell on Bible Research 5LQ Episode 299: Research on the Unchurched 5LQ Episode 305: The State of Theology Text "research" to 888111 to receive a link to download this research Group Answers Podcast This Episode's Sponsor: With Ministry Grid’s library of over 3,000 training videos, it's now simpler than ever to train every volunteer and leader in your church. And this is training you can trust. Each Ministry Grid video features an experienced ministry leader who has been where you are now. Learn how to get unlimited access for you and your church at MinistryGrid.com.