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 Dan Reiland, executive pastor at 12Stone and author of Amplified Leadership: 5 Practices to Establish Influence, Build People, and Impact Others for a Lifetime. During their conversation, they discuss the intersection of the speed of light and the speed of love and how leadership in the home looks differently than it used to. BEST QUOTES “What are my opportunities? What are my responsibilities? What is my calling?" "You are never going to get to the deep work or the essentials if you don't know what to say no to, so you can say yes." "When you are not focused and have a lot of things that matter, you aren't going to make a dent." "Christ calls us to love everybody, but you can't develop everybody." "The speed of life says run as fast as you can, do as much as you can. The speed of love says you have to slow down to develop." "Speed and pressure let's every leader know who you are and what you have under the hood." "We are working on flipping the whole thing from an attractional model to a sent model." "That discipline of writing is important and a calling for me." "Sometimes creativity looks like it's Tuesday at 2:00 and you have to turn it in." "I've never been the star. I've always been the glue." "Lean into who you really are - your wiring, your authentic you." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network DanReiland.com Amplified Leadership: 5 Practices to Establish Influence, Build People, and Impact Others for a Lifetime by Dan Reiland 12Stone Church Deep Work by Cal Newport Essentialism by Greg McKeown Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport The Road Back to You by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile Good to Great by Jim Collins EST.church 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 Matt Brown, evangelist, founder of Think Eternity, and author of Truth Plus Love. During their conversation, they discuss the joy found in a life of generosity and what our motivations are as leaders. BEST QUOTES “Truth minus love and we will just be like a noise to the world around us. Love minus truth and we will be walking on air, we we won't have the power of God. Truth plus love equals influence." "The fruit of the Spirit is really the filter that as believers we're called to and also what will make us influential in the world." "Wanting to be first and best at everything is a sure sign that we have an unhealthy heart." "God's called me to be grateful and satisfied with what He's blessed me with." "As a leader, sometimes you are the facilitator of relationships that need to happen, but you don't always get a pat on the back." "A life of generosity is not just our financial resources, but also the totality of our lives and relationships." "Sometimes encouragement looks like giving people an open door or an opportunity." "It's not just on one spouse to serve, we serve each other." "My kids aren't going to do what I tell them to do, they are going to do what I do." "There is no success that will satisfy you like walking with Christ." "What you have in the gospel already is greater than anything you will ever achieve in your life." "The christian leadership life is not how you can get to the next level, it's how you can serve and be forgotten." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network 5LQ Episode 96: Matt Brown New Churches Q&A Podcast Think Eternity Truth Plus Love by Matt Brown 90 Second Leadership - Speaking the Truth in Love: Ephesians 4:15 The Emotionally Healthy Leader by Pete Scazzero Just As I Am: The Autobiography of Billy Graham D.L. Moody - A Life by Kevin Belmonte The Power of Christian Contentment by Andrew M. Davis Hero Maker by Dave Ferguson EST.church 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 Ryan Hutchinson to breakdown the leadership book The Ideal Team Player: How to Recognize and Cultivate the Three Essential Virtues by Patrick Lencioni. 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 “It's written for the people who are putting the team together." "The most significant decision any leader is going to make is to hire someone." "Leaders who can identify, hire, and cultivate employees who are humble, hungry, and smart will have a serious advantage over those who are not." "There is so much to unpack there when it comes to your business and your church that it really is a sit-down." "If you are committed as a church to making teamwork a cultural reality you need to have the right people." "Humility is the most indispensable attribute of being a team player." "Sometimes people get their own way because they are hungry and we don't have the courage to confront." "If you combine humble and hungry but you don't have smart, you make messes." "Words are easy to say, communication is hard." "What does a person look like who is humble, hungry, and smart?" "I totally disagree with what he says about how to develop humility." "The only way we are able to be humble correctly, hungry correctly, and smart correctly is to walk by the power of the Spirit." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network The Ideal Team Player: How to Recognize and Cultivate the Three Essential Virtues by Patrick Lencioni Episode 324: The Advantage Book Breakdown Epsiode 292: Death By Meeting Book Breakdown The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni Crucial Conversations Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman Dangerous Calling by Paul Tripp EST.church 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 Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett Packard, founder of The Unlocking Potential Foundation, and author of Find Your Way. During their conversation, they discuss leading in the midst of fear and the character that is needed to unlock your potential. BEST QUOTES “I think people are very confused these days by what leadership really is." "If you do a good job and solve problems and change the order of things for better and have an impact, opportunity will knock." "People closest to problems know best how to solve them if they are given the opportunity to do so." "One of the things that's important to maximize our impact and our potential is to really be present in what's going on right in front of you." "It's very easy to get fixated on the title and all that comes with it, and it's the wrong focus." "The higher you go in any organization the less people will tell you what you need to hear and the more they will tell you what they think you want to know." "I was blessed to have married a man 37 years ago who, in a way, knew me better than I knew myself. He had such faith in my potential." "I wouldn't say to a 20-year old, 'You need to prepare to lead,' because that word is very fraught with expectation." "Those foundational aspects of who we are are what prepare us to fulfill our potential." "Being afraid doesn't distinguish us, what can distinguish us is getting past what we are afraid of." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network Unlocking Potential Foundation Find Your Way by Carly Fiorina By Example: A Leadership Podcast Making Disciples 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 Shauna Pilgreen, author of Love Where You Live. During their conversation, they discuss the following questions: Why does it always seem like being sent is leaving where you are and going somewhere else? How have you and Ben helped your church learn how to live sent where they are? How do you resist the-grass-is-greener-on-the-other-side syndrome? What would you say to leaders who are trying to discern and decide whether to stay or to go? What would you tell your 20-year-old self about leadership? What does leadership look like in your home? BEST QUOTES “God began to tell us that I can bring people in to do what you are doing here, but I don't have enough people that are heading out into these strategic cities to start churches from scratch." "When I heard missionary, I heard career missionary. You were signing your life away to that." "Living sent has much to do with our daily engagement with where we live." "Living sent is not just for a certain type of people. It is the great commission call." "It's teaching people to live sent today, not preparing them to do it someday." "We are already busy people, but we don't forget to put our shoes on. The same is true for living sent." "Let's not waste our time salivating over the grass they have, but instead walk our streets, stay in our lane, and love our people." "We have to learn to rest where we live." "Why are you wanting to go? And is God the one sending you?" "We are making a recommitment to the people of our city and to the people we are called to serve." "Keep sowing. Keep learning. Treasure what God does behind the scenes when it's just me and Him." "We were going from a season of being controllers to being consultants." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network Epic Church Love Where You Live by Shauna Pilgreen Making Disciples 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 Steve Cockram, the cofounder of GiANT Worldwide and coauthor of 5 Gears and 5 Voices. During their conversation, they discuss the following questions: What is your favorite personality assessment other than 5 voices? What are your thoughts on the Enneagram? And what are your thoughts on the Enneagram for church leaders? How do you go about creating a good assessment of any type? How are teams using this and what advice would you give them? BEST QUOTES “In some ways Myers-Briggs allowed me to use humor to unlock people over time." "If it connects with your experience and makes sense of it, you learn from it." "I don't mind which assessment you use, just find someone who is really competent at administering it." "Certain instruments are amazing when you have someone there to translate it for you." "A good assessment gets to nature more often than not." "My aim is that 80% of the time what comes out is the assessed type is actually your nature." "Human behavior is more predictable than we would like to admit." "In the average team, 82% of people rarely feel heard, truly feel valued, or if their contribution matters." "43% of people struggle to believe that their opinion is as valued as other people." "We've created a vocabulary language that is so simple and profound that it is designed where even 13-year-olds can use it, understand it, and teach it to their friends." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network GiANT Worldwide 5 Gears by Jeremie Kubicek and Steve Cockram 5 Voices by Jeremie Kubicek and Steve Cockram The 100X Leader by Jeremie Kubicek and Steve Cockram 5voices.com/lifewayleadership Ask Me Anything 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 Bobby Gruenewald, YouVersion founder. During their conversation, they discuss how to involve kids in your ministry, especially when you travel frequently, and setting yourself up to succeed with daily habits and routines. BEST QUOTES “We didn't give the resources away as a strategy, we did it as an act of obedience." "I spent an entire day with him soaking in anything I could possibly learn about his life experience." "It's better for kids to see their parents as superheroes in their own eyes." "Integrating your family into ministry is an important thing." "I put things intentionally on my calendar that I want to do first." "Without an intentional effort to focus on agility and speed, things get slower and tougher to move." "When you start to look at the waiting time in processes it changes your mindset." "I had to tell myself, 'every time that I think I should stay in bed, I am going to always choose the other option.' I had to do that to develop the routine." "The way it became a habit was by sheer determination that it was a zero-tolerance policy." "There was probably a lot more I could have learned if I had been more focused in the moment." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network YouVersion 5LQ Episode 79: Bobby Gruenewald Life.Church Grab One Hope Ask Me Anything 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 Holly Brown executive pastor at Embrace Church. During their conversation, they discuss what it's like to be a virtual executive pastor and not relying on passion alone to do your job well. BEST QUOTES “When you do virtual well, you really do become ingrained in the team." "My biggest goal in leading them is helping them learn to lead in multiple lanes." "Growing ministries always have growing roles." "I function under the assumption that everyone needs to see a growth path." "These are your three focus points, scrolling is not going to help you solve these things." "Leadership in our home really is a dance." "We are passionate about creating opportunities for our kids to understand the common need and practice being entrepreneurs." "Right now leadership is a lot about transfer to our children." "God lit a fire inside of me for living a life that would see what He did in the Bible done today." "I spent a decade trying to find where I could be Moses and it led to a lot of disappointment." "If I just change my corner of the world, that's good enough." "There is no amount of passion that is going to make you immune to the Devil." "You cannot claw your way through with passion and expect to end up on the finish line." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network Embrace Church Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast Andy Stanley Leadership Podcast Dare to Lead by Brené Brown New Churches Q&A Podcast

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im are joined by Rusty George, lead pastor of Real Life Church and author of Justice. Mercy. Humility. During their conversation, they discuss shepherding the people in a large church well and leading your church through a crisis. BEST QUOTES “We assumed once our church got over a certain size, we could no longer shepherd everybody, so then we decided we would shepherd nobody." "How do we create experiences that aren't downloadable?" "Everything in you, when a crisis happens like this, says, 'tell no one.'" "I sent an email to all of the local pastors in our community and told them what was going on." "I had no idea this tragedy was coming, but some of those verses are exactly what I needed to hear." "Have a clear finish line. I go home and turn off email, have family time, and read a book that has nothing to do with my job." "When you have a clear deadline there is automatic pressure to get stuff done if you can't work on it after you leave at 5 p.m." "Ask everybody in your family on a Friday, "what's a good Saturday look like?'" "In this season, our girls get an equal say. They don't always win, but they at least get to weigh in." "People are looking for hope, and we have it!" RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network Real Life Church Lead Like a Shepherd by Larry Osborne Life Without Lack by Dallas Willard Soul Keeping by John Ortberg Justice. Mercy. Humility. by Rusty George Ask Me Anything Podcast

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im are joined by Scott Sauls, senior pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church and author of Irresistible Faith. During their conversation, they discuss how work and faith go together and marriage-centered parenting. BEST QUOTES “We are only going to be good for the world to the degree that we have allowed Christ to infuse His goodness into us." "There is a shelf life on our influence." "I'm convinced that only a vital relationship with Jesus Christ can give you a non-defensive posture where you can be not only a life-giving friend, but a life-giving enemy." "What are we supposed to do with our work when it comes to faith?" "I'm learning extraordinary things from people who are dying well." "We want our public ministry to be matched by our private reality of pursuing Christ personally." "A love for Christ between people is often more caught than it is taught." "We want the last thing they hear every night to be, 'We love you, God does too, and we are for you.'" "You are serving something and someone so much bigger than you who doesn't need you." "The more shy we can be about ourselves, the more boastful we can be about Jesus." "If you do something big or if you do something small, it matters equally." "Addicts teach me a lot about grounded living and being honest about your junk." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network Irresistible Faith by Scott Sauls From Weakness to Strength by Scott Sauls Jesus Outside the Lines by Scott Sauls ScottSauls.com A21 Nashville Institute for Faith and Work The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby "How I Go About Writing a Sermon" by Scott Sauls