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 Jerry Vines, former pastor of First Baptist Church, Jacksonville, FL and editor of the Vines Expository Bible. During their conversation, they discuss being a leader in your home and how to handle criticism. BEST QUOTES “My emphasis is to try to be an encouragement to pastors and to people.” “The secret of a person’s life is always behind the scenes.” “High on my priority list is telling my wife how much I love her and how much she means to me.” “Every teacher and every Christian should be a student.” “Being the leader in your home does not mean that you are the dictator and that you are always right.” “Be willing to be used of God wherever He puts you.” “Face your problems. Be willing to learn from your problems and be willing to apply what you know to be true.” “You will find some of the greatest Christians in the world in small places. It’s not a bad thing to build your life in a small place." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Ministrygrid.com The Inspiration and Authority of Bible by B.B. Warfield Thy Word Is Truth by E.J. Young "Fundamentalism" and the Word of God by J.I. Packer Why I Preach That the Bible is Literally True by W.A. Criswell Warren Wiersbe – B Series Power In The Pulpit by Jerry Vines and Jim Shaddix

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im are joined by Chris Brown, host of Life Money Hope podcast. During their conversation, they discuss the importance of gratitude and moving past the baggage you have in life. BEST QUOTES "A lot of times we judge ourselves based on our intentions and others on reality and that’s not fair." "When I think about leadership in the home, it’s just so much harder than leadership in an organization. It’s less clinical. It’s a lot more emotional." "No matter your context is, whether you are in the marketplace or in church, whatever the duties are, the tasks are, the responsibilities, the weight is. You’ve got to have this whole I do, we do, you do idea." "Generosity and gratitude are contagious. Opportunity is attracted to generosity. Generosity is the currency of gratitude. It’s gratitude in action. Silent gratitude is absolutely useless." "When you are not filled with gratitude, you are not going one inch outside your job description." "Solve the biggest problems. Sometimes you can really work 60 hours a week solving problems no one is even noticing." "I do not want to be the 36th person on this roster. I want to be the person that people pass the rock too." "Managing God’s blessings in God’s way for God’s glory." "I don’t call it baggage; I call it ammo. It’s arsenal that I can use to shoot toward the Devil. And I can win people for Christ using my experience and what God has pulled me through." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Ministrygrid.com Brene Brown To subscribe to Life Money Hope podcast, text LMHpodcast to 33789 or go to stewardship.com for more information.

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Eric Geiger are joined by Ron Edmondson, senior pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church and author of The Mythical Leader: The Seven Myths of Leadership. During their conversation, they discuss the following questions: What is a conflict or failure that has benefited you in leadership? Who or what has been the greatest leadership influence in your life? What do you want your legacy to be? What habits or practices do you focus on to continue to learn as a leader? What's the best piece of leadership advice that you've ever been given? BEST QUOTES "I’ve got something else to learn and there is somebody else who has already learned it, so I’m going to go find them." "One of my principles in leadership is you can’t lead people you don’t love." "I like to hear from different voices, even voices I don’t agree with." "I have discovered pastors are terrible at disciplining their time, at learning to say no, and at really resting." "Leaders are leaders in more than just what we say." "Seek your affirmation in the right places." "We are trying to learn how to do church in an Amazon world now." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Ministrygrid.com Ronedmondson.com Fast/Forward: Make Your Company Fit for the Future by Julian Birkinshaw and Jonas Ridderstrale The Mentor Leader by Tony Dungy Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus by Lois Tverberg and Ann Spangler Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus by Lois Tverberg

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Eric Geiger discuss Eric's new book, How to Ruin Your Life and Starting Over When You Do. During their conversation, they discuss the following questions: What lead you to write this book? What are some of the patterns you see in David's life? And why is it so important to keep those in check? What can leaders learn from David's implosion and redemption? What message from the book do you hope resonates with leaders the most? What are some ways a leader might use this book for their own personal growth and for their team? This is a great book to go walk through as a team. Click here to download a team discussion guide. BEST QUOTES "There are private failures before a public fall." "I used to not think it was a big deal when a leader would say, “I’m bored. I need a new challenge.” But boredom means we aren’t looking at the Lord, because He’s never boring, He always satisfies." "Isolation. Boredom. Pride. Sins that should not be tamed in my heart; those sins must be slain in my heart." "Anything that’s not Him is less than Him and is created by Him. And even those things that are good that are created by Him, they can’t satisfy me, because they aren’t Him. I wasn’t created for those things I was ultimately created for Him." "If we lead a team of people, we want to be very mindful that all of us are very frail. We want to care for the people on our teams’ hearts." "The best way is to not wait for these tragedies, but to pour into your team, and to care for their character, not just their competence." "Recognize those patterns in your heart as quickly as you can, by God’s grace, and repent. And then repent again. And repent again. And repent again." "If this can happen to David, it can happen to me." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Ministrygrid.com Simple Church by Thom S. Rainer and Eric Geiger Ruinyourlife.net How to Ruin Your Life Team Discussion Guide

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im are joined by Chris Hogan, author of Retire Inspired: It's Not an Age, It's a Financial Number. During their conversation, they discuss continual improvement and retirement tips. BEST QUOTES "We’re all in process. None of us are a finished product. It’s a matter of the tuning, and the awareness that we have as individuals that will allow us to grow." "As a leader, people have to know that you care. We can get so caught up in the title and in the position of leader, I think we forget the obligation and opportunity of leadership." "We are perfectly capable of improvement. Being an improved leader means you are getting better and better day in and day out." "A mistake is something that can happen, but if it keeps happening over and over its no longer called a mistake. Now it’s called a choice." "I know as a leader, if I can improve in my style and my performance and my knowledge, I can also improve in my impact on people." "A good leader can help someone get better at their job, but a great leader helps someone get better at their life." "It’s hard to be hateful when you are grateful." "Understand the value of unity." "There’s nothing you can’t achieve when you find people of like-mindedness." "You can’t wait to get serious about money until you get more, because you will just do more things wrong." "Dreams can motivate us more than fear can scare us." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES MinistryGrid.com Good to Great by Jims Collins Necessary Endings by Dr. Henry Cloud Living With a SEAL by Jesse Itzler ChrisHogan360.com

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im are joined by Robby Gallaty, lead pastor of Long Hollow Baptist Church in Hendersonville, Tenn., and author of The Disciple's Study Bible and The Forgotten Jesus. During their conversation, they discuss getting to know your congregation and the importance of growing leaders. BEST QUOTES “You don’t want to just read from one stream.” “You want to eat the fish and spit out the bones. You have to discern the difference.” “God convicted me a few years ago, “Why are you reading books about what I say, when you can just read what I say?” “Healthy things grow. If we could create a top down healthy staff it would trickle down to the congregation.” “The overall process of our disciple making strategy is both inviting people to church and then investing in those we invite.” “A good leader is a leader who is raising up and developing other leaders." “I think developing leaders who come after you is a stewardship issue that Jesus is going to hold us accountable to.” “There’s no impact without contact.” “Most pastors stop learning as a leader the day they finish school.” “Information without application is useless information.” “We tell our kids all the time, “We want you to have a love for Jesus and His word that you have and not based on what Mom and Dad have.” “I emulated before them what I would later expect from them.” “Discipleship of both husbands and wives exponentially changes the home.” “Leaders are learners. You are never learning for yourself, you are actually learning for the guy who is coming behind you.” RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Leadership Pipeline Learning Community Walking With God Through Pain and Suffering by Tim Keller Behold the Man! by Dwight Pryor Poet & Peasant and Through Peasant Eyes by Kenneth Bailey Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes by Kenneth Bailey Jcstudies.org Walking in the Dust of  Rabbi Jesus by Lois Tverberg Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus by Lois Tverberg Our Father Abraham by Marvin Wilson Growing Up by Robby Gallaty Firmly Planted by Robby Gallaty Foundations by Robby & Kandi Gallaty Foundations for Kids by Robby & Kandi Gallaty Rediscovering Discipleship by Robby Gallaty

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Eric Geiger are joined by Brian Dodd, author of Timeless: 10 Enduring Practices of Apex Leaders. During their conversation, they discuss increasing capacity and the importance of quiet times. BEST QUOTES "The main thing I am working on personally is just trying to accomplish everything God wants me to accomplish, and that’s generally a little bit more than I am already doing by myself so I need to do some stuff to fill the gaps." "As people who God has called to be in leadership, we can forget the basics. There are fundamentals that provide the foundation for anybody’s leadership. The number one things that I did last year that gave me the biggest benefits is waking up at 6 o’clock gave me the margin to really focus on my morning quiet time." "There’s leader development and leadership development. Those are two completely different things. Leadership development is acquiring the skills, talents, and abilities to accomplish a task or assignment from God. Leader development is becoming the type of person who can accomplish a task or assignment given to you by God." "If you’re not careful, your skills, talents, and abilities will outpace your character and it will take you to a place your character can’t sustain you." "That quiet time that I’ve designated into my schedule has totally taken my leadership to a completely different level." "Understand the journey you are about to take. It’s about the journey, not the destination." "There are two kinds of people in this world. Those are humble and those who are about to be humbled. And this journey is going to be a humbling journey." "Don’t focus so much on production that you miss the joys along the way." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Leadership Pipeline Learning Community Briandoddonleadership.com Timeless: Ten Enduring Practices of Apex Leadership by Brian Dodd (GET IT FOR 25% OFF HERE) Demolishing Strongholds by Dr. Johnny Hunt  The Forgotten Jesus by Robby Gallaty  The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle Getting To Us by Seth Davis

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Eric Geiger are joined by Pete Scazzero, the founder of New Life Fellowship Church in Queens, New York City and author of The Emotionally Healthy Leader. During their conversation, they discuss discipleship being the foundation of leadership. BEST QUOTES "Pondering a text, prayerfully before God, that’s where revelation comes." "I realize why the American church doesn’t do discipleship. It’s so demanding. It’s so counter-cultural to American evangelicalism. So we water down discipleship to grow-serve-connect. It’s so radical to how we do church today." "I think the Americanisms in our Christianity is so enormous we can’t even see it." "We are going to invest our lives to change the way the church does discipleship, so that our mission is effective around the world and so that we are raising up leaders. Because you are never going to have leaders develop without a serious discipleship that deeply changes people." "There are certain things I can’t do that are limits given by God as a gift that other leaders can do." "My whole life is structured around being with Jesus. All of my leadership flows out of that. And without that I would not be here." "Leadership in the home is always first, after Jesus, of course. I don’t segment my leadership, my walk with Jesus, from my marriage. I want to be one with Jesus. I want to be one with my wife." "Our greatest gift to the world, I believe, is our marriage. We model something of the depth and the love of Jesus as a sign and wonder to the church and the world." "Slow down your life. And recognize there are gods, idols, that are in the church as much as they are in the world. And if you bow down to them they will destroy you. The two biggest gods are numbers and what people think, impressing people." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Leadership Pipeline Learning Community The Emotionally Healthy Leader by Pete Scazzero Matthew: A Commentary Vol. 1 by Frederick Dale Bruner Matthew: A Commentary Vol. 2 by Frederick Dale Bruner

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im are joined by Michael Kelley, the Director of Groups Ministry for Lifeway Christian Resources and author of the new book Growing Down. During their conversation, they discuss the similarities and differences between discipleship and leadership development. BEST QUOTES “Discipleship is an intentional progression toward Christlikeness.” “Leadership is the joyful taking hold of responsibility.” “Leaders are the ones who don’t run from responsibility, but they take hold of it.” “We have to take a posture of intentionality toward those we are discipling or developing.” “Character is manifested in big moments, but it is made in small ones.” - Phillip Brooks “Often throughout history, the people who make disciples get lost as time goes by.” “The greatest way that you may impact the world is through someone else that you influenced.” “Part of leadership is understanding who you are and then maximizing what you have been given for the sake of others.” RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Growing Down by Michael Kelley MichaelKelley.co MinistryGrid.com

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im are joined by Michael Anthony, lead pastor of Grace Fellowship and author of A Call for Courage. During their conversation, they discuss learning from your children, being open to honest feedback, and listening before you speak as a leader. BEST QUOTES “Most of the lessons I’ve learned in life, I’ve learned from my own failures.” “Leadership is not something you arrive at. You are constantly becoming a better leader.” “If God has called you to lead and you have a family, you have to balance and be intentional with your family or else they get lost in the crossfire.” “Leaders would benefit from doing a lot more listening and a lot less talking.” “It is amazing what you can get done if you only care that Jesus gets the credit.” “Growth requires confrontation.” “Most of the important things in life are not complex; they’re simple. Its just the matter of doing them and executing on them.” “No one who truly surrenders to God will live to regret it.” RECOMMENDED RESOURCES A Call for Courage by Michael Anthony Courage Matters Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss