Crisis creates space where we see what really matters (w/ Brandon Bilbo)
04/28/22 • 30 min
When you meet Brandon Bilbo two things strike you:
- He’s a bit country, and
- He’s a brilliant leader
Back in 2014 Brandon was a financial advisor, managing a $30MM portfolio. Then he felt called to plant Cross Church in Houma— 20 miles south of New Orleans.
For the first 18 months, he pulled double-duty, pastoring during the nights and weekends while working full-time during the normal 9-5 workweek.
In its first 6 years, the church grew to 1,200 in attendance.
Recently, Brandon’s area was hit by Hurricane Ida— a high-level hurricane that produced flooding as far away as New York City. The wind was so strong in “blew out” the wind gauges.
As Brandon says, “It was catastrophic. Everyone was touched by the trauma.”
The day after the storm, Brandon saw his church in action. Turns out, they could move faster than the government because they weren’t hamstrung by bureaucracies and processes.
And, very quickly, churches began working TOGETHER to help people in need.
Brandon makes an observation, “Pastors in the US pull together when there’s a disaster. In other nations where I’ve been on mission trips, they pull together all the time. That’s just how they do it.”
He encourages us to make those connections NOW— knowing that, at some point, troubles are coming.
Develop the relationships, nurture them... and enjoy them.
Eventually, we will need them in other ways.
The recent storms provided a platform for the church to reach everyone, everywhere. Literally.
“Everyone had some degree of damage,” he says, “and so everyone was reachable in some way.”
One day, in a distribution line, 79 people gave their lives to Jesus. Even though there was no sermon. Even though there was no altar call.
On another day, they asked people who came for help if they wanted prayer. Not a single person turned them down.
An elderly woman had multiple trees down in her yard. She’d just survived Covid and was now devastated by the disaster. Whereas tree companies price-gouged, volunteers from the church arrived at her home and helped her free of charge. She began weeping. It was the tangible love of Christ in action.
“Problems become our opportunity, our chance, to love people,” Brandon reminds us. “That is, if we can keep our poise when those things happen.
We still preach the same message we were preaching 2 years ago. But, in some way, it’s a bit different. It’s less about “come and see” and more about “we’re coming to you.”
++++++++++++++
The Killer Teams Crash Course = www.CourageousPastors.com/cc
Schedule a free Strategy Session:
Brandon’s Church, Cross Church = https://crosschurchhouma.com and https://www.facebook.com/crosschurchhouma
Brandon is a coach with CourageousPastors.com = https://www.courageouspastors.com/brandon
When you meet Brandon Bilbo two things strike you:
- He’s a bit country, and
- He’s a brilliant leader
Back in 2014 Brandon was a financial advisor, managing a $30MM portfolio. Then he felt called to plant Cross Church in Houma— 20 miles south of New Orleans.
For the first 18 months, he pulled double-duty, pastoring during the nights and weekends while working full-time during the normal 9-5 workweek.
In its first 6 years, the church grew to 1,200 in attendance.
Recently, Brandon’s area was hit by Hurricane Ida— a high-level hurricane that produced flooding as far away as New York City. The wind was so strong in “blew out” the wind gauges.
As Brandon says, “It was catastrophic. Everyone was touched by the trauma.”
The day after the storm, Brandon saw his church in action. Turns out, they could move faster than the government because they weren’t hamstrung by bureaucracies and processes.
And, very quickly, churches began working TOGETHER to help people in need.
Brandon makes an observation, “Pastors in the US pull together when there’s a disaster. In other nations where I’ve been on mission trips, they pull together all the time. That’s just how they do it.”
He encourages us to make those connections NOW— knowing that, at some point, troubles are coming.
Develop the relationships, nurture them... and enjoy them.
Eventually, we will need them in other ways.
The recent storms provided a platform for the church to reach everyone, everywhere. Literally.
“Everyone had some degree of damage,” he says, “and so everyone was reachable in some way.”
One day, in a distribution line, 79 people gave their lives to Jesus. Even though there was no sermon. Even though there was no altar call.
On another day, they asked people who came for help if they wanted prayer. Not a single person turned them down.
An elderly woman had multiple trees down in her yard. She’d just survived Covid and was now devastated by the disaster. Whereas tree companies price-gouged, volunteers from the church arrived at her home and helped her free of charge. She began weeping. It was the tangible love of Christ in action.
“Problems become our opportunity, our chance, to love people,” Brandon reminds us. “That is, if we can keep our poise when those things happen.
We still preach the same message we were preaching 2 years ago. But, in some way, it’s a bit different. It’s less about “come and see” and more about “we’re coming to you.”
++++++++++++++
The Killer Teams Crash Course = www.CourageousPastors.com/cc
Schedule a free Strategy Session:
Brandon’s Church, Cross Church = https://crosschurchhouma.com and https://www.facebook.com/crosschurchhouma
Brandon is a coach with CourageousPastors.com = https://www.courageouspastors.com/brandon
Previous Episode
Focus on where you are, not where you were (w/ Adam Weber)
Adam Weber shares words of wisdom with us in this episode of The Courageous Pastors Podcast.
“Control what you can control,” he says, “and trust God with the rest.”
We often do the exact opposite. We fret about the things outside our reach, but don’t handle the things we can truly manage.
Adam has been using words, like these, to encourage pastors as he speaks with them. More than any other time, he reminds them to take care of themselves, and to acknowledge their limits.
One leader recently told him, “In 18 years of ministry, I’ve never wanted to quit... until now.”
“Focus on where you ARE, not where you were,” he says.
Again, you can control things in the past. You can only live in the present.
+++
Read more + find the links to the show notes at www.CourageousPastors.com/blog/014
Next Episode
Increase your “care equity” (w/ Michael Turner)
Michael Turner is the founding and lead pastor of Turning Point Church in McDonough, GA— south of Atlanta. The church turned 19 in March 2022.
Recently, Michael gifted everyone on his staff with a Fitbit— as part of a 30-day fitness challenge. They decided to evaluate three areas:
- Steps per day
- Weekly weight loss
- Sleep hours per night
This quick accountability— especially the “sleep part”— highlighted what was truly happening with everyone’s health. And, as Michael reminds us, the challenge connects us to the idea that we’re about TOTAL HEALTH and wellbeing, not just spiritual health.
Furthermore, this step was important because it helped him lead his team towards PERSONAL development as well as the PROFESSIONAL development we usually focus upon.
Lately, Michael actually HAS been working on some of the PROFESSIONAL things, though...
For instance, his church has focused on reclaiming the “in person” gatherings.
Sure, there are a lot of empty chairs.
(The truth is that, post-Covid, most churches have MANY empty chairs.)
“But preaching to SOME empty chairs,” Michael says, “is much better than preaching to ONLY empty chairs and a camera.”
As they reclaim the gatherings, they’re adjusting their metrics as well.
“Attendance isn’t the only indicator,” he says. “There’s so much more... like engagement. And connection.”
They’re also evaluating things like finances and relationships and other items we may not have measured in the past.
Michael embraces the perspective-shift. His church has experienced seasons of fast-growth. And, when they did, he learned that EVERYTHING— including unhealth— replicates quickly.
That is, unhealthy culture multiplies.
Hidden assumptions, underneath-the-surface hurts, and other doubts replicate quickly, as well...
“You can’t outgrow unhealth,” he says. “At some point you must deal with the issues.”
He’s learned to celebrate those moments of fast growth, but to pay attention to the things that mater even more— like the pulse of his staff, as well as their personal lives.
“We’ve got to care about them,” he says, “more than we care about growth.”
During the pandemic, he learned to focus even more on caring for people— not just his team but others in his church, too.
“We began reaching out and actually CALLING people on the telephone,” he says.
Then— “We also sent hand-written birthday cards. And DoorDash gifts...”
The connections multiplied as they discovered new ways to connect and reconnect.
“We even dropped by people’s homes and visited them,” he offers. “Everyone was always so excited to see us.”
He refers to all of this as “Care Equity,” and suggest it’s one of the most important metrics you have.
++++++++
Shawn’s book, Building a Killer Team Without Killing Yourself or Your Team: www.KillerTeamCoaching.com
Personal Gears of Growth = take the assessment here: https://www.courageouspastors.com/offers/PzhK2GiJ/checkout
Access the free Killer Teams Crash Course at www.CourageousPastors.com/cc
Register for a free Strategy Session at www.CourageousPastors.com/strategy
Learn more about Michael’s church at https://turningpointchurch.tv
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