What we’ve learned from 24 leaders of various ages and different races all serving in scattered places

08/11/22 • 34 min

In this talk we divide the content from the past 23 talks into 7 “buckets,” that is, 7 repeating themes we saw.

#1 = Be you (not a knock-off of some other leader).

#2 = Take care of you. You can’t pour from an empty cup, serve from dry well, run on an empty tank... you get the idea.

#3 = Race relations are tough— and are worth the work. And they’re tough. And they’re worth the work. And tough. And worth it. And they are part of bringing the presence of the Kingdom.

#4 = The pandemic happened. Regardless of where you stand politically or medically or on any other issue, culture shifted and that radically changed how we do church.

#5 = One of the changes is that church moved out of the building. For sure, we don’t want to stay out of the four walls— as if it’s an either-or decision. We want to do both, gather and scatter.

#6 = Look back to the past— not to see failures and frustrations but to see the faithfulness of God. When we see our history with Him, and where He’s brought us, we gain confidence to keep stepping forward.

#7 = Coach-ability. It matters. Never underestimate the value of an outside voice to speak into your life and give you perspective, unleash new potential, and push you beyond what you dreamed possible.

Finally, tie it all together...

A lot of people think the church is in trouble, that it’s going to disappear. Don’t believe it.

J.I. Packer was asked years ago, “Who’s the best preacher?” He replied, “You don’t know him.” When pushed, he replied that not even he knew him because God has people all over, everywhere— just like Elijah didn’t realize there were 7,000 more besides him... that is true today.

Join a tribe. We’d love to have you.

Learn more at www.CourageousPastors.com/blog/024

In this talk we divide the content from the past 23 talks into 7 “buckets,” that is, 7 repeating themes we saw.

#1 = Be you (not a knock-off of some other leader).

#2 = Take care of you. You can’t pour from an empty cup, serve from dry well, run on an empty tank... you get the idea.

#3 = Race relations are tough— and are worth the work. And they’re tough. And they’re worth the work. And tough. And worth it. And they are part of bringing the presence of the Kingdom.

#4 = The pandemic happened. Regardless of where you stand politically or medically or on any other issue, culture shifted and that radically changed how we do church.

Finally, tie it all together...

A lot of people think the church is in trouble, that it’s going to disappear. Don’t believe it.

Join a tribe. We’d love to have you.

Learn more at www.CourageousPastors.com/blog/024

Previous Episode

How to take the baton from a seasoned leader (so you can later hand if off to someone else) (with Clay Smith)

Clay Smith took over Johnson Ferry Baptist Church just before the pandemic hit. He was 40 at the time, following a leader who planted the church and had been there since he was 2.

Now 43, Clay looks back and shares some of the lessons he’s learned about following a legacy leader.

“First, you are an interim,” he says, “We are all coming and going.”

That is, you might be at your church for 3 months, for 3 years, or for 30 like Clay’s predecessor... but your job is temporary.

That said, Clay highlights five lessons he’s learned— and is still learning.

“We’re all learning,” he reminds us.

Next Episode

How to lead like a boss when you’re not the lead guy (w/ Kevin Lloyd)

In this episode, Kevin and JC discuss Kevin’s journey from “his call” to pastoring to serving as an executive pastor— and how he knew he didn’t want to be the “lead guy” at the church but wanted to serve as the XP.

It’s a good word. Most staff members are not going to serve as the senior pastor. Most will be the number 2, number 3, or something else.

Kevin and JC talk about several important factors:

⭐️ the importance of execution— of getting things done.

Specifically, the discuss vision and trust, and identify how to know when you move forward without waiting for instruction as well as how to know when to ask permission.

⭐️ the importance of EQ as opposed to IQ.

Most of the time, leaders aren’t fired (or hired) because of their Intelligence Quotient but because of their Emotional Quotient— of their ability to relate to people.

⭐️ the importance of the team.

We function better together. Face it, leadership— at ANY level— is lonely.

Sometimes that’s a function of leadership— it CAN be lonely at the top. But we make it lonelier than it has to be.

⭐️ the importance of decision-making.

Sometimes you need to be attached to the outcome. Many times you don’t need to be. In fact, most to the time you don’t.

⭐️ the importance of honor.

Kevin talks about “taking the bullet” when needed— and of deferring to the mission and the people who are part of it.

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Links for this show—

Join us for Building a Killer Team Live— www.KillerTeam.live

Claim your free Killer Team Book— www.KillerTeamBook.org

Kevin’s page on the CourageousPastors.com site = www.CourageousPastors.com/kevin