The phrase “power of the positive no” is the title of a book by William Ury. I used some excellent observations from his book in Church Unique, when helping leaders to attune people to a clear, specific vision. Here are some of my [...]
Learn to say 'no' to opportunities, by stating (sometimes mentally and sometimes verbally)what you are saying ‘yes’ too, as you articulate ‘no.’ This makes your 'no' a 'positive no.' For example, “Because of my family commitments (saying yes to Jacob, a [...]
Andrew Patton of Covenant Presbyterian Church shared an exercise he is currently conducting with his staff. As they define the Vision Frame, they are revisiting staff structure based on their strategy (missional map). In order to "leverage existing strengths" on [...]
Cheryl Marting, our chief connections officer, sends me links all the time related to her expertise in connecting people and communication to vision.Today she sent me a post by copyblogger that defines killer content by three words: clear, concise, and [...]
Over the last three weeks, I have had the opportunity to speak and learn in many different environments, including the Exponential Conference and the Q Conference. Often I am asked how to go about learning from others (conferences) without risking the [...]
Craig challenged over 3000 church planters at Exponential by considering three levels of belief in the gospel:1) I believe the gospel enough to benefit from it.2) I believe the gospel enough to contribute comfortably.3) I believe the gospel enough to [...]
Over the last 12 months, I have experienced a dramatic increase of demand on my time. One of my mantras is “Focus expands.” Eight years ago I decided to focus my ministry on helping other leaders with vision and clarity. That work [...]
Two national church leaders spoke out on the need to be clear NOT clever this Easter. I thought the material was very helpful and excellent summaries related to 1) Preaching a clear resurrection message and 2) Keeping a clear perspective [...]
Steve Bradley, one of Auxano's navigators, posted a cool little story yesterday to illustrate the point that unique articulated vision is a powerfully attractive force. On the other hand, an unarticulated vision is simply wishful thinking.Does your vision have wings? Read his [...]
This phrase comes from Perry Noble's advice on "Four things I wish someone would have told me"I love his passion for Church Unique- he simply blurts out- "You're not normal. If you were God would have left you alone. Quit [...]
On Thursday Auxano rolled out a new kind of e-mail tool redesigned for simplicity and focused content delivery. The purpose is to adapt an old delivery method in the age where social networking media has passed it by. The [...]
Funk is a kind of music, a kind of smell, and the name of a chemist who coined the term “vitamin.” It’s also a place where ministry leaders hate to be.I was reflecting on a flight to Chicago today [...]
I want you and your ministry to experience the benefits of stunning, God-given clarity. As a pastor turned vision coach, I’ve worked with an unprecedented variety of churches from growing mega-churches and missional communities, to mainline revitalization and church plants. I started several interconnected organizations that help the church embody the movement that Jesus founded. My visionary planning tools, the Vision Frame and the Horizon Storyline are used by thousands of churches every year through my calling to raise up other consultants and trainers. In 2004, I founded Auxano, which I sold to LifeWay and continued to lead until 2020. In 2014, I created Younique to deliver gospel-centered life design through the church. It is now the world's only comprehensive, open-source life plan system.
In 2023, I founded Run Free as my official team-based consulting shop. We deliver the most innovative Vision Framing experiences available to church teams through the "Pivvot Process" and to network/denominational leaders through the "Denominee Process." We also offer team coaching to church leaders using the "Performance Practices" of meta-performance executive coaching.
I've written seven books: Future Church, Church Unique, Younique, Clarity Spiral, God Dreams, Innovating Discipleship, and Building Leaders. I enjoy speaking about clarity, calling, disciple-making, and vision. It's all about helping one another do more than we can imagine. I co-locate in Houston and Chile with my wife, Romy, and the last of my four children, Poema.
If you are interested in Run Free's consulting offerings or want to discuss getting a LifePlan, just reach out to set up a conversation.
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