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The 8 Costs of the Pastoral Succession Crisis

What happens to the church when only 1 of 7 pastors are under age forty?

The challenge of pastoral succession is a topic of increasing interest for good reason. In the next decade we will see an unprecedented number of pastors hitting retirement age. In a recent study by Barna Research, we learn that the Collapse of Trust, Relationally Usually, people around the leader see clearly the “emotional block” and unwillingness to think through the succession planning question. Over time some of the best and most trusted relationships for the leader, start loosing the bond of Lack of Equipping, Strategically The irony for the senior pastor who is not preparing to transition is that they rob themselves of the beauty of ministry in the final chapter– one that can and should be defined by equipping others. Robert Forfeit of Legacy, Permanently The most heartbreaking cost, short of moral failure, is the loss of a leader’s legacy when pastoring the flock long beyond their season of effectiveness. Again, it’s so easy for a senior pastor to be blind to [...]

Jul 8, 2017

Introducing Auxano Boot Camps

Innovating Training in Three Critical Topics for Real Church Growth

What if two days with your team could change the trajectory of your church?  You are invited to an exclusive gathering limited to 25 church teams at three different cities around an important break-thru topic. Each topic is a critical factor in reaching With the Guest Experience training, keep in mind that we have done more ‘Secret Worshipper” visits and evaluation that any team in North America.   >>> REGISTER HERE for GUEST EXPERIENCE BOOT CAMP <<< With Pastoral Succession, Auxano is the only team that has translated biblical principles and best practices into a toolbox that any leader can use to design a comprehensive succession roadmap. Will Heath is our lead architect of the toolbox.   >>> REGISTER HERE for PASTORAL With Leadership Pipeline, designed by Mac Lake and myself, Auxano has walked alongside more church leaders than any group in actually building out a functioning leadership development process at every level in a church.  >>> REGISTER HERE for LEADERSHIP PIPELINE BOOT CAMP [...]

Jul 5, 2017

4 Performance Traps that Subvert Healthy Leadership

A recently published article for CO+OP magazine

Performance is a positive word  Respectable employees, good leaders and those of us called into ministry all aspire to performance. Performance is defined as “the execution of action” or “something accomplished.”  Look through the pages of Scripture and you will find action-oriented [...]

Jun 27, 2017

Napkin Sketch Strategies

If you can't draw it, you can't deliver it.

I have grown to appreciate the power of a napkin sketch. In fact, I emphasized in my new book released this week: The Dream Big Workbook released in collaboration with Exponential. 

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Mar 15, 2017

Scorecard Leadership in Ministry

How do you measure your effectiveness?

How do you know when your church is winning? How do you measure your effectiveness in ministry? Is it possible to monitor both faithfulness and fruitfulness?  

I have committed my life to helping church leaders find clear, concise and compelling responses to these questions. Until leaders codify their answers to these questions through tools and equipping environments, the church will fall miserably short of its potential. Dallas Willard asserted, "Instead of counting Christians, we need to weigh them."

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Mar 15, 2017

Reinvent Your Holiday, Reinvent Your Life

Four Powerful Questions to Ask Between Thanksgiving and New Year's

For too many people the joy of the holiday is as hollow as your neighbor’s snowman lawn inflatable. Take your pick of the holiday stress increasers: Less time to get more done, increased expenses...

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Nov 24, 2016

The Younique Life Plan - Personal Calling and Life Planning for the Church

When is the last time a pastor asked you about your Life Plan? Younique launches this week as a new training company that brings a simple and powerful Life Plan experience to believers everywhere. It's not just a brand new life planning So What is The Younique Life Plan? It's the combination of a personal Vision Frame (4 ideas to declare your identity) and a personal Horizon Storyline (4 ideas to define your future). For example, what is known as "mission" on the Vision Frame is now [...]

Oct 9, 2016

8 Tips on How to Access Free Advice from Any Expert or Mentor

The best people to learn from our often the most busy. How do you access great mentors and expensive experts to get free advice? Here are 8 tips.

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Apr 30, 2016

5 Crucial Social Media Cautions for Pastors

On Tuesday this week, Mark DeMoss addressed a group of fifty senior pastors on the topic of social media. As a well known Christian public relations guy, I expected a list of pros and cons. But Mark shared 30-minutes worth [...]

Apr 23, 2016

How Great Pastors Learn “Not to Care”

Great pastors care about a lot of things and a lot of people. But with the non-stop opportunity to minister to peoples' never ending needs, every pastor must eventually face a crazy question: "Is it possible to care too much?"An [...]

Mar 21, 2016

5 Reasons Why Disciples Need Ministry Tools More than Sermons

The discipleship results of your ministry are not defined by content of your preaching alone.  One significant factor that impacts disciple-making is tool-making.  Unfortunately, you might not recall any seminary classes or conference breakouts on making ministry tools.Why not? The simplest What's the bottom line? If you are not adding ministry tools to the lives of your people, you are not close to maximizing a disciple-making culture. You are probably not equipping people that much. Before explaining why, let's define what we mean by a tool. Now that we have defined and illustrated what a ministry tool or device is, let's get to the heart of the post. Why do disciples need ministry tools more than sermons? Why should we not rely on preaching alone if we are #4 - A ministry tool creates energy. A tool helps people feel excited about ideas. It helps people win. And by the way, many pastors can unintentionally create a sense of failure for their people.  As people listen to sermons [...]

Feb 27, 2016