5 Leadership Questions Podcast on Church Leadership with Todd Adkins and Dan Iten

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im are joined by Steve Cockram, the cofounder of GiANT Worldwide and coauthor of 5 Gears and 5 Voices. During their conversation, they discuss the following questions: * What is your favorite personality assessment other than 5 voices? * What are your thoughts on the Enneagram? And what are your thoughts on the Enneagram for church leaders? * How do you go about creating a good assessment of any type? * How are teams using this and what advice would you give them? BEST QUOTES “In some ways Myers-Briggs allowed me to use humor to unlock people over time." "If it connects with your experience and makes sense of it, you learn from it." "I don't mind which assessment you use, just find someone who is really competent at administering it." "Certain instruments are amazing when you have someone there to translate it for you." "A good assessment gets to nature more often than not." "My aim is that 80% of the time what comes out is the assessed type is actually your nature." "Human behavior is more predictable than we would like to admit." "In the average team, 82% of people rarely feel heard, truly feel valued, or if their contribution matters." "43% of people struggle to believe that their opinion is as valued as other people." "We've created a vocabulary language that is so simple and profound that it is designed where even 13-year-olds can use it, understand it, and teach it to their friends." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network GiANT Worldwide 5 Gears by Jeremie Kubicek and Steve Cockram 5 Voices by Jeremie Kubicek and Steve Cockram The 100X Leader by Jeremie Kubicek and Steve Cockram 5voices.com/lifewayleadership Ask Me Anything Podcast This Episode's Sponsor: With Ministry Grid’s library of over 3,000 training videos, it's now simpler than ever to train every volunteer and leader in your church. And this is training you can trust. Each Ministry Grid video features an experienced ministry leader who has been where you are now. Learn how to get unlimited access for you and your church at MinistryGrid.com.

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im are joined by Bobby Gruenewald, YouVersion founder. During their conversation, they discuss how to involve kids in your ministry, especially when you travel frequently, and setting yourself up to succeed with daily habits and routines. BEST QUOTES “We didn't give the resources away as a strategy, we did it as an act of obedience." "I spent an entire day with him soaking in anything I could possibly learn about his life experience." "It's better for kids to see their parents as superheroes in their own eyes." "Integrating your family into ministry is an important thing." "I put things intentionally on my calendar that I want to do first." "Without an intentional effort to focus on agility and speed, things get slower and tougher to move." "When you start to look at the waiting time in processes it changes your mindset." "I had to tell myself, 'every time that I think I should stay in bed, I am going to always choose the other option.' I had to do that to develop the routine." "The way it became a habit was by sheer determination that it was a zero-tolerance policy." "There was probably a lot more I could have learned if I had been more focused in the moment." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network YouVersion 5LQ Episode 79: Bobby Gruenewald Life.Church Grab One Hope Ask Me Anything Podcast This Episode's Sponsor: With Ministry Grid’s library of over 3,000 training videos, it's now simpler than ever to train every volunteer and leader in your church. And this is training you can trust. Each Ministry Grid video features an experienced ministry leader who has been where you are now. Learn how to get unlimited access for you and your church at MinistryGrid.com.

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im are joined by Holly Brown executive pastor at Embrace Church. During their conversation, they discuss what it's like to be a virtual executive pastor and not relying on passion alone to do your job well. BEST QUOTES “When you do virtual well, you really do become ingrained in the team." "My biggest goal in leading them is helping them learn to lead in multiple lanes." "Growing ministries always have growing roles." "I function under the assumption that everyone needs to see a growth path." "These are your three focus points, scrolling is not going to help you solve these things." "Leadership in our home really is a dance." "We are passionate about creating opportunities for our kids to understand the common need and practice being entrepreneurs." "Right now leadership is a lot about transfer to our children." "God lit a fire inside of me for living a life that would see what He did in the Bible done today." "I spent a decade trying to find where I could be Moses and it led to a lot of disappointment." "If I just change my corner of the world, that's good enough." "There is no amount of passion that is going to make you immune to the Devil." "You cannot claw your way through with passion and expect to end up on the finish line." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network Embrace Church Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast Andy Stanley Leadership Podcast Dare to Lead by Brené Brown New Churches Q&A Podcast

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im are joined by Rusty George, lead pastor of Real Life Church and author of Justice. Mercy. Humility. During their conversation, they discuss shepherding the people in a large church well and leading your church through a crisis. BEST QUOTES “We assumed once our church got over a certain size, we could no longer shepherd everybody, so then we decided we would shepherd nobody." "How do we create experiences that aren't downloadable?" "Everything in you, when a crisis happens like this, says, 'tell no one.'" "I sent an email to all of the local pastors in our community and told them what was going on." "I had no idea this tragedy was coming, but some of those verses are exactly what I needed to hear." "Have a clear finish line. I go home and turn off email, have family time, and read a book that has nothing to do with my job." "When you have a clear deadline there is automatic pressure to get stuff done if you can't work on it after you leave at 5 p.m." "Ask everybody in your family on a Friday, "what's a good Saturday look like?'" "In this season, our girls get an equal say. They don't always win, but they at least get to weigh in." "People are looking for hope, and we have it!" RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network Real Life Church Lead Like a Shepherd by Larry Osborne Life Without Lack by Dallas Willard Soul Keeping by John Ortberg Justice. Mercy. Humility. by Rusty George Ask Me Anything Podcast

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im are joined by Scott Sauls, senior pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church and author of Irresistible Faith. During their conversation, they discuss how work and faith go together and marriage-centered parenting. BEST QUOTES “We are only going to be good for the world to the degree that we have allowed Christ to infuse His goodness into us." "There is a shelf life on our influence." "I'm convinced that only a vital relationship with Jesus Christ can give you a non-defensive posture where you can be not only a life-giving friend, but a life-giving enemy." "What are we supposed to do with our work when it comes to faith?" "I'm learning extraordinary things from people who are dying well." "We want our public ministry to be matched by our private reality of pursuing Christ personally." "A love for Christ between people is often more caught than it is taught." "We want the last thing they hear every night to be, 'We love you, God does too, and we are for you.'" "You are serving something and someone so much bigger than you who doesn't need you." "The more shy we can be about ourselves, the more boastful we can be about Jesus." "If you do something big or if you do something small, it matters equally." "Addicts teach me a lot about grounded living and being honest about your junk." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network Irresistible Faith by Scott Sauls From Weakness to Strength by Scott Sauls Jesus Outside the Lines by Scott Sauls ScottSauls.com A21 Nashville Institute for Faith and Work The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby "How I Go About Writing a Sermon" by Scott Sauls

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im are joined by Drew Hill, pastor and author of Alongside: Loving Teenagers With the Gospel. During their conversation, they discuss the difficulties in lead pastoring and being open with your failures. BEST QUOTES “I've really been encouraged by Peter's failures." "My relationship with the Lord has been much more influenced by Scripture than by other books." "Everything that I know and believe are built on the things that have gone before." "We have to allow the Lord to strip us of our productivity so we realize that He doesn't need us, but He wants us, and we need Him desperately." "Sharing the pulpit has been a gift in our church." "I don't want to give people a place of a tour I haven't been." "Being a lead pastor has been way harder than I ever thought." "The biggest tension I struggle with everyday is am I a CEO or am I a pastor?" "We are not going to be as polished as I want us to be right now, and that's OK." "Do I really believe that God loves me if I don't produce?" "It was the first time I realized how my addiction to ministry was crushing my wife and my family." "Faithfulness outweighs giftedness." "Focus more on your hidden life in Christ and developing these disciplines that are going to make you a godly man and not a great speaker." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network Alongside: Loving Teenagers With the Gospel by Drew Hill Young Life A Fragile Stone by Michael Card The Valley of Vision by Arthur Bennett Journey With Jesus by Larry Warner Do More Better by Tim Challies Working the Angles by Eugene Peterson The Pastor by Eugene Peterson Sleeping at Last The Tech-Wise Family by Andy Crouch  

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im breakdown the leadership book The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else In Business by Patrick Lencioni. In their conversation they discuss the following questions: * What's the book and why does it matter? * Overview of the book * How applicable is the book to leadership in my church? * What are things churches should ignore from the book? * What can you do this week in light of the book? BEST QUOTES “When we are negative or frustrated it is about our environment, when someone else is negative we assume it is something about their character." "You have to slow down in order to go fast." "If people don't weigh in, they can't buy in." "Your organization can only implement a leadership pipeline when you do it together." "If you don't know the answers to these questions, stop hiring people." "Maybe the reason your church is not impacting your community the way you want it to is because you don't know the answer to these six questions." "The best systems are the most simple and least sophisticated ones." "The six questions are an immediate thing for you to ask." "Wherever you find yourself leading, this would be a great time to take a step back and take a look at those six questions." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni Death by Meeting by Patrick Lencioni Silos, Politics, and Turf Wars by Patrick Lencioni The Table Group 5LQ Episode 322: Paul Tripp Start With Why by Simon Sinek God Dreams by Will Mancini Church Unique by Will Mancini 5LQ Episode 292: Death By Meeting Book Breakdown ImBetween Podcast Episode 51: The Perfect Gift for Every Enneagram Type The Gospel Above All by J.D. Greear Rainer on Leadership Podcast   The Six Questions from The Advantage 1. Why do we exist? 2. How do we behave? 3. What do we do? 4. How will we succeed? 5. What is most important--right now? 6. Who must do what?

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im are joined by Todd Phillips, founder and executive director of The Last Well. During their conversation, they discuss how The Last Well got started and the idea of Wilberforce moments. BEST QUOTES “What's the worst place in the world  no one wants to go? What's the greatest physical need in that area that we can use to share the gospel?" "The mission became bring the gospel and clean water to the entire nation of Liberia, border to border - every man, woman, and child - by 2020." "This started because God chose to sovereignly move in the hearts and minds of young adults who still believed God could do great things." "There are millions of more people that don't exist on any census data that need to hear the gospel and we don't even know they are there." "We have to be experts at influence." "There have to be borders around the projects we are doing." "We should have Wilberforce moments happening daily around the world." "I sat in my car and was reminded to pray to God to move away from the frenetic pace of my day and shift my mindset to the people in my house." "It's not the job that's fun or not fun, it's how you are engaging in it." "Are you just leaving to get away from these challenges? If so, stay a little longer." "People are so busy trying to find happiness, they miss out on what joy is really about from a biblical perspective." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network The Last Well Amazing Grace The Reflective Life by Ken Gire ToddPhillips.com The Gospel Above All by J.D. Greear Rainer on Leadership Podcast

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im are joined by Paul Tripp, author of Dangerous Calling and Parenting. During their conversation, they discuss maturing in leadership and the type of people to surround yourself with to be successful. BEST QUOTES “If you write every day, at the end of the month you have a lot of material at hand." "Weakness is not in the way of what God wants to do with me, but my delusions of strength are." "Spiritually healthy ministry that has longevity and produces good fruit is always the work of a community." "I want to surround myself with people who are just as committed to kingdom ministry as I am, but are smart in places where I'm not." "Character trumps gift." "I pray not because it's a personal religious habit, but because in those people's lives I am only ever a tool." "I want people in my life who will help me to see me." "How do I live out the commitment God has called me to with my family in this new stage my family is in?" "The number one platform for influence is relationship." "Where is the church going to get mature leaders if immature leaders run?" "Hardship in the hands of the Redeemer is the workroom of grace." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network 5LQ Episode 110: Paul Tripp 5LQ Episode 246: Paul Tripp Dangerous Calling by Paul Tripp Parenting by Paul Tripp Lost in the Middle by Paul Tripp Forever by Paul Tripp Parenting with Words of Grace by William Smith Not God Enough by J.D. Greear 7 Myths About Singleness by Sam Allberry Learning to Love the Psalms by Robert Godfrey The Story of Redemption Bible PrayerMate App Ministry Grid The One Thing Podcast

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im are joined by Russell Moore, president of the ERLC and author of The Storm-Tossed Family: How the Cross Reshapes the Home. During their conversation, they discuss how artificial intelligence will affect families and churches and difficulties faced in family relationships. BEST QUOTES “It's not that there's something wrong with you. You have to battle this together." "Every family relationship brings with it the possibility of heartbreak." "The church tends to think that the most important issues that it faces are whatever issues people are debating on Facebook right now." "There's going to be real questions about what does it mean to be human and what does it mean to count someone as human that will be facing us a lot more rapidly than we think now." "The technological ecosystem we are in right now tends to change us in ways we don't know about." "In the way we prepare kids for puberty, we need to be preparing people for mid-life crises." "Writing out prayers is really helpful because it gets at those sorts of laments and requests that are underneath the conscience surface." "The best thing you can possibly do is to ground him in the sphere of the home and baptize him in the sphere of the church and pronounce, simultaneously, him just and sinful." "The main thing I would tell my 20-year-old self is not to be captive to anxiety and worry." "People who feel themselves to constantly be under threat often become almost animalistic in the way that we respond." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network ERLC Onward by Russell Moore The Storm-Tossed Family by Russell Moore Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now by Jaron Lanier The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron Gospel Above All by J.D. Greear Rainer on Leadership Podcast

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins is joined by Megan Dredge, the global leadership coach for Propel Women. During their conversation, they discuss authenticity and the three words that define how her family operates. BEST QUOTES “As a leader, we've got to have the space where we can be authentic." "Goals can seem finite. Milestones are something you can work toward." "What is it that inspires you to be a better leader?' "I have an opportunity whether it's one lesson or one day to influence this life." "One of the greatest gifts you can give as a leader is the gift of your authenticity." "I am learning to continue to embrace all of the hats that I wear and all of the responsibilities that I have." "You can't separate who you are from how you lead, and nor should you." "We sit every morning and we have a coffee and we talk and connect." "We are trying to train our kids to look around and say, 'How can I serve the family right now?'" "Your leadership spans across contexts." "To be a leader is to be an infleuncer." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network Propel Women A21 Christine Caine Raise Your Kids, Not Your Voice Podcast by Sarah Chana Radcliffe @before5am on Instagram The One Thing by Gary Keller The Sleep Revolution by Arianna Huffington  

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im are joined by Chris Surratt and Brian Daniel, cohosts of the Group Answers Podcast. During their conversation, they discuss the current emphasis areas in their work and advice they would give themselves when they were younger. BEST QUOTES “Our emphasis is on innovation. When you are having success that's not the time when you sit back and say look at what we are doing. You always push forward." "Currency that you have in leadership has to be used." "The leadership in my life has really changed from more of a directive to an example and a relationship." "For me, it's been a unique season because I haven't been on a church staff for three years after being on a church staff for 24 years straight." "I threw so much into being a good leader at church that I wasn't always a good leader at home." "My oldest daughter and I would run together and I would use that time to talk about what I felt like God was revealing to me." "I want to be faithful to the morning routines of Bible study and prayer." "When they start thinking about what it means to be an adult, mom and dad should be the answer." "Love what you do, do it to the best that you can, and God will take care of the rest." "You can pick up something from everyone that is going to be beneficial." "Be a collector of experiences." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network Group Answers Podcast New Churches Podcast Growing Up by Robby Gallaty The Trellis and the Vine by Colin Marshall and Tony Payne The Conquering Tide by Ian W. Toll The Tech-Wise Family by Andy Crouch Jesus Among Secular Gods by Ravi Zacharias and Vince Vitale James by Matt Chandler Foundations - New Testament by Robby and Kandi Gallaty with Gus Hernandez and Tim Lafleur Something Needs to Change by David Platt

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im are joined by Thom Rainer and Jonathan Howe, cohosts of the Rainer on Leadership Podcast. During their conversation, they discuss church revitalization and succession plans. BEST QUOTES “They decided they were going to go into their community with the gospel, not just with a social ministry." "I'm a better churchman, husband, and father because of him." "We have a constant feedback loop. That feedback loop often leads me to what I am going to read next." "We have a better idea of what is going on in the local church as a result of that feedback loop." "I think we are 5 to 10 years away from a crisis of youth ministry." "We want to be able to have any church at any point be able to get some type of revitalization help and resource." "The idea is for those churches that have resources to come together in a collective spot to resource other churches. It becomes a network of churches helping churches." "The best rhythm I've got for learning in leadership is through the constant input of others through podcasts and audiobooks." "If you spend 30 minutes in one chapter of the New Testament you begin to see things you have not seen." "Now you've got these big churches that need leaders that are capable of leading big organizations." "Use the legacy of the church to help you shape the future of the church." "Think outside the box when you start looking for your next pastor." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network Rainer on Leadership Podcast Scrappy Church by Thom S. Rainer Temp by Louis Hyman Harvard Business Review Church Answers Revitalize Network The New Gold Standard by Joseph Michelli Uncommontary Podcast Rainer on Leadership #70: Pastoral Tenure & Expository Preaching with Alistair Begg EST.church Podcast Here and Now by Robby Gallaty Making Disciples Podcast  

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im are joined by Kandi Gallaty, author of Disciple Her and wife of pastor Robby Gallaty. During their conversation, they discuss being discipled, starting discipleship groups, and discipleship at home. BEST QUOTES “We are both very passionate about keeping people in the Word for themselves." "The beauty of discipleship is when your discipleship group functions as it should you learn from the men and women in the group." "In the society we live in, we spend more time reading other people's words than we do reading the Word of the Lord." "We are trying to model all those things we want to instill in our kids." "We capitalize on dinner time and bedtime by having conversations and looking for teachable moments." "If you lead yourself well, you will be able to lead others well." "Look around your small group setting and pray about who you can approach to disciple you." "Pray through a Bible reading plan of some sort and talk to that person about reading through that plan together." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network Disciple Her by Kandi Gallaty Foundations by Robby and Kandi Gallaty Replicate Ministries Growing Up by Robby Gallaty Firmly Planted by Robby Gallaty Biblical Femininity by Chrystie Cole

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im are joined by Kevin Queen, lead pastor of Cross Point Church in Nashville, Tenn. During their conversation, they discuss the importance of waiting on God through prayer and the process of transitioning to new roles when compelled by God. BEST QUOTES “I think I've been holding my breath for an entire year." "It's in the gut-wrenching waiting that God does a work in us to prepare us for the turn." "You'll be the same person ten years from now as you are today, except for the places you go, the people you meet, and the books that you read." "Prayer is the most powerful and effective force on the planet." "Just because you are the first one up the mountain doesn't mean you are the leader." "Slow down for the last one in the group and help them access, understand, and believe." "I wonder how many doors I pried open rather than waiting and praying them open." "Prayer is not the only thing we do, it is just the first thing we do." "Keep a journal of what God does. It will be your history with God, His faithfulness, that will bolster your faith in the lowest moments." "Don't worry about doing great things for God. Just do things and let God be the great one." "God won't promote you beyond your capacity." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network Cross Point Church 12Stone Church The Complete Works of E.M. Bounds on Prayer R.T. Kendall Making Disciples Podcast