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 again by Will Heath, a Lead Navigator for Auxano who specializes in leadership transition. During their conversation, they discuss pastoral succession and answer the following questions. * Can you share a story of pastoral succession? * What can a church do to maintain continuity in a season of pastoral succession? * How can a leader navigate the transition well? * What key areas would you coach a leader to considering when developing a transition plan? * What are the biggest reasons churches struggle with pastoral transition? BEST QUOTES “A pastoral succession isn’t necessarily a one to one replacement.” “It is very common for the identity of a church to mirror the personality and passion of it’s key leader. So take away that leader, that church will struggle with it’s identity.” “When churches lack direction, they increase the likelihood that they are going to hire an incredible pastor for somebody else’s church.” “Many young pastors try to compensate their inexperience by trying to do too much, too quickly.” “Influence follows relational connection.” “A leader must always be clear about what they are transitioning to.” “Ministry doesn’t stop for a pastor just because they aren’t the lead pastor.” “Succession planning isn’t the last great thing a leader does. It is actually the gateway to a leader’s greatest season of influence.” “As leaders, we have a hard time visualizing our own transition.” RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Free Preview: Succession Planning Video Library Auxano Pipeline

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins is joined by Chandler Vannoy, the Brand Manager for Lifeway Leadership and Chris Martin, the co-creator of Lifeway Social. During their conversation, they discuss how to handle social media and answer the following questions. * Should you do social? * What are the best tools for social media? * What are the best platforms and best uses of each? * What are the do’s and don’ts of social media? * What do you do with trolls? BEST QUOTES “You must raise the cross in the crossroads of the world, and today, that world is found online.” “If God has given you gifts that translate to the digital space, why would you not use those gifts to serve people?” “The darker social media gets the more impetus for the church to be there.” “We are called to meet people where they are, and they are on their phone.” “The question of should you do social is yes. You can’t afford not to do social.” “Facebook is the internet now.” “97% of high school seniors use social media on a daily basis.” “The best social media platform varies depending upon your who your audience is and who you are trying to reach.” “Pick two social media platforms and focus on those two only.” “See social media as a dialogue, not a monologue.” “Don’t try to do too much on too many platforms.” “The best content to share are the stories of life change in your church.” “As much time and effort you put into social is the reward you are going to get back from it.” “Seek to be helpful and provide value.” RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Social Trending Up iGen by Jean M. Twenge Nielson Buffer Hootsuite Tweetdeck E-Clincher Sprout Social Favstar Over Canva Pocket

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Eric Geiger are joined by Brad Lomenick. The three discuss a highly debated question: is talent overrated? During their discussion, they answer the following questions. * Is talent overrated? * Should you hire talent, tenacity, or teachability? * What are some ways we often see talent wasted? * How do you teach tenacity? * What are the practical ways to stretch someone’s talent? BEST QUOTES “Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.” “I’ll take a talented team, but that isn’t going to get me to the championship.” “Don’t praise your kids for being smart. Praise them for working hard.” “We need to view talent as something you have, not as something you are. You are more than what you are good at.” “I would rank tenacity #1, teachability #2, and talent #3.” “Your strengths in one area of competency will take you farther than some of your weaknesses can sustain you.” “If you only hire talent, that is a leadership placement mentality instead of as leadership development mentality.” “If you look at the most talented people around you, and you have bought them rather than built them, you are practicing leadership placement.” “Lack of character can make talent irrelevant.” “When your competency is out distancing your character, you are soon to be in trouble.” “I don’t need talent in order to be tenacious.” “You are who you run with.” “The best way to teach tenacity is to model it.” “When you have empathy for the person leading you, you become a better leader.” RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Talent is Never Enough by John Maxwell Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin Peak by Anders Ericsson Grit by Angela Duckworth Mindset by Carol S. Dweck Designed to Lead by Eric Geiger and Kevin Peck Hungry, Humble, Hustle by Brad Lomenick

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Eric Geiger are joined by Christine Caine, the founder of the A21 campaign and Propel Women as well as an internationally know speaker and author. During their conversation, they discuss pouring into the younger generation, focusing less on social media, and not being offended as a leader. QUOTES “It is so easy to put the project way ahead of the people in the process of leadership.” “Every person needs someone who will look at you, love you, and tell it to you as it is.” “As you move up the leadership ladder, you can become more and more isolated.” “Leaders can become so removed from reality that nobody can speak into your life which is the most dangerous place to be.” “In our own leadership journey, we’ve got to remember the goal is to be conformed and transformed into the image of Jesus.” “It is one thing to download leadership information. It is another thing to then create a leadership pipeline.” “The youth ministry in our church is the leadership factory of our church.” “Our primary role, no matter where God has placed us, is to lead people to Jesus, so therefore, you’ve got to become a good leader.” “We have got to leave a legacy for the next generation which means we must create pipelines to raise up and release young people to their God given potential.” “You must encounter the presence of God to be propelled into the purpose of God.” “We have got a generation that is obsessed with the works without knowing the God.” “Offense will take you out quicker than immorality ever will.” “What is in you will come out of you as a leader. Leadership is caught not taught, so make sure what others are catching is not toxic.” RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Unashamed by Christine Caine Propel Women A21

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins, Eric Geiger, and Daniel Im run through a series of quick-hitter questions about leadership lessons and resources. * What is one thing you’ve read recently? * What is one thing you’ve listened to recently? * What is one tool or resource you’ve started using recently? * Who is one person who has influenced you recently? * What is one lesson you have learned recently? QUOTES “There are introverted people who are great with people, and extroverted people are horrible with people.” “Tradition is basically deep seated values.” “Most movements start with hard work before any fruit is ever seen.” “We have flipped the classroom in our life group recently.” “I need to keep my phone to the side when I’m at home and focus on my family.” “You’ve got to have strategy, you’ve got to have a plan, and you’ve got to have support for everything that you do.” RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Legacy of Faith Library Humility by Andrew Murray The Opposable Mind by Roger Martin The Mythical Leader by Ron Edmondson No Silver Bullets by Daniel Im 14 Gospel Principles that Can Radically Change Your Family by Paul Tripp Be Our Guest by Theodore Kinni\ Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss How I Built This podcast SmallGroup.com Wrike E-Clencher

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im are joined by Ben Stuart, who is in the process of planting Passion City Church in Washington, D.C. and also the author of the new book Single, Dating, Engaged, Married. During their conversation, they discuss slowing down in leadership, trusting God to show up in the unknown, and being flexible as a leader. QUOTES “We are only as sick as our secrets and addiction thrives in that darkness.” “I don’t want to be panicking all the way until God shows up. I want to live in faith in the unknown.” “Leadership is both an art and a science. Some things are caught more than taught.” “The person who survives is the person who can most quickly adapt to the new reality.” “Flexibility is the best ability.” “We need to be focused on a direction, not a destination.” “Reflection leads to insight and innovation.” RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Single, Dating, Engaged, Married by Ben Stuart Pipeline Conference

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins, Eric Geiger, Barnabas Piper, and Daniel Im celebrate the 200th episode. During their conversation, they take a look back some of their most memorable interviews, favorite quotes, and things they have learned. * What happened to Barnabas? * What’s your favorite answer from any guest? * What is one thing you have learned from a guest and applied to your leadership? * What has been your favorite topic discussed on the podcast? * If you could change one thing about the podcast, what would it be?

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im are joined by Léonce Crump, an author, international speaker, and the founder and lead pastor of Renovation Church in Atlanta. Crump will also be speaking at the Pipeline conference this October 11-13 in Nashville, TN. During their conversation, they discuss leadership development in a church plant, the need for self awareness as a leader, and areas of leadership church planters often overlook. BEST QUOTES “Even established churches have a lack of a structured leadership development pipeline.” “Even though leadership development has components of discipleship, they are not the same thing.” “For us, leadership is vision plus faith plus execution.” “You’re not a leader if no one is following you; you are just taking a walk.” “One of the ways we slow down leadership development is we want people to be able to do what we do at the level the we do it right out of the gate before they are ready.” “Savvy people will always outweigh savvy policies.” “Success is becoming who God has created you to be and multiplying yourself there.” “There are far too many people who are planting churches who should not be planting churches.” “Everybody wants to be finished product, but nobody wants to go through the fire.” “Giving someone a job and giving someone authority are two very different things.” “The first quality of a leader is being self aware. If you are not self aware, you are not a leader.” “The church should be producing better leaders than anyone else on the planet.” RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Pipeline Conference  Pipeline: Succession at Every Level by Todd Adkins

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im are joined by Clay Scroggins, the lead pastor of North Point Community Church and author of the new book How to Lead When You're Not in Charge. During their conversation, they discuss how to lead when you lack authority, the necessity of feedback, and self leadership. BEST QUOTES “People don’t just need you to hear them. They need to feel heard.” “In life, we don’t make changes, unless we are faced with the reality of where we actually are.” “So much of self leadership is being brutally honest with where you are right now.” “Feedback can often feel like rejection.” “If you want to grow, you have to grow through the intersection of acceptance and rejection.” “If you want to get it done, get it done before lunch. If you have to get it done, get it done before breakfast.” “Probably the greatest thief of our thought life is our phone.” “There is a constant low hum of guilt that Christian fathers feel that we are doing enough to lead our families well.” “The goal of parenting is not successful kids.” “Humility and confidence are the most potent mix.” RECOMMENDED RESOURCES How to Lead When You're Not in Charge by Clay Scroggins The First 90 Days by Michael D. Watkins Thanks for the Feedback by Douglas Stone  

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im discuss Daniel’s new book No Silver Bullets: Five Small Shifts that Will Transform Your Ministry. During their conversation, they answer the following questions. * What does it mean to shift from destination to direction in discipleship? * How do you move from output goals to input goals? * What does it look like to move from a sage to a guide? * How do you move from form to function? * How do you move from maturity to mission? BEST QUOTES “We lead the way we have been led unless we consciously do otherwise.” “Just because you set up output goals that doesn’t actually mean you are going to get there.” “The more an individual confesses their sins, the more likely they are to share their faith.” “There is a different between faithfulness and fruitfulness. We can plant and we can water, but we can’t cause ourselves to grow.” “Everything that you do as a church really fits into your leadership pipeline or your discipleship pathway.” “It’s all about moving from the sage on the stage to the guide on the side.” “We are all supposed to mature and multiply wherever we are.” RECOMMENDED RESOURCES No Silver Bullets by Daniel Im Audits from No Silver Bullets  NewChurches.com 4 Disciplines of Execution by Chris McChesney Transformational Discipleship Assessment  Flipping the Classroom by Daniel Im Designed to Lead by Eric Geiger and Kevin Peck MinistryGrid.com/comingsoon

This week we are going back to the foundation of everything we do at Lifeway Leadership, and that is Leadership Pipeline, a concept and framework for churches to develop leaders at every level of ministry. Over the course of the week, we will be re-releasing a podcast each day from our previously recorded Pipeline Week. You can also go and download the free e-booklet called Developing Your Leadership Pipeline which can be downloaded here (https://www.leadership.lifeway.com/free-e-booklet). In this episode Todd Adkins, Eric Geiger, and Barnabas Piper introduce and explain the systems of a leadership pipeline and ask the following questions. * What is the content in a Leadership Pipeline? * Why is it so important? * Where should organizations start when auditing their training content? * Can content really be aligned across complex organizations? * What is competency based learning? * What are practical ways to begin developing content? What are the options for different areas of the church? BEST QUOTES “Every organization needs a pipeline. Every person needs a pathway.” “Without content I don’t have a mechanism to train.” “Training content must contain knowledge, experience, and coaching.” “Training in many organizations is a cruise to nowhere.” “Everyone has content. Which content have you chosen and what are you doing with it?” “Competency is having a displayed proficiency in something.” “How do we move from a transfer of information to transformation?” “When training consider competencies and context.” RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Pipeline Conference 2017 Developing Your Leadership Pipeline by Todd Adkins

This week we are going back to the foundation of everything we do at Lifeway Leadership, and that is Leadership Pipeline, a concept and framework for churches to develop leaders at every level of ministry. Over the course of the week, we will be re-releasing a podcast each day from our previously recorded Pipeline Week. You can also go and download the free e-booklet called Developing Your Leadership Pipeline which can be downloaded here (https://www.leadership.lifeway.com/free-e-booklet). In this episode Todd Adkins, Eric Geiger, and Barnabas Piper introduce and explain the systems of a leadership pipeline and ask the following questions. * Who are the people in a Leadership Pipeline? * Why are they so important? * Where should organizations start when auditing their bench strength? * How do you transition from having warm bodies to weekly volunteers in each ministry? * How do you create a culture that engages and develops strong volunteers and leaders? BEST QUOTES “Who are the people in a leadership pipeline? Everyone in your church.” “We’re responsible not just to attract people to a worship gathering but to train and deploy them.” “By the simple act of volunteering and serving in the church people are leading.” “I have not been in very many churches that treat every person as if they are equally important.” “When we’re developing people in the church we’re developing them for more than just the church.” “70% of leadership is transferable from one position to another.” “Developing leaders in a pipeline is developing them for all arenas of life.” “Regularly survey your people.” “One of the best ways to audit your people is simple succession people.” “Don’t think that your recruiting volunteers. Think that you’re recruiting leaders.” “The reason churches have leadership deficiencies today is that they never built a leadership development culture before.” “The healthier the church the more serving outside your gift area won’t be so cumbersome.” RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Pipeline Conference 2017 Developing Your Leadership Pipeline by Todd Adkins

This week we are going back to the foundation of everything we do at Lifeway Leadership, and that is Leadership Pipeline, a concept and framework for churches to develop leaders at every level of ministry. Over the course of the week, we will be re-releasing a podcast each day from our previously recorded Pipeline Week. You can also go and download the free e-booklet called Developing Your Leadership Pipeline which can be downloaded here (https://www.leadership.lifeway.com/free-e-booklet). In this episode Todd Adkins, Eric Geiger, and Barnabas Piper introduce and explain the systems of a leadership pipeline and ask the following questions. * What are the structures in a Leadership Pipeline? * Why are they so important? * Where should organizations start when deciding on their structure? * How do you align structure in a complex organization? * When and How do you restructure an organization? BEST QUOTES “Structures are the kinds of things that don’t get anybody excited, but if you don’t have them everything falls apart.” “The four levels are volunteer, team leader, ministry director, and senior leader.” “The progression is lead yourself, lead others, lead leaders, lead a ministry, lead the church.” “The beautiful thing about a pipeline is that it’s simple to say ‘this is how development happens around here.”’ “We’re called not just to be disciples, but to make disciples. Systems and structures are how we can do that.” “Structures provide guard rails.” “Structures help embed culture.” “If you don’t have a structure it’s a choose-your-own-adventure in training.” “You know you have a good pipeline when a vacancy comes up and you think about people who are already serving.” “A big part of pipeline is leading people in advance for those new roles.” “This is simply creating a system so that the organic, Spirit-led, Bible-driven kinds of things can happen in a healthy way.” “When you think about ‘organic’ remember that nature is full of systems.” “Identify the layers of leadership you already have.” “What competencies should be in each layer?” “If you want to keep up with leadership development you need to get ahead of it.” “Leadership development and leadership placement are two very different things.” RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Pipeline Conference 2017 Developing Your Leadership Pipeline by Todd Adkins

This week we are going back to the foundation of everything we do at LifeWay Leadership, and that is Leadership Pipeline, a concept and framework for churches to develop leaders at every level of ministry. Over the course of the week, we will be re-releasing a podcast each day from our previously recorded Pipeline Week. You can also go and download the free e-booklet called Developing Your Leadership Pipeline which can be downloaded here (https://www.leadership.lifeway.com/free-e-booklet). In this episode Todd Adkins, Eric Geiger, and Barnabas Piper introduce and explain the systems of a leadership pipeline and ask the following questions. * What are the systems in a Leadership Pipeline? * Why are they so important? * Where should organizations start when auditing their systems? * How do you align systems in a complex organization? * How do you change systems and processes that are deeply embedded in the organizational culture? BEST QUOTES “Systems help create culture.” “The work develops you, the ministry develops you.” “The system is the how – how we ensure that people receive knowledge, experience, and coaching.” “When you have a million pieces it’s very easy for them to get out of whack.” “A system helps scale.” “Often times when people say they have an organic approach it means they have no approach.” “You can build the relational elements into a system.” “Systems put people in a position for relationships.” “It’s hard to do anything excellently without a system.” “There are a lot of churches that just do cattle calls for volunteers.” “Do we have clarity and simplicity on what we say is most important?” “Pilot new things with the highly competent and energetic people.” “People who are tied to old systems are not people to pilot new systems with.” “Tell stories and celebrate things you want embedded in the culture.” RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Pipeline Conference 2017 Developing Your Leadership Pipeline by Todd Adkins

This week we are going back to the foundation of everything we do at LifeWay Leadership, and that is Leadership Pipeline, a concept and framework for churches to develop leaders at every level of ministry. Over the course of the week, we will be re-releasing a podcast each day from our previously recorded Pipeline Week. You can also go and download the free e-booklet called Developing Your Leadership Pipeline which can be downloaded here (https://www.leadership.lifeway.com/free-e-booklet). In this episode Todd Adkins, Eric Geiger, and Barnabas Piper introduce the basics and foundations of pipeline and ask the following questions. * What is a Leadership Pipeline? * Why are they so important? * What are some good examples that you’ve seen of effective leadership pipelines? * Why don’t more churches and organizations have leadership pipelines? * Where should organizations start when creating a pipeline? BEST QUOTES “It’s important to go back to the original leadership sources.” “It’s complex, but not complicated.” “It’s complex because we’re dealing with people.” “If you don’t have it mapped out you don’t develop leaders at all.” “A leadership pipeline is a simple tool that shows an organization develops its own leaders.” “A change in role requires some new competencies.” “Very few people have the discipline to live in this.” “Sometimes a blank sheet of paper is debilitating.” “The role of a pastor is to equip. You have one job – to equip the people for the work of the ministry.” “Healthier organizations are those that are equipping people to advance.” “It’s important to have a map for people, not just a menu.” “Not everyone is expected to advance to the end of a leadership pipeline.” “Without a pipeline you’re going to have a hard time scaling leadership and maintaining your culture.” “You can build leaders or you can buy them.” “What are the layers of leadership you have and what are the competencies necessary for each level?” “You organization is only as strong as its people.” “It’s hard for church leaders to start a pipeline because Sunday is always coming.” RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Pipeline Conference 2017 Developing Your Leadership Pipeline by Todd Adkins