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 Chandler Vannoy are joined by Doug Paul, author of Ready or Not. They discuss how what is happening today helps churches innovate and how it is a myth that we must be successful by the age of 30. BEST QUOTES "The big idea around the book is that innovation is a skill set you can learn.""On a spiritual level, pastors were seeing that there is a big difference between church being programs that we run versus church being a group of people that God has trusted us to lead.""I wanted to dig into the history and the stories of the people of God to write something that would be able to change both people's minds and hearts at the same time.""There is gold that COVID is giving us right now if we will do a little bit of extra work each week to think through, what have I learned this week from where we are that we can multiply into the future?""From 6:00-8:00 everyday is just with our family. There are no screens, we are just being together.""One of the common myths in our culture is that you need to have made your mark by the time you are 30.""What if the best ministry of your life happens when you are between the ages of 55 and 75 and everything that happens before 55 is just training?" RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network Lifeway.com/CoronaVirus Ready or Not by Doug Paul Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell The Innovator's Dilemma by Clayton Christensen Range by David Epstein The First 20 Hours by Josh Kaufman "The First 20 Hours - How to Learn Anything" Ted Talk by Josh Kaufman

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Chandler Vannoy are joined by Ron Edmondson, Intentional Interim Pastor at First Baptist Clarksville, former president of Leadership Network, and host of the Ron Edmondson Leadership Podcast. They discuss the following questions: * What is an intentional interim? * How have you navigated making changes during this season?* How do you help a church get a healthy church culture through the pastoral search process?* Steps for starting a search committee and picking the members?* Once a committee is formed, how do you lead a search committee?* How much should the previous pastor or an interim pastor help in the search process?* What are some practical steps to take once that potential candidate has been chosen?* For a pastor who is the potential candidate, what advice would you share?* What have been some challenges that you have had to navigate during this pastoral search process? BEST QUOTES "I'm here with an intentionality to help the church be ready for its next pastor.""I spent the first month or so creating my big bucket list. I am looking for the big items that need to be changed so the church can move forward in a healthy way in the years to come.""The church wants a pastor, especially a church that has been without a pastor for a couple of years, and they are often willing to change a little bit, more than they normally would, because of that.""Look for godly people who can remain unified throughout the process.""The previous pastor probably needs to be involved less, because churches typically go a different direction when they pick the next pastor.""Think on behalf of the potential candidate and their family. Treat them well.""Life's too short and the kingdom is too important to not vet it and make sure this is the right place for you.""Include the spouse and give them the freedom to ask their own questions.""It's kind of like speed dating because you go through all the motions and emotions with these candidates and then they decide not to come or you decide they aren't quite the right fit." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network Lifeway.com/CoronaVirus Ron Edmondson Leadership Podcast

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Chandler Vannoy are joined by Ben Trueblood, Director of Student Ministry at Lifeway, and Zac Workun, Student Ministry Specialist for Lifeway and cofounder of Youth Ministry Booster. They discuss the following questions: * What stories are you hearing about how student pastors are responding to this COVID situation and disruption?* What are the creative ways you are hearing for student ministries innovating around not being able to go to camp?* What are some things that student pastors with senior pastors knew, in general? What do they wish they knew in light of COVID?* How does a student pastor lead up effectively to a senior pastor?* What should the mentoring relationship look like between the senior pastor and the student pastor? BEST QUOTES "This is a really fascinating season to see student ministers in a season of forced innovation.""The barrier of trying to get Wednesday night ready kept them from being deeply relational as they hoped to be with parents, with students, with leaders.""It's provided an environment for leaders to be with a smaller group of students in order to get to know them more.""I wish my senior pastor knew how much I wanted him to be invested in my life personally.""Part of what I wish more senior pastors knew about their student pastor were more clearly defined expectations for success." "Are we having honest enough conversations about what we fear and what we are frustrated by or also what we are trying to work toward?""With grace, and it depends on the relationship, but to be able to help your pastor connect in a virtual environment is a way student pastors can lead up.""Student pastors are engaged with the most digital people on the planet.""In a season of unknown, the really courageous leadership posture is to say, 'I don't know.'""There's a lot of things that we can do as the missionary preparers for these young people to help them understand the ways in which they can impact culture and not just try to appropriate church into whatever platform they are on.""There is a lot that cannot happen inside of a staff meeting. There is a lot that can happen in the honest conversations between a pastor who has been in it for 30 years and a pastor who has been in it for 3 years or less." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network Ministry Grid Lifeway.com/CoronaVirus Youth Ministry Booster Within Reach: The Power of Small Changes in Keeping Students Connected by Ben Trueblood Student Ministry That Matters: 3 Elements of a Healthy Student Ministry by Ben Trueblood A Different College Experience: Following Christ in College by Ben Trueblood & Brian Mills

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Chandler Vannoy are joined by Adam Weber, founder and lead pastor of Embrace Church. They discuss the following questions: * What do your Sunday services look like in the midst of COVID?* What were ways you were reviewing what success was during an ambiguous time?* What are you doing in specific ministry areas?* What's the tension of deciding when to continue something and when to cut it?* What is an obstacle that turned out to be a blessing throughout this process?* How have you adapted existing staff and volunteer responsibilites to meet your current needs? BEST QUOTES "It's easy to forget about online services when you have a full room.""It's very different to review what is happening in the room than what is happening online.""One of the things I loved about COVID, we found things in our staff we never knew they had as far as giftings.""We pride ourselves on being a really simple church and it has gotten more complex because of this.""Online is critical, whether you like it or not.""We are trying to figure out what we are going to do really, really well.""If there is anything you have wanted to trim, COVID is a perfect opportunity to do just that.""Staff discouragement has been the biggest obstacle.""It has been powerful to share stories more than ever. We are really trying to put stories into video and share them as much as possible.""We've challenged people to go outside the church walls and be the hands and feet of Jesus and we will put $2,000 behind you.""It's amazing how good will opens up the doors to share about Jesus." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network Lifeway.com/CoronaVirus The Conversation with Adam Weber Podcast Talking With God by Adam Weber Love Has a Name by Adam Weber 5LQ Episode 176: Adam Weber

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Chandler Vannoy are joined by Josh Gagnon, founding and lead pastor of Next Level Church. They discuss the following questions: * What are the local government regulations your church is facing right now?* How have you handled different rules and regulations because you have sites in different geographical locations?* What does your Sunday service look like right now and how does it change week to week?* What does your preaching schedule look like?* What are you doing in specific ministry areas?* What are the biggest challenges you are facing right now? What are you doing to overcome those? BEST QUOTES "Usually I am working hard toward what's next, but now I have no idea how to plan for what's next because I have no idea what I am even going to be able to do.""God's given us influence and we don't want to give it back by being the rebel.""Just because we are a church of thousands doesn't mean we need to punish the location of three hundred and say you can't meet again until we can meet as thousands.""The goal right now isn't just new, the goal is effective.""One of the hardest things for us has been to wrap our minds around why we should do church in a way that we wouldn't even want to attend.""This is a step we have made to start meeting again, but not a step we've necessarily committed to." "If I am watching it at home, I feel like I need it to be shorter to keep my attention than if I was in the building.""Now, being a pastor on Monday comes with the emptiness at times of purpose.""I think this is a beautiful time for the church because the ground we are taking right now is not ground we have to give up when we move into the next season.""We have to figure out how to, number one, connect people and, number two, add value to their lives.""The need for Jesus did not decrease because COVID increased.""Clear communication in the face of uncertainty still brings resolve." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network Lifeway.com/CoronaVirus It's Not Over by Josh Gagnon Episode 413: Joshua Gagnon Nextlevel.church/kids

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Chandler Vannoy are joined by Josh Patterson, lead pastor of The Village Church. They discuss the following questions: * What current local regulations are in Dallas? What does your Sunday service look like right now and how does that change week to week?* What are you doing in different ministry areas?* What advice would you share to listeners on how to think strategically during this time?* What are the biggest challenges you are facing and what are you doing to overcome these challenges?* Where are you leading your team and their focus?* How have you adapted roles during this time? BEST QUOTES "Our question as it relates to meeting has not been politically motivated, but it has been pastorally motivated.""We are in a particular zone where the numbers are going in the wrong direction, and as a church of our size we didn't want to contribute in anyway to growing numbers.""This season is pressing us to find new forms of what it means to gather, and, candidly, those forms in many ways look like how the church has gathered since the beginning.""In a season where there is so much leader fatigue and energy being used to direct in new ways of ministry, just taking weekend services off the table for a season allows our energy to be directed toward getting other ministries up and off the ground.""How do we do this in a digital/virtual space that is meaningful and connective?""Our group ministry has been woven into the fabric of our culture for years, and that has helped keep things tight in a time when we are spread out.""COVID has allowed us to ask some questions that we didn't feel the same burden to answer before that we do now.""Leaders have to slow down and begin to do some of the difficult strategic work.""I don't want to brush over the need to lament the loss that is present in this context.""There is a work that is happening right now in me, in us as a staff, in us as a church, in us as a community, and if I simply find myself wishing for a bygone day or a future day, then I miss where the Lord is working and He is working right now in this day.""The gospel is moving forward, and I want to be a part of that." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network Lifeway.com/CoronaVirus Creature of the Word by Matt Chandler, Josh Patterson, and Eric Geiger

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Chandler Vannoy are joined by Jay Kranda, online campus pastor of Saddleback Church. They discuss the following questions: * What does your Sunday service currently look like? What are you planning on doing moving forward?* What does your online service look like?* When we return to in-person gatherings, how will you handle online services? What do you think the church will look like for the next few years? How will online church play into that?* How do you effectively disciple people online? What's the difference in doing it when they are geographically far and geographically near?* What are the goals and metrics churches should have to say this was an effective Sunday?* What are some vanity things people got hyped about the first three weeks and they weren't a reflection of reality?* What are some of the biggest challenges you are facing and how are you overcoming them? BEST QUOTES "We have gone all digital with our services. The only things that are happening in person are food bank type initiatives." "Our orthodoxy is great for preserving the faith, but also with technology you have to be more nimble." "To do this well you have to create native content for these platforms." "I'm excited for the church to embrace digital, but I am still fearful that the investment needs to happen to do things right." "Online has a huge on-ramp through streaming, online groups, online discipleship opportunities." "I do think that some of the most innovation is going to come out of people coming out of seminary that have giftings in teaching and realize that they can build an audience and then they can build a church." "Build your audience and then use that to figure out where you are going to plant your church or churches." "Don't get worried about how many people you can reach, think about who you should be reaching." "We still believe that we want people to be in physical community." "All of what we do online is moving watchers into community or online to offline." "There is always an underlying strategy where we are trying to move you to something longterm." "A lot of people underestimate the value of having a streaming experience on your website that is very clear. YouTube and Facebook are great, but they are a very distractive platform for long-term engagement." "How many people did not just view it, but watched it for at least ten minutes?" "Most churches really need to focus in on how to do digital right locally." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network Lifeway.com/CoronaVirus Church Online Platform

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Chandler Vannoy are joined by Philip Langford, president of IJM. They discuss how churches can work with IJM through Freedom Sunday and about leading through crisis. BEST QUOTES "We are all about protecting the poor from violence.""IJM is embarking on this 2030 vision where we actually picture getting to this place where a half billion of the world's poorest and most vulnerable to violence are actually safe and protected and able to grow up into the lives that God imagined for them.""We lead out of who we are on the inside.""A crisis of this scale always affects the poor most profoundly, so in a nutshell we are seeing violence and vulnerability increase everywhere we work around the world.""What has been really profound about these days is there is a way in which this pandemic has brought to light the more hidden pandemic of violence that affects the poor every day.""Necessity is the mother of invention and we are actually seeing amazing innovations, particularly the use of technology to speed up prosecutions of traffickers.""We've been able to lead many of our government and other partners to begin to take on some of these more virtual means that are actually making things more efficient.""Our mission with Jesus is fundamentally the same, and this is not the time to hunker down, but actually to move out in generosity.""You are the beloved son of the Most High, the heir of the King, and he loves you and what you are trying to do and let that be the source of strength and courage for you.""Recognize the voice of shame which I think is the enemy's favorite tool.""Longing and desire, uniquely given by God, is that engine for vision, creativity, curiosity, and imagination, that is so critical to actually walking with Jesus and the things He is trying to fix." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network Lifeway.com/CoronaVirus IJM Just Courage by Gary Haugen

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Chandler Vannoy are joined by Eric Geiger, senior pastor of Mariners Church. They discuss the following questions: * What are the current government restrictions in your location?* How have you led through this time to bring clarity to your culture? And clarity to why you are doing what you are doing?* What does your Sunday service currently look like? What are you planning on doing moving forward?* What are you doing in each specific ministry?* How are you moving people from online into a deeper relationship both with the church and with the Lord?* What are the biggest challenges you are facing and how are you overcoming those?* How have you adapted existing staff and volunteer responsibilities to meet your current needs? If new roles have emerged, what are those roles and responsibilities? BEST QUOTES "Just like an offensive coordinator, we would call plays based on what we saw in our culture.""In June, we called play two, which is Mariners hosted at home and we started giving resources for people who wanted to invite neighbors and friends who wanted to watch the service together.""When we go to a new play, we are going to keep the previous one running.""Whatever level of comfort you have this is how we are going to serve you during the pandemic. You go where you feel the most comfortable.""We are using our campus mainly outside other than a few staff that are in the office.""We are starting to build more outside thinking for the physical version of these current digital programs.""In the summer we experimented with an online theology class. We had about a thousand people sign up to study systematic theology for eight weeks.""This fall we are going to do three more different types of theological classes that we may not have been doing if it wasn't a pandemic.""We are trying to use this time to deepen our people, not just put our services online.""All kinds of destructive behaviors that are implications of isolation, those are rising too.""There are smart people all up and down the spectrum of should we meet or not meet. That means that the ministry leader is just going to be disappointing people at all times.""The number of people who serve weekly in outreach right now is essentially the same number of people that would serve during a big campaign." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network Lifeway.com/CoronaVirus Identity by Eric Geiger Designed to Lead by Eric Geiger and Kevin Peck Simple Church by Thom S. Rainer and Eric Geiger

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Chandler Vannoy are joined by Dave Ferguson, author of Exponential, Hero Maker, and Finding Your Way Back to God. They discuss the following questions: * What are the current government restrictions in your location?* What does your Sunday service currently look like?* What are you doing in each specific ministry?* What are the biggest challenges you are facing and how are you overcoming those?* How have you adapted existing staff and volunteer responsibilities to meet your current needs? If new roles have emerged, what are those roles and responsibilties? BEST QUOTES "From every measure that we have our engagement is significantly up." "While on one hand I want us to get back together in face-to-face worship, I think there are some things we are learning and it is a season ripe for innovation and I don't want to let that opportunity slip by either.""If we can continue to make sure that people are in relationships and they are taking care of each other and God is showing up, that is the most important gathering in the life of the church.""We have a much smaller group of people who are focused on creating our online worship experience, and a whole bunch of people focused on group life." "We re-organized the whole staff. We told everyone you don't have a job description anymore, you have a mission.""One of the biggest challenges we are facing is keeping an eye on our finances during this time.""We are coming in at 87% of our budget, which is not great, but our costs are coming in at around 80% of our budget.""Before reproducing can happen, there has to be intimacy." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network Lifeway.com/CoronaVirus Exponential by Dave Ferguson & Jon Ferguson Hero Maker by Dave Ferguson and Warren Bird Finding Your Way Back to God by Dave Ferguson & Jon Ferguson New Thing Exponential

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Chandler Vannoy are joined by Jamie Ivey, podcaster and author of You Be You. They discuss learning from sources outside of your normal circle and working with contractors as opposed to full-time staff and bringing them into your business culture. BEST QUOTES "I'm learning from someone who is ahead of me in ministry, and I am learning from people online that are teaching me and opening up my mind to things I never thought about much because it didn't affect my life much.""As leaders, when we expand out to learn about things, I think it makes us better leaders, better listeners, and better understanders in everything we are doing as well.""How do we grow and how do we become more efficient in what we are doing?""How do we, as much as we possibly can, bring them into our team culture?""When you feel like you are connected to something, you want to do your best.""Whatever you can do, do it with excellence.""When I get to the end of my life, I might look back and say that parenting was one of the greatest gifts that God allowed me to be a part of, but also one of the hardest gifts that He allowed me to be a part of.""Look for jobs, even when you are 16, that you would feel joy and be passionate about.""Think about every single job as a unique opportunity to do something that you love.""In this day and age, nothing is a secret.""Every single thing that you put online is a reflection of your character, and it will never go away." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network Lifeway.com/CoronaVirus 5LQ Episode 229: Jamie Ivey You Be You by Jamie Ivey The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey Podcast Be The Bridge Women of Welcome Born Again This Way by Rachel Gilson Gay Girl, Good God by Jackie Perry Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man The Happy Hour #300: The Ivey Kids Text FRIEND to 33-777

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Chandler Vannoy are joined by Jared C. Wilson, editor of For The Church, professor, and author. They discuss gospel centrality and how reading can benefit preaching. BEST QUOTES "The aim of the church doesn't change, but what has changed is our means of connection.""Conversions, baptism, and discipleship - people growing in Christ - those are harder things to count.""I would encourage pastors not to rethink the aim of your church, but to see all of the things you are doing not as a replacement for the mission but as the new way of getting at the same old aim.""If you want to steward your seminary education for the kind of depth that will actually serve you as a pastor, you need to be somehow applying your studies to your affections for Christ.""Seminary is not designed that you can take a break from being part of the body of Christ.""Reading things outside of your normal best practices stretches different muscles and expands my sense of imagination which has translatable benefits for preaching.""The Lord was closing doors because I should not have been responsible for people's spiritual growth and at the time I did not understand that.""I sometimes think of the last ten years of ministry as being the repentance tour for the first fifteen years of ministry.""Your identity, your estimation of yourself, your summation of your ministry, cannot be based in your productivity or the outcome or in what people think about you." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network Lifeway.com/CoronaVirus For The Church Explicit Gospel by Matt Chandler and Jared C. Wilson The Gospel According to Satan by Jared C. Wilson The Gospel Driven Church by Jared C. Wilson Tailored Coach 5LQ Episode 438: Emotionally Healthy Pastor with Pete Scazzero and Ben Mandrell The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky The Brother Karamazov by Fyodor Dotoyevsky

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Ben Mandrell is joined by Pete Scazzero, author of The Emotionally Healthy Leader. They discuss how pastors can focus on their spiritual and emotional health. BEST QUOTES "The pandemic has put a pressure on both leaders and churches that is probably unprecedented in our lifetime.""We are not God, so when we try to be God and give more than we are, we violate our God-giving humanity.""So often we aren't even aware we are angry, but our body feels it.""To pastor and lead a church in the name of Jesus is no small task.""When you are attached and filled with things that you cling to, that means that there is not an empty space for Jesus to fill.""God has just upended American Christianity in particular.""Success is doing the will of God and becoming the person God has called you to be.""I am convinced that this pandemic is a gift to the church in retooling for the sake of the glory of Jesus and the mission of Jesus going forward.""We want to get to a place where we are living in loving union with Jesus at such a depth that we are free people.""Our first ambition has got to be a desire for God and His will.""If you can't lead yourself, which is not easy to do, right now, you are not going to be able to lead other people." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network Lifeway.com/CoronaVirus The Emotionally Healthy Leader by Pete Scazzero Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Pete Scazzero EmotionallyHealthy.org

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Chandler Vannoy are joined by Bob Russell, former pastor of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville. They discuss mentoring preachers and handling challenging situations in the church. BEST QUOTES "Ministry is a wonderful calling, but it is a tough occupation.""We can't just pour out of the Holy Spirit without being filled of the Holy Spirit.""Preachers need times when they are off by themselves and aren't ministering to anybody and they are being replenished.""God's call on my life right now is to be an encouragement to preachers.""It's a time to remember God does not evaluate our effectiveness by number. He is going to evaluate our effectiveness by our faithfulness.""I wouldn't be surprised if the average church, when we reassemble, loses up to a third of its church members.""You can go through a lot when you have unity at the core. It's when you have disunity at the core that you are in trouble.""I think most of our preaching should be expositional preaching and every issue that comes up in the culture is going to bubble up in that teaching.""If God wants to promote me, He will come and promote me, I don't have to go looking for it.""If you can take the Bible and teach it in such a way that people understand it, and apply it to their personal lives, and then add some stories that will make it come alive you will be amazed." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network Lifeway.com/CoronaVirus Leadership Pipeline Transition Plan by Bob Russell After 50 Years of Ministry by Bob Russell Bob Russell "A Time of Refreshing" Retreats Bob Russell Blog 24/6 by Matthew Sleeth Blessed Earth

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Chandler Vannoy are joined by Dan Darling, VP of communications at the ERLC, host of The Way Home Podcast, and editor of The Church and The Racial Divide study. They discuss how having a routine sets up your day and how your work life changes with seasons. BEST QUOTES "When you are a leader, being attentive to the needs of the people that work for you is important.""Most people don't want to be leaders, they want to be led.""Personal insecurity is a real driver of bad leadership.""If I go a few days without doing any creative work I feel empty.""I have learned the value of routines and regimen.""People in my church who are a few miles ahead in parenting have been the most helpful.""Trust the Lord. God directs your steps. Take opportunities that are presented to you.""Be willing to work hard in your profession in obscurity for a while.""If you have multiple things you enjoy doing, you will have seasons in your life where that is how you make money. You will have other seasons where that is your side hustle.""When opportunity presents itself, don't overanalyze it." "Sometimes you have to do work that you hate in order to figure out what you love." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network Lifeway.com/CoronaVirus The Church and The Racial Divide Ethics & Religious Liberties Commission (ERLC) Franklin D. Roosevelt: A Political Life by Robert Dallek The Second Mountain by David Brooks Seculosity by Dave Zahl How to Think by Alan Jacobs The Care of Souls by Harold Senkbeil All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr