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 Barnabas Piper talk with William Vanderbloemen, the founder and CEO of The Vanderbloemen Search Group, an agency that helps churches and Christian organizations with their staffing needs as well as consulting. They work with may of most influential churches and Christian organizations in the country (including LifeWay).William is a former pastor and cares deeply about the local church and is the co-author of Next: Pastoral Succession that Works with Warren Bird.

BEST QUOTES

“For churches and pastors it’s not the typical employer/employee relationship. It’s much more like a family.”

“Every pastor is an interim pastor.”

“One of three things will happen at the end of your ministry; You’ll run your church into the ground and it’ll close, you’ll be the pastor when Jesus returns, or someone is going to come after you.”

“Millennials are the largest segment of the U.S. work force and no one has any idea what to do with them.”

“Every day of my life I get less flexible. It’s true of everybody.”

“Every day your organization is alive it’s going to calcify unless you do something about it.”

“The main point of emphasis for our leadership team in building a system that will last is culture.”

“If you don’t match our culture no one is going to be happy.”

“Culture is a buzzword, but it’s a buzzword for a reason.”

“My annual review is one question: ‘Did you make yourself less essential to the growth and running of the firm?’”

“I work on broken things and new things.”

“What’s the next lid and how do we remove it before we hit it?”

“I don’t ever use a personality test to say yes or no to hire, but as a communication tool.”

“Parenting is a daily exercise in the art of learning to let go.”

“The tragedy of life is that we age too quickly and get wise too slowly.”

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

The Vanderbloemen Search Group

Vanderbloemen Leadership Podcast

Next: Pastoral Succession that Works by William Vanderbloemen & Warren Bird

The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast Todd Adkins and Barnabas Piper talk with William Vanderbloemen, the founder and CEO of The Vanderbloemen Search Group, an agency that helps churches and Christian organizations with their staffing needs as well as consulting. They work with may of most influential churches and Christian organizations in the country (including LifeWay).William is a former pastor and cares deeply about the local church and is the co-author of Next: Pastoral Succession that Works with Warren Bird.

BEST QUOTES

“For churches and pastors it’s not the typical employer/employee relationship. It’s much more like a family.”

“Every pastor is an interim pastor.”

“One of three things will happen at the end of your ministry; You’ll run your church into the ground and it’ll close, you’ll be the pastor when Jesus returns, or someone is going to come after you.”

“Millennials are the largest segment of the U.S. work force and no one has any idea what to do with them.”

“Every day of my life I get less flexible. It’s true of everybody.”

“Every day your organization is alive it’s going to calcify unless you do something about it.”

“The main point of emphasis for our leadership team in building a system that will last is culture.”

“If you don’t match our culture no one is going to be happy.”

“Culture is a buzzword, but it’s a buzzword for a reason.”

“My annual review is one question: ‘Did you make yourself less essential to the growth and running of the firm?’”

“I work on broken things and new things.”

“What’s the next lid and how do we remove it before we hit it?”

“I don’t ever use a personality test to say yes or no to hire, but as a communication tool.”

“Parenting is a daily exercise in the art of learning to let go.”

“The tragedy of life is that we age too quickly and get wise too slowly.”

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

The Vanderbloemen Search Group

Vanderbloemen Leadership Podcast

Next: Pastoral Succession that Works by William Vanderbloemen & Warren Bird

The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

Burnout is something most leaders are familiar with as a concept, and probably in reality, but they likely haven’t thought through it very deeply. Where does it come from? What causes it? Am I experiencing it right now? How can I avoid it? All these are questions leaders should be asking because burnout will kill their effectiveness. Often leaders overlook burnout because it seems like a necessary bi-product of how much responsibility they carry. In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast I sit down with Todd Adkins and Eric Geiger to talk through this. We ask the following questions.

* How prevalent is burnout among leaders?

* Is it more prevalent in church leadership than in other organizations? Why or why not?

* What are some signs of burnout?

* What are practical things leaders can do to avoid burnout?

* What are ways organizations can create a culture that prevents burnout?

BEST QUOTES

“Most leaders have gone through a season of feeling burned out. They have pushed too hard for too long.”

“Getting to burnout is not good leadership; it’s actually poor self-leadership.”

“Burnout usually is a slow burn; it’s not a big explosion.”

“Burnout is the compound effect of neglecting your soul, neglecting your body, neglecting your health over a period of time.”

“Anything that’s not of faith is sin.”

“When you understand the weight of what it is to be a pastor, to be a church leader, the burden is just enormous.”

“The clock can never really shut off for a church leader.”

“A driven church leader can deceive himself that his ambition is all holy.”

“When your job is ministry and your life is ministry it never stops and it never turns off.”

“All work is spiritual when offered as an offering to the Lord.”

“I don’t understand people who are living for the weekend.”

“Listen to your body. There are physical signs of burnout.”

“If whatever time you rest is leaving you less and less rested you are quickly approaching burnout.”

“Schedule margin and stick to it.”

“Invite some people into your life who are going to speak truth into your life.”

“Learn the rhythms of your work.”

“Leaders need to take care of themselves physically.”

“Metabolism, I miss you.”

“Making time to read makes you feel less busy.”

“If your church doesn’t give your pastor a sabbatical you need to repent.”

“Nobody should feel guilty for putting in a vacation request or going on vacation.”

“Laziness is idolatry and so is workaholism.”

“Nobody gets fired for developing a bunch of rock stars around them.”

RECOMMENDED RESOURECES

Why Churches Should Give Pastors Sabbaticals

8 Ways to Help Your Pastor Have a Good Vacation

7 Ways to Prevent Pastor Burnout

Burnout is something most leaders are familiar with as a concept, and probably in reality, but they likely haven’t thought through it very deeply. Where does it come from? What causes it? Am I experiencing it right now? How can I avoid it? All these are questions leaders should be asking because burnout will kill their effectiveness. Often leaders overlook burnout because it seems like a necessary bi-product of how much responsibility they carry. In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast I sit down with Todd Adkins and Eric Geiger to talk through this. We ask the following questions.

* How prevalent is burnout among leaders?

* Is it more prevalent in church leadership than in other organizations? Why or why not?

* What are some signs of burnout?

* What are practical things leaders can do to avoid burnout?

* What are ways organizations can create a culture that prevents burnout?

BEST QUOTES

“Most leaders have gone through a season of feeling burned out. They have pushed too hard for too long.”

“Getting to burnout is not good leadership; it’s actually poor self-leadership.”

“Burnout usually is a slow burn; it’s not a big explosion.”

“Burnout is the compound effect of neglecting your soul, neglecting your body, neglecting your health over a period of time.”

“Anything that’s not of faith is sin.”

“When you understand the weight of what it is to be a pastor, to be a church leader, the burden is just enormous.”

“The clock can never really shut off for a church leader.”

“A driven church leader can deceive himself that his ambition is all holy.”

“When your job is ministry and your life is ministry it never stops and it never turns off.”

“All work is spiritual when offered as an offering to the Lord.”

“I don’t understand people who are living for the weekend.”

“Listen to your body. There are physical signs of burnout.”

“If whatever time you rest is leaving you less and less rested you are quickly approaching burnout.”

“Schedule margin and stick to it.”

“Invite some people into your life who are going to speak truth into your life.”

“Learn the rhythms of your work.”

“Leaders need to take care of themselves physically.”

“Metabolism, I miss you.”

“Making time to read makes you feel less busy.”

“If your church doesn’t give your pastor a sabbatical you need to repent.”

“Nobody should feel guilty for putting in a vacation request or going on vacation.”

“Laziness is idolatry and so is workaholism.”

“Nobody gets fired for developing a bunch of rock stars around them.”

RECOMMENDED RESOURECES

Why Churches Should Give Pastors Sabbaticals

8 Ways to Help Your Pastor Have a Good Vacation

7 Ways to Prevent Pastor Burnout

Burnout is something most leaders are familiar with as a concept, and probably in reality, but they likely haven’t thought through it very deeply. Where does it come from? What causes it? Am I experiencing it right now? How can I avoid it? All these are questions leaders should be asking because burnout will kill their effectiveness. Often leaders overlook burnout because it seems like a necessary bi-product of how much responsibility they carry. In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast I sit down with Todd Adkins and Eric Geiger to talk through this. We ask the following questions.

* How prevalent is burnout among leaders?

* Is it more prevalent in church leadership than in other organizations? Why or why not?

* What are some signs of burnout?

* What are practical things leaders can do to avoid burnout?

* What are ways organizations can create a culture that prevents burnout?

BEST QUOTES

“Most leaders have gone through a season of feeling burned out. They have pushed too hard for too long.”

“Getting to burnout is not good leadership; it’s actually poor self-leadership.”

“Burnout usually is a slow burn; it’s not a big explosion.”

“Burnout is the compound effect of neglecting your soul, neglecting your body, neglecting your health over a period of time.”

“Anything that’s not of faith is sin.”

“When you understand the weight of what it is to be a pastor, to be a church leader, the burden is just enormous.”

“The clock can never really shut off for a church leader.”

“A driven church leader can deceive himself that his ambition is all holy.”

“When your job is ministry and your life is ministry it never stops and it never turns off.”

“All work is spiritual when offered as an offering to the Lord.”

“I don’t understand people who are living for the weekend.”

“Listen to your body. There are physical signs of burnout.”

“If whatever time you rest is leaving you less and less rested you are quickly approaching burnout.”

“Schedule margin and stick to it.”

“Invite some people into your life who are going to speak truth into your life.”

“Learn the rhythms of your work.”

“Leaders need to take care of themselves physically.”

“Metabolism, I miss you.”

“Making time to read makes you feel less busy.”

“If your church doesn’t give your pastor a sabbatical you need to repent.”

“Nobody should feel guilty for putting in a vacation request or going on vacation.”

“Laziness is idolatry and so is workaholism.”

“Nobody gets fired for developing a bunch of rock stars around them.”

RECOMMENDED RESOURECES

Why Churches Should Give Pastors Sabbaticals

8 Ways to Help Your Pastor Have a Good Vacation

7 Ways to Prevent Pastor Burnout

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast Todd Adkins and I spoke with Craig Groeschel, the founding and Senior pastor of Life.Church based out of Oklahoma and the author of several books including his most recent, #Struggles: Following Jesus in a Selfie Centered World. Life.Church has locations in seven states and is one of the largest in the United States. Craig speaks at numerous conferences and is a regular at the Catalyst One Day Events alongside Andy Stanley. He is pastoral an immensely practical in his leadership advice. He and his wife, Amy, have six children and a revolving array of pets. Our conversation with Craig was one of the best and most insightful we’ve had yet on the podcast and you will definitely appreciate it!

BEST QUOTES

“Video services don’t transform lives. The presence of God through great spiritual leadership transforms lives.”

“Values determine behaviors. What we value determines what we do.”

“Every time we get together [as a team] we celebrate values.”

“I learn from as many people all the time anywhere as I can.”

“Church leaders have so much to learn from business leaders and business leaders have so much to learn from Christian and church leaders. We should be students of each other all the time.”

“It’s amazing how fast I went from being the 28-year-old young pastor to being the 48 year old pastor, and culture changes so quickly.”

“We have access to so much now we didn’t ten years ago. We can learn from people that we may never meet. It’s a great time to learn.”

“My generation had challenges and opportunities; this generation has challenges and opportunities. If I don’t what those are then I’, not going to be able to preach the gospel in a way that hits their hearts.”

“Bring 18 and 20-year-olds in and ask them 100 questions and you will learn more than studying your best leadership guru on how to impact their generation.”

“People are attending church far less frequently than they were in the past. People don’t see the corporate worship of God as as high of a value as they used to.”

“We need to change our philosophy. It used to be church attendance drives engagement. Now we’re recognizing that engagement now drives church attendance.”

“We never have a numerical goal. We want to start the right churches.”

“At my best I’m a Kingdom-minded person who wants everybody to reach more people. At my worst I’m a competitive freak that wants to win at any cost.”

“I can control input. I can’t control outcome.”

“God controls outcome, but we can always measure it.”

“We’re not measuring to impress people; we’re doing it to bring glory to God.”

“I hope every serious leader recognizes that numbers matter, period. Numbers represent lives.”

“You can only do so much and you have to trust God a lot with your kids.”

“Never have the church be a competing entity with the family.”

“Those who are using their gifts to make a difference end up loving the church. Those are simply going to church don’t end up loving it.”

“Those who stay involved in the local church in college are much more likely to stay involved if they were serving in high school – not just going – serving.”

“You’ll very likely over estimate what God wants to do through you in the short run, but you’ll grossly underestimate what God can do with a lifetime of faithfulness.”

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

Life.Church

#Struggles: Following Jesus in a Selfie Centered World

The Pastor’s Kid: Finding Your Own Faith and Identity by Barnabas Piper

 

 

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast Todd Adkins and I spoke with Craig Groeschel, the founding and Senior pastor of Life.Church based out of Oklahoma and the author of several books including his most recent, #Struggles: Following Jesus in a Selfie Centered World. Life.Church has locations in seven states and is one of the largest in the United States. Craig speaks at numerous conferences and is a regular at the Catalyst One Day Events alongside Andy Stanley. He is pastoral an immensely practical in his leadership advice. He and his wife, Amy, have six children and a revolving array of pets. Our conversation with Craig was one of the best and most insightful we’ve had yet on the podcast and you will definitely appreciate it!

BEST QUOTES

“Video services don’t transform lives. The presence of God through great spiritual leadership transforms lives.”

“Values determine behaviors. What we value determines what we do.”

“Every time we get together [as a team] we celebrate values.”

“I learn from as many people all the time anywhere as I can.”

“Church leaders have so much to learn from business leaders and business leaders have so much to learn from Christian and church leaders. We should be students of each other all the time.”

“It’s amazing how fast I went from being the 28-year-old young pastor to being the 48 year old pastor, and culture changes so quickly.”

“We have access to so much now we didn’t ten years ago. We can learn from people that we may never meet. It’s a great time to learn.”

“My generation had challenges and opportunities; this generation has challenges and opportunities. If I don’t what those are then I’, not going to be able to preach the gospel in a way that hits their hearts.”

“Bring 18 and 20-year-olds in and ask them 100 questions and you will learn more than studying your best leadership guru on how to impact their generation.”

“People are attending church far less frequently than they were in the past. People don’t see the corporate worship of God as as high of a value as they used to.”

“We need to change our philosophy. It used to be church attendance drives engagement. Now we’re recognizing that engagement now drives church attendance.”

“We never have a numerical goal. We want to start the right churches.”

“At my best I’m a Kingdom-minded person who wants everybody to reach more people. At my worst I’m a competitive freak that wants to win at any cost.”

“I can control input. I can’t control outcome.”

“God controls outcome, but we can always measure it.”

“We’re not measuring to impress people; we’re doing it to bring glory to God.”

“I hope every serious leader recognizes that numbers matter, period. Numbers represent lives.”

“You can only do so much and you have to trust God a lot with your kids.”

“Never have the church be a competing entity with the family.”

“Those who are using their gifts to make a difference end up loving the church. Those are simply going to church don’t end up loving it.”

“Those who stay involved in the local church in college are much more likely to stay involved if they were serving in high school – not just going – serving.”

“You’ll very likely over estimate what God wants to do through you in the short run, but you’ll grossly underestimate what God can do with a lifetime of faithfulness.”

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

Life.Church

#Struggles: Following Jesus in a Selfie Centered World

The Pastor’s Kid: Finding Your Own Faith and Identity by Barnabas Piper

 

 

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast Todd Adkins and I spoke with Craig Groeschel, the founding and Senior pastor of Life.Church based out of Oklahoma and the author of several books including his most recent, #Struggles: Following Jesus in a Selfie Centered World. Life.Church has locations in seven states and is one of the largest in the United States. Craig speaks at numerous conferences and is a regular at the Catalyst One Day Events alongside Andy Stanley. He is pastoral an immensely practical in his leadership advice. He and his wife, Amy, have six children and a revolving array of pets. Our conversation with Craig was one of the best and most insightful we’ve had yet on the podcast and you will definitely appreciate it!

BEST QUOTES

“Video services don’t transform lives. The presence of God through great spiritual leadership transforms lives.”

“Values determine behaviors. What we value determines what we do.”

“Every time we get together [as a team] we celebrate values.”

“I learn from as many people all the time anywhere as I can.”

“Church leaders have so much to learn from business leaders and business leaders have so much to learn from Christian and church leaders. We should be students of each other all the time.”

“It’s amazing how fast I went from being the 28-year-old young pastor to being the 48 year old pastor, and culture changes so quickly.”

“We have access to so much now we didn’t ten years ago. We can learn from people that we may never meet. It’s a great time to learn.”

“My generation had challenges and opportunities; this generation has challenges and opportunities. If I don’t what those are then I’, not going to be able to preach the gospel in a way that hits their hearts.”

“Bring 18 and 20-year-olds in and ask them 100 questions and you will learn more than studying your best leadership guru on how to impact their generation.”

“People are attending church far less frequently than they were in the past. People don’t see the corporate worship of God as as high of a value as they used to.”

“We need to change our philosophy. It used to be church attendance drives engagement. Now we’re recognizing that engagement now drives church attendance.”

“We never have a numerical goal. We want to start the right churches.”

“At my best I’m a Kingdom-minded person who wants everybody to reach more people. At my worst I’m a competitive freak that wants to win at any cost.”

“I can control input. I can’t control outcome.”

“God controls outcome, but we can always measure it.”

“We’re not measuring to impress people; we’re doing it to bring glory to God.”

“I hope every serious leader recognizes that numbers matter, period. Numbers represent lives.”

“You can only do so much and you have to trust God a lot with your kids.”

“Never have the church be a competing entity with the family.”

“Those who are using their gifts to make a difference end up loving the church. Those are simply going to church don’t end up loving it.”

“Those who stay involved in the local church in college are much more likely to stay involved if they were serving in high school – not just going – serving.”

“You’ll very likely over estimate what God wants to do through you in the short run, but you’ll grossly underestimate what God can do with a lifetime of faithfulness.”

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

Life.Church

#Struggles: Following Jesus in a Selfie Centered World

The Pastor’s Kid: Finding Your Own Faith and Identity by Barnabas Piper