Cornerstone Pastors Network

This month’s Pastor Resource Call will feature Matt Larson, Lead Pastor of Anthem Church in Thousand Oaks, CA. You’ll find that his perspective on the local church is refreshing, insightful, and inspiring. We think you just might sense “fresh wind in your sails” as a result of the PRC.

Here is what Matt says about our time together on November 15th:

“We set out 9 years ago to plant a church that would be a distinctly reproducing church. It was partly my passion and partly our theology … that’s what God has asked us to do. In the 9 years since we planted, we have been directly involved in 12 church plants (11 domestic and 1 international). Obviously, we have a long way to go to establish a truly multiplying movement, but we’ve been excited about the start that God has given us.

Along the way we’ve learned a few things and I get the honor of sharing with you 2 key things that we’ve learned about leading a sending/multiplying/reproducing church. We will talk about pathways for leadership development and the engine of generosity that makes a multiplying movement go. Looking forward to talking with you all! – Matt ”

This month’s Pastor Resource Call will feature Matt Larson, Lead Pastor of Anthem Church in Thousand Oaks, CA. You’ll find that his perspective on the local church is refreshing, insightful, and inspiring. We think you just might sense “fresh wind in your sails” as a result of the PRC.

Here is what Matt says about our time together on November 15th:

“We set out 9 years ago to plant a church that would be a distinctly reproducing church. It was partly my passion and partly our theology … that’s what God has asked us to do. In the 9 years since we planted, we have been directly involved in 12 church plants (11 domestic and 1 international). Obviously, we have a long way to go to establish a truly multiplying movement, but we’ve been excited about the start that God has given us.

Along the way we’ve learned a few things and I get the honor of sharing with you 2 key things that we’ve learned about leading a sending/multiplying/reproducing church. We will talk about pathways for leadership development and the engine of generosity that makes a multiplying movement go. Looking forward to talking with you all! – Matt ”

What if you stopped seeing your main job as doing work or motivating your staff to do work, and started seeing it as giving people tools to work–helping people missionally engage and have gospel conversations with those around them? What “tools” could you create that make it easy for congregants to serve their neighbors and city…tools to help them live on mission? How can we expect our people to make disciples if we don’t provide the tools and the platform for them to carry out their mission?

In this month’s Pastor Resource Call, Eric Swanson will help us understand what a ministry platform is and how to practically set one in motion in the local church context.

Eric has a passion for engaging churches worldwide in the needs and dreams of their communities toward the end of spiritual and societal transformation. He is a UC Berkeley grad and holds a DMin in Transformational Leadership in the Global City from BGU. He served with Cru for twenty-five years before joining the staff of Leadership Network where he works with scores of missional churches around North America. He is an adjunct professor at Denver Seminary and is co-author of The Externally Focused Church (Group, 2004), The Externally Focused Life (Group, 2009), The Externally Focused Quest (Jossey-Bass, 2010) , and To Transform a City (Zondervan, 2010), and numerous articles on churches that are transforming their communities. Since 1999 Eric has also been working with Tango, currently working on a mobile-digital platform designed for life change and since 2001 with Leadership Network as a missional specialist.

What if you stopped seeing your main job as doing work or motivating your staff to do work, and started seeing it as giving people tools to work–helping people missionally engage and have gospel conversations with those around them? What “tools” could you create that make it easy for congregants to serve their neighbors and city…tools to help them live on mission? How can we expect our people to make disciples if we don’t provide the tools and the platform for them to carry out their mission?

In this month’s Pastor Resource Call, Eric Swanson will help us understand what a ministry platform is and how to practically set one in motion in the local church context.

Eric has a passion for engaging churches worldwide in the needs and dreams of their communities toward the end of spiritual and societal transformation. He is a UC Berkeley grad and holds a DMin in Transformational Leadership in the Global City from BGU. He served with Cru for twenty-five years before joining the staff of Leadership Network where he works with scores of missional churches around North America. He is an adjunct professor at Denver Seminary and is co-author of The Externally Focused Church (Group, 2004), The Externally Focused Life (Group, 2009), The Externally Focused Quest (Jossey-Bass, 2010) , and To Transform a City (Zondervan, 2010), and numerous articles on churches that are transforming their communities. Since 1999 Eric has also been working with Tango, currently working on a mobile-digital platform designed for life change and since 2001 with Leadership Network as a missional specialist.

On average, each of us has 8 to 15 people, whom God has supernaturally and strategically placed in our relational world so that He might use us to both demonstrate and discuss faith. The Greeks used one word to describe this personal world—OIKOS, or “extended household.” OIKOS is not an evangelism program. It’s not an event. It’s not an emphasis. The oikos principle is the heartbeat of Christ’s Church. Jesus designed it, modeled it and taught us how to use it. Since then, it’s been instrumental in bringing 95% of believers into the body of Christ. Tom Mercer has not only experienced the oikos principle firsthand, he has committed his life to helping the church understand and utilize this incredibly simple yet effective strategy for changing a world that just might be smaller than you think!

Tom has been married to his wife Sheryl for thirty-seven years, and they have been blessed with three married children, who have in turn blessed us with the greatest core oikos imaginable—nine grandchildren. Tom received his formal education at Biola University and Talbot Seminary. He has been the Senior Pastor and primary teacher at the High Desert Church in Victorville, California since 1984. During that time, HDC has grown from 125 regular participants to over 12,000; from one campus to four.

He has authored two books, 8 to 15: The World Is Smaller Than You Think and Common Sense Is the New Brilliance. These books highlight the oikos principle, which Tom believes is the simplest and most effective form of Kingdom growth that Jesus gave us.

On average, each of us has 8 to 15 people, whom God has supernaturally and strategically placed in our relational world so that He might use us to both demonstrate and discuss faith. The Greeks used one word to describe this personal world—OIKOS, or “extended household.” OIKOS is not an evangelism program. It’s not an event. It’s not an emphasis. The oikos principle is the heartbeat of Christ’s Church. Jesus designed it, modeled it and taught us how to use it. Since then, it’s been instrumental in bringing 95% of believers into the body of Christ. Tom Mercer has not only experienced the oikos principle firsthand, he has committed his life to helping the church understand and utilize this incredibly simple yet effective strategy for changing a world that just might be smaller than you think!

Tom has been married to his wife Sheryl for thirty-seven years, and they have been blessed with three married children, who have in turn blessed us with the greatest core oikos imaginable—nine grandchildren. Tom received his formal education at Biola University and Talbot Seminary. He has been the Senior Pastor and primary teacher at the High Desert Church in Victorville, California since 1984. During that time, HDC has grown from 125 regular participants to over 12,000; from one campus to four.

He has authored two books, 8 to 15: The World Is Smaller Than You Think and Common Sense Is the New Brilliance. These books highlight the oikos principle, which Tom believes is the simplest and most effective form of Kingdom growth that Jesus gave us.

Your staff culture sets the pace for your church culture. In the same way a toxic staff culture can stall a church, a healthy staff culture is one of your greatest assets to help your church gain momentum and thrive.

This Pastor Resource Call with Dan Reiland will include conversation around how to get honest about your real staff culture, what breaks and builds culture, and insights on how to make culture the real you rather than a list of stuff conceived on a retreat. Dan has years of experience and practical know how on this topic.  You won’t want to miss out on this very special opportunity to interact with him on this key factor in church leadership!

Dan Reiland is Executive Pastor at 12Stone Church in Lawrenceville, Georgia. He previously partnered with John Maxwell for 20 years, first as Executive Pastor at Skyline Wesleyan Church in San Diego, then as Vice President of Leadership and Church Development at INJOY.

Your staff culture sets the pace for your church culture. In the same way a toxic staff culture can stall a church, a healthy staff culture is one of your greatest assets to help your church gain momentum and thrive.

This Pastor Resource Call with Dan Reiland will include conversation around how to get honest about your real staff culture, what breaks and builds culture, and insights on how to make culture the real you rather than a list of stuff conceived on a retreat. Dan has years of experience and practical know how on this topic.  You won’t want to miss out on this very special opportunity to interact with him on this key factor in church leadership!

Dan Reiland is Executive Pastor at 12Stone Church in Lawrenceville, Georgia. He previously partnered with John Maxwell for 20 years, first as Executive Pastor at Skyline Wesleyan Church in San Diego, then as Vice President of Leadership and Church Development at INJOY.

What does it mean to genuinely “shepherd” a flock in our modern day cultural and ministry contexts? What is the proper balance between pushing for spiritual growth and adapting to the weaknesses and limitations of the people we are trying to disciple? Is vocational ministry the highest calling or is it simply one of many options for a fully committed Jesus follower? Join us for a great learning experience with Larry Osborne as he addresses these and other important pastoral issues.

Larry Osborne is one of the senior pastors at North Coast Church in Vista, California. During his tenure the church has grown from 128 to more than 12,000 in weekend attendance and become widely known for its biblical teaching and innovative approaches to ministry. Larry’s books include Thriving in Babylon; Accidental Pharisees; A Contrarian’s Guide to Knowing God; Sticky Church; Sticky Teams; Sticky Leaders; and Ten Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe.

What does it mean to genuinely “shepherd” a flock in our modern day cultural and ministry contexts? What is the proper balance between pushing for spiritual growth and adapting to the weaknesses and limitations of the people we are trying to disciple? Is vocational ministry the highest calling or is it simply one of many options for a fully committed Jesus follower? Join us for a great learning experience with Larry Osborne as he addresses these and other important pastoral issues.

Larry Osborne is one of the senior pastors at North Coast Church in Vista, California. During his tenure the church has grown from 128 to more than 12,000 in weekend attendance and become widely known for its biblical teaching and innovative approaches to ministry. Larry’s books include Thriving in Babylon; Accidental Pharisees; A Contrarian’s Guide to Knowing God; Sticky Church; Sticky Teams; Sticky Leaders; and Ten Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe.