Leadership Lessons Podcast

Pastor Rodney Wilkinson, Gospel Fellowship Church, Boynton Beach, FL talks about telling gospel stories. As Christians, we have the greatest story in human history, and we need to be able to tell it effectively. Stories have always been a vital part of life. Jesus was a master storyteller. He did this all day, every day. What does it take to tell a story? It takes courage. You have to be prepared and you have to be bold. It takes compassion. You have to care about the people you’re talking to. It takes connections. Your story has to make connections with real people in a real world. Jesus used stories to prepare people for the gospel. This is a great perspective of the how and the why of storytelling. And why we need to listen to the narrative of our culture in order to respond in thoughtful and effective ways. 

QUOTES: 

“God is constantly giving us opportunities to tell the gospel story.” -Rodney Wilkinson

“It takes courage to be able to tell what God has done in your life.” -Rodney Wilkinson

“I’m telling this story so I can see lives changed and impacted because of the gospel.” -Rodney Wilkinson

“We have to be able to share this gospel in a way that shows up, not as some antiquated story, but in real time, every day, right where our people are.” -Rodney Wilkinson

One Piece of Advice | Lead the Church Spiritually/Preach the Word Deeply

Ron Jones, Lead Pastor at Coastal Chapel in Lake Worth, FL, offers his one piece of advice: Lead the church spiritually and preach the Word deeply. With so many ways available through technology, it is easy to try and make your church grow through your own efforts. But Jesus has said, “I will build my church.” We’ve got to minister to the body of Christ. Feed the sheep. If we do that, the church will grow.  

QUOTES: 

“It’s so easy to strive as a pastor. It’s so easy to try and do things in our own strength.” -Ron Jones

“I can’t make the church grow. I was taking Jesus’ place in the church.” -Ron Jones

“The church is not an organization, but is a family. And Jesus is the one who grows His family.” -Ron Jones

LINKS: 

Contact Daniel: [email protected]

Leadership Lessons/One Piece of Advice/Blog/Recommended Books: eeleaders.com

Pastor Daniel talks about partnering with other churches and what that has looked like recently with Redemption Church, where he pastors in Delray Beach, Florida. With intention and purpose for advancing God’s kingdom, developing relationships among the community of churches where we serve has produced cooperation and fruitful ministry. This results in a greater impact than we could ever have alone. He shares six principles which will help you as reach out and partner with others.

QUOTES: 

“It’s going to take not just one church or ministry team, but a lot of teams and churches to reach our city.” -Daniel Williams

“We have this group text of about 8 to 10 pastors in our area…that text one another every Sunday morning and give encouraging words—I’m praying for you…Here’s a verse for today…Be encouraged—and it feels like we’re doing ministry together.” -Daniel Williams

“Have a posture of humility. It’s not about me. It’s about God and His kingdom. You may be established in your community, but you still have to have a humble spirit.” -Daniel Williams

“We have to make time to invest in relationships. This is not easy. It’s going to take some time and some scheduling.” -Daniel Williams

“As ministry leaders, we need to embrace wisdom through other people and make the time to learn. You can do this, because the benefits will be tremendous in your life as you build relationships.” -Daniel Williams

One Piece of Advice | Get a Team Around You

Peyton Jones, Oceanside, California, shares his advice to get a team around you, just as the Apostle Paul did with his team of Barnabas, Silas, Timothy and others as well. You can’t do it alone. If you’re married, your wife is your number one church planting and ministry partner, and you should honor her in that. Also build a team of Barnabases, people who are your equals. This is great advice on an important topic.

QUOTES: 

“Trying to do ministry on your own is not only unbiblical (Jesus only sent people out two by two), but also it’s just impossible.” -Peyton Jones

“Make sure you understand your wife is your first teammate.” -Peyton Jones

“Paul picked up mobile teams of people that he could train and leave with other churches.” -Peyton Jones

“Build a team of people that can challenge you back.” -Peyton Jones

LINKS: 

Contact Daniel: [email protected]

Peyton Jones information: https://peytonjones.ninja

Leadership Lessons/One Piece of Advice/Blog/Recommended Books: eeleaders.com

Casey Cleveland, Lead Pastor at Avenue Church, Delray Beach, FL, talks about what it means to love your city, and how they do that at Avenue Church. (But first, he shares the story of how he and Pastor Daniel met and the impact that had on him and his church. God is at work!) One of the tools Avenue Church has used in loving their city has to do with math, where “a hundred is greater than a million.” Jesus operated His ministry this way, pouring Himself into the 12 disciples. Delray Beach, like every city, has its own unique diversity, and Avenue Church has been trying to love people where they are and to create a family within that group. Using Paul Tripp’s 4-Circle paradigm of Love, Know, Speak, Do, Casey explains the approach they have used in connecting with their community. ‘Keep giving them Jesus.” This is 18 minutes of godly wisdom and it’s pure gold.

QUOTES: 

“This has been our guiding principle…as Jesus was sent, so He now sends us.” -Casey Cleveland

“How did Jesus love the world? The first thing He did was enter the world…We try to leave our own world and enter the world of the city.” -Casey Cleveland

“Our first move here in the city has to be an outward move.” -Casey Cleveland

“We want to lovingly apply the gospel to their area of need as we speak the truth to them.” -Casey Cleveland

“We commit to the process of change which is often slow and super messy.” -Casey Cleveland

One Piece of Advice | Connecting People to God

Vince Putnam, Senior Pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Delray Beach, FL, shares his one piece of advice: Teach and unpack every part of the service every week planning on a person who is in a church for the first time. Vince came to this understanding through a unique approach to inviting people to attend their service. What they said radically changed the way Vince teaches.

“Out of 50 or so, I got one person to say they would come back. The why nots were basically they couldn’t connect with what was happening. It wasn’t meaningful to them.” -Vince Putnam

“It was a real dagger to the heart, that what we were doing on Sunday morning was not connecting God to a person who had never been in the church before.” -Vince Putnam

“We started thinking through every part of the service…and teaching into those things and unpacking them so that people could experience those things in a meaningful way.” -Vince Putnam

LINKS:

Contact Daniel: [email protected]

Leadership Lessons/One Piece of Advice/Blog/Recommended Books: eeleaders.com

Kevin Saxton, Middle School Pastor, Family Church Downtown, West Palm Beach, FL talks about how we can know what is the most important thing in life. A bivocational pastor, Kevin is also a firefighter. And he and his wife Tracy have seven children. There are many important things needing his attention. What does the Bible have to say about what is the most important thing? Where should we put our energy and focus? In 1 Corinthians 15:1-5, Paul describes what is of “first importance”—the gospel. “Our lives have to be rooted and founded on the gospel as a matter of first importance.” It is why we do everything we do.

QUOTES:

“I went back to the scripture to try and figure it out—what are the most important things I am supposed to be doing?” -Kevin Saxton

“The most important thing is the gospel.” -Kevin Saxton

“The gospel is something very particular, the fact that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, was buried, and God raised Him from the dead.” -Kevin Saxton

“The gospel changes everything. Nothing stays the same.” -Kevin Saxton

One Piece of Advice | Salvation

Herb Hartso, Student Pastor at Greystone Church in Durham, NC, shares his one piece of advice: Salvation. We have to understand that hell is the only alternative to heaven. Jesus came and saved us from hell. “When we minister, we must remember that eternity is at stake for people.” Give people an opportunity to be saved.

QUOTES: 

“We have been saved from hell through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.” -Herb Hartso

“When you understand the simple concept that there’s only two places we can go—heaven or hell—you will share the gospel more often.” -Herb Hartso

“Let’s live for eternity. Let’s remember our salvation.” My hope is in eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before the world began. Titus 1:2 

LINKS: 

Contact Daniel: [email protected]

Leadership Lessons/One Piece of Advice/Blog/Recommended Books: eeleaders.com

Andrew Lundy, Solace Church, and Josiah Graves, The Exchange Church, are both pastors of churches planted this past year. They share about what that process has been like and answer a few questions you may have about planting a church. What have been the highlights and the challenges? How do we do conflict well? The difference between expectations of ministry and the realities of ministry. There are lessons worth learning. 

QUOTES: 

“We want to go to those who aren’t coming. We want to see people come into a real life-changing, life-giving relationship with Jesus.”

“When I look back at this year and I see what God’s done, I think a highlight is the way in which  people who were not walking with God have now come back into a relationship with God and are serving in our church.”

“The lesson that I am constantly coming back to is not what I’m doing or how I’m doing it, by why? Why am I doing it? Is this something I’m doing heartily, as unto the Lord?”

“God’s had to rewire how I think. I’m a pastor. I’m feel like I’m doing a lot of paramedic work. We may want to go take the mountain, but our people are all down the hill and they are bruised and injured and hurting. And sometimes before we can do do something, we just need to be and to heal, to preach the gospel to ourselves.”

“It’s not about what we do, it’s about who we are in the process.”

One Piece of Advice | A Willing Vessel

Alex Fuentes, church planter in Tunja, Colombia, shares his one piece of advice: Be a willing vessel, be available for God to use you. We can want a lot of things in ministry, but asking what does God want makes it pretty clear. Listen for and  be led by the Spirit. Ask every day for His guidance, because we are nothing but broken vessels that carry His message.

QUOTES:

“When we place ourselves in His hands and just allow Him to shine through us…allow His Holy Spirit to work through us, that’s what really matters.” -Alex Fuentes

“Allow the Lord to fill you and work through you, to have those spaces for whatever He wants you to do instead of what we want to do.” -Alex Fuentes

“Say OK Lord, where today, what today, ministering in those moments. It allows people to see that this is a work of the Lord.” -Alex Fuentes

Links:

Contact Daniel: [email protected]

Leadership Lessons/One Piece of Advice/Blog/Recommended Books: eeleaders.com

Solus Church: https://www.soluschurch.com

The Exchange Church: http://theexchangechurch.cc

Pastor Daniel talks with his friend and fellow pastor, Pilgrim Benham, Shoreline Church, Bradenton, FL, about leadership development pipeline. What is it? Using lots of sports analogies, these pastors discuss the process of leadership development by having a long-term plan of how to disciple leaders through every stage, no matter the starting point. Why is a process of leadership development so important for the church? What if we don’t have one? The point is, people need guidance, they need vision. They need encouragement and a plan. As a shepherd/leader, we are called to know the condition of our flocks. And then to equip them for the work of the ministry so they can equip others. For an in-depth look at this topic, check out Pilgrim’s new book, Five Ships. 

QUOTES:

“We need to have a plan now, of who we’re going to be raising up and what does that game plan look like?” - Pilgrim Benham

“People need to know: I’m going to come alongside you and guide you.” - Pilgrim Benham

“It’s not on us to find spiritual fathers. It’s on us to begat spiritual children.” - Pilgrim Benham

“That’s where we start, is the people right around us. Who can we invest in and start spending some time with?” - Pilgrim Benham

“The most important thing is that you’re able to identify where someone is at and what resources they need to take them to the next level.” - Pilgrim Benham

“It’s about next steps in the process. The pipeline is flow of that next step in the process to get them somewhere else.” - Daniel Williams

One Piece of Advice | How to Overcome Obstacles

Daniel Fusco, Lead Pastor at Crossroads Church, with campuses in Vancouver, WA and Portland, OR, shares his one piece of advice about how to overcome obstacles. Don’t be surprised at obstacles—expect them. The incomparable value of being conformed to the image of Christ through obstacles is evident. What is your plan for dealing with obstacles? You expect, you plan, you overcome. 

QUOTES:

“As a church planter, you should go into every single day, every single season of life expecting there to be obstacles. -Daniel Fusco

“You’re learning this stuff now so that when Jesus calls you to go plant a church, you know that He loves you enough to kill you.” -Daniel Fusco

“Obstacles become leverage for us to take more ground…to see the gospel go forward.” -Daniel Fusco

“Every single day you need to re-up your commitment for doing what you’re doing.” -Daniel Fusco

Links: 

Contact Daniel: [email protected]

Leadership Lessons/One Piece of Advice/Blog/Recommended Books: eeleaders.com

Five Ships Book: https://www.amazon.com/Five-Ships-Pilgrim-Benham-ebook/dp/B07N151NDH/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?keywords=pilgrim+benham&qid=1553893889&s=gateway&sr=8-1-fkmrnull

Pastor Daniel talks with Dave Simiele, Christ Fellowship, Palm Beach Gardens, FL, about culture, what it is and how it works within the context of a church. Lance Witt, a mentor of Dave Simiele, defines culture as “the collective personality of an organization, composed of assumptions, beliefs, traditions, values and attitudes.” Why is important to know the culture of your church? This is a subject that Dave Simiele knows well. He discusses how Christ Fellowship implements this idea of culture through their mission, vision and values. How and why is it taught? What is the result? “We are expressing culture intentionally in almost everything we do.” It is a collaborative effort. People know what the values of Christ Fellowship are because they are clearly expressed, everywhere, all the time. There is a lot to digest in this discussion. It’s worth your time.

QUOTES: 

“Culture is hard to define and easy to experience.” - Dave Simiele

‘Mission and vision are important to execute culture, but if you don’t have the right culture, you’re not going to be able to execute that vision that God has given you for your church.” - Dave Simiele

“Because we’re so clear about mission, vision and values, that allows us to have what I would say are gates to our culture.” - Dave Simiele

“We want there to be congruence between what we say and what people experience.” - Dave Simiele

“Church is not a building you walk into, but it’s a family that you belong to.” - Dave Simiele

One Piece of Advice | Leading Yourself

Thane Ringler, Los Angeles, CA, shares his one piece of advice: you have to lead yourself well before you can lead others well. Jesus demonstrated this by His example and it is true for us who are leading and shepherding others in the body of Christ. It is a daily practice. It takes self-discipline for these things, making time to develop intimacy with God, to take time to rest. Ultimately it means being faithful. 

QUOTES: 

“What this means is we are taking action and ownership of our lives and we’re never settling for less than what God has called us to.” -Thane Ringler

“It means not trying to be superman. A lot of times we take on and try to be Christ when we need to look to Christ and what He’s accomplished.” -Thane Ringler

“How can we be faithful today?” -Thane Ringler

Links:

Contact Daniel: [email protected]

Leadership Lessons/One Piece of Advice/Blog/Recommended Books: eeleaders.com

Thane’s First Book & His ministry at www.thaneringler.com

Pastor Bill Mitchell, Boca Raton Community Church, shares about leading with clarity. This talk is from BocaLead, a monthly business luncheon hosted at their church and taught by Pastor Bill. Using a ladder as a model, Bill shares the six rungs that are essential in leading with clarity: 1)Identity; 2)Direction; 3)Operations; 4)People; 5)Engagement; 6)Influence. The two side-rails represent your personal life and your corporate life. This is a process that Bill and his wife personally go through together every 5 years or so to reassess where they are and where they want to be heading. (Complete notes from this event are available at bocalead.com/clarity.)

QUOTES: 

“Clarity is the ability to clearly lead people on an agreed upon journey.”

“This whole thing is called alignment. We’re going to align our thinking to clarity today.”

“Alignment: These six areas will bring stability to you and your organization as you seek to lead in the direction you have set."

“As you look to the future you have to understand your identity, and it’s not easy. Don’t get stuck in your past identity.”

“Where are you heading? What are your values? How can you use those things to inspire and motivate others?”

“If you are a person of discipline, you are a person who works out what you do.”

One Piece of Advice | Be in Agreement with Your Spouse

Dan Grittner, Lifespring Church in Royal Palm Beach, FL, shares his one piece of advice: Be in agreement with your wife. The concept of being one flesh with your wife involves every area of life. Unity in a marriage is very powerful and brings great benefits for your life and ministry. It takes time, it takes work, it takes effort. But the results are worth it.

QUOTES: 

“Agreement is so powerfully important.”

‘It’s really that your dreams come together as one. Your direction comes together as one. That you’re in agreement with your spouse as you move forward.”

“I think God wants us to walk side by side in the same direction.”

Links: 

Contact Daniel: [email protected]

Leadership Lessons/One Piece of Advice/Blog/Recommended Books: eeleaders.com

BocaLead: www.bocalead.com

Daniel talks with Kelly Nothnagle, Associate Pastor at Calvary Chapel Boynton Beach Campus, Boynton Beach, FL about teams and teamwork. Why is it so important to work together? The work that can be accomplished by a team is so much greater than what can be accomplished alone. These pastors love talking about the nitty gritty of ministry and how it all works. Building teams, inspiring people to see the vision God has given and want to be a part of that. What is someone wants to serve in an area that is not their gift? It’s all here. And a few good laughs along the way. 

QUOTES:

“It’s really exciting being part of a bigger vision of what God is doing.” - Kelly Nothnagle

“If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go with a team.” - Kelly Nothnagle

“Use what you’ve got. When God brings people to your network, your influence, your church, start there.” - Daniel Williams

“Real discipleship is being wiling to tell people the truth.” - Kelly Nothnagle

One Piece of Advice | One Thing

Dave Baldwin, Director of Church United for the Boca/Delray Region, shares his one piece of advice: Know your one thing. Dave’s mother’s death caused him to look at everything in life differently. Reflecting on King Solomon, gifted by God with supernatural wisdom, and his pursuit of all the world’s pleasures, what was the one thing that had lasting value? Only His relationship with God. It is the one thing that matters. 

QUOTES:

“When my mother died, it rocked my world. What once gave me great pride just didn’t mean anything.” -Dave Baldwin

“All these vanities are meaningless. The thing to do is just to fear God and have that personal relationship, to be obedient to His commands and to follow His ways.” -Dave Baldwin

Links: 

Contact Daniel: [email protected]

Leadership Lessons/One Piece of Advice/Blog/Recommended Books: eeleaders.com

Dan Grittner, Lifespring Church, Royal Palm Beach, FL (a brand new church plant scheduled for launch September 2019) talks about his own experience under the godly leadership of his youth pastor and how it changed his life. It takes time and effort. Watch for the potential in those around you, that you can build with and invest in them. The life changing difference is that you care about them, about their heart. This is a powerful exhortation from the heart of a pastor.

QUOTES:

“You’ve got to spend time with your leaders.” -Dan Grittner

“It’s not about giving someone a task and them doing it. It’s about building a family.” -Dan Grittner

“Who is it in your life right now that you know that you could build more time with?” -Dan Grittner

“He is a creative God and He lives inside of you. He wants to give you a creative way of making disciples.” -Dan Grittner

“You’ve got to be after their heart.’ -Dan Grittner

One Piece of Advice | 360 Preparation

Casey Cleveland, Senior Pastor at Avenue Church, Delray Beach, FL, shares his advice from Joshua 4:14: On that day, the Lord exalted Joshua. It is the Lord who exalts us when it comes to significant shaping ministry. So if it is the Lord who exalts leaders, giving people the confidence to follow them as they follow Christ, what is the responsibility of leaders? 360 preparation—being prepared in all sorts of different areas. Being prepared holistically includes mindfulness, diet, sleep, exercise. Every area of life affects your ministry. 

QUOTES:

“If it’s the job of Jesus to exalt me and put me in a place where people will actually go, where I believe the Lord is leading us, then I just need to be prepared for that.” -Casey Cleveland

“Pursue thinking about how I can be fully mindful and present in this moment?” -Casey Cleveland

“Remember, we’re going to war. Most of the warriors I know are in shape—emotionally, physically and spiritually.” -Casey Cleveland

Links:

Contact Daniel: [email protected]

Leadership Lessons/One Piece of Advice/Blog/Recommended Books: eeleaders.com

Dan Grittner’s first book: For a Limited Time Only: Making The Most Of The Time You Have Left