Unseen Leadership

In this episode of the Unseen Leadership podcast, Chandler Vannoy and Josh Hunter are joined by JD Greear who is the pastor of The Summit Church, President of the Southern Baptist Convention, host of the Ask Me Anything podcast, and author of many books including his latest Above All. 

During their conversation, they discuss the need for surrounding yourself with great people, practical ways to create a healthy culture, and making mistakes slowly.

QUOTES FROM EPISODE 17:

“You don’t get leadership bestowed on you by a position, and if you do, those end up becoming the worst kind of leaders.”

“It is the people you surround yourself with that determines both the quality of your ministry and life.”

“Do meaningful things with awesome people.”

“Make your biggest mistakes slowly.”

“Pastors consistently overestimate what they can do in a church in 5 years and they underestimate what they can accomplish in 20 years.”

“Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”

“When I’m sick of saying it, our staff has just started to hear it. And when they are finally sick of hearing it, that means the congregational probably just heard it for the first time.”

“It shouldn’t be who is in the room that determines a decision, but instead, it should be our values.”

“Fame is making yourself accessible to a bunch of people you don’t really care about at the expense of those you do care about.”

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Gaining by Losing by J.D. Greear

Good to Great by Jim Collins

Confronting Christianity by Rebecca McLaughlin

Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard

The Curse of Oak Island by Randall Sullivan

Hero of the Empire by Candice Millard

In this episode of the Unseen Leadership podcast, Chandler Vannoy and Josh Hunter are joined by Matt Carter who is the Pastor of Preaching and Vision at The Austin Stone Community Church and is author or co-author of several books, including his latest The Long Walk Home.

During their conversation, they discuss how to delegate leadership to others, how to live on mission, and how to strive for excellence with grace.

QUOTES FROM EPISODE 16:

“I decided from day one of the Austin Stone that we wanted to have a multi teacher model, and that I wasn’t going to be the only guy that preached.”

“All leaders need to realize we have limitations. There are things we are good at and things that we are not good at.”

“The whole idea behind the law of the lid is that an organization will only grow to the level of the capacity of the senior leader.”

“If I had never given away power, influence, and leadership, I think we would have grown to a certain level and the growth would have stopped.”

“I found where I was weak, gave those jobs away to others who were really good at it, and I let them run.”

“What good does it do if we are growing a church, but I am losing my wife.”

“Leadership is a pressure cooker. It takes time to learn and grow, especially in your character.”

“Churches are kind of like a bus. People get on and they ride awhile and they get off, and you can’t take it personally.”

“The best way to lead people is in gentleness and kindness like Jesus did.”

“The point of striving for excellence is to remove all the distractions that are in the way so people can place their eyes on Jesus.”

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Man Catches Flying Bird with Bare Hand

The Long Walk Home by Matt Carter

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell

Center Church by Tim Keller

The Christ-Centered Expositor by Tony Merida 

Free Ministry Grid Course on Christ-Centered Exposition with Tony Merida

Your Unique Design Personality Test

In this episode of the Unseen Leadership podcast, Chandler Vannoy and Josh Hunter are joined by Kevin Queen who is the Lead Pastor of Cross Point Church right here in Nashville, TN.

During their conversation, they discuss how to understand your calling, wrestling with disappointing others, and leading with humility.

QUOTES FROM EPISODE 15:

“Leadership is disappointing people at a rate that they can stand.”

“We cannot please everyone and follow the call of God.”

“Many a young man wants to do great things for God, but a better aim for one's life is to do things for a great God.”

“God is uniquely wired each of us with unique gifts to lead with.”

“We can try to promote ourselves beyond our anointing, but God will never promote us beyond our anointing.”

“Humility is fleeting. As soon as you think you are humble, it is gone.”

“Once the leader speaks, the conversations is over, so let others speak before you give your answer.”

“Prayer is an acknowledgement that God is in the midst of our meeting.”

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Reappearing Church by Mark Sayers

Leadership and Self Deception by The Arbinger Institute

Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink

In this episode of the Unseen Leadership podcast, Chandler Vannoy and Josh Hunter are joined by Brent Crowe who is currently serving as Vice President for Student Leadership University. He is also the author of several books including his latest, Moments 'til Midnight.

During their conversation, they discuss how to steward your influence well, how to learn from others’ experiences, and how to slow down to hear from the Lord.

QUOTES FROM EPISODE 14:

“When you steward your influence well, there’s a good chance the Lord will give you more influence, but it starts by laying any bit of influence you have down at the feet of Jesus.”

“Leadership begins at the feet of Jesus.”

“Leadership is devotional before it is practical.”

“You can never go wrong by believing the best for someone else’s future.”

“My biggest misconception was that experience was the best teacher. Someone else’s experience is your best teacher.”

“Bring an open notebook any time you get to speak with a mentor.”

“If you are always running, it does not give you time to stop and think.”

“If hustle is an idol, then it is going to consume you and you will miss the peace that comes with slowing down and hearing from the Lord.”

“Do for one what you wish you could do for everyone.”

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Linchpin by Seth Godin

The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby

Moments 'til Midnight by Brent Crowe

This Episode's Sponsor: With Ministry Grid’s library of over 3,500 training videos and 800 courses, it's now simpler than ever to train every volunteer and leader in your church. For the month of August, you can get unlimited access to Ministry Grid for YOUR ENTIRE CHURCH for just $399 a year. If you want to take advantage of this incredible deal, just go to ministrygrid.com/podcast. 

In this episode of the Unseen Leadership podcast, Chandler Vannoy and Josh Hunter are joined by Brad Lomenick, who lead Catalyst for many years and is now a leadership consultant, speaker, founder of BLINC, and author of The Catalyst Leader and H3 Leadership.

During their conversation, they discuss Brad’s leadership before he was the head of Catalyst and how to focus on significance over success, how to have healthy ambition, and how to have balance hustle and margin.

QUOTES FROM EPISODE 13:

“If I’m not helping others win and become who God created them to be, then I am not winning either.”

“If the people closest to you aren’t getting the best of you, you aren’t winning as a leader.”

“God needs to work on us in the private before we can lead in the public.”

“If I’m winning, but my team isn’t, none of us were winning.”

“There’s a big difference between connectors and networkers.”

“Ambition is a ruthless pursuit of helping other people win.”

“Twenty-somethings are known for their hustle.”

“Success is about you, but significance is about others.”

“The ability to influence people from anywhere in the organization has never been more available to us.”

“Question-asking and curiosity are vital skills for leaders.”

“Be honest, be transparent, be vulnerable, and be honest.”

RESOURCES MENTIONED

When by Daniel Pink

H3 Leadership by Brad Lomenick

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell

The Next Generation Leader by Andy Stanley

Entre Leadership by Dave Ramsey

The Power of Moments by Chip and Dan Heath

Deep Work by Cal Newport

This Episode's Sponsor: With Ministry Grid’s library of over 3,500 training videos and 800 courses, it's now simpler than ever to train every volunteer and leader in your church. For the month of August, you can get unlimited access to Ministry Grid for YOUR ENTIRE CHURCH for just $399 a year. If you want to take advantage of this incredible deal, just go to ministrygrid.com/podcast. 

In this episode of the Unseen Leadership podcast, Chandler Vannoy and Josh Hunter are joined by Jenni Catron who is the founder of The 4Sight Group, a speaker, a leadership expert, and author of several books including The 4 Dimensions of Extraordinary Leadership.

During their conversation, they discuss how to be self aware, how to let others speak into your life, and how to lead yourself first before leading others.

QUOTES FROM EPISODE 12:

“If you want to work with widgets, go work in a factory. But if you want to work with people, you are going to have to learn to love them to lead them.”

“Great leaders put feet to vision.”

“The foundation of all leadership is self leadership.”

“You’ve got to give people around you permission to speak into your life.”

“Spiritual leadership starts by following Jesus first so that we can lead others as he leads us.”

“It is easy to think our leadership is about us and for us.”

“As leaders, we have the power to change and affect the lives of those in our sphere of influence.”

“Lead yourself well to lead others better.”

RESOURCES MENTIONED

The 4 Dimensions of Extraordinary Leadership by Jenni Catron

Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership by Ruth Haley Barton

Spiritual Leadership by Oswald Sanders

Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Travis Bradberry

Deep Work by Cal Newport

This Episode's Sponsor: With Ministry Grid’s library of over 3,500 training videos and 800 courses, it's now simpler than ever to train every volunteer and leader in your church. For the month of August, you can get unlimited access to Ministry Grid for YOUR ENTIRE CHURCH for just $399 a year. If you want to take advantage of this incredible deal, just go to ministrygrid.com/podcast. 

In this episode of the Unseen Leadership podcast, Chandler Vannoy and Josh Hunter are joined by Bob Russell who is the former Senior Pastor of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY and author of the book After 50 Years of Ministry. 

During their conversation, they discuss the need to delegate instead of doing it all, surrounding yourself with great leaders, and having healthy conflict.

QUOTES FROM EPISODE 11:

“A great slogan for lay leaders in the church would be ‘we are going to make our preacher successful.”

“A lot of young pastors try to do everything themselves instead of empowering others to lead.”

“If you have unity at the core, you can go through a lot.”

“I’m convinced that 80% of the problems we have on church staffs would be resolved if we practiced what Jesus said in ’if you have something against your brother, go to him and talk about it between the two of you.’”

“If you try to please everybody, you will wind up trying to do more than you can really do.”

“Don’t rearrange the furniture in a room of a disoriented person.”

“The most important thing a preacher does each week is prepare his sermon.”

“We miss out on being who God wants us to be when we try to be somebody else.”

“Be faithful, be joyful, and trust God for the rest.”

RESOURCES MENTIONED

After 50 Years of Ministry by Bob Russell

Conformed to His Image by Ken Boa

Too Great a Temptation by Joel Gregory

The American Miracle by Michael Medved

This Episode's Sponsor: With Ministry Grid’s library of over 3,500 training videos and 800 courses, it's now simpler than ever to train every volunteer and leader in your church. For the month of August, you can get unlimited access to Ministry Grid for YOUR ENTIRE CHURCH for just $399 a year. If you want to take advantage of this incredible deal, just go to ministrygrid.com/podcast. 

In this episode of the Unseen Leadership podcast, Chandler Vannoy and Josh Hunter are joined by Annie F. Downs, who is a speaker, podcaster, and bestselling author of many books including her newest book Remember God. 

During their conversation, they discuss leading through unlikely circumstances, leading with influence plus compassion, and leading where you flourish.

QUOTES FROM EPISODE 10:

“When you are in leadership, there is a heavier mantle on you and a higher requirement.”

“Disobedience is always disobedience, whether that is disobeying by leading or disobeying by not leading.”

“Your personal, private devotion to Jesus will gain you influence in the public declaration of Jesus.”

“Who you are in private is going to play itself out on the stage. Nothing stays secret.”

“When you figure out where you flourish and why, that is where you lead best.”

“You can only be in the wrong seat on the bus for a short amount of time before you want off the bus, even if you are the star player on the bus.”

“We have to want more people to live in their calling more than to be on our bus.”

“The only way you can get done everything that God has for you is to sleep.”

“Who you are in the private of your life is far more important than who you are in the public.”

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Remember God by Annie F. Downs

Garden City by John Mark Comer

The Emotionally Healthy Leader by Pete Scazzero

What If It is True by Charles Martin

Blue Letter Bible

In this episode of the Unseen Leadership podcast, Chandler Vannoy and Josh Hunter are joined by Ben Trueblood who serves as the Director of Student Ministry for Lifeway Christian Resources and has seventeen years of student ministry experience, fourteen of which were spent in the local church as a student pastor.

During their conversation, they discuss the importance of mentors, caring more about people than the results, and the biggest keys for leadership as a student pastor.

QUOTES FROM EPISODE 9:

“Leadership is a call to more.”

“Don’t think you have it all figured out. Instead, go seek a mentor to learn from.”

“If you don’t know the people you are leading, you won’t know how to lead them.”

“People are not a means to an end. People are the end.”

“Hold your vision lightly and your strategy loosely.”

“Write your mission in ink and the plan in pencil.”

“As a student pastor, you must be secure enough in your leadership to lead with confidence.”

“Have the humility to involve subject matter experts when you are not one.”

“Don’t feel the pressure to always be the smartest person in the room.”

“As a leader, you have to be okay with people not liking the direction, decision, or approach you are taking.”

“The higher you go up in leadership, there are more meetings, so you must learn to protect your time.”

“If you are a young leader, surround yourself with people that can help you get better and know your gaps.”

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Student Ministry Podcast by Lifeway Students

Read for Your Life by Pat Williams

Garden City: Work, Rest, and the Art of Being Human by John Mark Comer

Good to Great by Jim Collins

In this episode of the Unseen Leadership podcast, Chandler Vannoy and Josh Hunter are joined by Josh Patterson, the Lead Pastor over Ministry Leadership at The Village Church and co-author of the book Creature of the Word. 

During their conversation, they discuss Josh’s leadership journey that lead him to the Village Church, and how to learn through failure, how to slow down and reflect on your leadership journey, and how to lead as the #2 guy as a strategic leader.

QUOTES FROM EPISODE 8:

“Starting in 2003, there was pretty tremendous growth. We grew at about 1,000 people a year for over a decade.”

“Leaders grow through challenges. We were all in over our heads.”

“As the organization grows, it forces the leaders to grow. And as leaders grow, it forces change into the organization.”

“Leaders navigate and negotiate change.”

“We must own our failures and walk humbly through them.”

“Failure is hard, but if you are going to enter into the arena of leadership, you can expect to fall.”

“The leaders I don’t trust the most are the ones who cannot own and admit their leadership failures.”

“Preaching is not the only gift a church needs. It also needs strategic leaders and thinkers.”

“Anybody can come up with a great vision. It’s a whole different thing to strategically lead toward that vision.”

“There are some who lead because they preach, and there are some who preach because they lead.”

RESOURCES MENTIONED

What Leaders Really Do by John Kotter

Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership by Gary L. McIntosh and Samuel D. Rima

Daring Greatly by Brene Brown

Creature of the Word by Eric Geiger, Matt Chandler, and Josh Patterson