Jeff and Jonny absolutely LOVE recording and producing their podcast, but their greatest joy is knowing that they are providing you as a small church pastor with high octane encouragement each and every Wednesday! They have been at this for a while now, and today's episode, #80 is absolutely another grand slam with the leadership master, Dan "the Enforcer" Reiland!
(By the way, everything Dan shares in this episode, plus much more, is contained in his book, Amplified Leadership, which you can get here!) They wanted me to tell you - EAT IT UP BABY! Jonny is off on a youth trip to Colorado this week while Jeff is slaving away in his very last week of his Master's program summer session. When he finishes on Sunday night, July 27, he will be D-O-N-E. So they are having me, the 200churches Gnome, write the post for today. Jonny said to remind you that they are just two pastors, "no big fancy podcast budget" for professional transcripts and extensive and expansive links to online resources. Jeff said that you just have to listen to the episode, and take notes. "There is a wealth of leadership encouragement here for the small church pastor" he said. That's about all he said, because he was pretty grumpy I was calling him in the middle of writing a paper. (I probably shouldn't have said that?) They are going to be traveling and on vacation for the next few weeks, but they have done their work ahead of time, and recorded all the episodes through August 20th. Which, I think, is pretty impressive. I listen to podcasts for Gnomes, and a lot of these podcasts put up "best of" repeats in the summer. Not Jonny and Jeff! In the coming weeks, they have Angela, the "voice of 200churches" in the studio for an episode, Coach Dave Jacobs talking about how to become an outward focused church, Nathan Stob, for his second appearance on the podcast talking about pornography addiction, and then they did an episode with just them, talking about their passion for small church ministry - I've listened to them all, and I liked them. But then again, I'm just a Gnome. This episode is based on a blog post Dan Reiland wrote, and you can find it here. Please enjoy Episode 80 of the 200churches Podcast. And if you talk with Jeff or Jonny, tell them you liked the Gnome! Bill Hybels tells the funny story about visiting a small church while on his summer study break in Michigan. The first Sunday he was there the person singing special music walked up on the platform with their own mic, and plugged it into the mic cord causing a loud pop followed by a screech. It was both startling and nerve shattering. The second weekend he attended the exact same thing happened. “This is a problem!” he said to himself. Then he wondered, “is there a leader in the house?” He went on to say that leaders are problem solvers; their job is to solve problems.
This week we talked with Dan Reiland about solving problems in our small church, one at a time. Pastors are notorious for being blind to all the problems after their second year. They see no evil, speak no evil, and hear no evil. The church members just shake their heads and wonder, “when is someone going to fix this problem?!” I know this is true pastors, because I do it! When Jonny arrived at our church, he proceeded to point out to me all the problems. That is, the problems that I had been blind to. Dan talked about asking outside pastors to come into your church, and see the things you stopped seeing years ago. He’s so right! Jonny did that for me, but you could get a pastor to come without paying his salary. He will gladly critique your church with your cheerful permission. If you are committed to being a problem solver for your congregation, bring in some outside eyes. If they attend a service on the weekend, they will see some of the problems you don’t see anymore. We have three questions for you:
Ask for God’s help, make your list, and get to solving problems! You can do it pastor. Use the six steps Dan talked about in episode 75. We believe in you!
We are so excited and happy to be able to offer this episode, #75, of the 200churches Podcast to all of our small church pastor friends!! Dan Reiland, Executive Pastor of 12Stone Church in Lawrenceville, GA, BRINGS THE HEAT! It's so fun to produce a podcast that small church pastors do not need to adapt to their smaller context - it's already dead on for you!
In the process of giving six thoughts about problem solving, Dan provides some priceless leadership tips that you can begin to implement... TODAY.
Here are the six simple thoughts for solving problems one at a time that Dan unpacks in this episode. I list them for your reference, but the podcast is so much better! :)
Dan mentions Robert Morris and his book, The Blessed Life: Unlocking the Rewards of Generous Living. We hope that you are encouraged, inspired, and affirmed as you listen to this episode. Your leadership, teaching, pastoral care, and oversight of your 200church is making a HUGE impact in the Kingdom of God. God loves his sheep and has given you to them to love and care for them. Enjoy it even as you assume the responsibility very seriously. |
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