How Brian Wilson is leading Access Church to leverage Covid-19 for the Kingdom WATCH HERE!

How Brian Wilson is leading Access Church to leverage Covid-19 for the Kingdom WATCH HERE!

Several years ago I met with Brian Wilson and one statement he made back then stuck in my mind.  It was in response to the notion of church planting.  Brian’s response went something like this: “that is so hard, I don’t think I would ever want to plant unless the Lord made it super clear”.

Three years later, through the leading of the Holy Spirit, Brian has partnered with Him to plant Access Church – a vibrant community of Jesus followers in Menefee, CA.

Brian is a member of our Leadership Collective.  Last week I interviewed him to ask how he is helping Access Church navigate this VUCA moment.  In case you don’t recognize that acrostic, VUCA stands for:

  • Volatile
  • Uncertain
  • Complex
  • Ambiguous

As I’ve interacted with pastors and church planters the last month they tend to fall into one of two camps.  Survival (hunkering down to weather the storm) or Shine (leveraging this season for the Kingdom).  Brian shared his observations as he leads Access Church through this VUCA season to Shine in the midst of adversity.

Chance for the church to shine:

  • Opportunity to shine brighter
  • Create momentum & connection
  • Be opportunists

Encouragement to Pastors:

  • Leaders shine brightest in adversity
  • Attend to yourself
  • Come out of this stronger

Watch the entire interview – CLICK HERE.

 

Why does disciplemaking begin in the Harvest?

Why does disciplemaking begin in the Harvest?

I had the privilege to interview Colin Noyes and Micah Dodson in response to the question: Why does disciplemaking begin in the Harvest? 

Watch the video – CLICK HERE!

Colin lives in Brisbane, Australia and is an authority on disciplemaking movements.  For the last twenty years he has served in denominations, ministries and leaders as a coach/consultant/trainer.  Colin has authored three books on the topic.

Here are key points Colin shares:

  • Jesus started in the harvest 
  • Disciples worked in the harvest because they were a very small group in a pagan world
  • Disciplemaking was a normal part of life for every believer
  • People today are interested in Jesus and what He has to say
  • The post-Constantine church has to be obedient to Jesus and look back

Read more about Colin – CLICK HERE.

Here are the key points Micah shares:

  • Orienting our lives around people who don’t know Jesus
  • Jesus intends that we make the most of every opportunity
  • Live in proximity to people who don’t know Christ
  • Empower people to go out

Micah is an experienced church planter.  He serves in the Pacific Northwest coaching, training, and assessing church planting leaders.  Micah brings a compassion for the church planting couple and family in partnership with his wife, Kristen.  Read more about Micah – CLICK HERE.

Please interact with the points from above, in the conversation below.

 

How to lead your church staff effectively during uncertain times

How to lead your church staff effectively during uncertain times

Pastors, church planters and staff members have been forced to work from home in virtual offices due to the warnings, limitations and restrictions imposed on local church ministry due to Covid-19.  For many this is the first time working in a virtual environment.  Adding to the angst of the situation is the inability to meet with people in regulay, face-to-face meetings.

Here are some of the questions this raises for lead pastors, church planters and staff members:

  • How can I help my staff stay on mission?
  • How can I coach my staff to brainstorm solutions?
  • How can I support my staff when conflict surfaces in their team?

Leaning into this new reality is begging leaders to lead differently.  More so now than ever it is critical to raise your effectiveness as a team leader for your church staff.  A number of pastors, church planters and staff members that I have worked with over the years have benefited from assessments to reveal their strengths and weaknesses.

Discover the skills you need to develop when leading a virtual team.

Below is a FREE, 5 minute quiz that will help you reflect on 8 critical skills of an empowering leader.  So if you are looking for a way to effectively lead a virtual church staff team the, “How to lead your church staff effectively during uncertain times” quiz is an excellent first step.  Once you submit your responses to the quiz, a report will be generated and e-mailed to you immediately with suggestions to help you grow in the respective areas.

Take the “How to lead your church staff effectively during uncertain times” by clicking on the button below.

START HERE FOR FREE QUIZ

Begin your Disciplemaking Pathway in the Harvest

Begin your Disciplemaking Pathway in the Harvest

Micah Dodson and I talk about the primary shift a leader must wrestle through in order to establish a culture of disciplemaking in your church.  This is perhaps the key philosophical decision a leader must make to create an intentional community of disciples, making disciples.  After we discuss the shift then I ask Micah to present a challenge to take the next step to strengthen your disciplemaking culture.

You will need 6 minutes to view this video; I promise it will be worth your time – CLICK HERE!

To get the conversation started – share your take away from the video below.

Making Disciples Coaching Guide

Making Disciples Coaching Guide

7 Question to Innovate Creative Solutions in Ministry during Uncertain Times

7 Question to Innovate Creative Solutions in Ministry during Uncertain Times

History will tell the story how the Church decided to act in faith and be the Church in crisis.

Last Tuesday Gina (my wife) and I made an executive decision for our small group.  We have a wonderful host couple that open their home so that our group of 5-17 members (depending on the week) can meet on Tuesday evenings for about 28 weeks throughout the year.  A number of our participants have compromised immune systems or loved ones who are at greater risk than the general population.  Last weekend our church, like about many other congregations across the country, launched their first-ever online worship service.

Back to our small group.  I discussed the situation with Gina and we came up with a solution.  Due to the the various reasons above – we moved our small group gathering to a virtual format, using Zoom.  This is not an original idea with us.  In fact, this might seem old school for many.  But, it was an innovative solution to a real and pressing issue.

This allowed our group to meet without concerns for the health of our people who deal with compromised immune systems.  More importantly, this removed the excuse not to meet.  Check-out the list of questions below to consider creative solutions to complex problems.

7 Questions to Innovate Creative Solutions in Ministry during Uncertain Times
  1. What is influencing our decisions as we navigate this crisis?
  2. How can we leverage the circumstances the crisis is presenting, to move the mission of Jesus forward?
  3. Brainstorm a list of ideas that come to mind.
  4. Narrow the list to the best 3-5 ideas.
  5. What are the pros and cons of each idea?
  6. Choose the best idea that you can execute within a certain timeframe.
  7. What are the necessary steps to implement this idea.

Going to an online platform to keep your church connected might be the direction you need to move right now.  This forced migration might be the best thing for your congregation.  Perhaps, online isn’t something you need to do and there are other considerations that will allow you to capitalize on the opportunity?

Three COMPLIMENTARY Coaching Sessions to Innovate Creative Solutions During Uncertain Times

With the warnings, limitations and restrictions imposed on your ministry; would you like help navigating this season?  With that in mind, InFocus is offering three complimentary coaching appointments, 30 minutes each.  Going online with worship services, small groups or your entire ministry is innovative.

With the current restrictions the government has enforced due to the Coronavirus there was an uptick in webinars just last week to assist leaders that need to introduce online solutions for their church, facilitated by experts in the field. If you would like assistance on sorting through all the options I would be happy to coach you around the best way to address your need.  Simply click on the button below to schedule a time that works for you.  You determine the agenda:

  • Taking your worship services online
  • Taking your disciplemaking online
  • Taking your church online

…..or some other topic of your choosing!

CLICK HERE  to schedule your first appointment

 

 

 

 

 

 

7 Questions to Sharpen your Disciple Making Process

7 Questions to Sharpen your Disciple Making Process

Four findings recently surfaced from a national study of Disciple Making in USA churches:

  1. Fewer than 5% of churches in the US have a reproducing disciple making culture
  2. An absence of churches reflecting viral-like disciple making movements
  3. Lack of commonly understood definitions
  4. Overestimating Impact

*National Study on Disciple Making in USA Churches: High Aspirations Amidst Disappointing Results

The report cited above elaborates on each of the key points.  If you lead one of the churches within that 5%, then your ministry is exceptional – well done!  You can read the report in it’s entirety – CLICK HERE.

7 Questions to Sharpen your Disciple Making Process

Reflection Questions:

  • What was your discipleship journey like?
  • What “steps” of your journey have been repeated by others, through your ministry?
  • When you consider the essential steps a disciple takes, what steps are missing from the list you created above?
  • What steps does your church do well?

Planning Questions:

  • Which steps could your church improve on?
  • Select one step you need to focus on now?
  • Identify one action you can take to enhance that step.

Of course, these questions are just a first step.  But when taken seriously, consistently monitoring progress, you can create a “reproducing disciple making culture”.  It is within reach.  You can move the needle in the right direction.  Review the Making Disciples Storyboard and assess where your ministry is strong and where there are gaps.  Then take action.

It is mind-boggling to think that the primary mission of the church is to make disciples; yet, less than 5% of our churches “have a reproducing disciple making culture”.  Through the hard work of capable disciplemakers under the guidance of the Holy Spirit – we can do better than that!  Wouldn’t you agree?

 

Leadership Collective 2020 is underway!

Leadership Collective 2020 is underway!

We met in La Jolla, CA and had a rich time of connecting and learning.

Four values define the Leadership Collective:

  1. Continual Learning
  2. Meaningful Relationships
  3. Challenge Assumptions
  4. Action & Reflection

The Kick-off Retreat focused on disciplemaking.  We asked participants to process four key questions so that they could:

  • DEFINE a disciple
  • ASSESS their discipleship process
  • IDENTIFY a Person of Peace
  • ENVISION their discipleship process
Leadership Collective 2020!

Morning “toast” with Collective participants.

What I enjoyed most was the way God worked during our time together to build trust, provide unique insights and forge new pathways to make more and better disciples.

 

Tomorrow: Learn LIVE from leading authorities, Peter Hawkins and David Clutterbuck

Tomorrow: Learn LIVE from leading authorities, Peter Hawkins and David Clutterbuck

Greetings,

As you know, I strive to keep you informed about excellent coach training opportunities.  My vision is to help YOU take an empowering approach to develop the leaders around you!  The bonus is that this is a complimentary webinar.

Starting tomorrow, you can learn live from 2 of the industry’s greatest thought leaders, Professors Peter Hawkins and David Clutterbuck!  They are coming from a corporate and academic orientation to coaching but I believe their experience can flow over into a ministry coaching context.  Wherever you are using a coach approach to make & multiply:

  • Disciples
  • Leaders
  • Plant Churches.

Secure your spot for this complimentary Team Coaching Accelerator: Advance to the Leading Edge of Team Coaching and Team Leadership 

In this first Live GTCI event Peter & David will show you how to leverage the incredible power of team coaching. Learn what makes team coaching stand apart from other interventions like team facilitation or team building. Shift your perspective of teams and leaders – take a complex, adaptive systems approach. It’s everything you need in order to start building team coaching into your personal development plan as a coach!

By the end of this session, you’ll understand how to work with competence and confidence in a team coaching environment.

If you’re ready to help organizations optimize team effectiveness and succeed in a VUCA world, this accelerator is for you. You’ll unlock a new paradigm of leadership and teamwork that most successful team coaches are implementing.

Register for the Team Coaching Accelerator here

If you’re interested, I highly recommend you sign up right away. The first 5 sessions have now reached full capacity.

This training has the power to profoundly impact your coaching practice. Excited to see you there!

I trust this FREE accelerator will profoundly impact the way you coach!

REGISTER TODAY FOR THE LEADERSHIP COLLECTIVE

Want to unlock a new paradigm of leadership and teamwork?

Want to unlock a new paradigm of leadership and teamwork?

Greetings!

As you know, I strive to keep you informed about excellent coach training opportunities.  My vision is to help YOU take an empowering approach to develop the leaders around you!  The bonus is that this is a complimentary webinar.

The Team Coaching Accelerator: Advance to the Leading Edge of Team Coaching and Team Leadership featuring Leadership Professors Peter Hawkins and David Clutterbuck is starting soon! Have you secured your spot?

Whether you are a missionary, denominational leader responsible for church multiplication, a church planter or lead pastor – empowering your team through coaching is a high priority.  This is your chance to learn live from 2 of the industry’s greatest thought leaders. Peter and David are passionate about helping coaches like you develop masterful skills to handle difficult and emerging client challenges.

Secure your complimentary seat for the LIVE accelerator here

In this complimentary accelerator, you’ll learn how to:

  • Distinguish between team coaching and other interventions, such as team facilitation or team building
  • Take a complex, adaptive systems perspective of teams and their leaders
  • Begin building team coaching into your personal development planning as a coach

Gain valuable insight into the transitions necessary to move from 1-to-1 coaching to the much more complex world of team coaching. If you’re ready to unlock a new paradigm of leadership and teamwork that’s vital to success in 2020 and beyond, join me at this session.

Register for the complimentary, LIVE Team Coaching Accelerator here

By joining this historic LIVE event, you’re among the first to experience The Global Team Coaching Institute – THE global destination for team coaching.

I trust this FREE accelerator will profoundly impact the way you coach!

REGISTER TODAY FOR THE LEADERSHIP COLLECTIVE

Why is team coaching vital for success in 2020?

Why is team coaching vital for success in 2020?

Greetings!

As you know, I strive to keep you informed about excellent coach training opportunities.  My vision is to help leaders take an empowering approach to develop the leaders around you!  One of the most significant shifts leaders face as you embrace and practice a coach approach, is moving from coaching an individual to coaching a group or team.  It may seem like a simple transition; in reality, the shift from individual to group grows exponentially in complexity.

My prayer is that this would support your work of disciplemaking, leader development and church planting/multiplication.

The Global Team Coaching Institute (GTCI) – is a new institute dedicated to Team Coaching.  They are bringing the world’s foremost experts in team coaching, to teach on this important topic.  Professors Peter Hawkins and David Clutterbuck have partnered to bring you a complimentary, LIVE Team Coaching Accelerator: Advance to the Leading Edge of Team Coaching and Team Leadership. I’d love for you to be my guest!

Experience the First live GTCI event – Secure your complimentary seat for the LIVE Team Coaching Accelerator here

In this 90 minute accelerator, Peter & David will show you how to leverage the incredible power of team coaching. You’ll learn how to distinguish between team coaching and other interventions, such as team facilitation, team building and one to one. Plus you’ll learn how to take a complex, adaptive systems perspective of teams and their leaders. By the end of this session, you’ll be able to begin building team coaching into your personal development planning as a coach.

I trust this FREE accelerator will profoundly impact the way you coach!

REGISTER TODAY FOR THE LEADERSHIP COLLECTIVE