Craig Groeschel, pastor of Lifechurch.tv delivered a phenomenal leadership message today at the Catalyst One Day. I am posting notes from it here because the principles are so pertinent to the ongoing work we do each day with our Auxano clients as we walk the Vision Pathway. I want to thank Josh Brickey for posting these notes so quickly on his blog:
Busting Barriers with Mindset Changes- Craig Groeschel
1) Think differently about your church culture
Wrong Mindset: Our People won’t ______. (you fill in the blank). We tend to blame it on the people.
Mind shift: We haven’t led them to _____. (you fill in the blank). It’s not a people problem, it’s a leadership problem. We have to lead them to do what God’s called us to do.
2) Think differently about programming
Wrong Mindset: We have to do more to reach more. From Craig's experience, the true spiritual impact decreased as the number of programs increased.
Mind shift: We can reach more by doing less. We do the things that we are passionate about and what God has uniquely called us to do. The only way to reach the people that no one else is reaching is to do the things that no one else is doing. What do you need to stop doing that you’re doing right now?
3) Think differently about the mission
In most churches, we really don’t believe in what we say that God’s called us to do. If we did, we’d do things differently. Elevate the mission and apply it relationally.
Wrong Mindset: We can’t hurt someone’s feelings. We often put people’s feelings above the mission.
Mind shift: We can’t allow someone to hold back the mission of the church. Do not hire and recruit for today and not for tomorrow. It will hard to do, but it’s the right thing. Some of you need to step into the pain and make the decision.
4) Think differently about people leaving the church
Wrong mindset: We can’t let anyone leave. When a church is insecure, people will feel it.
Mind Shift: We can grow when people leave. You love the long term gain enough to endure the short term pain. Create a culture that allows and empowers people to leave on good terms. LifeChurch tells their congregation “If you are not growing here, or if you’re not using your gifts here, go visit churches this month to see if you can do so there.”
5) Think differently about limitations
Wrong mindset: We can’t because we don’t. We say we don’t have the right budget, right worship leader, right stuff.
Mind Shift: We can because we don’t. Your greatest creativity and breakthroughs can come from our limitations. (Illustration: If I told a church that you need to come up with $100,000 by next Thursday, most would not be able to do it. But…what if your child was going to die by next Thursday if you didn’t have the cure. The cure costs $100,000. You would find a way to make it happen). God often guides by what he doesn’t provide. If you have the very thing that you want, you may not see what God wants you to see. Innovation is born out of limitation.
THREE ASSIGNMENTS
1) Find somone one or two steps ahead of you and learn how they think. Most want to learn what they do-not what they think.
2) Identify one wrong mindset and ask God to renew your mind with truth.
3) Identify one painful decision you’ve been avoiding and commit to make the decision no matter what the short term pain.