The Power Of The Personal Pain A Christian Leader Faces

Today I am being dispatched by Injoy Stewardship Solutions (ISS) (check out a free gift from them below) to attend Day 2 of the Purpose Driven Leadership Conference.  In an effort to grow in my skills to better add value to pastors and church leaders, I will be live blogging throughout.

David Chrzan, Saddleback Church’s Chief of Staff along with Jim and Jennifer Cowart, Founding Pastors of Harvest Church continued their teaching in the next session.  The following were their thoughts on Purpose Driven Leadership.  Pay particular attention to the lessons on personal pain:

1. The preacher is the hired salesman.  The testimony is the satisfied customer. – David
2. Use testimonies to model the behavior you want repeated. – David
3. You don’t want the guy who wants to give his testimony every week and do it publically. – David
4. One of the least understood things about life is there is unity and understanding in pain. – David
5. I want to invest in your dreams but I don’t want to fund your failures. – David
6. You’re only as sick as your secrets. – David
7. Your greatest ministry is not going to come out of your success.  Your greatest ministry is going to come out of your deepest pain. – David

Additional Leadership Thoughts:

1. We often miss what is already coming in the calendar.  Christmas and Easter should be your Super Bowl Sundays. – David
2. The emphasis is shifting from Easter to Christmas.  Christmas is a whole season. – David
3. Throw away the broken toys.  The nursery is the last place to get funding and parents will not come back to a church with a bad nursery. – Jennifer
4. Are you friendly to your friends or are you friendly to everybody? – Jennifer
5. We have a 3-Minute Rule.  Spend the first three minutes after a service speaking to someone they didn’t know. – Jim
6. Unless you as a pastor have shared your story about where you are, your people don’t want to hear about your private devotional life…They don’t care about what you’re learning. – David
7. In seminary we’re taught to convey information.  You can have a bunch of information and be mean as a snake…The goal of preaching is a call to an action.  You were asked to do something.  You want your people to get better. – Jim
8. Our church is going to look like what Heaven is.  We want you to get used to it now…We want to be a church where anyone can feel at home. – David
9. The #1 question first-time visitors ask is not a theological question.  They are asking a sociological question.  And there asking it with their eyes.  They look around the room and ask, “Is there anyone else in the room like me.” – David
10. Jesus LOVED “Those People”. – David

This has been a great event.

As a special gift to everyone reading this post, ISS is pleased to offer our latest resource Nothing Grows A Church Faster absolutely FREE.  This complimentary eBook contains 5 sermon outlines you can use this fall to speak on money and possessions.  Click HERE or on the image to the left to receive your copy today.  Enjoy!!!