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Top 10 Most Ministry-Impacting Podcasts

January 31, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Media Survey Results: Part 3

In conducting our recent survey to see what ministry leaders were having an impact on your ministry, one finding in particular stood out.

After books, the next leading source of equipping media seems to be podcasts. Podcasts appear to be having more impact than any other form of digital or social media, including blogs, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

Other findings of note:

  • Two Canadian ministries were in the Top 10; Mark Buchanan of New Life Church on Vancouver Island, and The Meeting House in southern Ontario. I love to see Canadian leaders connecting with other Canadian leaders.
  • One “secular” media source made the list; Ted.com. As Bill Hybels says every year at the Global Leadership Summit, “Leaders can learn from a variety of disciplines.”
  • Andy Stanley’s podcast is far and away the most popular podcast, according to our survey. You could almost say that Andy Stanley was first; everyone was else was second.

 We asked:

Which 3 PODCASTS, Christian or secular, are currently having the most impact or relevance to your ministry?

Here, in order, are the top 10 results (clicking on the name of each podcast will take you to its home on iTunes where you can subscribe to it);

  1. Andy Stanley
  2. Timothy Keller
  3. Mark Driscoll
  4. Bill Hybels
  5. Craig Groeschel
  6. Focus on the Family
  7. Ravi Zacharias
  8. Mark Buchanan
  9. TEDTalks
  10. The Meeting House

Note that this is not a scientific survey; it serves only to give you a quick snapshot as to what podcasts have been making an impact on Christian leaders in Canada in 2011.

While we received literally dozens of varying answers to this question, only 8 other podcasts received enough mentions to be deemed statistically significant. The entire list can be found by clicking here.

Here are the previous survey question results:

So, what about social media? To what extent does Twitter, Facebook and blogs impact ministry, and who is creating that impact?

Check back soon to see.

What podcasts would you add to this list?

Filed Under: Poll, Social Media Tagged With: , ,

Our Canada Our Time – Declarations

January 30, 2012 By 2 Comments

God is up to something in Canada, and you are a part of it!

Last September at The Global Leadership Summit 2011, God stirred up the hearts of hundreds of Canadians from coast to coast. Thousands of people were motivated by the growing realization that God was about to spark a spiritual renewal across the country, and hundreds responded to this stirring by submitting a declaration about the call God had placed in their heart.

Yours was one of those declarations.

Now, we want to follow up and see what has transpired since then. Is God still stirring in the same way? Has the sense of call shifted in any way, or intensified? Have you taken any steps towards seeing this call result in action?

Please share your story with us below! We’d love to know how God’s vision for Canada is taking root in your life.


Name:
Email Address:
Your Declaration:

Filed Under: Action, Results Tagged With: , , , , ,

Top 10 Most Ministry-Impacting Authors

January 27, 2012 By 1 Comment

Media Survey Results: Part 2

Have you ever noticed how a new author can appear on the Christian leadership scene and cause such a wave that soon every title he or she produces is simply “must reading”?

On the other hand some writers have transcended beyond being “the latest thing”; their writings seem to speak powerfully to every generation.

When The Leadership Centre Willow Creek Canada recently conducted an online survey of Christian leaders, we were eager to discover which writers were creating such buzz among leaders. Here’s what we found.

Which 3 AUTHORS, Christian or secular, are currently having the most impact or relevance to your ministry?

Here, in order, are the top 10 results (clicking on the author’s name will take you to their website where you can get more information on the author, their books and other resources available);

  1. Tim Keller
  2. Bill Hybels
  3. Andy Stanley
  4. NT Wright
  5. Francis Chan
  6. Dallas Willard
  7. Eugene Peterson
  8. Henri Nouwen
  9. Brian McLaren
  10. Patrick Lencioni

Note that this is not a scientific survey; it serves only to give you a quick snapshot as to what authors have been making an impact on Christian leaders in Canada in 2011.

In total there were 55 authors who made the list. To see the complete list click here. (Note that responses deemed statistically insignificant are not included.)

To see the previous survey results, Top 10 Books, click here.

Our survey included other forms of media and resources. I was fascinated to see that, after books, the media which was gaining the most traction with Christian leaders was podcasts.

Which podcasts are most popular? Check back soon to see.

What authors would you add to this list?

Filed Under: Canadian, Culture, Leadership, Ministry, Poll Tagged With: , ,

Top 10 Most Ministry-Impacting Books

January 24, 2012 By 6 Comments

Media Survey Results: Part 1

Wherever Christian leaders gather, it isn’t long before the topic of conversation turns to the question, “So, what are you reading these days?”

Leaders don’t ask this to make idle chitchat. Leaders are readers. In addition, leaders value their time as a precious commodity; they want to know that the next book they pick up (or load on their Kindle) is likely to have an impact. They can’t afford to start reading a new book, only to find out after half a dozen chapters, that it just isn’t delivering what they need.

With all this in mind, The Leadership Centre Willow Creek Canada recently conducted an online survey of Christian leaders in Canada, and the first question we asked was:

In 2011, what were the 3 most ministry-impacting BOOKS you read?

Here, in order, are the top 10 results (clicking a title will open the publisher’s website where you can get more information on the book);

  1. Sun Stand Still, Steven Furtick
  2. Radical, David Platt
  3. The Power of a Whisper, Bill Hybels
  4. Surprised by Hope, NT Wright
  5. Humilitas, John Dickson
  6. Prodigal God, Timothy Keller
  7. Sticky Church, Larry Osborne
  8. Disappointment with God, Philip Yancey
  9. Leading on Empty, Wayne Cordeiro
  10. Simple Church, Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger

Note that this is not a scientific survey; it serves only to give you a quick snapshot as to what books have been making an impact on Christian leaders in Canada in 2011.

In total there were 49 books that made the list. To see the complete list in alphabetical order click here. (Note that responses deemed statistically insignificant are not included.)

Interestingly, the next question we asked was to find out which authors were having the greatest impact. To our surprise, the list of authors did not always match the list of books!

Check back soon to see the list of top ministry authors.

What books would you add to this list?

Filed Under: Effectiveness, Ministry Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Ever Been So Mad You Felt Like Leaving Your Church?

January 17, 2012 By 4 Comments

In the past 24 months I’ve switched my home cable provider three times.

A grocery store opened closer to our house last year, so we’ve switched to that store.

I discovered that a different credit card would help me accumulate travel points quicker, so I switched to that card a few months ago.

All of us are so accustomed to moving our business from one place to another that perhaps it’s inevitable that we sometimes bring the same thinking to our local church.

As a church elder, people will seek me out from time to time to have one of those “I’m thinking of leaving our church” conversations. I had one this week.

My response is always the same. I ask, “Are you angry at the community or the company?”

communityThe baffled look on their face prompts me to explain. “Look, the church is really the community; you know, it’s you and me. It’s all of us. It’s all the ‘one another’ stuff in the New Testament.

“The company is different. That’s my term for the staff, the budget, the facility, the utility bills, the governance structure; all the stuff the community puts in place to help us along the way.”

Then I add, “It sounds to me like you’re really mad at the company, not the community.”

You see, almost always when someone is mad at “the church”, they’re really mad at the company; that organized part that makes decisions, distributes resources, and so on.

Once people see that distinction I ask, “So, if it’s the company you’re mad at, why would you want to respond by punishing the community?”

Then I take them right back to 1 Corinthians 12 and hit them with verse 18: “God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.”

Let’s face it. Life in the local church can be a bumpy ride, and along the way you may indeed find yourself pretty upset at decisions, directions and policies.

However you choose to respond, remember that when you’re mad at the company, don’t take it out on the community.

Because “God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.”

What do you do when you’re mad at “the church”? What is an appropriate way to respond when we’re angry at church decisions?

Filed Under: Church Tagged With: , , ,
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