May 19, 2012

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How to Tackle the 3 Biggest Challenges Facing Canadian Churches

February 14, 2012 By 3 Comments

Take a minute to give an honest reaction to these leadership questions:

  • What part of your church is “stuck”, and what would it take to get it moving again? 
  • How could your church be better positioned to make a significant Kingdom impact? 
  • What would it take to see more people in your faith community move from “consumers” to disciples?

In 2011 these were the questions that dominated leadership conversations in Canada. So in 2012 we’re rolling up our sleeves to see church leaders from coast to coast tackle these challenges.

Introducing Innovate 2012. Innovate is not so much a workshop, as it is series of leadership conversations with some of Canada’s pace-setting church leaders.

And we want you and your leadership team to be a part of the conversation.

Tim Schroeder, The Leadership Centre Willow Creek Canada’s “National Pastor”, will host the conversation, featuring leaders who have been making progress on each front.

But this is not an afternoon of “talking heads”. This will be an energized, interactive four-hour session, where leadership teams will be working on highly practical applications. It will be a chance for church teams to fire questions at the panel of leaders, and then work to apply learnings to individual church settings.

We believe that these conversations are so important to the advancement of the Kingdom in our country that we are not charging an admission fee to participate. We will gratefully receive donations to offset costs, but we do not want finances to be a reason for your team not to take part.

Each of the 12 sites is limited to 10 teams of six, so I’d urge you to reserve your place now. For more information, and to reserve your table, click here.

So make plans now to bring your leaders to the Innovate 2012 site near you.

And let’s get to work.

Filed Under: Canadian, Church, Team Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Random Thoughts from a Week in Atlantic Canada

November 2, 2010 By 3 Comments

Wrapping up a week connecting with church leaders, I’ve jotted down a few reflections…

  • Looking for a sterling example of a leadership transition? Check out the baton pass from Ted Yuke to Russ Conway at Rock Church in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
  • When you think of innovative churches, you might not think of one that looks like this. But this is Brunswick Street Baptist Church in the heart of Fredericton, New Brunswick, and they are doing some cutting edge missional ministry for the homeless.
  • Brunswick Street Baptist ChurchAtlantic Baptist University in Moncton recently changed their name to Crandall University. But that was just the start of the innovations for this landmark school. Now they’re talking about taking advantage of the fact that the Global Leadership Summit in Canada will now be in late September. The dream? To leverage the Summit as part of the school curriculum.
  • One of the most effective ministry partnerships I’ve ever seen is between two leaders from different churches, different denominations and different generations. But what Laurel Buckingham of Moncton Wesleyan church and Jerry Reddy of Hillside Baptist Church have done is nothing short of remarkable. Between these two leaders and their churches they have simply resolved to work together until the Moncton region has been reached for Christ. Inspiring.
  • Richard Jackson, senior pastor at First Baptist Moncton, is the kind of guy you want to connect with if you’re looking for straight-forward yet effective bridge-building ideas. Deep Water ChurchWhat these people recently pulled off with a simple neighbourhood barbecue is impressive.
  • If you’re ever in downtown Halifax and are looking for a church willing to do almost anything to reach their community for Christ, check out this place; Deep Water Church, and meet their pastor AJ Thomas. He’s quite a guy.
  • Apohaqui is a small, picturesque rural area about an hour’s drive from Moncton, Atlantic Community Churchbest known as the birthplace of Frank McKenna. But it’s also home to a dynamic growing group of believers, Atlantic Community Church, led by a great leader, Kevin Vincent.

Driving through this part of Canada on a beautiful autumn day, you realize you’re truly in one of the most breathtakingly beautiful parts of our country.

Filed Under: Canadian, Community, Joy, Leadership Summit Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Leadership Lessons from Toy Story; Communicate Change Openly and Directly

August 11, 2010 By 6 Comments

One of my favourite scenes from the original Toy Story movie is when Woody assembles the toys for a “staff meeting”, where he intends to inform them that their owner, Andy, has had the date for his birthday party changed.

Knowing that this news is likely to evoke a strong reaction, Woody starts by bringing them a couple of fairly innocuous pieces of information (eg, “Does everyone have a moving buddy?”) before delivering the real news.

Almost under his breath, Woody nonchalantly looks on the second page of his agenda and mumbles, “Oh, and one minor note, the date for Andy’s birthday party has changed…to today.”

Watching Mr. Potatohead, Rex, Ham and the others totally freaking out is pretty hilarious.

The leadership lesson for Woody? How you deliver this kind of news is as important as what the news itself actually is. In this case, news of this importance required clear, open, up-front communication.

Similarly, at the close of this year’s Global Leadership Summit we delivered some fairly significant news; that starting in 2011 the Canadian Summit is moving to the end of September. And while we had no reactions nearly as intense as those of Woody’s friends, this news is worthy of open discussion.

Here then, is the background to this move.

At the start of June we met with our Summit host pastors, along with Bill Hybels, and asked them how we could extend the impact of the Summit. I was surprised to hear them say that we should move the dates.

After getting feedback from church leaders across Canada, two vital themes emerged. The first was that the single greatest factor which limits the impact of the Summit is the time of year.

Secondly, Canadian church leaders want the Summit to more fully reflect our own country’s leadership issues. This move will allow us to not only capture the entire U.S. Summit experience, but also enhance it with new content.

Moving forward there’s another Toy Story leadership lesson to be gleaned. Woody made the mistake of simply announcing this change and then moving on. We want to engage in dialogue. So here are a couple of questions I’d love to get your input on:

  • How can we leverage the Summit to impact more church leaders in Canada?
  • What are the most pressing leadership issues facing the Canadian church that could be addressed in the Summit?

Filed Under: Canadian, Leadership, Leadership Summit, Missional Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

A Single View Through 12 Lenses

March 30, 2010 By 2 Comments

Last week I had the tremendous privilege of traveling throughout southern and southwest Ontario, meeting with ministry and church leaders. While the topics of discussion varied, one theme came up over and over: God is powerfully at work in our land, in our day!

Here’s a snapshot of their stories:
• Lorie Hartshorn from EQUIP reported that she is seeing a growing desire for leadership development among church leaders in Montreal.
• Brian McCauley from Muskoka Woods shared how the new Muskoka Woods Leadership Centre will be opening this summer, preparing to introduce new leadership development strategies for young people. Exciting!
• John and Rebecca Horwood couldn’t conceal their enthusiasm for a partnership we’re developing to challenge downtown Toronto’s business leaders to seize Kingdom possibilities.
• Bryan Bylsma, a dynamic marketplace leader and former team mate of The Leadership Centre Willow Creek Canada , shared our vision for new leadership strategies aimed at the under 35-year-old leader.
• Willard Metzger of World Vision Canada described how local churches are embracing global outreach like never before.
• Mark Holmen of Faith at Home revealed the “hotbed” for its movement is in Canada, seeing parents embrace their role as their children’s primary spiritual influence. Great news!
• Paul Yoon of BooksforChrist.com could see clearly that a mentoring network for young leaders was needed to prepare the next generation for future leadership roles.
• Joel Bennett, a church consultant with Breakthrough, shared how his Back to Summit seminars have helped local churches extend the impact of The Global Leadership Summit. I love that!
• Chris Vacher of Orangeville Baptist Church updated me on how God has been mightily at work through Worship Rises, bringing worship leaders together for powerful times of collaboration. Incredible!
• Chris Wignall of Catalyst Foundation came to life describing his passion for young leaders being developed to their full potential. Inspiring vision!
• Jim Brown, president of STRIVE, shared wisdom from years of experience and expertise in board governance, reminding me that God’s work flourishes where His church is being well-led.
• Barry Slauenwhite of Compassion Canada painted a compelling picture of the remarkable growth being seen in Canadian churches reaching out around the world.

I’ll be processing these learnings for some time, but one thing was made clear to me from these encounters; God is indeed at work, and the time is now to join with Him in what He is doing.

Where are you seeing God at work, and how are you partnering with Him in that work?

Filed Under: Action, Canadian, Community, Leadership, Leadership Summit, Missional Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,