Enduring Churches Podcast with Alan and Trent

Episode 322:  7 Ways to Sabotage Change in Your Churc   1. Thinking your position gives you the right to make change 2. Refusing to gather input from multiple perspectives 3. Falsely assuming everyone is or should be an an early adopter of change 4. Making the wrong changes 5. Moving too fast or to slow 6. Giving up too soon 7. Praying too little

 Is Your Welcome Center Welcoming?   Don't assume your church is good at welcoming guests. Designate a welcome area and keep it highly visible. Get volunteers who will make welcoming a passion. Train your volunteers regularly. Announce your welcome area during the service. Gather only essential information. Follow up as quickly as possible.

Episode 320:  5 Thoughts About Communio Think about its frequency strategically Think about its placement in the service Think broadly in how you structure it. passive - people receive the elements active - people must perform an action to receive elements purpose - ties it to a larger focus (remembering the cost of forgiveness, forgiving others, self-examination...) Think about informal opportunities for communion Think about asking others for their ideas for sharing communion

Episode 319: Does Your Church Have an Acts 1:8 Strategy   take a look at your yearly stats for the last 5 to 10 years.  Look for attendance trends Look for baptism trends Look for Missions giving and involvement trends Ask the hard questions Are we currently doing or planning to do a gospel outreach effort in our local community? Are we currently doing or planning to do a gospel outreach effort in our state? Are we currently doing or planning to do a gospel outreach effort in our nation or region? Are we currently doing or planning to do a gospel outreach effort in our world? Missions doesn't equal projects - Missions always equals sharing the gospel Size doesn't matter Church size doesn't give us an excuse Its ok to start with a small group going and sharing. Going to one area usually overflows to other areas

  more people care about your ministry than you realize more people know about your churches  strengths and its problems than you would believe the church down the street has just as many issues as your church does your congregations has something to offer God's Kingdom. God has a purpose and plan for you right now

Episode 317: Time Change: Preparing for Transitions   It seems that every doctor’s appointment I have now requires some kind of prep work and most of it is unpleasant.   If you’re not there you will be someday. Why? Because time in this world is not static and life moves on. Someone once said that all pastors are interims. From a time standpoint, that is certainly true. Because of this, we have a responsibility in setting a tone for times of transition.    Succession planning is a hot topic in ministry circles. But succession only works where people have a healthy view of transitions. As church leaders, how we handle transitions of people in and out of our churches will have a great impact on the future of the church and the health of their transitions. Here are a few things we can do to help build a healthy environment for transitions:   1) Celebrate people who have a calling to ministry and send them with your blessing.   2) When people move, consider commissioning them to their new community, encouraging them to find a Biblical church, joining and serving in it.   3) When people leave due to church conflict, continue to love them, and pray for them. Be sure you have exhausted every chance at reconciliation.   4) Celebrate lay leaders who have served faithfully for a long time and help them plan succession for their area of ministry.   5) Talk about transition, preach about transition. In the flow of preaching, the Bible has a lot to say about transitions (healthy and unhealthy) in the lives of the patriarchs, the kings, the prophets. Jesus’ preparation for the disciples to minister without Him is a good example as well as Paul’s later writings where his death seems immanent. 

Episode 316: When Is too Much   Can You have too much women's ministry and men's ministry? Can you have too much student ministry and children's ministry?   Does it take away from the family dynamic? Does it undercut the corporate gathering? Are they taking away from evangelism? Are they creating opportunities for outreach and service? Are they a breeding ground for gossip? Do they complement one another? Do they have a strategic plan and purpose?

Episode 315: Riley Prather   Enjoy our talk with Riley Prather a church planter/pastor from Conneticut. He also works with the SEND Network of the SBC

Episode 314: Crisis Leadership   Here are what I call 5 “P”s for crisis management: 1. Preparation - have you built a collaborative team to walk with you and help you in crisis?   2. People - your leadership team, your lay leaders, your church, and your community are all affected by a crisis. How are you prepared to minister and communicate with each group?   Jeff Iorg   You cannot lead if you cannot bring and inflict pain   3. Process - you have to work through a process. Differing situations require different processes, but you have to commit to working the process.   4. Perception - like it or not, how we handle a crisis will reflect on us personally, on the church, and on the Lord. We need to communicate quickly, clearly, and honestly with as much information as is appropriate. Remember that everything you do from the platform disciples your congregation.   5. Possibilities - COVID taught all of us that crisis also brings forward possibilities. In the business world, they speak about organizational learning. Certainly our churches learn and grow. For us, it goes deeper, a crisis is an opportunity to demonstrate our faith is real. All for His good and for His glory!     Put these in your back pocket, hopefully you won’t need them often, but they will be there when you need them.

Episode 313: 5 Mistakes In Our Preaching Plan We get tunnel vision and miss the bigger picture We get fixated on one style and one method We plan for only our voice to be heard We forget the importance of flexibility We preach at issues.