Up Close Conversation with Reggie Joiner

Part One and Part Two of my UP CLOSE Conversation with Reggie Joiner, founder of the Orange Conference and CEO of the Rethink Group. Reggie is also the author of Think Orange and co-author of 7 Practices of Effective Ministry, and has been involved in Catalyst since the beginning as an emcee and speaker.

In my humble opinion, Reggie is the leading voice and expert on helping churches and church leaders create holistic strategy for students from 3 – 23. He’s one smart dude.

A Candid Interview with Gayle Haggard, wife of Ted Haggard

The latest Catalyst Podcast features an interview with Gayle Haggard. Ken Coleman had the chance to catch up with Gayle, a mother, speaker, teacher, wife of Ted Haggard, and author of the best-selling book Why I Stayed,

Gayle has recently been a guest on Oprah, Larry King Live, The View and several other prominent networks and shows. You can listen to the episode here or better yet download from itunes.

Eight great church leaders under the radar

Follow them on Twitter (each name is linked to their twitter page). Learn from them. Call/email/visit them and ask their advice.

1. Jeff Henderson- campus pastor at Buckhead Church in Atlanta

2. Charles Jenkins- pastor at Fellowship Missionary Baptist in Chicago

3. Jenni Catron- executive pastor at Cross Point in Nashville

4. Darren Whitehead- teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community Church

5. Cynthia Ware- executive director, Center for Church Communication

6. JR Kerr- teaching pastor, Park Community Church in Chicago

7. Jay Hardwick- founding pastor, Awaken Church in Columbia, SC

8. Matt Carter- senior pastor, The Austin Stone Community Church

Building a Great team

Recently, I found some notes I took from a gathering last summer I was honored to be a part of with Brian Houston and several pastors. Brian is the senior pastor of Hillsong Church in Sydney, Australia, and a GREAT leader. He shared some great insight and great leadership wisdom. Check out some of the great resources available from Brian here.

I had saved these notes on my computer with intentions of sharing here on the blog, and so here you go. We’ll start with a few points on creating a great team that Brian shared with us from his experience.

1. As a leader of an organization, the most important thing you do is select, equip and release leaders.

2. Live and lead so that your team is an overflow of your leadership. Don’t think too much, or too little, or too often, of yourself. Can people flourish on your team, or does your personality or stature get in the way? If someone can’t flourish, why would they stay?

3. There’s no such thing as forever when it comes to your team. People won’t be with you forever, so make sure you create layers of generational leadership. Be intentional about it.

4. You won’t necessarily always find the right people, but you can build them into the right part of your team.

5. Big difference between a strong leader and a controlling leader. Strong is not wrong, but controlling will limit who stays with you for the long term.

6. It takes time to build a great team, and takes time to build great leaders on your team. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Avoid shortcuts.

A Conversation with Mark Driscoll

The latest Catalyst Podcast features an interview I recently did with Mark Driscoll, founding pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle. Mark will be with us in a month at Catalyst West.

You can listen here or download from itunes.

Join charity: water and the Unshaken campaign for Haiti

Today is World Water Day. There are BILLIONS around the world TODAY with no access to safe clean drinking water, and that is not right. Let’s do something about it. Starting in Haiti with the Unshaken Campaign. Created by my friends at charity: water.

1. Watch this video.

2. Spread the word about this through Twitter and Facebook.

3. Get involved. Over 1.3 million is needed to fully fund this project. My friends at Invisible Children have already kicked in $100,000 to get started, and Urban Outfitters has pledged $30,000. 10% has already been raised. You or your company/organization can be a part.

Haiti needs clean water for years to come. Help charity: water fund sustainable projects.

5 Tips for Brainstorming Meetings

1. Write it down. Everything. Cause you’ll forget most of what you discussed within 3 hours.

2. Never say no. The answer is “yes and”.

3. Allow for rabbit trails. Great ideas many times come from distractions.

4. Change the environment on a consistent basis. Move where people are sitting, open curtains or windows, change the front of the room, etc.

5. Bring plenty of snacks. A sugar or caffeine rush can be just what the Dr. ordered…..

Up Close Conversation with Charles Lee

Had the chance to catch up with my good friend Charles Lee recently. Charles is an entrepreneur, the founder of Idea Camp, Just One, and Ideation Conference, and pastor at New Hope in Orange County. In the interview below, we talk about Ideation Conference, the future of social causes, collaboration, and why connections may be more important than content at conferences going forward.

Speaking of Ideation Conference, it is happening on April 5-6 in Long Beach, CA. If you want to attend, use the Rate Code BLOGGER and receive $50 off your registration price. I highly recommend it.