SpireLeader V1 No1

Volume 1 Number 1

GAMIFICATION MOTIVATION - Yu-kai Chou page 29

BETTER THAN OUR GIFTS - Jodi Hickerson page 35

KILL THE SPIDER - Carlos Whittaker page 26

THE HEART OF THE LEADER - Dave Stone page 20

DOTS AND MOMENTS - Levi Lusko Fresh Life Church page 17

2019 Spire Conference schedule TUESDAY – October 8, 2019 9:00 AM

Registration Open

7:30 AM

Golf Outing – Hawk's-Landing

10:00 AM

Exhibits Open - Grand Ballroom and Registration Lobby

1:30 PM to 2:45 PM

Cypress Ballroom 1A - RePOSITION: 5 Strategic NT Shifts toward Church Health & Growth - David Vaughan and Dan Garrett with the Center for Church Leadership

3:00 PM to 4:15 PM

Leadership with Levi Lusko - Cypress Ballroom 1A

5:00 PM

Free for Dinner

6:30 PM

Main Session – The Leader’s Team - Crystal Ballroom Featuring: Levi Lusko; Rick Rusaw with Scott Beck; Jodi Hickerson; Ashley Wooldridge

A Note about Worship: There will be worship experiences during each main session of the conference featuring the Worship Team from Eastside Christian Church, a multi-site church based in Anaheim, California.

8:30 PM

Opening Night Party - Exhibits Closed

WEDNESDAY – October 9, 2019 8:00 AM

Exhibits Open - Grand Ballroom and Registration Lobby

9:00 AM

Main Session – The Leader’s Challenges - Crystal Ballroom Featuring: Jon Tyson; Caleb Kaltenbach; Melissa Sandal; Oscar Muriu; Matt Merold; Yu-kai Chou; Tim Foot with Rick Rusaw

12:00 PM

Lunch

1:30 PM

Huddles and Breakout Sessions

THURSDAY – October 10, 2019 8:00 AM

Exhibits Open - Grand Ballroom and Registration Lobby

9:00 AM

Main Session – The Leader’s Heart - Crystal Ballroom Featuring: Justin Miller; Carlos Whitaker; Mindy Caliguire; Jamie Snyder; Dave Stone

1:15 - 3:15 PM

Spire Now: Take the Impact Home – Cypress Ballroom 1A - Join Intentional Churches and the Spire Network immediately following the final Spire session for lunch and a customized panel discussion with Dave Stone, Gene Appel, and Aaron Brockett. The focus will be on taking Spire’s lessons back to your church for immediate action. Bring your team and your next-level questions.

It’s the perfect way to end and incredible week and ensure Spire makes a difference at your church.

Lunch included. Sign-up is required to make sure you have a light lunch available.

3:15 PM

Formal Spire Conference programming ends.

3:15 PM

Exhibits Close

RICK RUSAW

learn to be of value where you are Leadership is a privilege but it is also incredibly challenging, particularly ministry leadership. We lead multi-faceted ministries, we have a mostly volunteer organization, we have a calling from God, a burden for people and our communities and about a billion opinions about what we should be doing. No wonder the stats aren’t great for pastor-health and longevity in ministry.

Spire wants to focus on leaders, to connect leaders and provide a way for leaders to share ideas, resources, best practices and along the way develop meaningful trusted relationships that can encourage, give guidance and assist us. I am forever grateful for the people who mentored and encouraged me in ministry and gave me opportunity to be in this for the long haul. One of those provided the single best piece of advice I have ever received.

I had just recently moved to Ft. Myers, FL to begin my first ministry in a local church. As a young man I had plenty of dreams and aspirations not only for the church where I was serving but for other places with other opportunities. It wasn’t that I simply saw the church as a stepping stone, something to endure until a better situation would come, the church was a wonderful place with plenty of opportunity. I knew that there were committees and conventions and leadership situations that those who did their ministry well had the opportunity to be involved in. Ambition can be a good thing but ambition that is clothed in immaturity can be a disastrous thing particularly when one is desirous of serving.

Also on staff for this congregation was a semi-retired man who was nearly 80. Dr. Lester Ford had been an engineer, preacher and college president. He had moved to Florida to retire and one of his Timothy’s had asked him to help at the church, so a few days a week Dr. Ford would give his time to the church. I am not sure if he saw me as one last project to tackle or someone who paid him, either way he took me under his wing.

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There were plenty of valuable lessons I learned from Dr. Ford that have served me well for years and it is with plenty of fondness I recall his friendship. It was from Dr. Ford that I received the single best piece of advice I had ever received and I am convinced it has made a tremendous difference over the years.

One day at lunch he asked me what I wanted to do with my life, what dreams I had for the future. So with plenty of enthusiasm I shared the things that were on my heart. Dr. Ford listened carefully. He helped me shape some of my ideas, he encouraged many, smiled at some and simply laughed at others as if somehow they were familiar to him. After a long time of talking about the future, he leaned across the table and said to me, “Rick, you have plenty of great dreams and you should never stop dreaming, but along the way, learn to be of value where you are. In the midst of pursuing the future don’t forget to be of value where you are. Because you will be of no value in the future if you don’t give everything you have right now to what you are doing. Learn to be of value where you are, don’t worry about being of value where you are not”.

Over the years there have been plenty of dreams and along the way opportunities they have all been served by that simple piece of advice. To give the best of my effort and energy and passion and prayer to what I was doing. To quit wondering what it might be like to be in another place, with different circumstances or with different people. To stop spending the best part of your day focused on the would’ve, could’ve, should haves. To simply learn to be of value where I am.

I meet plenty of leaders, ministers who spend a good deal of time talking about what things would be like if they were in a different place. They long for a time when everything will come together just right and then they will be valued, then their abilities and capabilities will be realized. Longing for a better situation or some great dream they have for the future they never realize the potential in their current place.

“... you will be of no value in the future if you don’t give everything you have right now to what you are doing.”

- Dr. Lester Ford Through the years I have had plenty of dreams and hopes. Still do. I have discovered that being of value where I am has resulted in many of those plans and dreams being realized. That giving the very best I had regardless of the circumstances was all I could do, it was all I was expected to do. Dr. Ford has long ago gone to be with the Lord, one of our last visits was several years after that lunch conversation. He was in the hospital and not long for this world. I thanked him for his friendship and his investment in me, he said, “just keep being of value where you are, you never know what God might do”. You never do know what God might do if you learn to be of value where you are.

At this fist Spire conference, we hope you will find value in these few days, but that unlike other conferences you will keep the conversation going, engage in the connections that can make a difference and most of all bring your value to the network today and in the days going forward.

For more than 28 years, Rick Rusaw served as Lead Pastor at LifeBridge Christian Church in Longmont, Colorado.

Rick has assisted churches and denominations worldwide in developing an external focus to ministry and has authored several books and resources including the best-selling missional-book Externally Focused Church, as well as Life on Loan, Externally Focused Quest, 60 Simple Secrets Every Pastor Needs to Know, The Neighboring Church and The Neighboring Life.

Rick currently leads the Spire Network, a national digital engagement platform, conference and innovation community focused on equipping and inspiring Christian leaders. Rick also serves on the executive team at Gloo, a Boulder, Colorado data and technology company.

Rick and his wife Diane have three children and seven grandchildren who all call Colorado home.

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spire conference map MEETING SPACE

ACTIVITIES AND SERVICES

download the spirecon event app on the app store or on google play.

RESTAURANTS & LOUNGES Falls Pool Bar & Grill Central Pantry High Velocity Sports Bar Latitude and Longitude Lobby Lounge Mikado Japanese Steakhouse Siro: Urban Italian Kitchen Starbucks®

LEVEL

RECREATION Basketball Court Falls Pool Fitness Center (24-hour) Hawk’s Landing Golf Course Indoor Pool Jogging Trail (1.5 Miles) Arcade Sand Volleyball Courts Tennis Courts West Terrace Spa Pool Separate quiet pool located outside the spa

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KID’S COVE

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Activities World Scheduled activities throughout the week Plunge Zone 3 water slides Splash Zone Kid’s zero entry pool with pop jets and water toys

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GUEST SERVICES Bell Services Concierge FedEx Office Full Service & Self Service Business Center Front Desk Guest Laundry Hertz Desk Blo Blow Dry Bar Spa

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RETAIL STORES Hawk’s Landing Golf Pro Shop Lobby Gift Shop Resort Shop Spa Retail Shop

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CONVENTION FLOOR LEVEL Crystal Ballroom 1 Salons A-Q Cypress Ballroom 1 Sections 1-3 Grand Ballroom 1 Salons 1-14 Hall of Cities 1 Anaheim, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, New Orleans, San Antonio, San Francisco, St. Louis, Tampa, Washington Palms Ballroom 1 Canary 1-4, Royal, Sabal, Sago NORTH TOWER LEVEL Caribbean Ballroom 2 Aruba, Bahamas, Grand Cayman, St. Thomas, West Indies, Puerto Rico Florida Ballroom 2 Harbor Beach, Sawgrass, Marco Island, Vinoy The Keys 2 Key Biscayne, Key Largo, Key West EAST TOWER LEVEL Emerald 4 Emerald, Emerald East, Emerald South Diamond 5 Diamond, Diamond East, Diamond South 6 Jade Jade, Jade East, Jade South Marriott Suite 11 Hawk’s Landing 2 OUTDOOR FUNCTION SPACE Falls Fairway Terrace Falls Fire Place Patio Falls Function Lawn Fairway Lawn West Terrace Lawn Harvest Terrace & HyCube

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GUEST ROOM KEY TOWER

South: 1 East: 2 West: 3 North: 4

ROOM #

10101-11010 20436-22876 30101-30825 40401-41931

( Ex: Room 20676 located in East Tower 2, Floor 06, Room 76 )

= Elevator

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world center marriott Orlando ORLANDO WORLD CENTER MARRIOTT 8701 World Center Drive • Orlando, Florida 32821 407.239.4200 • WorldCenterMarriott.com • Poolside Laser Show Nightly • Relax in our Spa or hit the links at our Hawk’s Landing Golf Course

Harvest Terrace & HyCube

Blo Blow Dry Bar

Falls Pool Bar & Grill

Falls Fire Place Patio

Fairway Lawn

Download our free WorldFinder app today and explore your way through our resort.

Scan to download now, or visit Apple App Store or Google Play.

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NORTH TOWER MEETING R (ON 2ND LEVEL)

CARIBBEAN BALLROOMS SELF-SERVICE BUSINESS CENTER

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HOTEL EQUIPMENT STORAGE

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Contents LEARN TO BE A VALUE WHERE YOU ARE - RICK RUSAW. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PAGE 4 ORLANDO WORLD CENTER MARRIOTT MAP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PAGE 7-9 SPIRE MAIN SESSIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PAGE 11 SPIRE HUDDLES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PAGE 12 SPIRE BREAKOUTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PAGE 14 DOTS AND MOMENTS - LEVI LUSKO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PAGE 17 THE HEART OF THE LEADER - DAVE STONE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PAGE 20 CREATING ALIGNMENT TO LOVE LGBTQ INDIVIDUALS WELL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PAGE 23 KILL THE SPIDER - CARLOS WHITTAKER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PAGE 26 GAMIFICATION - YU-KAI CHOU. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PAGE 29 CHEMISTRY TRUMPS TALENT - HAMP GREEN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PAGE 33 BETTER THAN OUR GIFTS - JODI HICKERSON. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PAGE 35 BIRDS IN THE HAND - GREG CURTIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PAGE 37 TEACH YOUR CONGREGATION TO WORSHIP - TIM FOOT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PAGE 40 THE LEADER'S HEART (THERE'S A TOOL FOR THAT) - JUSTIN MILLER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PAGE 43 THE BURDEN IS LIGHT - JON TYSON. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PAGE 44 SPIRE CONFERENCE EXHIBITORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PAGE 46

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main session

1 2 3

tuesday main session The Leadership Team

Levi Lusko

Tuesday, October 8

Rick Rusaw

6:30 PM

Scott Beck

Jodi Hickerson

Ashley Wooldridge

wednesday main session The Leader's Challenges

Wednesday, October 9

Jon Tyson

Caleb Kaltenbach

Melissa Sandal

Yu-kai Chou

Tim Foot

Rick Rusaw

9:00 AM

Oscar Muriu

Matt Merold

thursday main session The Leader's Heart

Justin Miller

Thursday, October 10

Carlos Whittaker

9:00 AM

Mindy Caliguire

Jamie Snyder

Dave Stone

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HUDDLES: 1:30 - 4:30pm Huddles are a roundtable, interactive experience where you get to learn from experts but also have your current Church issues addressed and get to help speak into the lives of others by adding your own wisdom to the conversation.

Senior Pastors – Cypress Ballroom 1A - Dave Dummitt You’ll have options to talk with different experts over their area of expertise: - Breaking 200 - Brian Combs, Northside Christian Church - Breaking 800 - Darrel Land, Redemption Christian Church - Multisite - Jerry Harris, The Crossing & Bo Chancy, Manchester Christian Church - Fully Funded - Dave Dummitt, 242 Community Church - Healthy Elder/Sr. Pastor Relationship - Don Wilson & Mike Nave - Church Planting Church - Nate Bush, New City Church Executive Pastors - Crystal Side Salon K & L - Mark Montemayor (Real Life Church) with Facilitators Tim Winters (Shepherd Church), Bill Brown (Parkview Christian Church), Melissa Sandel (Westside Christian Church), and Jeremy Hoff (Shepherd Church) In this huddle you’ll have the opportunity to participate in three unique ministry leadership conversations. Each one-hour conversation will be facilitated by a team of experienced executive ministry leaders who will provide practical insights as well as relational connections for you to grow as an executive leader Worship/Experience/Communications – Cypress Ballroom 1A - Tim Foot (LifeBridge Christian Church) with Kem Meyer (Communications) and Jeff Sandstrom (Production) This is the place for Worship Leaders, Creative Arts, Production & Communication Directors to talk about going to the next level in their work.

Life Groups –New York/New Orleans Rooms - Hamp Greene (Church of the Highlands)

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Hamp oversees the Life Groups at Church of the Highlands, a church of over 47,000 people. He will lead you to discover the core principles for you to evaluate and create the healthiest system of groups possible for your church. You’ll also get to sit with other churches who are in your same size & setting.

First Impression/Assimilation – Denver Room - Greg Curtis (Eastside Christian Church) Learn from one of the best Assimilation Pastors in the country while sitting at a table with Churches that are in your setting.

Next Generation/College Age/Campus Ministry/ Children's Ministry – Cypress Ballroom 1A - Jon McCallon (Southeast Christian Church) with Mike Branton (Sun Valley Community Church) and Michael Chanley (Northside Christian Church Children's Ministry) This is an opportunity to learn from some of the most seasoned Children’s & Student ministers and from people who are leading in your setting & context.

Local/Global Outreach – Chicago Room - Doug Newland (Northside Christian Church) Come share and learn about the best ways to mobilize your Church to serve your community and partner internationally.

Leadership Pipeline – Cypress Ballroom 1A - Oscar Muriu (Nairobi Chapel) Oscar has been a part of the Rooted Network that has created a global movement of leaders helping people take their next step with Jesus. Oscar will share irreplaceable values to building and releasing leaders in your Church.

Campus Pastor - Crystal Ballroom Side Salon M - Geoff Surratt Every campus pastor has a different job description.

Some get to preach, others just host, but they all carry the mantle of leadership in a unique way. Come share what you’re learning as a campus pastor and be invested into by one of the most experienced coaches of campus pastors in Geoff Surratt.

Huddles are a roundtable, interactive experience where you get to learn from experts but also have your current Church issues addressed and get to help speak into the lives of others by adding your own wisdom to the conversation.

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Sexual Identity & the Church – Grand Ballroom Side Salon 11 - Caleb Kaltenbach

BREAKOUTS: 1:30 - 2:45pm & 3:15 – 4:30pm Non-for-Profit & Self Leadership – Grand Ballroom Side Salon 9 - Brad Lomenick From spending more than two decades alongside thought leaders such as Jim Collins and Malcolm Gladwell, as well as countless Fortune 500 CEOs and start-up entrepreneurs, leadership consultant Brad Lomenick has created a practical road map for helping anyone implement and live out the twenty transformational habits that he discovered to be common among the world’s most innovative leaders.

In H3 Leadership, Lomenick organizes these twenty habits into three distinct filters he calls “the 3 H’s”:• Humble: Who am I? • Hungry: Where do I want to go? • Hustle: How will I get there? These attributes, and the habits it takes to create and nourish them, belong to the leader who is willing to work hard, get the task done, and make sure the mission is never about him or her.

But becoming an H3 leader goes far beyond learning what all these are. It requires putting them into practice daily.

Finding your Voice as a Pastor’s Spouse – Grand Ballroom Side Salon 10 - Michelle Jernigan and Lisa Jernigan Ever wonder how to fully live in your giftedness with your spouse being in the spotlight? You are not alone!

One of the most powerful realizations we can have (especially when married to someone in ministry) is to discover the unique gifts and talents that God gave to us. Michelle Jernigan and Lisa Jernigan will share their perspectives from two different generations and lead this honest discussion about how our calling doesn't end with being a spouse.

Michelle lives in Portland, Oregon where her husband serves as the Lead Pastor of Abundant Life Church.

She is a mom of five little kids and runs real estate businesses in Oregon and Arizona.

Lisa lives in Mesa, Arizona where her husband serves as the Lead Pastor of Central Christian Church. Lisa has been doing ministry for over four decades and recently founded a non-profit called Amplify Peace where she travels the world leading others to discover how to be modern-day peacemakers.

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Caleb Kaltenbach was raised by LGBT parents, marched in gay pride parades as a youngster, and experienced firsthand the hatred and bitterness of some Christians toward his family. But then Caleb surprised everyone, including himself, by becoming a Christian…and a pastor.

Few issues in Christianity are as divisive as the acceptance of the LGBT community in the church. As a pastor & a person with beloved family members living a gay lifestyle, Caleb had to face this issue with courage & grace.

Caleb went on to author Messy Grace and shows us that Jesus’s command to “love your neighbor as yourself” doesn’t have an exception clause for a gay “neighbor”— or for that matter, any other “neighbor” we might find it hard to relate to. Jesus was able to love these people and yet still hold on to his beliefs. So, can you. Even when it’s messy.

Mental Health – Grand Ballroom Side Salon 12 - Dr. Paul Alexander Nearly twenty million people in the United States deal with depression but only 1 in 10 seek out help.

How do we help our Church’s, let alone our staff and ourselves when we face this issue? Dr. Paul Alexander is passionate about equipping the Church to engage in such a critical and sensitive topic.

Gamification: Grand Ballroom Side Salon 13 - Beyond Points, Badges & Leaderboards – Yu-kai Chou The new era of Gamification and Human-Focused Design optimizes for motivation and engagement over traditional Function-Focused Design. Gamification Pioneer Yu-kai Chou and his sixteen years of obsessive research in creating the Octalysis Framework; teach us how to apply the framework to create engaging and successful experiences in our Churches, workplace, marketing, and personal lives.

Yu-Kai is CEO of Octalysis Prime (.com) || Chair of The Octalysis Group || Rated “Gamification Guru of the Year” by World Gamification Congress (2014, 2015) and Gamification Europe (2017) || Regular Lecturer and Keynote Speaker: Stanford, LEGO, TEDx, BCG, Porsche, etc.

Preaching to Today's Culture - Grand Ballroom Side Salon 14 - Jon Tyson (Church of the City) Speaking & engaging with our culture, especially as pastors, is one of the toughest things to keep up with.

Jon Tyson preaches & leads Church of The City in New York City and speaks to a culture that’s made up of almost every worldview available. In this breakout you’ll find out how Jon navigates the waters of culture to connect & proclaim the power & promise of Jesus.

Leading through Transition: Miami Room - Sean Morgan and David Kinnaman (Note: Only offered 1 Time at 1:30 PM) We’ll reveal groundbreaking research designed to help NEW Lead Pastors step into the lead role of established churches and lead forward toward a thriving impactful ministry. We will bring unprecedented, behind-thescenes insight from hundreds of church transitions.

While books have been written on planning for succession, it is true that most of the church thinks the journey is over when the baton is passed from predecessor to successor...The truth is that the journey has just begun; and, the only way a senior leader transition will be measured as successful is if the new leader leads the church forward to health and growth.

We know that leading established churches forward is one of the most daunting leadership challenges a church or leader will ever face. This research brings key learning to a much-needed space. We’ll cover key topics like: • The most common issues that present roadblocks and obstacles for new leaders • Inheriting the board/elders someone else has appointed or elected • Building your executive leadership team • How to approach the standard church core and giving base which is usually approaching retirement - just like the outgoing leader pastor

Faith for Exiles: Miami Room - David Kinnaman (Note: Only offered 1 time at 3:15 PM) In a series of groundbreaking studies that led to two bestselling books, David Kinnaman and his team at Barna Group uncovered the reasons young people are increasingly resisting and rejecting the church. But the news isn't all bleak.

Culture of Care: Developing a Trauma Informed Approach to Child Abuse Prevention and Response Within Our Churches - Crystal Ballroom Side Salon N - Robin D. Blair PhD, Aftercare Director, Rapha International Conservative estimates suggest 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys will experience some form of sexual abuse. Likely, 20% of your congregation is already living and coping with this particular trauma, and 20% of your youth are currently at risk of experiencing this trauma. How will your church respond to those who are hurting in this way? How will your church be part of the solution rather than part of the problem? This workshop provides information about the vulnerabilities present in many churches, and the ways in which you can mitigate these risks. Join us to learn how to create a Culture of Care in your church in order to prevent and respond to child sexual abuse.

Data Driven Decision Making: Crystal Ballroom Side Salons A & B - Matt Smay (Gloo) and Devon Kline (Gloo) From ancient astronomers who tracked the position of planets to mathematicians who developed the first calendars, data-informed decision making has been a valued practice throughout history. We’ve come a long way from tally marks and etchings, and now data plays a bigger role than ever in our lives.

During this 75-minute breakout session you’ll learn how churches can apply data across their ministry strategy to guide more people towards lifelong journeys of spiritual growth.

Spire Engagement App Demonstration: Crystal Ballroom Side Salons C & D - Mark Kitts The Spire Engagement App is a radical new way for Leaders to Connect, Collaborate, and share Content with other church leaders. The app is being launched at the Spire Conference, so you are invited to be the first to see this new interactive platform. Network leaders should come find out how you can expand your organization through exciting new ways. Mark will demonstrate the initial version and share what is coming in the future.

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levi lusko

dots and moments. life is made up of dots and moments.

Our job as leaders is to make moments. To help people experience a moment in time: insert a moment when their life was changed, a moment when they were transformed. A moment when they were baptized, saved, called to ministry. To help people have a moment where they sense God fill them with a dream for a film they’re going to write, or a play they’re going to produce, or a bakery they’re going to open, or a clothing line they’re going to start. A moment in time when they were gripped by the fact that God Almighty loves them, where they were hit with the glory of God, confronted with the weight of His power. We’re in the moment business. But to get to moments, you have to have dots.

Oh, I like that. I’ve been there. You see that movie? I’ve seen that movie.” You’re hunting for details. Jesus was the master of all these things. He knew how to deal with people. He was always collecting. “Are you thirsty? You come here often? Do you want to be made well?”

It’s loving people, serving people, knowing people, loving your city, caring about what’s happening. You just have to choose to look.

Jesus went from Genesis to Revelation and connected dots. “Remember that thing, Isaiah? Yeah, that’s Me. And remember that one time in Genesis when the lamb’s blood became a covering? That was Me.” He literally went through the entire Old Testament and connected dots. Leadership, life, ministry, knowing God, business— it’s really all about connections made that can be turned into moments.

Passion

In order to connect, we have to collect. Danny Meyer, New York City restaurateur and the CEO of the Union Square Hospitality Group, put it this way: “ABCD, always be collecting dots.” Jesus couldn’t have connected dots if He hadn’t collected dots. He knew the verses because He had been planted in God’s house since the early age; He had always heard God’s word, He had always hidden it in His heart. He was able to use it when He needed to in the desert, and He was able to use it when He needed to in teaching in the synagogue. And so in our lives, we need to connect what we collect.

Collecting dots is as simple as looking for them.

Assessing any social situation and asking “Who are you?

Who brought you? What’s your friend’s name? What business are you in? What do you like? Oh, you like this?

Here are three things you will need if you’re going to be a champion dot collector, dot connector, and moment maker.

You have to care. To quote my boy, Teddy Roosevelt, “No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.” That’s just Christianity 101.

For some, this comes very naturally. For others, it takes more work to force yourself outside of your skin, to ask those questions, to inquire, to investigate. Studies say those who lead with charisma have a more engaged team than those who don’t have charisma. Now, we’re not all naturally what we would describe as charismatic people and that’s okay! In the book The Charisma Myth, you’ll learn charisma is not just something you’re born with. Charisma is something you can choose even if you’re an introverted person. It’s like a muscle you can develop. You can learn to be charismatic, you can learn to be more passionate, you can learn to care, whether it comes naturally or not.

As leaders, we have the honor of walking people through the best and the worst days of their lives, or we can just let it happen before our eyes. Make this your prayer: “God, give me a greater passion, a greater heart for your people, a greater heart for my city.”

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dots and moments. life is made up of dots and moments. (continued)

Creativity Connecting and collecting dots in order to make moments takes creativity and imagination. How do we honor and celebrate people in light of the dots that we’ve collected? How can you look at your dot-collecting systems through a lens of creativity? One of our systems is that a new guest who joins us for the first time at church on a weekend gets a gift. It’s a great system, but it’s just a start. The baseline is “Here for the first time? We’re so excited you’re here. Here’s a gift.” But that alone is diminished and devalued because they sense it’s an automatic gift that everybody gets. There’s nothing customized about it. There’s nothing that tells them that they’re valued. But when the person handing them the gift finds out that they’re new in town, that they need help moving into their new place, and can collect dots to connect, now it’s personal.

She’d written him a letter and basically said, “Just so you know, my husband adores you, and has been telling your story all around the country, etc., etc.” And so his desire was to give me a birthday present with this on it to thank me for being a Leatherman ambassador.

Because she collected and connected some dots, she didn’t spend a single dollar on the best gift she’s ever given me.

That’s power of collecting dots and making moments.

Persistence Persistence. Because it’s easy to start a new thing. It’s easy to come back inspired for a week, right? It’s easy to say, “Yay, we’re going to storm the gates of hell with a water gun.” But persistence. Warren Wiersbe said, “We can’t be motivated by just duty alone.” So what should we be motivated by? It’s the Holy Spirit, it’s strength, it’s passion for people because other things are going to come and go. Persistence also means well-handled mistakes. Danny Meyer said, “The road to success is paved with mistakes well-handled.” It can actually be even more memorable for people to see how you handle your mistakes. Don’t complain, don’t blame, instead, create. Flip the switch and persist in collecting and connecting despite mistakes and setbacks.

On my birthday this year, my wife blew me away with a moment she made, because of a connection that she made, because of a dot she collected. I’ve been preaching around the country this year the powerful story of Tim Leatherman. So for my birthday, my wife hands me a Leatherman knife that is engraved with a note from Tim Leatherman to me. On the blade of the knife, it says, “to Levi, best wishes, Tim Leatherman” in his handwriting. My wife and I had made a deal that she wasn’t going to spend any money on my birthday this year, so when she handed me the gift, I said, “you weren’t supposed to…” and she replied, “I didn’t spend one dollar on it because he gave this to me.”

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Levi Lusko is the author of the bestselling books “Through the Eyes of a Lion” and “Swipe Right.” He is also the lead pastor of Fresh Life Church– a multisite church located in Montana, Utah, Oregon, and Wyoming that he and his wife Jennie pioneered in 2007. Levi travels around the world speaking about Jesus. He takes pleasure in small things, such as black coffee, new shoes, fast Internet, and falling asleep in the sun. He and his wife have one son: Lennox, and four daughters: Alivia, Daisy, Clover, and Lenya, who is in heaven. His new book “I Declare War” is now available.

Image courtesy of Whitewater Crossing Christian Church.

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DAVE STONE

the heart of the leader Years ago I heard this statement: a great leader must possess the strengths associated with the head, the hand and the heart. The concept is that the head represents discernment, an ability to make wise decisions that are best for others and the organization.

The hand symbolizes a solid work ethic and willingness to get involved in the process and “get your hands dirty.”

But the heart, the heart is an area which isn’t as easy to explain and define.

person committed to Christ who is willing to admit their shortcomings and continues to pursue Christ. The people you lead are more concerned with your direction than your perfection.

The heart of the leader is different. Your strength can fade, your mind will go someday—but until your heart stops you will be alive. Your heart is the most important.

Solomon said in Proverbs 4:23, Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

It’s difficult to pull back the veil and force yourself to look into your own heart. Doing so has a way of making you feel like the “chief of sinners”. Sometimes I’ve said to my congregation in a sermon, “If you knew about me, what I know about me, then you wouldn’t come in here to listen to me preach.” I then go on to say, “But if I knew about you, what you know about you, we wouldn’t let you in here!”

The heart is complex and difficult to unpack because you have to peel off the exterior layers and look beneath the surface. It’s challenging because there’s this tendency to be quite protective of what’s inside and unseen.

That’s probably true for all people but even more so for leaders—and especially for Christian leaders.

Not sure I can explain it, but in “church world” the longer you lead, the more you feel pressure to appear you have it all together…even though you don’t. At least that’s been my experience in over 35 years of ministry. And as a Christian leader, Satan is quick to whisper in your ear, “You have an image to protect and a persona to advance. Play the part, don’t show any weakness.”

When you listen to those whispers you conceal rather than confide, you suppress rather than confess. But when you build relationships with others you quickly discover we are stronger together than apart. There’s a reason the wisest man said, “As iron sharpens iron so one person sharpens another.” (Proverbs 27:17 NIV) Community can foster accountability and growth.

Those in your flock aren’t looking for a paid professional whose mouth moves on cue, they are looking for a

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There’s only been one perfect leader—and it’s not you— so recognize that and allow God to continue to work on your heart in those areas diseased with impurity and wounded from your past.

The biggest danger to your heart comes from closing it off rather than opening it up. When you begin to view your work for the Lord as a job instead of a ministry it can cause you to separate from the very ones who can help you through the challenges of leadership.

When you encounter struggles and battle fears your first response should be to reach out to those who can understand what you are going through. When you try to do ministry in your own power, your heart becomes an open target for the enemy. That’s why we need one another. Christian leadership is a journey with lots of ups and downs, twists and turns, and issues of the heart.

A few years ago a medical team invited some community leaders in Louisville to watch a “live” open heart surgery.

I accepted the invitation because I knew I’d get a sermon illustration or two from the experience. (For those of you who enjoy watching Seinfeld reruns you’ll be interested to know that I even took some Junior Mints to pass around while we viewed the surgery. Several appreciated the humor, most did not.)

What excites me the most about Spire is the opportunity Christian leaders will have to grow and deepen through resources, conferences, and mentoring. Spire will facilitate weary travelers on this journey called ministry; and Spire will come alongside with others so that you don’t have to go it alone. Heart issues are too important. The first step to redesigning your heart for your season of ministry and leadership is to talk to the One who made your heart. He knows it and you better than anyone else.

And when the surgical team did the bypass portion of the operation—they actually stop the heart from beating. Simultaneously, the patient is being kept alive for a period of time on the Heart/Lung machine. But they can only be on it for so long.

After the bypass has been completed, now comes the moment of truth…they must take you off of the Heart/ Lung machine and hope that the patient’s own heart, this patched up piece of muscle will start beating on it’s own.

Usually it does, but sometimes it doesn’t. If it doesn’t, do you know what they do? The doctor taps on the heart, he touches the heart…and 99 times out of 100 the heart starts beating again. It’s basically a new heart, a transformed Heart, a redesigned heart.

When the patient regains consciousness, they will often say that apart from the soreness, they feel like a different person. The increased circulation has given them more energy and immediately they feel different.

As a Christian leader your heart may be tired or wounded or broken. Over time, imperfect leaders trying to lead imperfect people can take a toll on the leader’s heart. Heart damage occurs when you’ve been underappreciated by lay leaders or burned by church members. In time a compassionate heart can become a cynical heart. Watching one heart surgery doesn’t make me an expert on the subject, but one thing I’m certain with heart problems is this… if left alone and not dealt with, they can lead to serious consequences.

The same is true with the heart of a leader.

Perhaps a good model of what to pray could come from Israel’s best known leader. When he felt broken and took ownership of his own failures and shortcomings he prayed this prayer.

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God will not despise.

(Psalm 51:10 & 17 NIV) Fortunately, God specializes in transforming hearts.

The Great Physician is reaching out and He is ready and willing to touch your Heart…but you’ve got to be willing to go through the surgery. I pray that you will allow Him to do His work in your heart. He rebuilds, restores and redeems.

For 30 years, Dave Stone preached at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky. During his 13 years as Senior Pastor the weekend average attendance grew from 17,000 at one campus to 27,000 at six campuses. Currently Dave is serving at the Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicago as their Interim Teaching Pastor.

Dave’s involvement on the Spire Board will allow him to encourage and inspire Christian leaders and promote church health. He and Beth have three children and four grandchildren. Dave has a heart for people and a passion for families.

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CALEB KALTENBACH

creating alignment to love LGBTQ individuals well In 2015, senior pastor Stan Mitchell announced that GracePointe Church (a church he planted in a Nashville suburb) now affirmed same-sex relationships. Their attendance and finances took devastating hits. Two years later, Mitchell told The Christian Post that he shouldn’t have imposed his belief on the congregation.

“I would have gone to the leadership and said ‘I love this church and I love you and I respect you, I cannot any longer serve as a minister and not marry same-sex couples when they ask me. And you have to make your decision about what you want to do with that.” Mitchell resigned in 2018.

Sooner than later, more leaders in the same church will admit to holding different opinions on sexuality. Biblical convictions, political opinions, personal experiences, societal trends, and strong emotions usually accompany our current conversations on sexuality. Varying staff views on sexuality creates theological confusion, uncertainty of values, and ultimately, organizational misalignment. In regards to sexuality, how can leaders work to prevent misalignment within their teams?

Aligned beliefs create unity Understanding a church’s bottom-line belief on sexual intimacy, marriage, and more is a good starting place.

When the church’s bottom-line belief is known, the following question for current and future leaders is paramount: Is the leader’s view aligned with the church’s bottom-line belief?

Two leaders in the same church who hold differing views over non-essential details of a theological view but arrive at the same bottom-line belief don’t create organizational imbalance. Consider the following example: If a church has staff with a range of millennial views, do those leaders’ views align with church’s bottom-line belief on Jesus’ return?

•

If the bottom-line belief is comparable to, “Jesus will return visibly to judge the living and the dead…” then the answer would be yes (because there’s no specific millennial position). However, if the church is explicitly dispensational, then the answer would be no.

Obviously, this idea could be applied to topics like infallibility and inerrancy, those who lean Arminian while others are Reformed, etc. But what about a cultural landmine like same-sex marriage? If one leader affirms same-sex marriage and another doesn’t, will their views eventually align with the church’s bottom-line belief on marriage?

•

If the church’s bottom-line belief is, “God designed sexual intimacy to be expressed in marriage between one man and one woman” then no.

On the other hand, if the bottom-line is, “Marriage is a loving relationship between two people of either biological sex” then the answer is yes.

Michael Gryboski, “Progressive Evangelical Pastor Says He Shouldn’t Have Imposed His Pro-LGBT Announcement on Church,” The Christian Post, November 17, 2017. Accessed June 13, 2019. https://www.christianpost.com/news/ progressive-evangelical-pastor-says-he-shouldnt-have-imposed-his-pro-lgbt-announcement-on-church.html.

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creating alignment to love LGBTQ individuals well (continued)

Beliefs form the guardrails Is it obvious when a leader operates in a manner that supports or opposes a church’s bottom-line belief?

Can we distinguish from misalignment to fight the uncomfortable tension to embrace? What allowances empower or undermine the church’s integrity? Perhaps the following question might help:

Ambiguity isn’t always negative. The uncertainty of how to love God and people at the same time cultivates ministry opportunities. But it’s crucial for churches and leaders to know their bottom-line beliefs. Unity in beliefs can create alignment and helpful guardrails so we can love God and people with integrity.

Is marriage validated in contrast to the church’s belief?

Here are some scenarios where this question serves as a helpful guardrail. Keep in mind—the answers are my opinion and I’m basing them off a church that believes marriage is between a man and a woman.

If a church leader officiates a same-sex wedding, is marriage being validated in contrast to the church’s belief?

•

YES, because the leader would be joining two people into a covenant that is contrary to the scriptural male/female relationship (Gen 1:16-27; 2:24; Matt 19:4-6; Eph 5:31-32).

If a church leader attends a same-sex wedding, is marriage being validated in contrast to the church’s belief?

•

NO, because attending a wedding doesn’t equate to officiating or affirming the marriage.

One might attend to keep influence with the individuals getting married, etc. The attendee can say things like: I’m grateful to be invited…

Thank you for sharing your life with me today…

I love you.

If a volunteer teaches (Sunday school, small group) while in a same-sex relationship or is affirming of such theology, is marriage being validated in contrast to the church’s belief?

• YES, because eventually the individual will have to teach the church’s belief about marriage despite disagreement over the theology of marriage.

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My name is Caleb Kaltenbach... I was raised in the LGBTQ community by 3 LGBTQ parents.

I became a Christian in high school.

I’ve served as a pastor for 19 years .

I believe God designed sexual intimacy to be expressed in marriage between a man and a woman, but I also believe theological convictions are never catalysts to devalue anyone.

I also wrote Messy Grace, God of Tomorrow, and am working on a 3rd book. Besides speaking at conferences and churches, I’ve been a guest with The New York Times, Fox and Friends, The Glenn Beck Show, The Eric Metaxas Show, Christianity Today, Focus on the Family, Family Life Today, Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast, Church Leaders Podcast, The 700 Club, Moody Radio Show, Q Podcast, Dallas Seminary Podcast, & more. I graduated from Ozark Christian College and Talbot School of Theology (Biola University), and received my doctorate from Dallas Theological Seminary. My family and I live in Southern California.

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CARLOS WHITTAKER

kill the spider “Jesus looked at them intently and said, ‘Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.’”

Matthew 19:26 (NLT)

“‘Pastor, could you pray again? Could you please pray again that the Lord cleans the cobwebs out of my life?’ she asked.

I was on my way to a week of therapy to find out why I just couldn’t get over “the hump.”

“I reminded her I had prayed the night before for this very thing, and that the Lord would honor our prayer.

But she insisted I pray again. And so I did.

Seven days with 40 strangers and no cell phone.

Lord come quickly. Seven days.

So I called my dad to tell him I’d be MIA for a few days while I was on this “retreat.” Retreat sounded so much softer than therapy.

“Can I tell you a story?” he asked. “I have 10 minutes. Can you make it quick?” And then, like a phenomenal voiceover in some epic movie, my dad spoke up.

“When I was early in my ministry in Panama, I was preaching a three-day revival in a small church by the ocean. That first night I preached mi corazon [my heart] out. I preached hard and loud. Many were touched

by God. Toward the end of the invitation, Ms. Ramirez stood up. She made her way to the center aisle and walked very slowly toward the front. When she finally got to me, I asked Ms. Ramirez why she had come forward. Her answer was simple. “‘Pastor, I need you to pray that the Lord cleans the cobwebs out of my life. I have so many cobwebs. Could you please pray?’ she asked me.

“And so I obliged. I prayed that the Lord would clean the cobwebs out of her life. She thanked me and went on her way. On night two of the revival I saw her get up again —Ms. Ramirez. And she came walking down the aisle with a little more certainty.

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“Son, listen to me. The last night of the revival — I couldn’t believe it — she got up again. She made her way down the aisle even faster this night. I wondered if she was going to tell me that her life had begun to take a turn for the better — that the Lord had begun to clean the cobwebs. “‘Pastor Fermin, please, one last time? Can you please pray that the Lord cleans the cobwebs —’ “I stopped her mid-sentence. I stopped her because I realized we were praying the wrong prayer.

“And so I prayed, Father, we do not ask you tonight to clean the cobwebs from Ms. Ramirez’s life. In fact, Lord, keep them there for now. But tonight we ask for something much greater. Tonight we ask that you KILL THE SPIDER in Ms. Ramirez’s life. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

“Carlos, I have watched you your entire life. You are a professional at cleaning the cobwebs from your life.

You are amazing at playing the part and being used by God in spite of your circumstances. But do not go to this place and try to clean up your life. That won’t work.

You have to kill the spider. You must find the producer of all the cobwebs in your life and kill it. It is much more difficult, but that is why you are there. To kill the spider.”

And, my friends, find it I did. I imagine one of these things is running through your head right now: 1. I don’t think I have a problem with spiders, but how can I know for sure?

2. I think I have 200 spiders, so how will I kill them all?

I define a “spider” as an agreement you’ve made with a lie. And a cobweb as a medicator that brings false comfort to a lie.

We all have cobwebs. We all have spiders. And here’s the good news. We have all been filled with the same power that rolled the stone away on the third day.

“Jesus looked at them intently and said, ‘Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.’” (Matthew 19:26) You CAN kill the spider.

I share my story to give you hope to face the spiders with the power of the God who makes the earth spin and float. Because with God, everything is possible.

Thank You, Jesus, for being here. I invite You to come in and show me that place where I made an agreement with a lie that has kept me bound. Jesus, maybe shoot me a memory or a word. Come for me, Jesus, and show me that place. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Truth for Today: “At that time you won’t need to ask me for anything. I tell you the truth, you will ask the Father directly, and he will grant your request because you use my name.

You haven’t done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy.” John 16:23-24(NLT)

Related Resources: Tired of trying to live for Christ — only to keep failing with the same old behaviors? Or do you pray for guidance, deliverance, and vow to do better, yet fail to progress? In Kill the Spider, Carlos Whittaker shares personal material ranging from hilarious, selfdeprecating stories to passion-filled wisdom — to show others it’s not enough to try and “stop sinning.” Get help knocking out deep-rooted habits by treating the cause, not just the symptoms.

Get the free Kill The Spider E-Course by visiting www.killthespider.com.

Reflect and Respond: Can you sit with a journal today and write down this simple question: Dear Jesus, What agreements have I made with lies in my life? And then write. Don’t edit the Holy Spirit. Write what comes first …

Carlos Whittaker is a People’s Choice Award winner, a former recording artist signed to a major label, a social media maven, and currently spends the majority of his time writing books and speaking on stages around the world.

“Our family has experienced our share of moments both big and small. What we’ve learned is that every single one has played a pinnacle part in our lives. Each moment has built on to the next one and when we take a step back we see this incredible canvas that has been woven together.”

The release of “Moment Maker” marked Carlos’ debut as an author, but his current book “Kill the Spider” has taken Carlos’ tribe into the deeper parts of their souls. In his newest book Carlos helps people identify, locate, corner, and kill the spiders that are plaguing their lives.

Currently Carlos is regularly teaching at churches and conferences worldwide. Including Catalyst Conference, Embrace Church, FreshLife Church, and many more.

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YU-KAI CHOU

gamifaction In this day of age, understanding how human motivation and engagement works is becoming more and more essential for leading people and teams. In 2018, only 34% of American workers report to be engaged with their jobs, while 70% of Americans spend dozens of hours every week playing games.

That is why Gamifaction is becoming more and more relevant – understanding what within games are engaging people and how we can apply the same principles in our faith-based organizations.

Gamification is the craft of deriving all the fun and engaging elements found in games and applying them to real-world or productive activities. This process is what I call “Human-Focused Design,” as opposed to “Function-Focused Design.” It’s a design process that optimizes for human motivation in a system, as opposed to pure efficiency.

The challenges with Function-Focused Design Most systems are “function-focused,” designed to get the job done quickly. This is like a factory that assumes its workers will do their jobs because they are required to. However, Human-Focused Design remembers that people in a system have feelings, insecurities, and reasons why they want or do not want to do certain things, and therefore optimizes for their feelings, motivations, and engagement.

In the past decade, I have been digging deep into forming a unified framework to understand why games (or anything) motivate our behavior. The end outcome (that I now teach at organizations like Stanford University, Google, BCG, Tesla, LEGO) is the Gamification Framework called Octalysis, designed as an octagon shape with 8 Core Drives representing each side.

The unique aspect about these 8 Core Drives is that everything we do is based on one or more of the 8 Core Drives, which means that if there are no Core Drives involved, there is no motivation and zero behavior happens.

The 8 Core Drives of Motivation 1) Epic Meaning & Calling Epic Meaning & Calling is the Core Drive where a player believes that he is doing something greater than himself or he was “chosen” to do something.

A symptom of this is a player that devotes a lot of his time to maintaining a forum or helping to create things for the entire community (think Wikipedia or Open Source projects). This also comes into play when someone has “Beginner’s Luck” – an effect where people believe they have some type of gift that others don’t or believe they were “lucky” to get that amazing sword at the very beginning of the game.

2) Development & Accomplishment Development & Accomplishment is the internal drive of making progress, developing skills, and eventually overcoming challenges. The word “challenge” here is very important, as a badge or trophy without a challenge is not meaningful at all. This is also the core drive that is the easiest to design for and coincidently is where most of the PBLs: points, badges, leaderboards mostly focus on.

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gamifaction (continued) 3) Empowerment of Creativity & Feedback Empowerment of Creativity & Feedback is when people are engaged in a creative process where they have to repeatedly figure things out and try different combinations. People not only need ways to express their creativity, but they need to be able to see the results of their creativity, receive feedback, and respond in turn. This is why playing with Legos and painting are fun in-and-of themselves and often become Evergreen Mechanics, where a game-designer no longer needs to continuously add more content to keep the activity fresh and engaging.

4) Ownership & Possession This is the drive where people are motivated because they feel like they own something. When a player feels ownership, she innately wants to make what she owns better and own even more. Besides being the major core drive for wanting to accumulate wealth, this deals with many virtual goods or virtual currencies within systems. Also, if a person spends a lot of time to customize her profile or her avatar, she automatically feels more ownership towards it too. Finally, this is also the core drive that makes collecting stamps or puzzle pieces fun.

5) Social Influence & Relatedness This drive incorporates all the social elements that drive people, including: mentorship, acceptance, social responses, companionship, as well as competition and envy. When you see a friend that is amazing at some skill or owns something extraordinary, you become driven to reach the same level. Also, it includes the drive we have to draw closer to people, places, or events that we can relate to. If you see a product that reminds you of your childhood, the sense of nostalgia would likely increase the odds of you buying the product. This Core Drive is relatively well-studied too, as many companies these days are putting a lot of priority on optimizing their online social strategies.

that people can’t get something right now motivates them to think about it all day long. This is the Core Drive utilized by Facebook when it first started: at first it was just for Harvard. Then it opened up to a few other prestigious schools, and eventually all colleges. When it finally opened up to everyone, many people wanted to join because they previously couldn’t get in.

7) Unpredictability & Curiosity Generally, this is a harmless drive of wanting to find out what will happen next. If you don’t know what’s going to happen, your brain is engaged and you think about it often. Many people watch movies or read novels because of this drive. However, this drive is also the primary factor behind gambling addiction. Also, this core drive is utilized whenever a company runs a sweepstake or lottery program to engage customers.

The very controversial Skinner Box experiments, where an animal irrationally presses a lever frequently because of unpredictable results, are exclusively referring to the core drive of Unpredictability & Curiosity, although many have misunderstood it as the driver behind points, badges, and leaderboard mechanics in general.

8) Loss & Avoidance This core drive is based upon the avoidance of something negative happening. On a small scale, it could be to avoid losing previous work. On a larger scale, it could be to avoid admitting that everything you did up to this point was useless because you are now quitting. Also, opportunities that are fading away have a strong utilization of this Core Drive, because people feel like if they didn’t act immediately, they would lose the opportunity to act forever.

6) Scarcity & Impatience This is the drive of wanting something because you can’t have it. Many games have Appointment Dynamics (come back 2 hours later to get your reward) – the fact

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Left Brain vs Right Brain Drives

Within Octalysis, the Core Drives on the right are Right Brain Core Drives, being more related to creativity, self-expression, and social aspects.

The Core Drives on the left are Left Brain Core Drives, being more associated to logic, calculations, and ownership.

Interestingly, Left Brain Core Drives are Extrinsic Motivators – you are motivated because you want to obtain something, whether it be a goal, a good, or anything you cannot obtain; on the other hand, Right Brain Core Drives are Intrinsic Motivators: you don’t need a goal or reward to use your creativity, hangout with friends, or feel the suspense of unpredictability – the activity itself is rewarding on its own.

This is important, because many companies aim to design for motivation based on Extrinsic Motivators, such as giving people a reward at the end. However, many studies have shown that once you stop offering the extrinsic motivator, user motivation will often decrease to much lower than before the extrinsic motivator was first introduced.

It’s much better for companies to design experiences that motivate the Right Brain Core Drives, making something in of itself fun and rewarding, so people continuously engage in the activity.

White Hat vs Black Hat Gamification Another element to note within Octalysis is that the top Core Drives in the octagon are considered very positive motivators, while the bottom Core Drives are considered negative motivators.

Techniques that utilize the top Core Drives are called “White Hat Gamification”, while techniques that utilize the bottom Core Drives are called “Black Hat Gamification”.

If something is engaging because it lets you express your creativity, makes you feel successful through skill mastery, and gives you a higher sense of meaning, it makes people feel very good and powerful.

On the other hand, if you are always doing something because you don’t know what will happen next, you are constantly in fear of losing something, or because there are things you can’t have, even though you would still be extremely motivated to take the actions, it can often leave a bad taste in your mouth.

If you ever wonder why people you lead are not responding well, think about what Core Drives are you utilizing to motivate them, and whether you are focused on long-term sustainable types of motivation, or short-term but more urgent types of motivation.

A good leader should consider all 8 Core Drives of motivation so that everyone ends up happier, more intentional, and more productive.

Yu-kai Chou is an Author and International Keynote Speaker on Gamification and Behavioral Design.

He is the Original Creator of the Octalysis Framework for Behavioral Design , and the author of Actionable Gamification: Beyond Points, Badges, and Leaderboards.

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HAMP GREEN

chemistry trumps talent There are lots of discussions and studies exploring how team chemistry often trumps talent in sports. We have all seen many talented teams fall short of their goals due to poor attitudes and lack of chemistry.

Without good team chemistry, talented teams can find it tough to function well under pressure and often lose to a team with less talent. With good team chemistry, leaders get optimal performance more often through their team.

Through my athletic experiences, I have had the privilege playing football on a state championship high school team and national championship college team.

Many times these teams had inferior talent but superior team chemistry and somehow found a way to win. Take a deeper look at a winning team. Sure, there’s usually one or two standout players; yet more times than not, it’s the chemistry of all, not the talent of an individual that makes the winning difference. As Babe Ruth once said, “You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime.”

What if I were to tell you, as a leader, the way that you carry yourself and model the type of culture you expect is arguably more important than your talent and skillset? I realize, as a leader, the way I respond to challenging situations often leaves a greater impact on the team than the situation itself. If I handle it properly, we get stronger. If I mishandle it, we get weaker. God desires us to be led by the Spirit so that we, as leaders, can truly respond like Christ in every situation. (Gal. 5:16). Paul goes on in Galatians 5:22-23 listing nine core values for life and leadership: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and selfcontrol. What would our team chemistry look like if we were Spirit-led in every area of our leadership? I submit that everything would change for the better.

Leadership is not found in a title or position but in meaningful influence. Undoubtedly, we all face opposition, negativity, and times when it seems like everything is against us and our team. But, we must always remember, as leaders, we set the tone for our team and ultimately the organization. When we choose to consistently lead with positivity and humility,

we’ll achieve greater influence amongst the team and achieve more together.

Positivity rarely happens automatically. As leaders, we often face difficult situations that appear negative, but even so, we can speak in a way that can bless and encourage others.

“The tongue has the power of life and death…”

(Proverbs 18:21)

“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”

(Proverbs 15:1)

The words we choose during difficult situations will have a lasting impact, positive or negative.

Equally as important is an attitude of humility. Today’s culture is impressed by leaders marked by charismatic powerful personality and a commanding presence. But dangerously close to that persona, we sometimes find arrogance, entitlement, and narcissism. As Pastor Rick Warren says in The Purpose Driven Life, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.”

In my experience, humble leaders are more motivated because their primary concern is the overall success and well-being of their team. They empower without threat and embrace team members’ contributions and unique skills. Remember that “humble” does NOT mean weak as society would suggest. Quite the opposite, in fact. Humility is true inner strength. In essence, a key component to good team chemistry is a humble leader.

“…and all of you, dress yourselves in humility as you relate to one another, for “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

(1 Peter 5:5).

I routinely evaluate how well I am doing with positivity and humility. I have seen meaningful progress many times as I improve both. Answer these two questions: 1.

If everyone on my team mirrored my speech, both tone and substance, how healthy would the team chemistry be? 2. As the leader, what one thing, if changed, would have the greatest impact on the team chemistry?”

Give it try, it will make a huge difference!

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You’re a team . . . we’re all apart of it. No one reaches the summit alone. It’s a unified effort to advance a movement of healthy growing churches. It’s a movement to reach new heights in ministry through teamwork, collaboration, innovation, and leadership. It’s a network. It’s a conference. It’s a community. It’s a movement. And together - we rise.

JODI HICKERSON

better than our gifts Somewhere along the way we’ve believed that our best asset is our gifts; our leadership, our teaching, our writing, preaching, speaking, administration, strategy or vision casting. When the truth is our best asset is that we know Jesus Christ and He can transform lives.

I’m often humbled by this reminder from 2 Corinthians 4:7-15 (NIV), “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

We have this treasure. This amazing treasure...this gospel, this hope, this light, this love that God has placed in our fragile, flawed, ordinary selves to put on display that it is all about Him and not about us.

Our family had the privilege of helping plant Mission Church in Ventura, CA in the fall of 2011. Over the past 8 years, I have just stood in awe of God watching more than 700 people now go public with their faith through baptism. I’ve watched Hells angel bikers come up out of that water, prostitutes, terminally ill, homeless friends, porn distributors, people counting days clean... and do you know what they all have in common? They encountered Jesus.

You see, we can revel in thinking that we are changing lives; that’s disillusionment. Or we can marvel in the truth that God would place His treasure in a jar of clay like me to even be a part of what He is doing!

I love how John Ortberg articulates this:

I love what my husband’s hometown pastor in Owasso, OK said to him at his ordination over 20 years ago…

“It’s going to be a long road if you want to convince people that you are awesome and God is awesome at the same time.”

I believe as leaders if we are going to advance the the kingdom of God in our generation, we all need to be reminded, that we are not God’s gift to people…Jesus is.

Our only hope of glory is Christ in us.

If we as leaders get comfortable being put on a pedestal, if we get off just a few degrees and ministry becomes about our own advancement, our own name, our amount of followers or our platform…we are missing it and in turn people will miss out on the real treasure.

God’s great, holy joke about the Messiah complex is this: Every human being who has ever lived has suffered from it—except one. And He was the Messiah.

We put too much emphasis on us. We carry too much of the weight. We take too much credit.

I have yet to transform a life. I believe I can show up, I believe I can help, I believe God can use me, I believe my love can make a difference. But, I also believe I can get in the way if I don’t believe at my core that He is so much better than I am.

If we operate in ministry in a way that it all depends upon us and our gifts, abilities, or personality, that is only going to lead to one of two places; pride or despair.

And both of those will take us out. We know this too well and too many of our church leaders, our church planters, our friends end up there because that weight is too much to bear. Friends, we were not designed to carry it.

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jesus is better than our gifts (continued)

As we lead the next generation of church leadership, we ought to model great work ethic, walk alongside to sharpen their gifts, always do our best, set the bar high, say the hard things, challenge, develop and train. But, as we do, we must also remind them (and ourselves) often that we are just vessels....it’s the treasure that is so marvelous.

We have the opportunity to model what it looks like to do hard things, but carry a light and easy yoke. To instill in our teams the great privilege we have to steward the gifts we’ve been given to the best of our ability, in order to (like John the Baptist), prepare the way for the One they just have to meet. Because He is so much better than me.

Some of us need to repent because we’ve taken too much of the spotlight. We’ve grabbed glory that isn’t ours. Or maybe some of us need to take a load off because we’ve been carrying too much of the weight and we need to be reminded that there is a Messiah, it’s just not us.

Jodi Hickerson serves as Teaching Pastor and Programming Director for Mission Church in Ventura, CA. Jodi and her husband Mike, along with their three daughters, are a part of the team that planted Mission Church in September of 2011.

Jodi has the privilege of teaching at churches and conferences all over the country, but being a part of watching God transform lives in her local community continues to be the adventure she cannot imagine missing out on!

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GREG CURTIS

birds in the hand

1. They were invited by a friend or family member and have a pre-existing relational connection within your church.

There is an old curious proverb that reads like this: “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”. This piece of ancient wisdom speaks volumes as to why I believe that connecting with our guests at church, and connecting them to each other, is priority #1 if we want to see our churches grow.

2. They are experiencing a spiritual hunger brought on by life circumstances that caused them to google, research and attend your church.

Churches seem to have an ability to attract a crowd if they want to. Get a celebrity speaker, a popular band, or a sports figure, and the people will come. Add a gospel presentation and people will make decisions about trusting Jesus with their eternities and “Bam!”...the church grows, right?

Jesus told us that as we scatter seed (share his message) that there would be four different responses from people who heard it. Putting those responses from the parable of soils in assimilation terms, you have the following scenario (odds):

Wrong. Most churches I encounter do not grow, even after successful outreach events. Why? Because the majority of churches do not have an ongoing assimilation strategy in place to connect these people, one that is simple and universally communicated by its leaders and members.

Walk with me on this one. When churches want to grow, they have an outreach event. If they really want to grow, they have a lot of them. I think of this as “planting bushes”. Birds gather in bushes. But then they fly away.

But every church that I know of has a given number of guests every weekend. Even the small ones. Churches of 100 to 200 tell me that have 3 to 7 guests per nonholiday weekend. Larger churches somewhere between 35 and 100. These are what I call, “birds in the hand”.

These kind of guests are a different kind of bird. Unlike some of the birds who gather in the outreach bushes we plant, birds in our hand fall into one or more of these 3 categories:

3. They are already Christ followers and are searching for a church.

• 1 out of 4 leave without being impacted at all.

• 1 out of 4 are very moved (even make a decision), attend for a few weeks, and then disappear.

• 1 out of 4 stay but their other priorities keep them from bearing fruit.

• 1 out of 4 bear much fruit, volunteering, giving, and sharing their faith.

Question: Which of these 4 categories do you think most of your “birds in the hand” fall into? How about your birds in the bush?

Let me put it this way. What if you were able to connect half of your guests this year and half of those you connected bore fruit (served, gave, & helped others follow Jesus)? A small church of 150 with 4 guests a weekend would grow by an average of 104 people in a year (52 of those would be volunteers). A larger church of 2000 with 30 guest per weekend church would see over 780 more people attending church, and around 390 would be bearing fruit and volunteering.

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birds in the hand (continued)

All this is based on having a simple effective assimilation strategy that can connect just half of your guests and help just one fourth of them find a place of service.

These are the kind of stats I have seen as we build our connection strategy at my church.

,

I’m not saying that it’s bad to plant bushes so birds outside your aviary can land. What I am saying is exactly what the old saying does: A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. The guests that you have at your regular services are really like birds in your hand. The odds that you will connect with them are simply higher.

Accountability demands we look at assimilation this way. Ask yourself this question: What father would keep giving an allowance to a child that lost it every week? I believe whatever your answer is to that question, the same is true concerning the guests he entrusts to us every weekend at our services.

I am grateful to be a part of a church that has a clear assimilation strategy and works it. Don’t get me wrong.

It plants bushes. It does great outreach. But because we have an assimilation plan, we grow significantly when we have celebrity speakers and Christmas outreaches, but we also grow when we don’t.

So let’s not ignore those God will bring to our churches this weekend. Let’s connect those God has placed in our hand and watch our churches grow.

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Greg has served in connection with Eastside Christian Church in various ways since he was 14 years old. Having grown up in Los Angeles, CA, he moved to Orange County and joined Eastside where he sensed a strong calling to ministry.

Graduating with a degree in Church Growth from Hope International University in 1985, Greg went on to help launch Community Christian Church, one of Eastside’s daughter churches, where he serve for 27 years: the last 17 of those years as Senior Pastor. After remerging that church with Eastside in 2012 at a new location for both congregations, Greg has served as Director of Assimilation redesigning Eastside’s assimilation strategy as it grew into the 2nd fastest growing church in the U.S. in 2017. He now oversees assimilation on all of Eastside’s campuses and is founder and Head Coach of Climbing the Assimilayas.

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TIM FOOT

teach your congregation to worship – transitioning from Song leader to experience pastor One of the biggest trends I’m seeing in our work with churches around the country, is the growing understanding that we need to ‘pastor’ our gatherings through a worship experience, rather than simply lead songs.

We get to provide the connection points to deepen the collective worship experience.

Think for a moment about a meaningful worship moment you’ve experienced. Odds are it wasn’t about the lights and the cameras, but about tuning into God’s presence and surrendering to it.

People in the same room respond to different things in different ways. The music, the sermon, or the technology can contribute to a great worship experience. These are all valuable and necessary tools and we need to strive for excellence, but without the presence of God a worship experience will always be lacking.

Here are some helpful hints in becoming an effective Pastor of the ‘Experience’ as you lead your community into deeper worship together.

1.

Experience Pastors watch and listen God will move in so many different ways in our gatherings. We can trust in the fact that He will!

We can plan, rehearse, program, and produce – all good and necessary! But first let’s watch and listen!

2. Experience Pastors need the gift of persuasion

and authenticity (read 1 Thess 2: 3-5)

People know when you genuinely love and care, so genuinely love and care!

3. Experience Pastors take the temperature of

a room – they read a room!

Be aware when people are “with you”, and make a shift if you need to.

One of the greatest joys as a worship leader is having a “hand in glove” relationship with your teaching pastor (or lead pastor). You prepare the room for the message, hand it off, then get it back in even better shape and continue to steward it well.

As we lead the next generation of church leadership, we ought to model great work ethic, walk alongside to sharpen their gifts, always do our best, set the bar high, say the hard things, challenge, develop and train. But, as we do, we must also remind them (and ourselves) often that we are just vessels....it’s the treasure that is so marvelous.

4. Experience Pastors know their people

On and off stage.

We have the opportunity to model what it looks like to do hard things, but carry a light and easy yoke. To instill in our teams the great privilege we have to steward the gifts we’ve been given to the best of our ability, in order to (like John the Baptist), prepare the way for the One they just have to meet. Because He is so much better than me.

5. Experience Pastors Prepare

Some of us need to repent because we’ve taken too much of the spotlight. We’ve grabbed glory that isn’t ours. Or maybe some of us need to take a load off because we’ve been carrying too much of the weight and we need to be reminded that there is a Messiah, it’s just not us.

40 SPIRE CONFERENCE 2019

Challenge yourself and your team to connect with those in the room pre-service. This creates meaningful connection and breaks down the “stage barrier”.

Malcolm Gladwell says that it takes roughly ten

thousand hours of practice to achieve mastery in a

field. How much are you practicing and preparing to lead?

Invite God to move just as much in the planning as in the gathering.

6. Experience Pastors Flow

Be obsessive about flow!

Map the worship experience with effective

placement of high-energy moments, balanced with tender worship moments. This helps curate the worship experience well.

7. Experience Pastors think about connection points.

Have a diverse stage, gender, ethnically (where possible) and generationally.

Be aware of the demographic and how you physically lead in worship Be aware of choosing keys that people can sing in!!

8. Experience Pastors shepherd the flow through

verbal transitions.

They don’t “over share” or talk too much. There’s nothing worse than verbal diarrhea from a worship leader. Respect the time and the trust of your role and be sensitive and self-aware.

9. Experience Pastors invite input and evaluation

Embrace honest feedback – it’s how we grow and

become better at what we do. Also collaborate with

the teaching pastor to enhance cohesion.

10. Experience Pastors are true to themselves

Have the same voice onstage and off.

Embrace who God created you to be.

Experience Pastors lead like it’s the last time Live in the moment. LOVE worship for the audience of one followed by the honor of leading the gathering.

Do it as if for the first time… and one day it will be the last time on this earthly journey. Then the most meaningful worship moments are yet to come!

‘What we see now is like a dim image in a mirror’… one day it will be crystal clear.

Let’s lead in faith, carrying the gift of hope, but most of all let’s lead with love.

Born and raised in Tasmania, Australia, Tim Foot has been involved in vocational worship ministry for over 25 years (as well as extensive work in the entertainment world), 15 of those as Worship Pastor at LifeBridge Christian Church in Colorado.

As Vice President of Slingshot’s Experience Division, (that encompasses worship, production and communications/marketing/branding) he and his team have placed and coached hundreds of churches and leaders around the country. He has an affinity for cultural sensitivity in ministry and a passion for helping churches and leaders find their unique style and language that best connects them with God and His story.

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JUSTIN MILLER

the leader’s heart (there’s a tool for that) During the summer months of my college days, I worked commercial construction with my Dad. My specialty was actually de-struction not con-struction. I loved tearing stuff apart and knocking stuff down for remodels and additions. My methods were a little unorthodox. If the job was to knock down a wall, I’d jump in and start swinging; hammers, axes, feet…whatever I had on me.

My Dad would see me running wild and he would utter his famous phrase “Hey, there’s a tool for that!”. But I always thought I had a better way or I could do it faster.

Sometimes it’s just that I didn’t want to wait or take the time to find the right tool, so I just jumped in and did what seemed right. That streak ended when I broke my foot kicking down a high wall while swinging from scaffolding. Turns out they make a tool for that, and it’s not my foot! Now I know, but that lesson was costly.

I wish I could say that was a lesson I only had to learn once in my life. But unfortunately, that self-reliant mindset I had in construction has carried over into my work as a pastor more than once and I have paid the price.

Confession: I have tried to lead and build a church without Jesus. I have tried to lead my family without Jesus. I have tried to lead myself without Jesus. And despite my absolute best efforts to be successful on my own power, I can honestly tell you; it doesn’t work. In John 15:5 Jesus says, I am the vine; you are the branches.

If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. It’s like he’s saying, “Hey, there’s a tool for that, and it’s ME!” But without me, you’re not going to get the job done and you’re probably going to get hurt!

I hope you’re smarter than me and you’ve never tried to make an important decision or preach a message or lead a staff without the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit flowing in you. But if you happen to be like me, and you tend towards operating in your own strength, then you already know; leadership without Jesus is PAINFUL! You feel exhausted. You feel overwhelmed. You feel weak.

You feel confused. You feel anxious. You may even feel depressed. Tempted. Addicted. Angry. Alone.

Or worse. Without the inward renewal of the Spirit, we are all wasting away and drifting towards certain doom.

I have witnessed friends in ministry sabotage their own lives, partly to escape the pain of leadership without Jesus. I have counseled leaders who were dealing with horrific sin problems that were destroying their marriages and families and churches. Sadly, I have even buried pastors and leaders who took their own lives to end the pain and emptiness of trying to lead without the ever-present help of Jesus.

I am praying this is NOT you. I pray you are grabbing hold of God’s gift with both hands and spending lifegiving time with Him and as Paul prayed that you are firmly rooted and planted in Him. But even if you are not, you CAN be! Jesus is standing at your door and knocking right now. He is ready to come in and help you, heal you, restore you and fill you to overflowing! For your good and His glory, Jesus is willing to be your Vine and provide you with everything you need to bear much fruit.

He is willing to be your Rest and make sure that you lie down in green pastures and beside still water.

He is willing to be your Partner. And as you team up with Jesus, His yoke is EASY and His burden is LIGHT. Don’t miss the incredible offer of doing life and ministry with the One who IS Life! He’s crazy about you and He is calling to you now.

Justin is the Lead and founding Pastor of Real Life Church in Orlando, FL. Justin is also the host of the national talk show, Real Talk TV and author of the upcoming book God’s Crazy about YOU! Justin and his wife, Robin have been blessed with 4 kids and as a family they LOVE following God on adventures all over the world.

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JON TYSON

the burden is light: liberating your life from the tyranny of performance and success On a warm summer night, I drove my son to a local cemetery. It was a Moravian cemetery that sits nestled on a hill overlooking a flowing creek. My son, a typical teenager in many ways—Xbox, iPhone, hormones, and hungry—lives in the culture of the immediate.

“The thing you will notice about all these people,” I said, “is that their tombstones contain two dates. There is the date of their birth, the date of their death, and a tiny dash between them. The whole of your life on earth is going to come down to that tiny little dash.”

We don’t go to cemeteries regularly, but I had a growing desperation in my heart to impart to him a larger sense of the urgency and opportunities of life. He would be heading off to college soon, and opportunities to indelibly mark his soul were growing increasing rare. The sun was just setting, and an air of soberness seemed to wash over the place. As we got out of the car, I instructed him to walk around the plots in silence, then share with me what stood out to him. After some time he came back and we sat on a large rock, overlooking the headstones, talking it all in.

Then I pressed in a bit further. “Nate,” I said. “What will your dash be?”

“What did you see?” I asked.

“Some of these people died really young, younger than me,” he replied.

“Some husbands and wives were buried next to each other, but one died before the other. I wonder if they got lonely.”

“What else?” I asked, pleased at his growing awareness.

“Some of them were from the eighteen hundreds, which was an eternity ago. I wonder what life was like for them.”

I wasn’t working toward some sort of Dead Poets Society moment, and I wasn’t trying to get him to understand the fact that, in what seemed like an eternity for him but was a breath of air in light of true eternity, he would be dead.

I was working for something simpler yet infinitely more challenging.

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“I don’t know,” he said. “I guess I’m still trying to figure it out.” After a moment of reflection, he said, “What do you think makes a great dash, Dad?” “That, my son, is the greatest question a person can ask.”

Like me, you may struggle deeply with what it means to live well. We are all seeking to take these scattered moments of meaning and weave them together into a beautiful whole. If you were to draw the dash that is your life so far and plot the moments that have shaped your story, how would that story be told? To our shock, most of us would find forces at work that have bent our lives outside of the plan and purpose we feel called to. From this objective perspective, we would see that we are in real danger of what William Irving calls “misliving.” …

The older we get, the more likely we are to be surprised at how the lives of those around us turn out. Divorce, abuse, heartache, greed, materialism, and other forms of misliving are easy for us to recognize in others, but we are often unable to see the ways we mislive our own stories. The things that derail us seem to come out of nowhere, or they come with such subtle deceptiveness that we don’t think they will shape us in the long run.

The call of Jesus is not just about morality or doctrine, religious performance or outreach. It’s about living well.

It’s about learning to live in his way in the world, the way that produces the fruit of the Spirit in our lives and the fruit of the kingdom as a preview of the list to come.

Excerpts from Chapter One Reprinted with Permission from Jon Tyson’s book, The Burden is Light: Liberating Your Life from the Tyranny of Performance and Success, © 2018 Jon Tyson published

by Multnomah

Jon Tyson is a Pastor and Church Planter in New York City. Originally from Adelaide Australia, Jon moved to the United States over 2 decades ago with a passion to seek and cultivate renewal in the Western Church. He is the author of Sacred Roots, A Creative Minority and The Burden is Light. Jon lives in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan with his wife and two children. He serves as the Lead Pastor of Church of the City New York.

spire conference exhibitors Hope International University – Booth 27 HIU is regionally accredited and offers bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, certificate programs, and credential programs to more than 2,000 students world-wide. With a mission to to empower students through Christian higher education to serve the Church and impact the world for Christ, we will present opportunities for those in attendance to take a next step in their education.

Christian Churches Pension Plan – Booth 3 We deliver value to the Spire Leader: The personal growth of ministry leaders suffers whenever there is financial uncertainly. The Christian Churches Pension Plan provides a defined benefit plan that is a reliable part of a diversified & secure financial retirement strategy. Our defined benefit plan is affordable, portable, and simple to understand. As financial stress is alleviated with the presence of reliable financial vehicles, leaders have the freedom to focus upon personal growth, strengthening personal gifts, as well as serving their families and others.

We contribute to the Growth of the Spire Leader's Church: Congregations can show care for their pastoral staff in a tangible way by providing a defined benefit plan for their future. For many decades, companies across the USA were admired & created employee loyalty when they offered the traditional classing pension plan known as the defined benefit. They were providing their greatest asset with the promise and security of an income that cannot be outlived. Unfortunately, these plans have dwindled due to their expensive nature. The Christian Churches Pension Plan offers just such a program at an affordable level. For as little as $750 per year, a congregation can provide any one or all of their pastoral, teaching, executive, or serving staff the promise of an income for life beginning at age 65. Knowing the congregation or ministry cares for the staff in such a tangible way normally results in greater appreciation from the staff, a sense of "serving together in ministry" with the congregation, longer more stable ministries, and greater congregational growth.

Walker Church Consulting Group – Booth 7 To: The Spire Leader - Walker Church Consulting Group will educate the leader on why building projects go over budget. It doesn't have to happen and the only way to prevent this is to learn why it happens. With 18 years in the design/build industry and $220 million dollars worth of successful building projects W.C.C.G. has much to offer to Leaders looking to build.

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To: The Spire Leader's Team - The work by W.C.C.G. (ex. no cost building seminar / planning studies etc.) will educate, motivate and inspire the entire team so that full agreement can be reached among the leaders. This in turn can be communicated to the congregation bringing unity among the members in the form of financial as well as prayer support. The no cost seminar was developed from 45 years of experience and then compressed into one hour power point. Much of the wisdom shared is not commonly known by those outside the industry.

To: The Growth of the leader's Church - You can't grow your people without having adequate facilities for them to grow in. W.C.C.G. can lead and guide the Leader and his/her team from concept to the dedication service. From planning (vision) to design and then build (reality). Providing the power that knowledge gives is another way of saying: "In the abundance of counselors there is victory."

Christian Financial Resources – Booth 1 Christian Financial Resources (CFR) is a not-for-profit organization with a mission of "Funding Ministry...

Changing Lives." At CFR, we assist independent Christian Churches and their associated ministries. We currently manage over $400 million in total assets while serving roughly 3,000 investors.

International Conference on Missions – Booth 36 All churches and church leaders need to have some connection and resources in the area of world missions. We offer that and much more for their church families to attend ICOM as well.

Milligan College – Booths 38, 39 Firstly, we are educating men and women to be leaders in churches and Christian ministries through our undergraduate ministry leadership program and through our graduate seminary, Emmanuel Christian Seminary. We have an aging population of ministers in our country and we are committed to doing all we can to continue to raise up new generations of leaders.

In addition we are also aware that many of our students will be leaders in churches and ministries in roles that may not be vocational in nature but are no less significant. We have students majoring in many fields that will go on the be lay leaders in congregations using their gifts to make a difference in the lives of churches and the leadership of churches.

Thirdly, Emmanuel Christian Seminary provides the opportunity for continued theological education for ministers/ future ministers of our churches across the country and world. We also realize that churches are often hiring people

from within to be leaders who may provide wonderful leadership but who may have little to no theological training. We have Seminary programs that are designed for leaders who are in this situation as well as leaders who have been educated in a Christian college. The opportunity for greater theological education and ministry preparation should surely be viewed as valuable.

To summarize: We offer value to the Spire Leader: -through providing them with continuing educational opportunities -through training a new generation of ministers who will be on their staffs -through providing theological education possibilities for them and for members of their team who may have little to no training.

-through educating servant leaders who will serve in their churches as elders, deacons, volunteers, financial support, etc.

We provide value for the Spire Leader’s Team: -through continuing to raise up new ministers who will be valuable additions to their staffs -through providing theological educational opportunities to those currently on staff teams that may want/ need further education -through educating marketplace ministers who will be valuable assets as volunteers and lay leaders in churches.

We provide value for the growth of the Spire leader’s churches: -through continual training of new ministers. Without such continued training church growth undoubtedly will struggle in the future.

-through providing theological/ intellectual growth that provides the opportunity for church attendees to be taught in a theologically sound and informed manner. Growth is not exclusively numerical and spiritual growth should lead to numerical growth.

-through raising up generation after generation of people who will populate churches, contribute to churches (spiritually, physically, financially), lead churches in ways supportive of church staffs, in short- people who love Christ and His church.

-through providing Christian education for students from these churches whether they are called to vocational ministry or marketplace ministry and thus continuing to strengthen the church for years to come.

In short, we believe strongly that Christian Higher Education is of utmost importance and value to the church today and in the future. We believe this as it relates to Milligan and Emmanuel and we believe this as it relates to our sister colleges who are also continually investing in the future of the Church.

Johnson University – Booths 19, 20 Johnson University's mission is to educate students for Christian ministries and other strategic vocations framed by the Great Commission in order to extend the kingdom of God among all nations.

These students are the Spire Leaders of today - the lead pastors, worship pastors, nonprofit directors, missionaries, and business leaders making a difference in our movement and beyond. We support them with an innovative strategic ministry residency program that includes a nine-month residency at Christ's Church of the Valley in Phoenix, Real Life Christian Church in Orlando, or one of five leading churches in Indianapolis. The degree program includes a study trip to Israel and leads to a Master of Strategic Ministry. Other graduate programs include a fully online MBA, master's degrees in New Testament, counseling, and intercultural studies, and an online Ph.D. in leadership studies.

These students are also the Spire Leaders of tomorrow. The young people on our campuses in Knoxville, Kissimmee, and online come from 43 states and 35 countries. In addition to degrees in preaching, church leadership, youth ministry, children's ministry, and worship ministry, JU offers degrees in business, urban studies, graphic design, communication, education, English, history, organizational psychology, and more than 60 others. Each student explores God's Word (the Bible), God's World (the arts and sciences), and God's Work (their professional major).

Students of every age leave Johnson University not only ready to serve as the leaders of our churches and organizations; they leave ready to live with purpose, wisdom, and kingdom impact in every sphere of life.

Brotherhood Mutual Insurance – Booth 10 Brotherhood Mutual insures America's churches and related ministries. We have for more than 100 years. We provide comprehensive property, liability, commercial auto, and workers' compensation insurance. In addition to our customized insurance programs, we also serve ministries through payroll services and mission travel insurance.

Chaplaincy Endorsement Commission of the Christian Churches and Churches of Christ – Booth 6 The value of the Commission to the leader is that the leader is required to have an endorsement in order to serve as a Chaplain in the areas of ministry listed above and a variety of

others. Without the endorsement the leader cannot serve as a Chaplain.

Since we are a non-denominational group without headquarters, many of our people do not know we exist or how to contact us. Communication and education is one of our biggest challenges. Having an exhibit is at our national conferences is extremely important to that part of our mission.

If the Spire Leader feels called to serve the Church or Kingdom at large, they will most likely need us. If they want to minister outside the walls of a church building in the military, a hospital, a prison, a police department, etc. they will need an endorsement. We want to enable Spire Leaders to serve on the front lines of evangelism and in so doing advance the Kingdom in some of the most difficult fields, but which are also the whitest unto harvest.

We also want our 214 current Chaplains and 28 Chaplain Candidates to have a rallying point at the conference. They are able to share experiences and mentor each other when they gather together. Having a exhibit facilitates an ongoing opportunity to do so.

Ozark Christian College – Booth 5 At Spire Ozark Christian College will also be seeking to equip & encourage those in attendance through the following strategies: 1) Consulting & coaching at the event by our executive team and key faculty.

2) Free church NextLevel video resources: Group Bible studies, leadership training, and webinars.

3) Promotion of Spire to our constituency.

4) Ministry training resources GNPI – Booth 21 GNPI has three main things that we feel are great resources for the Spire Leaders, their Teams, and Churches: 1. GNPI is launching a new software initiative in the fall of 2019 that has the potential to drastically impact disciple making at an individual, church, and organizational level. This platform is called "Redux." This is a tool that is designed explicitly for individuals or church leaders to increase disciplemaking efforts in their own lives, of those on their teams, or within their congregations. Redux provides a customizable accountability database, creating a personalized resource for those who are passionate about making disciples. We have seen this work on the international scene and feel like it will also revive the disciple-making movements happening across the USA. 2. GNPI provides opportunities for church leaders to be involved with

strategic global evangelism. A growing network of international partners utilizes state-of-the-art technology, media, and ministry initiatives to spread the message of Christ. They use discipling and church planting strategies in many regions and cultures around the world. GNPI connects US churches with these international ministries who share their passion for the lost. Missions trips and support partnerships are available.

3. GNPI has many resources such as The Global Gospel to help leaders in the USA with outreach to individuals who speak other languages. GNPI has produced many ministry resources in multiple languages that can be used among international students, refugees, or other global communities located here in the USA. Stadia Church Planting – Booths 8, 9 We would love to be the principal provider of church planting content, church staffing assessment content, and bookkeeping content.

Educational Opportunity Tours – Booth 25 Christian travel will provide leaders inspiration and knowledge to enhance their preaching and teaching and energize their zeal for ministry. Travel also provides a different and unique environment for disciple-building.

Christian travel can help people gain new knowledge, inspire faith, and deepening personal relationships.

The Solomon Foundation – Booth 2 1) Help a leader grow – The Solomon Foundation’s 4th Core Value is to Help Churches Get to the Next Step and we provide tools to build strong leaders and solid partnerships. Our yearly Pastors Conference provides innovative ideas for growth, equips them with tools to manage the daily challenges and also serves to encourage them. In addition, we have an excellent program that offers leadership development with one on one training with Ken Idleman and mentorship and coaching program by our Board of Directors comprised of top mega church pastors across the US.

SPIRE CONFERENCE 2019 47

spire conference exhibitors 2) Help a leader’s team grow – We believe in supporting the staff at church and offer a yearly conference for Executive Pastors and Financial Managers. Sessions are created and centered around practical ministry applications that they can use day to day, give them opportunities to grow, network and learn from one another and provide them encouragement for their work.

3) Help a leader’s church grow – We provide a boots on ground approach with our partnership. Our staff is excellent at connecting our churches together so they can network, learn, share and grow together from churches like them or that have gone before them. We provide guidance, support and connectivity.

Christian Standard Media – Booth 32 1. Help a leader grow – At CSM, we believe leaders grow through networking. That’s why our mission statement is “leveraging the power of our unity.” Leaders grow when they are connected to other leaders, sharing best practices, exploring innovative ideas, and sharpening our focus.

Christian Standard exists to provide that very thing for leaders. The Lookout exists to give leaders a platform of comprehensive discipleship for the whole church through which leaders will rise up.

2. Help a leader’s team grow – CSM comes alongside the church’s key leader to facilitate growth in both the paid staff and the volunteer difference makers and elders. We provide connectivity to our movement’s history and provide a wide-angle lens through which a leader’s team can see a more panoramic view of our movement as a whole, eliminating mission drift and sideways energy.

3. Help a leader’s church grow – CSM knows that the content and tools we provide will be shared. That’s why we’ve made it free for anyone who would like to have it in a virtual form.

While Christian Standard is targeted for leaders, The Lookout is designed for the rank and file of church members, and leaders can share it in whatever form they wish. It provides discipleship through the best in teaching, in application for small group study, in personal Bible study, and in a daily reading and a prayer plan. This is key for a leader’s church to grow.

Lifeline Christian Mission – Booth 33 Our strategy for missions is to Spark a Life on Mission. We believe this begins with the local church engagement in missions. We bring tools to the local church to help them accomplish this, develop their congregation and give opportunities for outreach and discipleship.

48 SPIRE CONFERENCE 2019

Rapha House International – Booth 37 Rapha House helps the local church to grow by connecting it with the hardest work the church can dogoing to the darkest places to reach the most vulnerable, oppressed, and forgotten. The church cannot grow as the church without fulfilling this calling to the fullest. The power of God is better understood through His ability to heal even the most broken; the transformation in the lives of the girls Rapha House serves is powerful witness to the reality of a loving, healing God. Commitment to and participation in the work of Rapha House creates an opportunity for the faith and witness of church leaders and members to grow exponentially.

Christian Healthcare Ministries – Booth 18 Christian Healthcare Ministries facilitates the expression of Christ-given love in the Church. In principle and practice we encourage, enhance, and enable inter-Church and intra-church connectivity, cooperation and continuity through our unified and programmatic commitment to believer-to-believer edification. CHM systematically enables churches, pastors and Christian families to reapportion their time and/ or income into the work of the church through significant health cost savings.

Remodel Health – Booth 26 Helping churches innovate their health benefits so they better steward their resources and serve their teams.

A-GAP – Booth 15 A-GAP provides technology free retreats where we disconnect from technology in order to reconnect with God, others and ourselves. At A-GAP we believe technology is a useful tool but a dangerous master. It is our hope to assist those in vocational ministry to gain more understanding about technology and the dangers it can bring in order to help the families that they serve thrive.

We do this through practicing healthy technology habits that emphasize the importance of fostering authentic community and practicing a digital Sabbath that allows the rest and renewal we need so desperately in our culture.

We are extremely flexible in partnering with churches to craft an A-GAP weekend experience that best serves their needs.

Join A-GAP in engaging in community, exploring creation, enhancing creativity and executing change. We challenge you, your team, your volunteers and your members to hear the whisper of God through the silence they will experience when they are free from the noise and distractions technology brings.

Clergy Advantage – Booths 22, 23 Plenty of people will do your taxes or suggest a retirement plan, but few of them understand the unique financial needs - and opportunities – of ministry professionals. For more than 40 years, Clergy Advantage® has helped ministers and church staff discover how they can maximize the benefits available to them by combining retirement, housing, and expense strategies.

Whether you're just starting out in ministry or preparing to retire after decades of service, our skilled team can help you manage your unique benefits and money strategically today to plan for greater success. Whatever your needs, we’re here to help you make the most of your clergy advantage.

CDF Capital – Booth PF-9 God calls His people into a story of transformation. We help Christians and churches embrace their part in this story by providing the three kinds of capital every congregation needs for growth.

Point University – Booth 4 Point University, since its inception in 1937, has been achieving its mission of educating students for Christ-centered service and leadership throughout the world. We have developed programs that are biblically sound and culturally relevant to accomplish that mission in our current world in a variety of cultural contexts. At Point, we are focused on a theology of transformation as inherently present in the gospel that leads to personal transformation, community transformation, and organizational transformation. We model a kind of diversity that reflects our culture and a kind of inclusion at every level that includes minorities and women in a way that reflects the gospel. Every program has at least a minor in biblical studies, and faith is integrated into the classroom in every discipline. Point University has more than 80 degree programs, inseat and online, where students can connect their vocational passions with academic excellence in the context of faith. Students at Point are learning, both inside and outside the classroom, that Christ calls us to take the cross everywhere.

Church Community Builder – Booth 12 This can be expressed in the WHAT, WHY and HOW of our focus. WHAT we focus on is engagement, meaning that we provide tools and resources to help create engagement in the location church. The reason WHY we do this is to support, encourage and lead people to discipleship, which is the core focus of the Great Commission. HOW we do this is through an equipping model (Based on Ephesians 4:!1-12) by putting tools in the hands of church leadership so that

the hands of church leadership so that ministry can be done more efficiently and effectively. With these three areas of focus, the goal is to deliver value to the church as a whole (by empowering engagement and discipleship), the Leader's Team (by allowing for tracking and support of the bigger picture shepherding and discipleship), and the specific leader (by providing them with tools for ministry and shepherding.)

Believe, MIX, MOVE and Engage) as well as utilizing the digital technology that continues to reach young people and youth workers throughout the year.

The Ministry Mechanics – Booth 17 Ministry is hard but you don’t have to do it alone. We are here to help. We believe ministry is a team sport and no one should be carrying the load alone. We often say around here we are “Better Together" and we truly believe that. Here at The Ministry Mechanics we have a team of leaders ready to serve smaller and larger churches in urban or rural settings. Together we can build growing, healthy, and thriving church cultures. We are here to Build the Church and Equip the Leader.

Consulting the church in developing a philosophy and strategy for global missions.

Intentional Churches – Booth PF1 Intentional Churches helps churches double their Kingdom impact again and again. We have built an operating system based on the timeless truths of scripture to help the local church become strong and resilient. We call it Intentional Growth Planning and it includes a Living Toolbox™ which creates powerful, practical church leadership conversations and plans.

Get back to basics, lead with clear vision, and a passion to see the Great Commission accomplished. Our team of certified coaches will come alongside you with coaching, resources and accountability to help you stay on course and perpetually grow your leadership and your church. Come join the movement!

Christ in Youth – Booth 16 A growing church or a stagnant church – that is a crucial question for a Spire Leader.

For over 50 years Christ In Youth has been partnering with the local church to raise up a movement of Kingdom workers. Over 85,000 pre-teen through high school youth and leaders will attend a CIY event or trip in 2019. CIY facilitates an environment which over 2,000 churches trust and rely upon to move their students in faith and cement life changing decisions. By consistently partnering with CIY events, trips and resources, children and youth ministries are advanced in depth, in commitment and in numbers. Last year over 2,000 young people accepted Christ, and over 2,000 made decisions for vocational ministry. Spire leadership churches – such as Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY, -- build and advance their youth ministries hand in hand with Christ In Youth by promoting their children and youth ministry attendance at CIY’s Biblically sound, age intentional experiences (SuperStart,

New International – Booth 24 New International will provide value by becoming a partner with the Spire Leader's church by helping them fulfill their role in God's global mission. We do this through:

Providing short term trips that can be exclusive and customized to their congregation or preplanned trips that their people can join.

Provide training, assistance, and homebased support for anyone in their church wanting to serve internationally in missions.

Provide opportunities in Church Planting, Discipleship, Child Sponsorship, Community Development, and Business/Entrepreneural Mission in over 40 countries.

Christian Community Credit Union – Booth 28 We are a Christian financial organization that provides full service banking to the Evangelical Christian community. We have served for over 60 years.

Abilene Christian University – Booth 35 Abilene Christian University has a rich tradition of educating church leaders, as well as scholars in a multitude of academic disciplines, for Christian service worldwide. With the launch of the online modality, ACU can now reach learners globally. Our hope is to engage Spire attendees in conversation about their personal academic goals and, if appropriate, help them to achieve those goals.

Gloo – Booth PF6 Revolutionizing personal growth through data science and analytics— serving organizations dedicated to strengthening people and communities.

CMFI – Booth 14 As leaders in God's Church, we're compelled to live intentional lives of discipleship, growing not only in depth of relationship with God but also with His people. Life in community ultimately leads to transformation, which is at the heart of CMFi ministries worldwide.

In partnering with local churches and leaders, CMFi is committed to equipping God's people to live missionally, both locally and abroad. We do this by offering training in holistic strategies that lead to transformation--from CHE (Community Health Evangelism) to DBS (Discovery Bible Studies). CMFi also provides opportunities for community engagement in effective cross-cultural

ministry through internships (REACH/ Study Abroad) and hands on training (EQUIP) within the 25 countries we currently serve. Often these international experiences result in a changed perspective toward what it means to live on mission, whether that means in one's neighborhood, school, workplace, or in vocational service across the world. For leaders eager to grow in their understanding of and experience with God's Global Church, CMFi is eager to help them take their next steps.

Pension Fund of the Christian Church – Booths 29 & 30 Pension Fund is a financial ministry that provides retirement, death and disability benefits, and savings products for over 13,000 employees of StoneCampbell and Restoration Movement ministries and organizations across the globe. We successfully manage more than $3 billion in financial assets on behalf of our members, so they can find the Road to Financial Wellness and live fully in retirement. Our personalized service and prudent management have one goal: to support the Church and its ministry worldwide.

GYVE, Cass Commercial Bank – Booths 31 Cass is uniquely positioned to support the needs of faith-based organizations by providing the means to update existing or build new facilities, and foster greater financial understanding and stewardship efforts. Cass helps design sound financial plans based on historical and projected cash flows, revenue growth rates and the ability to manage various debt alternatives.

Whether a church's needs involve fundraising, real estate purchases, construction financing, restructuring current debt, or deposit and treasury management services, we have the experience and commitment to provide for all faith-based banking needs.

PHonesty – Booth 13 We can assist your church leaders in providing an easy to use web based communication tool. They can hold meeting, reach shut-ins and expand the reach of their message and services.

SPIRE CONFERENCE 2019 49

notes

50 SPIRE CONFERENCE 2019

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