Leadership Network Innovation

Discover the power of recovery ministry for your church. Churchgoers who experience painful family issues, addictions, abuse, loss, mental illnesses, and other secret sorrows begin to believe they live beyond the grip of God's redemptive hand. Pastors often feel ill equipped to help with such problems and refer people to resources outside the church. People badly need Christ-centered counsel and encouragement, but few church leaders even know where to start. Bridges to Grace is an inspiring introduction highlighting the stories of churches across the country that are thinking systematically and organizationally about the ministry of recovery. The authors share how this ministry is bringing God's grace to hurting individuals. They relate both success and failure, and best of all, they demonstrate how God uses recovery ministry powerfully for his kingdom purposes.

Our world is marked by unprecedented degrees of multiculturalism, ethnic diversity, social shifts, international collaboration, and technology-driven changes. The changes are profound, especially when you consider the unchecked decline in the influence, size, and social standing of the church. There is an undercurrent of anxiety in the evangelical world, and a hunger for something new. And we're sensing the urgency of it. We need fresh, creative counterintuitive ways of doing ministry and church and leading it in the 21st century. We need to adapt. Fast. Both in our practices and our thinking. The aim of this book is simple: When we understand the powerful forces at work in the world today, we'll learn how something called The Third Culture can yield perhaps the most critical missing ingredient in the church today - adaptability - and help the church remain on the best side of history. A Third Culture Church and a Third Culture Leader looks at our new global village and the church's role in that village in a revolutionary way. It's a way to reconnect with the historical roots of what Jesus envisioned the church could be - a people known for a brand of love, unity, goodness, and extravagant spirit that defies all conventions.

Dangerous churches should be norm. Church leaders and church people alike shrink back from danger because we want safety. Jesus said that he's overcome the world and its troubles. Dangerous churches put everything on the line for the one thing that matters most: reaching lost people. It's dangerous not to be a dangerous church. The book is less about methods or even the message of God, but about a church that risks everything it has to reach lost people. Living Hope was birthed 8 years ago and has grown from five families to 5000 attendees, grown from one to 19 services on many campuses, and baptized 5,000 people along the way. A dangerous church sees what "only God" can do when it acts upon what the church is supposed to be. It risks everything to reach people. God wants us to live on the edge of our margin when it comes to mission and methods. So much of Living Hope's journey has been going back to the Book of Acts and trying to live authentically with the givens of who they were, where they were and what they had to work with. They learned to abandon agendas and short-sighted human plans, especially ones that copy what other churches are doing. That's when they found God's blessing. "We went from being a good church to being God-honoring church," he reports. Drawing insight from the book of Acts, this book unfolds the very personal journey of a pastor, and then his entire church, when they finally began to live a dangerous faith. The transition had a dramatic impact on the pastor's life and marriage, as well as on the congregation and its outreach. It opened a new sense of mission and incredible spiritual fruitfulness. The pastor is not only a radically different person today, but the entire church has become an atmosphere that values taking dangerous steps of faith. It will lead Christ's followers to become risk-takers who change the world through a revolution that begins with a dangerous grace. The book is story-rich with examples of the grace-filled culture from Living Hope Church through the experiences of its pastor, John Bishop. It will avoid a smug attitude that implies "we've arrived," "we're the first to live out grace" or "we're the best at giving grace." Instead, the book will convey a humble attitude of "we've got a lot to learn," including examples of mistakes the church has made along the way. The rapid transition of Living Hope will not be projected as a speed for other churches to follow (lest the book invite a crash-and-burn outcome at other churches). Thus the book will find its primary story in and from Living Hope. In 2007 Outreach Magazine ranked Living Hope as the seventh fastest growing church in the US. They have also been listed among the 50 most influential churches in America.

You can serve God and his people for a lifetime and do it with passion and joy. You do not have to become another casualty in the growing number of leaders who have compromised their integrity, character, and ministry because they failed to lead an examined and accountable life. The road forward is clearly marked. Leaders must make a decision to humbly and consistently examine their inner lives and identify areas of needed change and growth. lso, wise leaders commit to listen to the voices of those who will love them enough to speak the truth and point out problems and potential pitfalls. Kevin Harney writes, "The vision of this book is to assist leaders as they discover the health, wisdom, and joy of living an examined life. It is also to give practical tools for self-examination." Sharing stories and wisdom from his years in ministry, Harney shows you how to maintain the most powerful tool in your leadership toolbox: YOU. Your heart, so you can love well. Your mind, so you can continue to learn and grow. Your ears, your eyes, your mouth...consider this your essential guide to conducting your own complete interior health exam, so you can spot and fix any problems, preserve the things that matter most, and grow as a source of vision, strength, and hope to others.

When Jesus left the planet, he left a simple directive in his apprentice's ears: take me to the world, bring them into the family, and teach them to obey me... and don't worry I'll be with you every step of the way. So the system was turned on its ear. Instead of "Bring the people to me" Jesus said, "Take me to the people". This book highlights the imperative need for the Church of Jesus Christ to be a sending culture, taking Jesus to the people who desperately need him. It focuses specifically on the awesome responsibility the blessed church of the West has in this regard to reach out globally. When Pete Briscoe arrived at Bent Tree they had "prophecy conferences." Desiring to focus on the part of the puzzle that we can actually do something about (the great commission) they immediately shifted the emphasis to a Mission Festival. At that time they were investing just $36,000 per year in world missions, and all but one of their missionaries was on American soil. They implemented Faith Promise giving, gave opportunities for mission partners to make compelling presentations, included mission moments in their worship services, brought in mission experts to speak at a mission festival, increased giving to over $1 million annually, gave 10% of expansion giving ($2.6 million) to the world church, adopted the world's largest unreached people group and have a desire to see a church planted in every one of the 200,000 villages in the region, and much more... This book is necessary because the American church has forgotten this simple truth: "the church of Jesus Christ exists primarily for the benefit of its non-members." The Seeker Movement helped to remind Evangelicals of the need to reach out to Seekers, but the model was a replica of the "Bring to" Model of the Old Testament. Pete Briscoe realized early in his pastorate that people in his church viewed evangelism as, "bring them to church to hear Pete." While obviously there are times when this is a healthy strategy to reach the lost, we are missing the mark if it becomes the dominant method. Add to this, the minimal concern for the vast regions of the world that still have yet to hear of the gospel, and the burgeoning numbers of church leaders around the planet that have little or no theological training, and you start to get a feel for the angst and concern that drives this project. There is an imperative need for an awakening in the Western church to see beyond the boundaries not only of our Church Building, but of our Community as well. We have turned a "blind eye" in attempting to reach our communities. The author would like to encourage us to turn a "kind eye" to those outside our sphere of influence who are inside our ability to touch. This is a call from a Pastor to the Church to "Lift up their eyes (again) to see the harvest." Here's what readers can receive from the book: • Examples of a church that has kept mission at the front and seen God do amazing things as a result. • Detailed and simple processes to help church leaders implement some simple strategies to change the culture in their church. • Help to create a paradigm shift in fund raising for missions. • Opened eyes to the enormous need and incredible potential impact the American church has. • Demonstration of how to grow children and youth with a heart for the world. • A workable model from Acts 1:8. Acts 1:8 providing a good framework for strategic expansion. Many churches today are focusing on the Jerusalem piece and the Judea part is covered with the new multi-site phenomenon. But what does a Samaria strategy look like and how do we impact the ends of the earth? Acts 1:8 keeps all four spheres before us. • Sharing of the personal journey of a pastor who leads a mission minded church. • Practical and usable tools such as a grid for evaluation potential missionaries, an evaluation process for current mission partners, mobilization techniques for keeping a church connected to her mission partners, as well as other

Community Christian Church embraced the Big Idea and everything changed. They decided to avoid the common mistake of bombarding people with so many "little ideas" that they suffered overload. They also recognized that leaders often don't insist that the truth be lived out to accomplish Jesus' mission. Why? Because people's heads are swimming with too many little ideas, far more than they can ever apply. The Big Idea can help you creatively present one laser-focused theme each week to be discussed in families and small groups. The Big Idea shows how to engage in a process of creative collaboration that brings people together and maximizes missional impact. The Big Idea can energize a church staff and bring alignment and focus to many diverse church ministries. This book shows how the Big Idea has helped Community Christian Church better accomplish the Jesus mission and reach thousands of people in nine locations and launch a church planting network with partner churches across the country. This book is part of the Leadership Network Innovation Series.

What is the rapidly expanding multi-site church movement all about? Experience the revolution for yourself and see why it has become the "new normal" for growing churches. A Multi-Site Church Roadtrip takes pastors, church leaders, and anyone who is interested on a tour of multi-site churches across America to see how those churches are handling the opportunities and challenges raised by this dynamic organizational model. Travel with tour guides Geoff Surratt, Greg Ligon, and Warren Bird, authors of The Multi-Site Church Revolution, and enjoy engaging and humorous on-site narratives that show you the creative ways churches of all kinds are expanding their impact through multiple locations. Hear the inside stories and learn about the latest developments. Find out firsthand how the churches in this book are broadening their options for evangelism, service, and outreach - while making better use of their ministry funds. Since each church on this tour is unique, you won't find a cookie-cutter approach to ministry. Instead, you'll gain some practical tools you can use to explore a multi-site direction at your own church.

In Sticky Church, author and pastor Larry Osborne makes the case that closing the back door of your church is even more important than opening the front door wider. He offers a time-tested strategy for doing so: sermon-based small groups that dig deeper into the weekend message and tightly velcro members to the ministry. It's a strategy that enabled Osborne's congregation to grow from a handful of people to one of the larger churches in the nation-without any marketing or special programming. Sticky Church tells the inspiring story of North Coast Church's phenomenal growth and offers practical tips for launching your own sermon-based small group ministry. Topics include: • Why stickiness is so important. • Why most of our discipleship models don't work very well. • Why small groups always make a church more honest and transparent. • What makes groups grow deeper and sticker over time. Sticky Church is an ideal book for church leaders who want to start or retool their small group ministry-and velcro their congregation to the Bible and each other.

In Ethnic Blends, multi-ethnic church pioneer Mark DeYmaz provides an up-close and personal look at seven common challenges to mixing diversity into your local church. Through real-life stories and practical illustrations, DeYmaz shows how to overcome the obstacles in order to build a healthy multi-ethnic church. He also includes the insights of other effective, multi-ethnic local church pastors from around the country. Increasingly, church leaders are recognizing the intrinsic power and beauty of the multi-ethnic church. Yet, more than a good idea, it's a biblical, first-century standard with far-reaching evangelistic potential. How can your church overcome the obstacles in order to become a healthy, fruitful multi-ethnic church of faith? And why should you even try?

Sticky Leaders begins with the topic that most books about innovation avoid altogether: failure. Most books on leadership make it sound as if successful innovation is the end result of a carefully followed formula. But you can't have innovation without change. The simple fact is that when it comes to any new venture, failure is the surest result of the inevitable change process. Respected pastor and author, Larry Osborne, explains how understanding this dirty little secret behind innovation can bring both stability and creativity to organizations, especially those with teams of people that focus on innovation, creativity, new ideas, and problem-solving. In Sticky Leaders, you'll learn: • How to encourage innovation's most powerful igniters and accelerators • How to avoid the most common killers of innovation • How to recognize and break through ceilings of complexity and competency • The six pitfalls of growth and what you can do to avoid them • The three questions every leader needs to ask before launching any new endeavor • The counterintuitive practices that successful change agents and serial innovators use to greatly increase their odds of success. Using the wisdom and principles found in this book, you will be prepared to lead dynamically without causing uncertainty or insecurity in your organization or ministry.

This is the story of the birth and growth of Seattle's innovative Mars Hill Church, one of America's fastest growing churches located in one of America's toughest mission fields. It's also the story of the growth of a pastor, the mistakes he's made along the way, and God's grace and work in spite of those mistakes. Mark Driscoll's emerging, missional church took a rocky road from its start in a hot, upstairs youth room with gold shag carpet to its current weekly attendance of thousands. With engaging humor, humility, and candor, Driscoll shares the failures, frustrations, and just plain messiness of trying to build a church that is faithful to the gospel of Christ in a highly post-Christian culture. In the telling, he's not afraid to skewer some sacred cows of traditional, contemporary, and emerging churches. Each chapter discusses not only the hard lessons learned but also the principles and practices that worked and that can inform your church's ministry, no matter its present size. The book includes discussion questions and appendix resources.

Fueled by a desire to reach people for Christ, a revolution is underway. Churches are growing beyond the limitations of a single service in one building. Expanding the traditional model, they are embracing the concept of one church with more than one site: multiple congregations sharing a common vision, budget, leadership, and board. Drawing from the examples of churches nationwide, The Multi-Site Church Revolution shows what healthy multi-site churches look like and what motivates congregations to make the change. Discover how your church can: • cast a vision for change; • ensure a successful DNA transfer (vision and core values) to its new site; • develop new leaders; • fund new sites; • adapt to structure and staffing change; • use technology to support your worship services. You'll identify the reasons churches succeed and how they overcome common snags. The Multi-Site Church Revolution offers guidance, insights, and specific action steps as well as appendixes with practical leadership resources and self-diagnostic tools.

A movement is rumbling through the body of Christ - a revolutionary army of people giving hope to a hurting world through practical, personal acts of service. In Servolution, Dino Rizzo shares the story of his relentless pursuit of ways to bless the lost, poor, and hurting people of his community in Jesus' name. You'll be amazed and inspired by the incredible ways God has used Healing Place Church to meet the needs of thousands of people. Each chapter includes practical suggestions and resources for use in any church. Be encouraged by the testimony of how God's Spirit can use a simple passion to serve to revolutionize your approach to ministry. Wherever you are and whatever your gifts, you can play a vital role in this revolution through serving.