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Leadership Learnings From Bloggers 2008 Edition Leadership Learnings from Bloggers 2008 Edition Released February 2009 Aggregated and produced by Exponential Media, a Division of Exponential Network Leadership Learnings from Bloggers is a collection of blog posts on leadership from over 20 national leaders / bloggers. Disclaimer In selecting the 20+ bloggers for this resource, we choose leaders with experience on the front lines. However, Exponential Network makes no warranties or representations regarding the accuracy, validity or originality of each blogger’s content. Exponential Network is serving as an aggregator of leading bloggers and does not necessarily agree with the opinions and beliefs represented in individual posts. We’ve attempted to include their content verbatim from their web sites except for obvious typographical errors. Statement of Copyright The individual posts in this eBook are the copyright of each author. These authors have agreed to make the aggregation of these posts available free of charge via this eBook. The following conditions apply to the use of this free eBook resource: Share. Just as the authors are sharing this eBook with you, you may copy, distribute and transmit the work to others. Attribution. You must attribute the work in the manner specified by each blog post author (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). Noncommercial. You may not use this work for commercial purposes for financial gain. No Derivative Works. You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work or the individual posts of the blog authors. For permissions to use the material in any other way and for other copyright-related questions, please contact each author individually. For general questions about this eBook, email [email protected]. i About Proverbs 15:22 (NIV) states that “plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.” Leadership Learnings from Bloggers grew out of a desire to provide insights to church planters from more experienced leaders. As we compiled the resource it became clear that the collective insights were applicable to any leader and not just church planters. So the work was split into two projects. This first resource is leadership learnings applicable to any leader. A supplemental resource is also being compiled with unique content for church planters. Although the resource was compiled for use directly by church leaders, the learnings are applicable to nearly any leader because many are rooted in principles and practical experience on the front lines of service. This resource covers leadership topics from staffing to vision casting. We encourage you not to read this as a “how to” manual. Be cautious and slow to directly implement any of the learnings. Ponder the principles behind the learnings and adapt them to your unique context. Just as the Exponential Network makes no claim to agree with all the learnings, you may disagree with some. Be discerning. We wrestled with whether to organize the resource by author or by subject. In the end, many of the posts cover multiple topics so we opted to organize the resource by author. In selecting blog authors for inclusion, we surveyed a number of blog readers and simply asked for a list of their favorite bloggers. Additionally, the team at Passion for Planting follows a large number of bloggers for inclusion in NewChurches.com’s aggregator. The authors we asked to participate represent those who were most frequently cited on “my top 10 list.” With one or two exceptions, every leader who was asked to participate in this free resource enthusiastically did. So how did we choose the number of posts for each blogger? Not scientifically. In a few cases, bloggers asked that we limit the number of posts. For most bloggers, we simply looked at each post through the lens of leadership learnings applicable to new church leaders. In most all cases, the learnings are universally applicable to leaders independent of context. The Exponential Network (aggregator of this free resource) exists to attract, inspire and equip Kingdom-minded leaders to engage in a movement of high-impact, reproducing churches. We provide a national voice for this movement through the Exponential Conference, the Exponential Channel, the Exponential Church feature article in Outreach Magazine, the Exponential Book Series, and a growing number of alliance members (leading church planting groups choosing to affiliate with one another via Exponential Network). For more information on the Exponential Network and it’s alliance members, go to www.exponentialnetwork.com or email [email protected], or call 800.319.5361 ii Special Thanks Nearly every blogger we approached enthusiastically supported the idea of this resource and in allowing their content to be included for FREE. We’d like to thank each of the authors including: Ben Arment Mark Batterson Chris Elrod Dave Ferguson Mike Foster Seth Godin Craig Groeschel Alan Hirsch Scott Hodge Michael Hyatt Gary Lamb Brad Lomenick Shawn Lovejoy Will Mancini Tony Morgan Perry Noble Bob Roberts, Jr. Ed Stetzer Tim Stevens Tullian Tchividjian Jud Wilhite Jared Wilson Imagine the time required to wade through thousands of blog posts to find the best “leadership gems.” Doug Foltz and Patrick Bradley from Passion for Planting (www.newchurches.com) and Pat Furgerson and Anna Mari Green from Exponential Network (www.exponentialnetwork.com) are to thank for the long hours preparing, compiling and editing this resource. Todd Wilson Director, Exponential Network iii Table of Contents: Ben Arment........................................................... 13 Your Vision on a Napkin .......................................................................................... 13 The enemy of innovation is success........................................................................ 13 Marginally Radical ................................................................................................... 13 Give up Your Good Christian Life and Follow Christ................................................ 14 The Barrier of Comparison ...................................................................................... 14 More on the Barrier of Comparison.......................................................................... 14 Attracting High-Capacity Leaders with a Vision Breakfast ....................................... 14 How to Build a Distribution Channel (and why you need one in the first place) ....... 15 Tucker Took His Tie Off........................................................................................... 16 My Tony Robbins Moment....................................................................................... 16 The Brutal Law of the Lid......................................................................................... 16 Mark Batterson ..................................................... 18 Lion Chaser’s Manifesto .......................................................................................... 18 Altars to God or Monuments to Self?....................................................................... 18 Meeting Tips ............................................................................................................ 19 Random Firings of the Synapses............................................................................. 20 Imitation is Suicide................................................................................................... 21 Three Translations................................................................................................... 22 Purple Cows ............................................................................................................ 22 Chris Elrod............................................................ 24 Things That Worked For Us In 2007........................................................................ 24 The Look Of Leadership In The Face Of Defeat...................................................... 24 It’s The Price Of Leadership .................................................................................... 25 Statements That Have Me Thinking......................................................................... 26 Playing Above Your Game ...................................................................................... 27 Dave Ferguson ..................................................... 28 Why Existing Churches Need New Churches.......................................................... 28 Belonging Before Believing...................................................................................... 28 Bikers, Darts and the Mission of Jesus.................................................................... 28 Theologically Right and Relationally Wrong ............................................................ 29 5 Leadership Lessons It Took A Long Time To Learn ............................................. 30 Mike Foster........................................................... 31 Building Trust Through Confessions........................................................................ 31 The First Call ........................................................................................................... 31 Asking the Right Question ....................................................................................... 31 Go-Giver .................................................................................................................