When Dr. Jo Anne Lyon, General Superintendent of The Wesleyan Church, was tasked with leading the charge on her denomination's restructuring, she knew she needed to start with listening to her staff at a grassroots level. She then used that feedback to reshape the culture and bring about unity during a time of extreme change.
As we'll see in today's interview, that unity and clarity around vision, mission and goals can lead to some truly divine outcomes. In the 8 years since The Wesleyan Church distilled their efforts into three clear goals (to increase attendance, conversions and baptisms), the number of worship attendees, new followers of Christ and baptisms has increased 30 percent in North America.
Prior to being elected as the General Superintendent in 2008, Jo Anne founded World Hope International, an organization to alleviate suffering and injustice through education, enterprise and community health. As she travels the world, Jo Anne serves her denomination and several boards. Plus, she is sought-after as an advisor to world leaders including visits to the White House.
Tune into today's episode to hear Jo Anne's strategy for successfully navigating a restructuring. Find the full show notes at http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/38-dr-jo-anne-lyon-wesleyan-church/.
How can learning to model Jesus' leadership serve to develop your own personal leadership? And can it help build an operating framework for your staff culture? Today we have the pleasure of talking with Phyllis Hendry, the President and CEO of Lead Like Jesus, who has helped hundreds of organizations and churches live out their ministry vision by re-sharpening their leadership focus.
Find the full show notes at http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/36-phyllis-hendry-lead-like-jesus.
How does a privately-owned architecture and construction firm, focused solely on serving churches, build a healthy employee culture?
Brad Eisenmann, President of Aspen Group, can speak to this question as well as anyone. Aspen specializes in designing and building innovative church spaces, but it's more than just a business. With a mission to create space for ministry impact, it really is a ministry to churches and the people they serve. Their team rallies around this laser-sharp mission statement, which has become the basis for both their flourishing culture and thriving business. The lessons Brad has learned about building a healthy culture can benefit your organization today and for years to come.
Find the full show notes at http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/episode-34-brad-eisenmann-aspen-group.
Welcome to The Flourishing Culture Podcast! Over the last 20 years, the publishing world has radically changed. Amazon, self-publishing, publishing software and other influences have dramatically impacted the Christian publishing world. In fact, the consolidation in the number of independent Christian publishers has been staggering.
These changes lead to the question, “How has InterVarsity Press not only survived, but thrived in the face of tremendous innovation and change?"
One person knows the answer better than anyone: Bob Fryling, the publisher of InterVarsity Press, and the author of several books, including The Leadership Ellipse: Shaping How We Lead by Who We Are. The insights he has to share about creating a healthy, flourishing workplace culture can speak to you and your organization in any industry.
Find the full show notes at http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/episode-33-bob-fryling-intervarsity-press.
How does a rapidly growing church who says they are "all about people” focus on developing their own leadership? And how does staff development help them keep up with their growth while maintaining a flourishing culture? Today, Al is having an interesting conversation with Rick Mauderer, the Associate Pastor responsible for staff development at Gateway Church near Dallas, Texas—the nation’s fourth-largest church.
Find the full show notes at http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/episode-29-rick-mauderer-gateway-church.
Today, we're exploring a foundational theme for building and maintaining a flourishing culture: TRUST. BCWI President Al Lopus is speaking with Dan Busby, president of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA). In his new book, Trust: The Firm Foundation of Kingdom Fruitfulness, Busby explores the role trust plays in Christian organizations.
Find the full show notes at http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/episode-28-dan-busby-ecfa.
In today's episode, BCWI President Al Lopus is speaking with Brad Meuli, executive director of the Denver Rescue Mission, a non-profit organization dedicated to serving the needs of the homeless. Listen in to find out how the Mission is as much a ministry to its employees as it is to those they serve. By investing in their workplace culture, the Mission's people find truly inspiring, life-giving work as they bind together for their cause. Find the full show notes at http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/episode-27-brad-meuli-denver-rescue-mission.
How does a ministry build a flourishing staff culture in the midst of rapid growth? In today's episode, BCWI President Al Lopus is speaking with Jesse Casler and David Wasik of HOPE International, a microfinance institution focused on serving the poorest areas in the world.
In this episode, you'll learn about:
When a new leader comes into an organization and finds that the culture is not so healthy, what do they do? In today's episode, BCWI President Al Lopus is speaking with Dace Starkweather from Glen Eyrie, a Tudor-style castle that houses a renowned retreat and conference center as part of The Navigators in Colorado Springs.
In this episode, you'll learn about:
View the full show notes at http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/episode-25-dace-starkweather-glen-eyrie.
We are excited to announce the relaunch of The Flourishing Culture Podcast! In today's episode, BCWI President Al Lopus is speaking with Nathan Salsbery from CapinCrouse, a national full-service CPA and consulting firm devoted to serving mission-focused not-for-profit organizations, churches, and higher education institutions.
From 2007 to 2015, CapinCrouse doubled its staff from 80 to 160 and tripled its number of offices from 5 to 15, coast-to-coast. What was driving their rapid growth? In part, it was their investment in developing their staff and leadership. Listen in as Nathan shares actionable strategies that made a measurable difference in their culture.
In this episode, Nathan shares about:
View the full show notes at http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/episode-24-leadership-development-fuels-growth-nathan-salsbery-capincrouse.
Welcome to this new audio podcast with Jason Moorhead, Central Development Pastor at NewSpring Church in Anderson, SC. In this episode we discuss how NewSpring created a culture of trust and transparency. We also discuss their goal of having 100,000 weekend attenders by 2020. Listen how NewSpring has achieved a 93% staff engagement level!
Al Lopus interviews Dr. Bill Blocker, President of the College of Biblical Studies in Houston.
When Bill Blocker became president of College of Biblical Studies in Houston, two goals rose to the top:
Blocker realized, however, that neither outcome would matter without achieving a third goal—seeing every staff and faculty engaged with passion and energy.
Blocker saw personal and professional excellence, across the board, among faculty and staff. “Where we really needed to grow and improve was executing, fulfilling our promise to provide a biblically based education to African-American and other ethnic minority groups,” recalls Blocker. Toward that end, Blocker has coined the phrase “Can do, will do.”
As Blocker and his teams have “put the right people on the bus,” workplace engagement, and performance have steadily increased as measured by their Best Christian Workplace survey scores. And something more has emerged. “We tell people that our aim and commitment is to pour everything you need to become the person God wants you to be,” says Blocker. “Every faculty and staff knows he or she participates in truth, training and transformation. Each person knows he or she is a gatekeeper for truth and for training of students. Each one is aware that he or she is responsible for students’ transformation.
Next Level Church in Ft. Myers, Florida has some positive explaining to do about how effective leadership works. How, for instance, did its staff, which recently took the Best Christian Workplaces survey for the first time, score in the 95th percentile as a “flourishing workplace?” And, how do they explain that 96% of their staff are "engaged?" Executive Pastor Mike Ash tells the story about what it took to get there.
In this episode of The Flourishing Culture Podcast, BCWI President Al Lopus interviews Brian McGowan of Faith Bridge Church.
In this episode of The Flourishing Culture Podcast, BCWI President Al Lopus interviews Priscilla Moore of Upward Sports.
In this episode of The Flourishing Culture Podcast, BCWI President Al Lopus interviews John Howard of Howard Publishing.
In this episode of The Flourishing Culture Podcast, BCWI President Al Lopus interviews Keith Taylor and Rob Chartrand of Beulah Alliance Church.
In this episode of The Flourishing Culture Podcast, BCWI President Al Lopus interviews Doug Mazza of Joni & Friends.
Creating organizational values is a key step in building a healthy culture. For any organization, a logical question arises: is there a biblical basis for building virtue-based values statements? At a recent Christian Leadership Alliance conference workshop, Dr. Richard Biery presented a Biblical concept from Micah 6:8 that guides us in establishing meaningful values in a workplace, Christian or not. Richard tells us to look at Micah 6:8 not as a list, but as a more complex integrated system. By understanding how the three characteristics mentioned in Micah 6:8 relate to each other, a very clear picture begins to emerge.
In this episode of The Flourishing Culture Podcast, BCWI President Al Lopus interviews Doug Mazza of Joni & Friends.
In this episode of The Flourishing Culture Podcast, BCWI President Al Lopus interviews Doug Mazza of Joni & Friends.
In this episode of The Flourishing Culture Podcast, BCWI President Al Lopus interviews Doug Mazza of Joni & Friends.
Rick Lukianuk of Christian Heritage Academy shares his approach on staff care.
In this episode of The Flourishing Culture Podcast, BCWI President Al Lopus interviews Doug Mazza of Joni & Friends.
Dan Entwistle of Church of the Resurrection shares his approach on church core values.