Ep. 001 | What is Church Leadership Lab?

Post-Covid, many churches are struggling to regain their momentum. We wanted to create a community where anyone who participates in a church community can share stories about what’s going on in their churches, offer wisdom through successes and failures, wrestle through challenging topics, and leave resourced and encouraged. 2020 was an accelerator that changed the way the church looks. Let’s gather and figure out the next steps together. 

Scott and Kacie wanted to create a space where a community of church leaders could gather and talk about ways to cultivate healthy churches. Thus, Church Leadership Lab was born!

Community

While “church” often conjures up an image of a building, the post-Covid church looks more like a community of people looking for a place to belong than a geographic location. Church isn’t just a building. Any kind of fellowship of human beings who are of like mind and faith, hey, that’s the church! Church Leadership Lab is a space to talk about what’s going on in the church community. It’s a place for those who attend and lead in churches to share stories of what’s happening, best practices, wisdom, and encouragement.

Church Leaders

Don’t think the CLL community is limited to those who are on staff at a church. If you attend a church, you’re a leader, and CLL is for you. Anyone who attends church is considered a church leader in our book! You don’t have to get a paycheck from a church to be a church leader. Everyone is a leader because leadership is influence, and everyone has some level of influence, according to John Maxwell.

Healthy Churches

Lastly, there is no single definition of what makes up a healthy church, but there are some common elements that help gauge the health of any church community:

• Unity
• Clear vision
• Connected
• Engaging

Church Leadership Lab is a community for and by you. We hope this becomes a regular place for you to come, listen, share, and access helpful resources, and engage. 

Final Five:

Books: Atomic Habits by James Clear, Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink
Last Thing You Listened To: Handel’s Messiah, The Greatest Showman – Reimagined
Favorite Technology: Oura ring, AirPods
Quote/Advice:

• Never use absolutes because there are always some grey areas. It’s important to learn to argue/fight fair.
• People don’t care how much you know ‘til they know how much you care.
• Love the people more than the music (from worship leader friend)—this helps you reframe how you plan and prepare.

One Thing for Church Leaders:

• You are not alone, be real here—church ministry can be an isolating vocation/life where you feel you must hide behind a persona. Choose authenticity over perfection.
• You matter, and what you do matters. Culture will progress, healthy churches and leaders are an ever-growing need.