8 Lessons About How To Serve 15,030 Pastors And Church Leaders

Jeff Henderson Interviews Crawford Loritts

Today, The Rocket Company had the privilege of putting on an online conference for 15,030 pastors and church leaders called Preach Better Sermons.  It was an amazing event with a lineup that included names like Andy Stanley, Louie Giglio, Mark Driscoll, Steven Furtick, and nine other prominent Christian communicators.

Led by Casey Graham, Michael Lukaszewski, and Jeff Henderson, our team of 10 people learned much about how to effectively serve large numbers of pastors and church leaders.

1. Add Value – When serving pastors and church leaders, nothing beats adding value.  If you add value, everything else takes care of itself.  What is the best way to add value?  Answer the questions pastors and church leaders are asking.  Their issue is the issue.  The secret to adding value is not knowing all the answers but rather knowing all the questions.
2. The Power Of Leverage – Our small team had a singular focus.  We used a multiplication strategy through online delivery.
3. Experience – This was the second Preach Better Sermons event we have conducted.  If done right, the second time is always easier than the first.
4. The Importance Of Preparation – Our team was well-prepared.  We all arrived with job descriptions.  Good systems were put into place.  Anything that could go wrong was already anticipated.  The result was “no craziness” during the four-hour event.
5. Unified Vision – The Rocket Company has many mantras but two were primary today.  First, we exist to help churches succeed.  Every action taken was strategically designed to assist in the success of church leaders.  Second, every day is more important than the big day.  This was a big event but tomorrow is equally as important to our long-term ability to serve church leaders well.
6. The Value Of Godly Wisdom – This is a favorite of mine.  Crawford Loritts, Senior Pastor of Fellowship Bible Church and my family’s pastor and friend, received the most positive comments of any of our speakers on Twitter.  He was the most seasoned leader of the group but his insights, comments, and experience were deeply appreciated by our audience.  Please forgive me for just a moment as I share some personal thoughts – I AM SO PROUD OF AND ABSOLUTELY LOVE MY PASTOR!!!!
7. We Live In A Broken World – Expect critics and haters.  This is a sign you are doing something right.  Because of the quality of speakers and their content, the #PreachingRocket hashtag was the top trending term on Twitter for most of the afternoon.  Still we had a small number of negative comments.
8. Relish The Generosity Of Pastors And Church Leaders – Though you will always have critics, the fact is that pastors and church leaders are the most generous, gracious, and encouraging group of individuals there are.  Our organization was absolutely overwhelmed by their incredible kindness.  Absolutely overwhelmed.  Allow me to take a moment and share three of my personal favorite comments from Twitter.

If you were part of this online conference, I would like to hear your thoughts as well about the speakers and the event itself.

If you missed Preach Better Sermons but would like to watch the replay on May 16th, click here to register for that event now.

Subscribe here so future posts can be sent directly to your Inbox. As a gift for doing so, I will also send you a FREE copy of my brand new eBook 455 Leadership Quotes: Lessons From 2012′s Top Christian Conference Speakers.