Live Blog From Purpose Driven Leadership Conference – 34 Leadership Quotes From David Chrzan

Today I am being dispatched by Injoy Stewardship Solutions (ISS) to attend the Purpose Driven Leadership Conference.  In an effort to grow in my skills to better add value to pastors and church leaders, I will be live blogging throughout.

The next session speaker was David Chrzan, Saddleback Church’s Chief of Staff.  The following were his insightful thoughts on Purpose Driven Leadership:

1. The church had gotten to so big to have everything report to one person became a bottleneck to our growth.
2. My role as Chief of Staff is to put a system around Rick to allow Rick to be Rick.
3. What is important about the Purpose Driven model is it’s biblical.
4. The three year process was from “Come and see” to “Come and die.”  Even Jesus had a process.
5. Commitments shape you.
6. 10% of leaders are going to succeed no matter what.  A larger percentage will succeed if they get training and models.  10-15% will not proceed if Moses or Elijah coaches them.
7. We need to learn from those out in front trying new things because they’re not afraid.  Most of us are in the middle because we’re afraid…I don’t like rejection and disappointing people.
8. If you’re a risk taker give someone the gift of going second.
9. If you think it needs to be different you need to try it.
10. For some of you faithfulness is about consistency and not risk-taking.  Faithfulness is as much about risk-taking as keeping your commitment.
11. Grief in itself is a good thing.  This whole year Rick has been teaching us about grief.
12. Anytime we change something in a church it produces grief.  Change creates loss.  Loss creates grief.
13. As a leader you want to be the one who manages the momentum at the church.
14. When we start a campus we say, “All we want you to do is attract a crowd.”  To attract a crowd we got to have a worship service and a children’s ministry.  For the first year, we don’t want you to do anything but get really good at attracting a crowd.
15. I got all the hate mail…The kind of criticism we got was unmerited and very personal.  It took me awhile to come back around.
16. There are Purpose Driven churches in over 200 different denominations and associations.
17. We brought in business leaders to speak to bring in business leaders who don’t go to church.
18. Just do something (A Bridge Building Event) to get them on your property.
19. We want the church to be at the front of a conversation.  We want the church hosting events to discuss issues.
20. We count people because people count.  We know if we’re being effective or not if that number is going up or down.
21. Small groups is what we use to bring the community together.
22. The power of a small group is when you have one leader ask the others, “What can we do to serve our church?  Let’s take on a ministry project as a group.”
23. Sometimes the administration of the church takes priority over the purposes of the church.  We staff to the purposes of the church.
24. Ministry is what a believer does to the body.  Missions is what a believer does to the community or the world.  Ministry is to believers.  Missions is to the world.
25. Build your preaching plan to work through the purposes of your church.
26. We are constantly evaluating what we’re doing and how we’re doing it…We are constantly asking what is keeping us from getting better.
27. Right now there are over 500 ministries at Saddleback that are led by lay ministers.
28. God is going to do something in you first before doing something through you.  God will show you the WHY first before showing you the HOW.
29. A crowd is not a church.  But you can turn a crowd into a church.
30. Jesus fed the 5,000, taught the 70, disciple the 12, mentored the 3.
31. You don’t have to give up your convictions to create a crowd.  You just have to know what prevents a crowd from happening.
32. How do I move the crowd into the congregation.  At Saddleback, it’s one decision – how do I join this church?
33. You turn a crowd into a congregation by asking for a commitment.
34. The first commitment is the lowest commitment.

Getting ready for the afternoon session.

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