Live Blog From Purpose Driven Leadership Conference – 44 Leadership Qutoes From Jim and Jennifer Cowart

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 speakers for the initial session were Jim and Jennifer Cowart, the wonderful founders and pastor of Harvest Church in Byron, GA.  The following were their thoughts on Purpose Driven Leadership:

1. We were surrounded by sweet saints but I was hearing stories all around the country about life change. – Jim
2. Part of God’s guidance is the discontent stage…Don’t fight it.  Work with God because God has something more for you. – Jim
3. New church starts are just people doing something a different way. – Jennifer
4. I’m not going to disappoint Jesus. – Jim
5. One of the things about ministry I’m learning is do it for an audience of One. – Jim
6. He (Jesus) wanted to do a project with me and start a church. – Jim
7. I was like a locomotive without a track. – Jim
8. “Some of the people want to be original or nothing at all.  They wind up being both.” – Rick Warren
9. You’re going to have to have courage.  We got cut often and we bled.  And we almost bled out. – Jennifer
10. You need spiritual callouses.  You can’t bleed every time you get cut. – Jennifer
11. Part of being a leader is finding the “so”.  “So” here is why this will work. – Jennifer
12. Leaders find the “so”…Leaders don’t let the “but” stop them.  Leaders find a way to make it happen. – Jim
13. Being in ministry can be a tough, lonely place. – Jim
14. Frustration begins where our knowledge ends. – Jim
15. There is no correlation between the size and strength of a church!
16. I can guarantee there are people within a driving distance from church who are going to hell.
17. There is more than one way to grow a church; we don’t criticize what God is blessing.
18. It takes all kinds of churches to reach all kinds of people.
19. If a principle is biblical, it is trans-cultural.  It will work anywhere!
20. We must never confuse our methods with God’s message!  The message must never change, but the methods must continually change.
21. You have to change your method to reach whose in your target area.
22. Growth comes from health…Healthy things grow.
23. Health comes from balance.
24. God has created the reason, the purpose of the church.  And we don’t get to decide that purpose.
25. God uses skilled people to build His church.
26. All leaders are learners.  When we stop learning it limits our capacity to lead.  There is a certain humility to learning.
27. Your ministry will be tested by God.  Does it last?  “Built to last” requires the right foundation.
28. Defining your church’s purpose builds morale.
29. You need people around you to help you but everybody’s not going to be on-board. – Jennifer
30. We may have 3,000 here on weekends but if 300 get it, that’s enough to build momentum. – Jennifer
31. A cruise ship is a great place to take a vacation.  It’s not a great place to change the world…It’s all about you and your experience. – Jim
32. What has surprised me is how hungry people are for a leader who knows where they’re going. – Jennifer
33. If you’re busy rowing the boat you don’t have time to rock the boat.  People need something significant to do. – Jim
34. The church needs to say, “What’s our business?”  And then ask, “How’s business?” – Jim
35. Sometimes you have to say “No” to things that are not mission vital. – Jim
36. A Great Commitment to the Great Commandment and the Great Commission will grow a Great Church!
37. The church is often not seen as an open place.  It’s seen as a private club. – Jennifer
38. You have to work to show you are welcome here. – Jim

5 Ways to Communicate Vision and Purpose

1. Slogans
2. Symbols (Logo)
3. Scripture
4. Stories – Let people tell their testimonies.  Edit video testimonies.
5. Specifics – Help the people in the seats connect the dots between what they do and what they give helps the mission and vision of the church.

Additional Thought – The #1 Task of Leadership is to continually clarify and communicate the purpose of the organization.

More to come from David Chrzan, Saddleback Church’s Chief of Staff.

As a special gift to everyone reading this post, ISS is pleased to offer our latest resource Nothing Grows A Church Faster absolutely FREE.  This complimentary eBook contains 5 sermon outlines you can use this fall to speak on money and possessions.  Click HERE or on the image to the left to receive your copy today.  Enjoy!!!