Live Blog From ReThink Conference – 26 Leadership Quotes From Kara Powell

For the next three days, I will be live blogging from the ReThink Leadership Conference in Atlanta, GA.  ReThink, open exclusively to senior pastors, campus pastors and executive pastors, is a unique gathering of church leaders who are committed to solving the biggest challenges facing your church and the Church.

Injoy Stewardship Solutions has dispatched me to attend this amazing event as a way to invest in your growth.  They also want to invest in your leadership by offering you our latest FREE ebook Breaking The Next Growth Barrier: 10 Things Pastors Can Do To Break Down Growth Barriers by clicking HERE for your complimentary copy.

The next speaker was Dr. Kara Powell.  Kara is the Executive Director of the Fuller Youth Institute (FYI) and a faculty member at Fuller Theological Seminary. Named by Christianity Today as one of 50 Women to Watch, Kara also serves as a Youth and Family Strategist for Orange.  The following are 26 leadership quotes I captured during her sobering session along with additional thoughts from Geoff Surratt:

1. The older I get the older I feel.
2. The older I get the harder it is to stay in church with culture.
3. The church is calibrated for a world that doesn’t exist.
4. We must calibrate ourselves to culture or we lose relevance and culture.
5. No major tradition and religion in the U.S. growing.
6. We are getting smaller and older.
7. 16-29 year olds only represent 10% of church attendance.
8. There is a shift happening with young people that mark adulthood 5 years old.
9. 18-29 year olds are now referred to as Emerging Adults.
10. 76% of LGBT people would return to the faith community and faith practices.
11. 4% of the U.S. identify themselves at LGBT.
12. The world is watching how the church is dealing with this issue.
13. All people are made in God’s image.
14. We all do better when we brush up against Christ-centered community.
15. Is it possible in our church we are catering to extraverts and isolating introverts?
16. 1/3 of Americans are introverts.
17. We need a church that connects with both introverts and extraverts.
18. Where else do you sing in public? – Carey Nieuwhof
19. We can’t underestimate the power of love.
20. Warm is the new cool.
21. God is working through congregations of all sizes, flavors and regions.
22. The church that goes from one stance to another stance the attendance drops through the floor. – GS
23. Culture is invisible but determinative. – CN
24. Loyalty to the leader was valued over everything else. – Referring to a toxic, co-dependent environment
25. Vision is stories shared of future hope.
26. I long for the church to be known for what we’re for than what we’re against.

This wraps up Day 1.  I can’t wait for tomorrow.

As previously mentioned, INJOY Stewardship Solutions would like to offer you the FREE resource Breaking The Next Growth Barrier: 10 Things Pastors Can Do To Break Down Growth Barriers.  Click HERE or on the image to the left for your complimentary copy.