Chances are that if you’re a Christian, your desire is to be more like Christ. That’s great. But are you? How would you know? A Barna study done a few years ago owned me. The survey revealed that 51% of the North American Christians polled have attitudes and actions more like those of the Pharisees than those of Christ. In other words, the attitudes of most Christians were described as self-righteous and hypocritical. According to the study, only 14% of Christians surveyed reflected attitudes and actions that better resembled the attitudes and actions of Christ. What surprised me (as wel ..read more

Listen, subscribe, and leave a review on: Alpha’s Nicky Gumbel and Archie Coates, the new Vicar of Holy Trinity Brompton, discuss the keys to church revitalization in a post-Christian era, how to create a vibrant church culture, and field notes on Archie’s succession to become Vicar of Holy Trinity Brompton after Nicky Gumbel stepped back. This episode is brought to you by: The Art of Leadership Academy What if you could get coaching from me and some of the guests on this podcast? Every single month, that’s exactly what the leaders inside the Art of Leadership Academy do. We hop on ..read more

Listen, subscribe, and leave a review on: In this episode, Carey Nieuwhof breaks down four distinct styles of communication typical of dying, stagnant, shallow, and growing churches. He also gives you the tools you need to break out of a rut to become a more powerful and effective communicator. This episode is brought to you by: The Art of Leadership Academy Every single month inside the Art of Leadership Academy,  we hop on a Zoom call to talk through the challenges leaders are facing so you can learn from each other, with each other, and from world-class experts.On August 8th ..read more

Listen, subscribe, and leave a review on: Rich Villodas on how to know whether your soul is in danger, the exact disciplines and strategies he uses to maintain and grow his personal integrity, how he’s approaching the 2024 election differently, and why many Christians are on the broad—not the narrow—path. This episode is brought to you by: Gloo+ Gloo+ is your new all-in-one solution that will revolutionize your ministry. With free messaging, sermon kits, outreach tools, and discounted church products, you’ll save your church thousands of dollars and countless of hours. Check it out ..read more

Listen, subscribe, and leave a review on: Brad Hill, Chief Solutions Officer at Gloo and former President of Ministry Brands, talks about how to double your outreach, reaching more people, the NIHITO principle, and the early adopter advantage in the future of tech and AI. This episode is brought to you by: Compassion As a pastor, I knew child sponsorship was an opportunity for my church to make an impact worldwide and I trusted Compassion International to make that happen. Learn more about hosting your own Compassion Sunday at compassion.com/carey. Generis Generis is on a mission to ..read more

Listen, subscribe, and leave a review on: Priscilla Shirer, author, evangelist, actress, and speaker, talks about how to improve your communication skill set, how she learned acting skills, and how actors cry on demand. This episode is brought to you by: Overflow With Overflow’s newest product, RoundUps, your church members are able to turn their everyday purchases into incremental donations. Learn more about the most innovative giving platform for your church, visit Overflow.co/Carey Subsplash Out of the 168 hours in a week, how many hours does your church actually have the full at ..read more

What do you need to become a super healthy leader over the long haul? Too many leaders get discouraged, drained, and defeated over the long haul in leadership. None of them set out to end up that way, but without careful attention to important disciplines, it happens. That question can seem difficult to answer until you realize that leaders who do well in the long run all seem to adopt common habits and practices that help them thrive, not just survive, in leadership. After two decades in church leadership and leading my own company, here are ten things that thriving leaders almost alway ..read more

Listen, subscribe, and leave a review on: Steve Cuss talks about how to recognize if you have chronic anxiety (or anxieties), how to handle people who get their kicks out of kicking the leader, and the problem with the complex job descriptions of Lead Pastors. This episode is brought to you by: The Preaching Cheat Sheet I’d love to share a copy of my preaching cheat sheet with you. It’s easy to follow, just 10 simple prompts—with examples—that you can start using as early as this Sunday. Download your copy for FREE at preachingcheatsheet.com. Belay For an inside peek at how a virtua ..read more

I’ll start with a simple question: Are you trying to grow your church or reach people? The distinction might be more important than you think.  I love growth-minded leaders and I always appreciate pastors who are trying to reach their community. That’s the fuel for why I do what I do around here.  As a result, I’ve written on church growth for years, and, as you know, church growth gets a lot of shade from some Christian leaders (no surprise, I know). I realize that sometimes the criticism of church growth and criticism of megachurches can come from leaders whose churches aren’t gro ..read more

Listen, subscribe, and leave a review on: Dr. Alison Cook talks about how therapy has become the new church, the dangers of spiritual bypassing, what to do when you want to escape your life, and how much cognitive dissonance is normal for leaders. This episode is brought to you by: Gloo Don’t let your message fade into the background. Sign up for free texting with Gloo today, at gloo.us/freetexting. Compassion Watch how God uses YOUR church to impact the world when you host a Compassion Sunday. Find out more at compassion.com/carey. The post Episode 659: Dr. Alison Cook on Why Ther ..read more