In a very transparent and honest conversation, Fresh Life Church founder and bestselling author, Levi Lusko, comes back to the podcast and talks about dealing with adrenaline letdown after COVID hit, what the future church might look like, why he’s thinking his church will become a digital default church, and how digital can scale in a way the old model never could, even for small town churches.
Welcome to Episode 359 of the podcast. Listen and access the show notes below or search for the Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and listen for free.
Plus, in this episode’s What I’m Thinking About segment, Carey talks about your health and why your time off probably isn’t going to destress you.
Guest Links
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Episode Links
Gloo
As we all know, COVID-19 disrupted how people relate with one another, and in many ways accelerated the Church’s need to engage with people online. But as we all know, that complicates things. Many leaders have lost visibility into who’s engaging with their church and how they can serve them.
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Learn more about Insights+ at glooinsights.com/carey.
Pro Media Fire
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CONVERSATION LINKS
Take Back Your Life by Levi Lusko
Through the Eyes of a Lion by Levi Lusko
Why Your Time Off Will Never Be Enough to Truly Destress You by Carey Nieuwhof
Text CAREY 33777 to join more than 70,000 subscribers to our leadership content
Text BETTERVALUES to get Carey’s 3-Step Guide to Developing Better Value Statements
3 INSIGHTS FROM LEVI
1. Reopening as soon as possible might not be the best way forward
Businesses like restaurants, movie theaters and malls can’t wait to reopen after the COVID crisis because they can’t make money without being open. The church isn’t like those businesses and doesn’t need to have the same urgency. We can still carry out the Great Commission without filling our church buildings.
Because of this, Fresh Life Church has made a shift to focus on online attenders and small gatherings of less than 50 people. Through these new methods, they are reaching more people than they ever have before, and they are not rushing to reopen.
2. Let your staff rest
One of the most common questions pastors are asking during this time is, “What do I do with my staff that now don’t have a full 40 hours of work?” Levi has decided to allow them get well-rested in this season. He thinks this approach is much better than manufacturing work that isn’t really needed.
In his mind, this is similar to a football team. It’s okay for the kicker to sit on the bench when he isn’t needed as long as he is staying ready for when he is. You can view your staff the same way. Your campus pastors for your closed locations might not have 40 hours of work in this season, and that’s okay.
3. Encourage online attendees to become volunteers
Now that Fresh Life has turned their focus to primarily being an online church, they are facing the challenge of guiding purely online attenders to engage and volunteer. To answer this, they turned to scripture. In Nehemiah, every worker was called to work at the part of the wall that was in front of his own house.
The Fresh Life team took notes from this and decided to place a great emphasis on the idea of serving within your community, no matter where you live. So, if someone is watching from Pennsylvania, they encourage them to invest in their local community. To back this up, they give outreach grants to help with projects that improve the cities where Fresh Life is.
Quotes from Episode 359
We can continue to meet online and thrive and be the church we were born to be. @levilusko Click To TweetCommunity service is not punishment, it's actually a privilege. @levilusko Click To TweetAn incredible sense of peace comes from remembering that God is God, and we're not. @levilusko Click To TweetI can't let fear keep me from moving forward in faith. @levilusko Click To TweetThe church should be at the front of serving communities. @levilusko Click To TweetTo the extent that we're willing to be real about the hardships we're facing, people will relate to us more. @levilusko Click To TweetTime off doesn't work as a solution to your stress. @cnieuwhof Click To TweetTime off won't heal you when your problem is how you spend your time on. @cnieuwhof Click To TweetA sabbatical isn't the solution for an unsustainable pace. A sustainable pace is a solution. @cnieuwhof Click To TweetWhen your living and leading is broken, then all the time off in the world won't fix it. @cnieuwhof Click To TweetRead or Download the Transcript for Episode 359
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Next Episode: Bryan Miles
Bryan Miles has been leading virtual teams for over a decade. He shares the best practices for leading virtual teams, what the future of work might look like, how to motivate your staff, why no one should be allowed to mute audio or video during a Zoom meeting, and how he’s led his businesses through the disruption so far.
Subscribe for free now so you won’t miss Episode 360.
