Mark Batterson has led a church in DC for over two decades. In this interview, Mark opens up about how deep the divide is in DC, how he resists the pressure to become partisan, and how to create a multi-partisan church.
He also talks about the future of the church after 5 of his physical locations were put in jeopardy by cinema insolvencies, and how he manages his time.
Welcome to Episode 383 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 how to say “no” to requests that aren’t strategic for you.
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Episode Links
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CONVERSATION LINKS
CNLP 165: Mark Batterson on How to Hear God’s Voice (and God’s Will for Your Life)
CNLP 128: Mark Batterson on Chasing Down Your Dreams Without Fear
ChurchPulse Weekly: Mark Batterson, Part 1
ChurchPulse Weekly: Mark Batterson, Part 2
Why You Can’t Have 5 Minutes of My Time by Carey Nieuwhof
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INSIGHTS FROM MARK
1. If you want to reach the world, stay non-partisan
Mark has found that many Christians are more evangelistic when it comes to their political ideology than their biblical theology. This is tragic. The gospel is for people on all sides of the political sphere, and if you want to reach people on both sides of the aisle, you, as a leader, need to lead in a way that builds a non-partisan church.
Mark does this by taking actions that show who they are for rather than make statements about what they are against as a church. For example, his church will not take a position on immigration, but will take the biblical mandate of, “Care for the stranger, the alien, the marginalized, the poor” very seriously and help resettle any refugees they can.
2. If you’re relying on the weekend, you’re in trouble
COVID has taught Mark and National Community Church a lot about what is really important for their church to invest their time and energy into. They’ve realized that if a church is relying on the weekend in the future, they’re in trouble. Since COVID hit, NCC has doubled down on helping their people live out their faith throughout the week.
They see the best way for someone to grow spiritually is to create daily habits and rhythms that grow their relationship with God deeper. One of the ways they do this is by holding 7 AM prayer Zoom calls every weekday with hundreds of people in their church community.
3. If you want to have a big impact with your time, do the math
In Mark’s new book, Win The Day, he talks about this idea of “doing the math” with your time management. He believes many leaders ignore arithmetic when it comes to their calendars, and he’d love to change that.
Most leaders will say yes to coffee with someone that they really shouldn’t, but they feel bad about saying no. Mark has found that by calculating coffee as “1 hour with 1 person = 1 hour of investment,” and comparing it with your message that’s “1 hour with hundreds of people = hundreds of hours invested,” helps bring clarity to what you should be prioritizing as a leader.
There are outliers to that data, so he gives other signs you might need to transition. If you’re no longer excited by the day-to-day work of ministry but love preaching, if you’ve started counting down the days, or think you can’t make it another seven years, it might be time to start talking about a five year succession plan.
Quotes from Episode 383
Some people are more evangelistic when it comes to their political ideology than their biblical theology. @MarkBatterson Click To Tweet So much of leadership is emotional intelligence. It's being a peacemaker, a grace giver, a tone setter. It's the posture that you strike. @MarkBatterson Click To Tweet Truth is found in the tension of opposites. If you only identify with every single plank of one party, are you thoughtfully and prayerfully looking at every single issue? @MarkBatterson Click To Tweet So often we resort to this binary thinking, and that contributes to the polarization instead of being thoughtful and flipping the coin and trying to see both sides. @MarkBatterson Click To Tweet If you want the days to count, count the days. @MarkBatterson Click To Tweet You can please all the people some of the time, some of the people all the time, but you can't please all the people all the time. @MarkBatterson Click To Tweet God has given us binocular vision, the ability to take the image from two eyes and see a combined image. @MarkBatterson Click To Tweet Sin will complicate your life in a way it shouldn't be complicated. Blessings will complicate your life in a way it should be complicated. @MarkBatterson Click To Tweet I say to my counselor, 'I don't want to disappoint anyone ever.' He turns to me and says, 'It seems to me like Jesus disappointed people all the time.' @MarkBatterson Click To Tweet The only ceiling on our intimacy with God, and impact on the world, is daily spiritual disciplines. @MarkBatterson Click To Tweet Leaders are the kind of audience that will multiply whatever you invested in them. @cnieuwhof Click To TweetRead or Download the Transcript for Episode 383
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Next Episode: Bob Westfall
Over the last 18 years, Bob Westfall has helped charities and not-for-profits raise over one billion dollars for their work. He unpacks why some people give and others don’t, the wrong script to use when raising money, and the principles behind raising more money. Bob also explains why economic downturns don’t necessarily reduce giving and can even increase it.
Subscribe for free now so you won’t miss Episode 384.
