FREE Online Conference
October 25th and 26th, 2012
Topics That All Ministry Leaders are Dealing With,
But Nobody’s Talking About
Elder Boards from Hell
How do you deal with an elder board that is out of control? Every year, thousands of pastors pull their hair out trying to lead a team of people that don’t get along, have their own agenda, or simply can’t agree on much of anything. How do you best lead your board? What can you do to foster unity, creativity, and action? Getting your board on board is one of the first things great leaders must do. Speakers include Larry Osborne, Scott Wilson, and many others.
The Church’s Response to Homosexuality
The issue of homosexuality is not going away for the church. What is your response when a gay couple starts attending your church, or when they want to be baptized or join your membership? How do you communicate in loving, yet biblical ways to reach gays and lesbians, who need Jesus just as much as everyone else? You WILL need to answer these questions. How you answer them will dramatically influence the future of your church. Speakers include Adrew Marin, Wayne Cordeiro, Dharius Daniels, and many others.
“Church Staff Gone Wild”
You’ve got a cocky and arrogant staff member. Or a guy or gal who is incompetent or untrustworthy. Maybe you hired a real jerk. Making staff changes in the church is really tough… in fact “freeing someone’s future” is one of the hardest, yet most needed things we need to do from time to time as church leaders. When should you fire a staff member? How should you fire a staff member. Learn from people who’ve fired and been fired on termination dos and donts. Speakers include Sam Chand, Phil Cooke, Shawn Lovejoy and many others.
Dealing with Financial Hard Times
You’re in over your head, and the options are not pretty. You’re overstaffed. You’re under budget. And your people are smelling it. There is no momentum. In fact, people are leaving. What do you do? Maybe your scenario isn’t so bleak, but you just don’t have the financial resources to make it to the next step. How do you get there? Speakers include Geronimo Aguilar, Steve Stroope, Jon Ferguson, and many others.
“Responding to Your PR Nightmare”
The local newspaper just wrote an article about your church that is disparaging, or worse yet, totally untrue. Or a disgruntled church member has started a blog about you and your church that compares you to the spawn of Satan. Today, everyone has a printing press, and what they say about your church matters. So how do you deal with a rogue blogger or local newspaper writer? How should you deal with a PR nightmare? Speakers include Brian Tome, Greg Surratt, David McGee and many others.
“Elvis Should Leave the Building”
Everyone wants to talk about succession, unless it’s their own. Frankly, succession is a scary topic for most pastors. Everyone wants to leave well (and at the right time), but few are able to plan and execute a flawless transition. When should you leave? How should you leave? What can you do to insure a healthy transition? We’ll learn lessons from transitions that went well, and those that didn’t. Speakers include Francis Chan, Mac Lake and many others.
When Tragedy Strikes
Sometimes horrible things happen inside the church. Maybe it’s the sudden death of a pastor or church staff member. It could be an act of nature, like a tornado, that quickly goes through your community, affecting virtually everyone that you minister to. What do you do when tragedy strikes your church? How do you react? What is your game plan? Speakers include Eric Geiger, Matt Fry and many others.
“Cause” for Concern?
Do social justice issues help or hinder the proclamation of the Gospel? That’s the question. Should the church be all about fixing all the problems in our communities and in the world, or should we just stick with preaching the plan of salvation? Is it possible to do both? And if it’s possible, should we? And how do we respond to other ministries that take a different approach than we do? Speakers include Dave Ferguson, Darrin Patrick, Bob Roberts, and many others.
“When Jesus Steps on the Gas”
It’s a great problem to have: uncontrollable growth. More and more people are coming every Sunday than you have room for. People are falling through the cracks. You’re internal structures work only for a church half your size. And you don’t have enough leaders to ramp up future programs or even disciple the people you find are now attending. What do you do when Jesus steps on the gas? Learn from those who’ve been traveling the road of ministry like a NASCAR driver on a dirt road. Speakers include ND Strupler, Kevin Harney, Jim Powell and many others.
“Help. I’ve Fallen and I Can’t Get Up”
Everything comes to a screeching halt when one of your staff or volunteers is accused of any kind of sexual sin. Moral failure in church leadership happens every single day in America, yet most churches foolishly think it will never happen to them. How can you prepare for the likelihood of sexual sin or moral failure that will in some way touch your ministry at some time in the future? How and when should restoration be offered? Learn from leaders who had had to deal with this crisis in their church firsthand, and from some who have fallen. Speakers include Pete Briscoe, Craig Groeschel, Devin Hudson and many others.
How to Gracefully Kill a Church Program
Most churches are bloated and over-programmed. A ministry that Aunt Mable started in 1954 is still going, albeit with 4 ladies. Other more harmful programs still have a good amount of interest and attendance, but are diversions… they no longer serve the mission and vision of the church. How do you shut down these well-loved, but draining ministries without alienating those involved? How do you move people from one program to another without them feeling cheated and manipulated? Speakers include Brian Bloye, Mark Driscoll, Tara Jenkins and many others.
SPECIAL: Hot Button Topics
These are topics that were proposed by our speakers… important hot button topics that they think need to be addressed in today’s church (but things that we’re not talking about openly). These topics include things like pastoral obesity, muslim relations, security issues in the church, cohabitating seniors, and truth-stretching. Speakers include Perry Noble, Elmer Towns, Mark Batterson, Matt Carter, and more!