The Mission Guys

Yes, God has a unique mission for all of us and, yes, He is in control. So does that mean leaders in His Church should not plan? No. In this episode, Nick and Rick discuss the sweet spot between having little or no plan on one side and the common human desire for clear plans that do not change on the other. Through constant deliberate prayerful docility to the Holy Spirit, Church leaders are able...

“We had a great offsite! But have since lost momentum and are back in the same place as before.” “We all agreed to do XYZ, but we never followed through.” If you or your teams have said anything like that, and especially if you’re saying that now, listen to Nick and Rick talk about being more intentional to n your leadership. Intentional Leadership is another common leadership principle that becom...

In this episode, Nick and Rick discuss the power of emotional intelligence from a biblical worldview, continuing their series on "Why business tools don't work in the Church." ====== Seeking to be even more encouraged and inspired? Follow our online streaming channel . Visit us at our online site . Subscribe to "Thoughts from the Trailer", our weekly article Have a comment about this podcast? Cont...

Patrick Lencioni’s “Five Dysfunctions of a Team” is a modern classic leadership book and practical tool. Not only does it have the potential to be effective for leaders in the Church to grow team health, it SHOULD be even more effective in the Church when leaders press into it’s biblical roots. Listen to Nick and Rick explain why and how. ====== Seeking to be even more encouraged and inspired? Fol...

Nick and Rick work with leaders in the Church who are often well schooled in theology, business, leadership tools, ecclesiology, church structures and authority, and so on. And yet, they often run into problems in applying all of this knowledge and experience in leading the Church. Why might this be? This is the first in a series of how these tools and experiences may in fact be highly effective i...

Just as suffering is a part of life, dealing with adversity is a given part of leadership. But just as “it’s not enough to be a staff,” it’s also not enough for great leaders to simply deal with adversity. Leaders in the Church must become masterful in handling the inevitable challenges that will come their way. Nick and Rick share helpful observations and advice to help make this possible for apo...

“I love our performance review process,” said nobody ever in the Church. Seriously, if you like your current performance review process, then don’t listen to this podcast. If, on the other hand, you’d like to transform your current process to an ongoing experience of growing a culture of celebrating accomplishments, progress, and growth while continually getting even better (like 99+% of the leade...

Having just returned from experiencing a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and reflecting on other meaningful trips to Rome and Gettysburg, Rick and Nick reflect on the multidimensional power of having leadership team experiences together in order to grow as individuals and as a team/family on mission. The benefits of deliberate experiences, be they a pilgrimage or simply attending a targeted conferenc...

Meetings are often thought of as penitential suffering or a necessary evil, but what if a different mindset made meetings impactful? As leaders, we need to see our meetings as 'game-day' and one of the key opportunities for changing the culture in our organizations. In this episode, Nick and Rick discuss a new approach and mindset for the way teams meet. ====== Seeking to be even more encouraged a...

Is your team stuck? Do you harbor resentment against a teammate, perhaps the leader? Is your team unable to become a healthy family on Mission because of an issue from the past? Do you see one person, maybe even yourself, as the stumbling block preventing the entire team from getting healthier, but nobody is addressing the situation? If so, then this episode is for you. Anchored with helpful scrip...

There is no shortage of problems for a Church leadership team to manage. However, too often, leaders unwillingly spend an inordinate amount of time on one (or several) problems, resulting in little attention being paid to transformational leadership. The tyranny of the urgent can prevent well-meaning leaders from properly focusing on the important -- that which God wills. ====== Seeking to be even...

When we are busy, overworked, and running from moment to moment, we often find ourselves treating each other as mere transactions. In this episode, Nick and Rick share from their recent experience how easy it is to become functional in relationships at home, work, and in mission. Creating margin in our daily lives is one practical remedy that can help us all be more present to what the Holy Spirit...

Leaders in ministry often find that the groups, teams, and committees in their care struggle to find clarity on what they are supposed to do and how they are supposed to do it. This lack of clarity and understanding causes frustration, stress, and adds to the tendency for good people to experience burnout. Nick and Rick discuss simple and effective ways to solve this common and simple (but challen...

Many of us have a sense of when we feel overwhelmed in life, but few of us take the time to do anything about it. Slowing down to think, pray, and evaluate our lives and choices can bring clarity and relief to the busyness of our lives. In this episode, we discuss a practical process we recently went through that is providing abundant fruit in our own lives and can in yours as well.

It is often the case that leaders in ministry pray for their work. However, the concept and practice of praying in order to know what to do is much less common in leaders of ministry. In this episode, Rick and Nick discuss the different ways a team can pray together and testify to the powerful fruit that can be born from doing so. Visit www.actsxxix.org to learn more!

None of us were made to lead alone and this is especially true in the Church! In this episode Nick and Rick discuss the importance of, and challenges to, building leadership teams. Taking wisdom from the way Moses and Jesus led in their time, we too can employ biblical principles of leadership to our organizations.

This is the third of a three-part mini-series of a leadership deep dive into the 3 Essential Principles for Transformation in the Church. In this episode, Nick and Rick help leaders to not rely on their own understanding, intelligence, or skills to develop their own plans, but instead to rely fundamentally on praying, individually and together as a missional family, in order to know and to follow...

This is the 2nd of a 3 part mini-series of a leadership deep dive into the 3 Essential Principles for Transformation in the Church. In this episode, Nick and Rick share practical, immediate, and impactful application of the second principle, It's Not Enough to be a Staff, for you as a leader and for your leadership teams.

This is the first of a 3 part mini-series of a leadership deep dive into the 3 Essential Principles for Transformation in the Church. In this episode, Nick and Rick share practical, immediate, and impactful application of the first principle, Reacquiring a Biblical Worldview, for you as a leader and for your leadership teams.

In this episode, Nick and Rick share a recent conversation with a leader who was questioning if transformation of his team and culture were even possible given all the challenges they faced.

There are millions of podcasts, so why listen to this one? Nick and Rick explain the reason they are starting this podcast, some of their story, and offer a biblical mission challenge to listeners.