Episode 7 of the Infuse Leadership Podcast is now available on iTunes and on our website HERE. The title of this episode is “The Fired Up Church” and we were thrilled to have Joe Sangl with us as our special guest. Joe is the founder and president of I Was Broke, Now I’m Not. He has a book on personal finance by the same name, as well as other books like “Oxen” and “What Everyone Should Know About Money” (A book written for young adults before they enter the real world). You can find all of Joe’s resources HERE. Joe is also the president of Injoy Stewardship Solutions which helps the local church raise the resources necessary to expand God’s Kingdom in their own context.
Joe travels the country, not only teaching on personal stewardship, but helping church maximize their stewardship as well. He has been in and served with every shape, size and style of church you can think of. When Joe visited Element a few months ago, we sat down with him to talk about what he’s seeing in the church today, both good and bad. You’ll love Joe’s insight and inspiration in this Podcast. I felt like we were sitting in a masters class on leadership and church health/growth.
If you listen through iTunes, please subscribe, rate and review the podcast for us. I shared some highlights of the podcast below.
Apple iTunes link HERE.
Online link HERE.
Here are some highlights from the podcast:
1. Leaders are meant to serve the people not the people serve the leader — Joe shared an amazing quote from John Maxwell that says, “I think it’s great when someone loves their pastor, but it’s amazing when a pastor loves his people.” Joe said, “When a church becomes a holy huddle and forget they are here to serve their city, that is very disheartening.”
2. A recipe for success at a church is a leader hungry for God, hungry to reach people and intentional in everything they do — Joe shared some incredible insight here on some “signs” he sees in churches that are successful. You’ll want to take some notes on this part.
3. Joe answered the question, “What are the most exciting things you’re seeing in churches?” —
- God is moving in the midst of ALL kinds of churches. He shared the verse 2 Chronicles 7:14 “Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.” It’s so encouraging to hear that God is not moving in only one kind of church, God is moving in ALL kinds of churches who seek Him.
- Churches that are full of life and full of God’s Spirit will create people who go tell other people what is happening at their church. SO true! You want your people to invite others to your church, give them something worth inviting to!
- Joe said, “What is my favorite opportunity to speak? The next one!” That’s a great mentality to have in leadership. We seem to always be either looking to the past or looking so far into the future that we fail to see what is right in front of us…the next opportunity.
4. Every leader should ask the question, “When I walk in the building, what do I love about this place? What do guests love about this place?” —
- “When churches intentionally set an environment for people to hear the Gospel free from distractions, I love that!”
- “Your level of expectation will determine your level of preparation.” If people have a high expectation that God is going to do something in our midst, it will demand that we prepare for it. We need to prepare the environment from the parking lot to the front seat to the back seat. What happens when the service starts? When it ends? We have to be prepared.
- “You cannot plan a move of God but you can prepare for one!”
5. “A lot of people in ministry get stuck in the paralysis of analysis!” — Joe talks about the difference between pursuing excellence and pursuing perfection.
6. “If I had the choice between the perfect building and perfect resources or a group of people who were desperate for God to move, I would choose the latter every time.”
- God will not give the vision without the provision.
7. Every seven to ten years you need to reinvest and reinvent — You need to reinvest in what is working and reinvent what is not. We need to start asking what ministries are effective, not which ones we like. “In the presence of many options people will choose none.”
8. We asked Joe, “What are some churches that no one knows about but everyone should know about?” — I loved this question and here are links to the churches he shared.
- The Bridge Church with pastor Marty Schmidt
- Better Life Church with pastor Daniel Lucas
9. Joe talked about the power of worship through music in the church and talked about asking some music students, “Why does music move us so greatly?” Their answer was amazing. “Music is one of the very few things you get to take to heaven with you and they suggested that music is the connection to our eternal home.”