Quick Takes with Kevin: Leadership, Life and Ministry

A team will not be healthy if there is not consistent, open and honest communication. The difficult conversations are what help a team grow and improve. Kevin sits down with Jeremy Morton, pastor of First Baptist Woodstock, Ga., to discuss how to build an environment of trust in your leadership team.

Everywhere you go, there seem to be unspoken rules that people abide by. When it comes to leading a team, clearly communicating how you expect the team to operate helps to mitigate the chances for dysfunction. Pastor James Merritt and Kevin talk about the importance of setting clear standards for a church leadership team.

If a church isn’t careful, its culture will become more corporate than Christlike. Leaders will zero in on success instead of spiritual depth. Kevin and special guest Tim Dowdy discuss how to keep Christ at the center of your church’s culture.

A healthy church starts with a healthy culture among its leadership team. That health, however, must be cultivated. Kevin and Jeremy Morton, pastor of First Baptist Woodstock, Ga., speak about the keys to developing a healthy team culture.

We tend to jump from one ministry opportunity to the next, but the Holy Spirit often wants to use the time after significant moments in our lives to imbibe His lessons into us. Kevin speaks with Tim Dowdy about taking time to linger and savor the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

As a leader, your words have power. Using your voice to encourage and inspire can lead to positive change in your staff, your congregation and your community. Kevin and pastor James Merritt discuss the importance of using words to empower others.

As pastors we spend much of our lives getting things done. But the Bible calls on us to be gentle in how we accomplish our tasks, relate to others and conduct ministry. Where is the balance and can both be accomplished at the same time?

Half of the battle of ministry is truly paying attention to those you are ministering to. On this episode, Kevin speaks with Tim Dowdy to discuss how to focus on people in order to meet their needs and serve them well.

The work of ministry is ultimately dedicated to serving people. For a pastor, his people should hold a special place in his heart. On this episode, Kevin speaks with Hershael York about loving and serving church members well.

One key step in Alcoholics Anonymous is making an honest self-evaluation. Kevin sits down with guest, Troy Nesbitt, to discuss the importance of cutting through the busy-ness of life to make time for self-examination.

Pastors are not super-spiritual creatures, untouched by sinful thoughts and temptation. Kevin and special guest Hershael York discuss the need for pastors to remember their own brokenness as they lead in ministry.

Jesus’s life was practically defined by His humility, but humility isn’t often addressed in churches today. Kevin speaks with guest Hershael York about the need for Christian leaders to focus on humility.

In this episode, Kevin visits with Lance Witt, author of the book Replenish. Lance discusses his personal struggles with some of the topics covered in the book and what brought him to write about those struggles.

Leaders often succeed because they are great at getting things done. They cast vision, plan, and accomplish goals. Kevin and guest, Troy Nesbitt, discuss the importance and place of prayer in ministry.

Time alone with God, spent in solitude, is vital to the spiritual health of a Christian. Pastors cannot expect to lead their churches without also spending quiet, intimate time with God. Chuck Herring joins Kevin on this week’s episode to discuss the value of solitude.

Oftentimes, our constant need to say yes to every person grows out of a sense of insecurity. We want others to like us or think us able to do everything. Kevin speaks with Ted Traylor about the need to say, ‘Yes,’ to God so that we can then set our priorities.

Every believer desperately needs a weekly time of rest. God set aside a Sabbath and called it holy. Pastors need time to rest, recharge and focus on God. Kevin and Vance Pitman discuss the value of rest in this week’s episode.

As you navigate your congregation through this time of uncertainty, the North American Mission Board is here to encourage and pray for you.

Pastors need to have the spiritual courage to stand strong during times of testing. Kevin speaks with Jimmy Scroggins about the need for boldly proclaim and live for the truth when those challenges arise.

Being on stage week in and week out can lead a pastor to feel like nothing more than an entertainer. Kevin speaks with guest Troy Nesbitt about the need for pastors to remember the need to minister to and disciple their people.

Our identity is one of the most important things about us. If we’re not careful, we will give others too much power in shaping how we view ourselves. Kevin sits down with Jim Henry to talk about the need to remember our primary identity as children of God.

There’s something about being in ministry that seems to make pastors wary of developing close friendships. Yet, those friendships are key to our emotional and spiritual health. Kevin and his guest, Lance Witt, discuss the value of close friendships.

It is easy to feel like a servant to our smartphone notifications. Respond to email. Post a tweet. Return voicemail. On this episode, Kevin sits down with his guest, Lance Witt, to discuss the importance of giving technology a rest.

Episode 17: Feel the Rhythm. Without a healthy rhythm to their lives, pastors will rapidly drift toward burnout. Kevin speaks with his guest, Jim Henry, about establishing a healthy rhythm to life and ministry that allows our souls to stay refreshed.

Episode 16: Simplicity is Not Simple. How many times have you tried to declutter your life and achieve simplicity? Having a well-ordered life and ministry sounds great, but it can feel like an impossible task. Kevin speaks with Lance Witt about cultivating simplicity in a busy world.

Episode 15: The Call No One Wants to Get. Few people seek obscurity but many times we can feel like we are invisible, like no one notices. Maybe we even feel forgotten by God. Kevin’s guest Andy Addis talks about how God can use times of obscurity to shape us into who He wants us to be.

Episode 14: It’s All About the Groom. At most weddings today, the focus is on the bride. But biblically, it’s all about the groom. Kevin’s guest Jim Henry talks about how pastors can keep the focus on Jesus.

Episode 13: What Kind of Old Person Do I Want to Be? What qualities would you like to be true of you in your twilight years? Are there places in your life where you have caught yourself coasting? Kevin and his guest Vance Pitman discuss practices we can put into place in order to finish well.

Episode 12: Pit Stops Required. If we want to stay spiritually healthy long term we can’t stay on the front lines forever. Kevin’s guest, Jimmy Scroggins, talks about the need to rest and re-group after intense times of advance.

Episode 11: It’s Not All About the Weekend. Ministry success is not all about weekend attendance. What truly matters is how many people are being discipled and how much life change is happening in your church. Kevin’s guest, Johnny Hunt, shares how pastors can un-hitch their self-worth from attendance numbers.

Episode 10: Fatigued, Frazzled and Fried. Sometimes we can be our own worst enemies, chasing ideas and opportunities that end up leaving us depleted and discouraged. How can we learn to say “yes” the right things and “no” to everything else? Kevin and his guest, Danny Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, have an important discussion about setting priorities.

Episode 9: Need for Speed. Often our “hurry-up” lifestyle can lead to a hurried spirit. How do we take the time to slow down enough to spend quality time with the Lord and with people? Dhati Lewis, pastor of Blueprint Church in Atlanta, is Kevin’s guest.

Episode 8: Isolation Trap. As our responsibility grows, we often become more isolated from people. This can cause us to miss out on the perspectives of others—and even much-needed accountability. Kevin and Andy Addis, pastor of CrossPoint church in Kansas, discuss how pastors can avoid falling into the isolation trap.

Episode 7: Approval Addiction. How do you respond when someone criticizes you? Where do you look for your validation? Are you driven to please others? Yourself? Kevin and his guest, Thom Rainer, former president of LifeWay, talk about how we can anchor our identity in a way that won’t be shifted by changes in our position, title or other peoples’ opinions of us.

Episode 6: Ambition Ambush. What really drives us? How do we avoid allowing our own ambition to take over? Kevin and his guest, Dhati Lewis, pastor of Blueprint Church in Atlanta, discuss how we must continually submit to Christ and use His measuring stick for success—not our own and not someone else’s.

Episode Five: The Seduction of Ambition. What’s the difference between personal ambition and healthy ambition? How do we balance that “fire in the belly” with the need for times of quiet reflection. Kevin visits with Chuck Herring, senior pastor of Collierville First Baptist Church in Collierville, Tenn.

Episode Four: Image Management. If we become more focused on our outer life than we are on our inner life, we engage in image management. How can pastors avoid this trap? Kevin is joined by Ted Traylor, senior pastor of Olive Baptist Church in Pensacola, Fla.

Episode Three: Your Ministry is Not Your Life. When we are more focused on ministry than we are on Jesus, our ministry can become a burden. Kevin is joined by Vance Pitman, lead pastor of Hope Church, Las Vegas.

Episode Two: Hole in My Soul. Too many pastors are constantly giving, giving, giving and they are emotionally, spiritually and physically drained. Every pastor needs to find ways to “fill their bucket,” especially spiritually. Kevin is joined by Jimmy Scroggins, lead pastor of Family Church in Palm Beach, Fla.

Episode One: The Idolatry of Leadership. There are a flood of ministry resources emphasizing leadership today, but if we’re not careful, we can become well equipped for leading and poorly equipped for pastoring. Kevin is joined by Ronnie Floyd, president of the SBC Executive Committee.