Breakthru Churches Podcast

The impact of the scandal due to sexual misconduct claims against the iconic pastor of Willow Creek Community Church, Bill Hybels, and the allegations of mishandling his investigation by the church board may not be known for years. However, in this episode, Chris explores an issue that not only Willow Creek, but most churches and pastors struggle with: a culture that discourages leaders from addressing issues in their lives when they first begin.

Pastors talk a lot about the need for change. A ton of energy and resources are often dedicated to bring change in people’s lives, their community, and in the churches they lead. In this episode, Chris discusses the #1 skill that every leader must develop in order to lead change: Consistency.

Pastors typically either listen to too many people or not enough. Either approach will cause problems and, in this episode, Chris shares why this is a problem and how every pastor can know who to share with and give access to speak into their life and ministry.

In every human interaction we have, we only see a sliver of what is fully going on in the other person’s life. This episode focuses on how church leaders should see the behaviors and reactions of those they lead so they can minister to them more effectively.

To accomplish what God has called you to do, you must expand. Expansion cannot occur without true authenticity. In this episode, Chris explains WHY, for pastors, this true authenticity cannot be found within the church that they lead, but HOW & WHERE this can be found.

Finding great leaders to build Strong Teams is a very difficult challenge for any church leader. In this episode, Chris interviews Russ Minary, Founder of On Purpose Enterprises, and an expert on hiring great team members and he shares the steps leaders must take to hire great team members and the right and wrong tools to use in this process.

Church leaders are constantly faced with tough decisions. Often, the number of options seem limited. In this episode, Chris talks to Jonathan Malm, author of the book “The Hidden Option.” They discuss how church leaders can creatively develop more options to the daily challenges they face, along with a number of topics related to Jonathan’s book, “UnWelcome.”

Based on a recent event where his 7-year-old son hid from him in a stack of tires, Chris explains what can go wrong when leaders don’t recognize mistakes that are made and have the strength to stand up and admit the problem.

Easter is complete and hopefully, your church had an incredible weekend, but what do you do now to connect with the guests that visited your church? In this episode, Chris shares a strategy on how to effectively reach out to each guest to help them see that your church can minister to the areas of pain in their life.

On this Wednesday prior to Easter, Chris addresses leaders preparing for leading upcoming Easter Services. Although this is a busy week of preparation for most church leaders, he challenges them on how they should prepare their own hearts for Easter so they can lead their churches well this weekend.

What is your morning routine? Do you use your morning to prepare you for the battle you will face that day? In this episode, Chris shares why every morning should be used to prepare you to live out the bold call you have as a follower of Jesus. Make no mistake, every day YOU go into battle. Will you be prepared or will you just show up?

Exaggeration is EVERYWHERE! Well, maybe that's an exaggeration also. The truth is exaggeration can be hurting our effectiveness in the church as we communicate about our programs, retreats, and other opportunities. In this episode, Chris shares three dangers of over exaggerating in the church and offers a better approach to our communication.

Admitting that we’re broken is pretty easy because it’s obvious we’re all broken, but actually embracing that brokenness is much more difficult. In this episode, Chris shares why leaders must embrace their brokenness and allow God to use it in order for us to impact people’s lives.

One of the toughest things to do in leadership is make a change even when things seem to be working fine. In this Daily BreakThru Chris talks about what type of changes we need to be on the lookout for, especially when it seems like you don’t have to.

What if there was one simple thing that every leader could do every day that would make them significantly more effective to those they lead and serve? That one thing is available to you and can make a huge difference in your leadership starting today. Take a listen as Chris shares that “One Simple Thing” and explains how doing it can make a real positive impact, but by not doing it is currently hurting your leadership.

EVERY church is called to fulfill The Great Commission. This is a bold call that requires a Bold Plan. This episode focuses on the Fourth Pillar of a BreakThru Church: A Bold Plan. Chris unpacks why every church needs a Bold Plan, the danger of not having a plan, and how to pursue developing one.

The third pillar to a BreakThru Church is Kingdom Values. In this episode, Chris shares what type of values should drive our behaviors as churches. What should serve as the foundation for every decision and motivation we have as leaders. These values are based on the Kingdom behaviors and teachings of Jesus in the Gospels.

The second pillar of a BreakThru Church is a Strong Team. In this episode, Chris breaks down what makes a weak team, and why having a weak team is so dangerous. He also shares what elements make up a strong team that can propel a church to be a BreakThru Church.

When it comes to the health of a leader you are either moving in a positive direction or a negative direction. You are either moving toward being Vibrant or toward physical, spiritual, and/or emotional death. It may seem like you are a long way from either of those extremes, but every day you are moving closer to one direction or the other. In this episode, we talk about one of the four foundational pillars of being a BreakThru Church, being a Vibrant Leader. So...are you Vibrant or Dying?

What was once The WHYcollective is now BreakThru Churches. In this episode, Chris shares what led to the decision to not only change the name, but also change the focus of this ministry to helping churches BreakThru their communities and culture by having: a Vibrant Leader, Strong Team, Kingdom Behaviors, and a Bold Plan.