My guest, today has some answers you can use and create positive results. Her name is Pam Marmon, and she’s the Founder of Threefold Tribe, a consulting firm whose mission statement will cause you to lean forward and say, “Tell me more.” Pam, welcome to the Flourishing Culture Podcast. Find full show notes here http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s3e39-pam-marmon/

Today we are going to talk about one of the most dreaded, yet important parts of a leaders job….. addressing performance concerns… with truth and grace. To help us navigate these treacherous waters — we have the pleasure of talking with Tara VanderSande, a true leader in Talent Development serving, in the current role of Staff Development Director at Willow Creek Community Church in the Chicago area. Hi Tara and welcome to our podcast! Find full show notes here http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s3e38-tara-vandersande/

Today we have the pleasure of talking with Robert Bortins, CEO of Classical Conversations. Based in Southern Pines, North Carolina, Classical Conversations is leading the home-centered education movement by teaching parents and students the classical tools of learning in order to discover God’s created order and beauty. Since its founding in 1997, Classical Conversations has involved 114,000 students, from 42,000 families in 2,300 communities in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and 16 countries. Hi Robert, and welcome to our podcast, today. Find full show notes here  http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s3e34-robert-bortins-jr/

In the next few minutes, you’re going to discover how the presence and power of one word can radically improve organizational culture—perhaps even your culture. The word I’m talking about is “trust.” Today we have the pleasure of visiting with Brad Eisenmann, President of Aspen Group, an integrated design, build, and furnish firm exclusively for churches, based in Frankfort, Illinois. Hi, Brad, and welcome to the Flourishing Culture Podcast. Find full shownotes here http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s3e33-brad-eisenmann/

As you know, there are many benefits of having a healthy employee culture. One positive outcome that’s not often talked about is how a healthy culture makes leadership transition easier for an organization. That’s the story going on at Redeemer Presbyterian Church throughout the leadership transition of well known senior pastor, Tim Keller. To tell us this story and shed some practical insights for what Redeemer’s experience can mean for you, I want to welcome my guest, Chris Dolan, Director of Information Services at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. Welcome, Chris. Thanks for joining us. today Find full show notes here http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s3-e31-chris-dolan-2018/

At this moment, I’m looking at a web site that says these startling words: TONIGHT, UP TO 7,000 PEOPLE FACE HOMELESSNESS IN METRO ATLANTA. Jim Reese is the President and CEO of the Atlanta Mission, and he’s with me, today. Jim, I’m inspired by how Atlanta Mission transforms, through Christ, the lives of those facing homelessness. Last year, alone, the Atlanta Mission: · made available more than 237,534 nights of shelter provided for individuals, and · helped more than 175 people obtain employment. And true to your calling last year, the Atlanta Mission ended Homelessness for 491 people. Jim, you and I know that this kind of impactful, life-changing ministry work begins with the people, the culture, of the Atlanta Mission. Find full show notes here http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s3e30-jim-reese-atlanta-mission/

Over the course of over 20 years helping equip hundreds of organizations to improve the health of their culture, leaders will often ask this question: “Can you give us ideas to rapidly improve our culture?” Many healthy-to-flourishing culture turnarounds come about through months, even years of good, hard work. Still, there are times when you can accelerate your progress to improve the health of your culture. Today, I’m very excited for you to meet two ministry leaders who in fact found a way to accelerate the transformation of their culture’s health—and the results were tremendous. In fact, their improvement is one of the greatest improvements in the 15-year history of BCWI clients that have dramatically increased the health of their culture in just one year between taking their first and second annual Employee Engagement Survey. Their story just might be the springboard you need to catapult the health of your culture and see the positive results sooner than later. My guests, today, on the Flourishing Culture Podcast are Paul Richardson, the President and Michael Joshua, the Vice President of Finance, for Bible League Canada in Grimsby, Ontario. Find full show notes here  http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s3e29-bible-league-canada

Our mission is to equip and inspire Christian leaders to build a flourishing workplace. While a majority of our listeners are working in churches and Christian non-profits, a healthy segment are Christians who either own a business, or who are involved in a Christian-owned business. Mike Sharrow is the President and CEO of C12 Group, the largest network of Christian CEOs, business owners, and executives. Mike has an extensive background in large companies, start-ups and the local church. He knows how a healthy, flourishing culture equates to organizational effectiveness. What he has to share with us is going to benefit you in more ways than one. Find full shownotes here http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s3-e27-mike-sharrow-c12-group

How healthy is your employee culture? How can you find out? And if you happen to find out your culture is not quite where you’d like it to be, what do you do? Our guest today, has a very compelling answer to share. His name is Scott Kissel and he’s the Senior Executive Pastor at Timberline Church in Fort Collins, CO. In the past two years, Scott has been at the center of the culture transformation of Timberline Church for the past two years. I can’t wait for him to share the true stories, biblical principlesand practical action steps that can help you build your workplace culture and increase your ministry impact. Find full show notes here http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s3e26-scott-kissel-timberline-church  

Here’s a quiz for you: Can you name the three most important things that drive the health of your culture?  When you know these three essential drivers of a flourishing, healthy culture I’m about to share with you, you can leverage them to tremendous advantage:   Your people will feel more engaged than ever.  Individuals, teams, departments—and the entire organization—will experience greater levels of trust, unity, productivity and effectiveness.  Your culture’s improving health will be a fantastic end in itself.  And, as you already know, a healthier, growing culture leads to greater organizational effectiveness.  And it all leads back to these three keys that can help you build the health of your culture.   I want to put these three keys in your hand, and to make that happen, I want to welcome back BCWI communications consultant, Mark Cutshall, to host our podcast. Find full shownotes here http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s3e25-al-lopus-mark-cutshall-bcwi

Today is a celebration for me, personally. As we read in scripture, when a person comes to faith in Christ, the angels celebrate. Well, I believe the same is true when a toxic workplace culture of a Christian organization changes for the better and becomes healthy. This is especially true in Christian higher education. Ten years ago, I sat across from the table from a new university President and said something I almost never say to a leader I’ve had the privilege to serve. I said, “Joseph, given the serious current challenges, I don’t know if it’s possible to change the faculty and staff culture of your University.” Yet, here we are, a decade later celebrating the dramatic change in the health faculty and staff culture at Northwest University in the neighboring Seattle city of Kirkland, Washington. Dr. Joseph Castleberry, the President of Northwest University. It’s a real honor to have you with us today. Welcome to the Flourishing Culture podcast. Find full show notes here http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s3e24-joe-castleberry-northwest-university/

Do you have enough leaders to fuel your organizations future growth? In the next few minutes, you’re going to learn about a very, very effective leadership development strategy. Whether you’re in a church, a parachurch organization, or a business, I think you’re in for a treat. With me is Tara VanderSande, Staff Development Director for Willow Creek Community Church. For the past 9 years, Tara has worked to build, refine, and take Willow Creek’s leadership development to new levels. I’ve asked her to take us inside the strategy that she and her Willow Creek colleagues have used to train, equip, and empower more than 500 leaders at all levels—including work with volunteers. Tara, you’re one of our top 10 most popular guests here on the Flourishing Culture Podcast. Welcome! Find full show notes here  http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s3e22-tara-vandersande-willow-creek-community-church

Hello, and thanks for joining us. Noted investor and financial advisor, Martin Zweig, has a famous saying: “Trends are your friends.” Today, we’re going to look at eight culture trends for 2018. With me today, to help guide the conversation is BCWI team member, Mark Cutshall. Mark, what do you say, we unpack these eight important trends. Thanks, Al. 2018 culture trends for Christian organizations and churches are already emerging against the societal trends of 2017: Donald Trump, Bitcoin, Tax Reform, Immigration, refugees, racial tension, online streaming is taking over TV, self-driving cars online shopping and, of course, Uber. So Al, lead off and give us your first culture trend potentially driving Christian organizational culture in 2018. Find full show notes here http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s3-e21-eight-culture-trends-for-2018

Today, we’re going to talk about trends. Trends help us stay cutting-edge in our work and get a glimpse of the future in real time. They help us get a jump on ways to improve our work and sharpen our direction. Knowing trends helps us to be more effective.  7 Trends for Christian Workplaces in 2017 // Al Lopus, BCWI President Find the full show notes at http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s2-e13-2017-trends. 

In the boardroom of any successful organization, the question is always asked of the CEO, “What happens if you get hit by a bus?” Certainly, CEO leadership is the board’s most important responsibility and the top of mind for any chair. The follow-up question is then, “What is the succession plan?” Today, we have the rare opportunity to talk with a leader who was figuratively “hit by a bus” with the diagnosis of bone marrow cancer that required immediate, aggressive care. Alec Hill was 62 at the time and at the top of his game, having served 14 years as president of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. Within a few weeks after the diagnosis, he stepped down from his leadership role to prepare for a bone marrow transplant.  The probabilities of survival were against him. Now, just over a year later, we can celebrate God’s grace and mercy as the doctors declare Alec cancer free! Alec’s tenure as president was marked by one of the most significant periods of growth since InterVarsity’s founding almost 75 years ago.  The InterVarsity ministry has grown to 985 chapters on 649 campuses involving more than 41,000 actively involved students and faculty.  These chapters are served by over 1,100 field staff and numerous volunteers, and annual revenues are now over $100 million. Tune into today's conversation to hear about Alec's battle with cancer, and how InterVarsity's succession planning payed off. Find the full show notes at http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/52-alec-hill-intervarsity-christian-fellowship. 

Disrespect in the workplace often mirrors our broader culture. Clearly, there is a cost of disrespect in the workplace as performance declines and disrespected staff take it out on their coworkers and customers. Bill Hybels challenged us at the Summit that it starts with the leader. All people are created by God and have intrinsic value and should be treated with respect. He challenged leaders to create a written code of respect that is taught in the workplace. Do you have a written code of respect in your organization? Do you know anyone who does? I thought you might be interested to hear about an organization that has done exactly that! Today we have the pleasure of talking with Kathy Shingleton, Vice President of Human Resources for Virginia Mason Medical Center based in Seattle. Virginia Mason is a 6,000 employee health care organization known nationally and internationally as a quality leader in healthcare. I’ve known Kathy for several years. She provided tremendous support for the Compensation and Benefits Committee of the Board, which I chaired. Find full show notes here  http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s3e18-kathy-shingleton

What is the future of your workplace going to look like? Suppose you could get a glimpse of what tomorrow looks like, today? The answer has a lot to do with one, big trend in the workplace environment that’s already present. This trend has to do with Outstanding Talent. Outstanding Talent is one of the eight critical factors that shape and sustain every healthy-to-flourishing workplace culture, including yours. Outstanding Talent involves attracting, retaining, promoting and rewarding highly capable people on your team. Most importantly, Outstanding Talent intersects directly with what I would call the current mega-trend of the virtual workplace and the new world of virtual assistants. With unemployment at near record lows and with the capabilities of new technologies in full swing, the trend of the virtual workplace is now in high gear. Today we have the pleasure of talking with Shannon Miles, CEO and Co-Founder of BELAY. BELAY’s mission is to glorify God by providing solutions that equip their clients with the confidence to climb higher. Shannon was an early adopter of the virtual assistant model. In 2010, she and her husband, Bryan, were inspired to found BELAY--providing virtual support to busy leaders. Find full show notes here http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s3e17-shannon-miles-belay

At some point, every church will face the inevitable challenge of transitioning from an outgoing pastor to a new pastor. This reality begs the question, “What is essential to successful pastoral succession—especially as its bound to affect the church’s workplace?” Our guest, today, is a national leader in this area, and he’s going to give you some valuable, practical wisdom you need to know. His name is William Vanderbloemen, the Founder and CEO of the Vanderbloemen Search Group in Houston. William has been able to combine over 15 years of ministry experience as a Senior Pastor with the best practices of Executive Search to provide churches with a unique offering: a deep understanding of local church work with the very best knowledge and practices of professional executive search. William is regularly invited to speak across the country in both church services and as a resource to churches and conferences on leadership. His book Next: Pastoral Succession That Works on effective pastoral leadership and succession was released through Baker Books in September 2014, and his book Search: The Pastoral Search Committee Handbook was released through B&H Books in June 2016. Find full show notes here http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s3e16-william-vanderbloemen

We believe having a healthy culture for a Christian organization is an end in itself. But we also believe when a ministry has a healthy culture it creates the conditions necessary for growth. What lessons about how to build a healthy culture can a global mission-sending agency teach the rest of us? The answer, I believe, can be seen inside the culture of East-West International Ministries. In the past five years, East-West has doubled the number of missionaries they send overseas from 100 to 200. Clearly, that’s a sign of a growing, healthy culture. I want you to hear the full story, so let me set the context for what you’re about to hear. The setting is Dallas, Texas, site of the Great Commission Community at the 2017 Mission Leaders Conference hosted by Missio Nexus. Missio Nexus is the largest association of Great Commission churches and organizations in North America. At the conference, I had the pleasure to speak to a group of mission leaders about the proven approach of the Best Christian Workplace Institute to help Christian organizations, churches and businesses grow their culture. What you’re about to hear is an open conversation between myself, Dave Gibson, EVP of Field Ministries, and Jessica Garrett, Human Resources Director, both from East-West Ministries International. I invite you to listen and learn, along with me. Find full show notes here  http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s3e15-jessica-garrett-dave-gibson-east-west

I think we can all agree that organizational growth is a good thing. Yet, growth can be both a gift and a huge challenge. Today, we’re going to learn how one church has paid attention to the challenges of the continual growth to build a healthier church. By building healthier culture, this church is poised to make a greater overall ministry impact. Today we have the pleasure of talking with Josh Patterson. Josh is Lead Pastor of Ministry Leadership at The Village Church, which has five campuses in the greater Dallas area. Josh has written a book called, Creature of the Word. It’s a book that lays out the Scripture-based beauty of a Jesus-centered church and how to go about actually forming Jesus-centered church. Find full show notes here http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s3e14-josh-patterson-the-village-church

Are you interested in improving the relationships on your team and across your organization? I believe our topic today has the potential to radically improve the relationships among the employees in your team and organization. Having just heard of this recently, we had to include this innovative idea in a podcast for our listeners. What is it? Paul writes in Romans 12:10 to be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Thus, the basis for our discussion today… the honor chair. Find the full show notes at http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s3e1dawn-pearcy-bobby-bemis-calvary-chapel-ft-lauderdale

Today we have the pleasure of talking with Peter Greer, President and CEO of HOPE International, a global nonprofit focused on Christ-centered job creation, savings mobilization, and microenterprise development. Peter is the co-author, along with David Weekley, of the new book The Board and the CEO: Seven Practices to Protect Your Organization's Most Important Relationship. Find full show notes here  http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s3-e13-peter-greer

Today's podcast is something completely different. Normally, I'm the one asking the questions. In the next few minutes, the questions will be coming straight at me!   Playing the role of host, today, is Mark Cutshall. As a professional writer and creative consultant is a member of the team at the Best Christian Workplaces Institute. He's a long-time friend and I have a good idea of what he has up his sleeve, today.  Welcome, Mark, and lead us on.  Back in August, I took a little journey, the journey of a life-time, a journey that lasted 35 days in which I actually walked 500 miles across the northern tier of Spain. This spiritual pilgrimage has affected me as a follower of Jesus, and has impacted my work as president of BCWI. Find full show notes here  http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s3e12-camino-al-lopus

If you’re a CEO or other senior leader who answers to a board of directors, OR if you chair a board, OR if serve on a board of a Christian organization (pause) and if you want your board to be more effective to further and fulfill the unique work to which God has called your organization, church or business, then these next few minutes are just for you. And even if you’re not directly involved with a board, you’re in for a treat. We have the pleasure of visiting with two longtime friends and incredible Christian leaders. They’re going to share with you some of their very best wisdom, experience, and stories from their new forth-coming book: Lessons From the Nonprofit Boardroom. Dan Busby is the president of the Evangelical Council of Financial Accountability—known of course as ECFA. Forty years of experience serving the Christ-centered church and nonprofit community. Prolific writer of eight books. Named by Nonprofit Times as one of the “50 Most Powerful Nonprofit Leaders” from 2010-2015. And with Dan . . . John Pearson, board governance and management consultant. Former CEO of Christian Camp and Conference Association, Willow Creek Association and Christian Management Association, now Christian Leadership Alliance. John’s the author of Mastering the Management Buckets: 20 Critical Competencies for Leading Your Business or Nonprofit. Find full show notes here http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s3-e11-john-pearson-dan-busby/  

It always gives us great joy when we see a Christian organization make a significant improvement in their culture and reach the flourishing level. Today, you’re going to hear an inspiring story that will give you some powerful, practical approaches you can use to improve the health of your culture. We have the pleasure of visiting with Sam Barfell, Superintendent of Southside Christian School in Simpsonville, South Carolina. Southside Christian school includes Pre-K to 12th grade. Southside Christian School’s purpose is to "partner with Christian parents to provide an excellent education consistent with biblical truth.” Find full show notes here http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s3e10-sam-barfell/

Christian leaders, listen up. There’s a critical demographic trend playing out before us right now. It’s called the Millennial generation. 75.4 million millennials make up the largest living generation. Why should this matter to your church, organization, or business? Because Millennials are the future of your culture. Millennials are the “tomorrow” of your culture that you need to take notice of, today. The question in front of us on today’s podcast is, how can you leverage and optimize the unique perspective and multiple talents of Millennials to grow the health of your culture and therefore deepen the immediate and lasting impact of your organization? Our guest is going to answer this question. Today we have the pleasure of visiting with Dr. Amy Nagley. Amy recently served as research consultant with the Best Christian Workplaces Institute. Amy has written a white paper on the topic of Millennials in the Christian Workplace, which we’ll make available on the show notes page on our blog. Find full show notes here http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s3e9-amy-nagley-millennials/

When it comes to transforming an organization’s culture, there are inspirational stories, unique comeback stories and memorable stories. The story you’re going to hear over these next few minutes is ALL of these things—inspirational, unique, memorable—and more. Today, we have the pleasure of visiting with Gary Lausch, Vice President of Human Resources at ELIC – English Language Institute of China. ELIC is based in Fort Collins, Colorado. Since 1981, ELIC has trained English teachers to work with educational partners in more than 16 countries. Find full show notes at http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s3-e8-3-workplace-desires-that-transform-culture-gary-lausch-elic

Without intentional, strategic leadership development focused on the continued growth of your people, the health of your culture is sure to weaken, thus jeopardizing your organizational impact. But here’s the good news: A wise, strategic plan of leadership development can cause your culture to flourish and take the growth and impact of your organization, your church, or your business to a whole new level. If you’re like me and you prefer the good over the bad, then the next few minutes could be hugely important for you. Today we have the pleasure of visiting with Rob McKenna, Chair of the Ph.D. program in Industrial and Organizational Psychology at Seattle Pacific University. He is the author of Dying to Lead: Sacrificial Leadership in a Self-centered World. Rob is also the Founder of BadBobby Leaders, a leadership consulting group that’s all about raising up a generation of courageous and sacrificial leaders who will bring thoughtfulness, conviction, hope, resourcing, strategic thinking, and deeply rooted care to the institutions and people they serve.  Find full show notes here http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/dr-rob-mckenna-spu-wild

While many of our podcast listeners are with church, parachurch and other Christian organizations, a healthy segment are Christian business owners or involved in Christian-owned businesses. If that’s where you are, you’re really going to enjoy today’s guest.  Mike Sharrow is the new President and CEO of C12. The C12 Group is the largest network of Christian CEOs, business owners, and executives. By joining a local C12 Peer Advisory Group, thousands of business leaders across North America are improving their companies. They’re strengthening their marriages, their family relationships, and they’re pursuing true success in the eyes of God. Mike has an extensive background in large companies, start-ups and the local church. He knows how a healthy, flourishing culture equates to organizational effectiveness. What he has to share is going to benefit you. Find the full shownotes here  http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s3e4-mike-sharrow-c12

There's a new generation of leadership serving today's ministry organizations, churches and Christian-owned businesses. I'm talking about the men and women of the Millennial generation born between 1981 and 1997. Who are these Millennials? What do they bring to the table and what could be their lasting imprint on God's Kingdom work in the world—including your church, organization, or business? Our guest today is ready to speak directly to this question. We have the pleasure of visiting with Bill Robinson, President Emeritus of Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington. Author of two books: Leading People from the Middle: The Universal Mission of Mind and Heart and Incarnate Leadership. Today, Chairman of the Board of Princeton Theological Seminary. Find the full show notes at http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s3e3-the-importance-of-millennials-in-your-organization-bill-robinson

One of the smartest, most effective ways to value and improve the health of your organizational culture is to think about your culture through the mind of an engineer. Today, you’re going to hear from a Christian leader—an executive vice president and chief operating officer—who’s been trained as an engineer. Wait till you see what her analytic mind, her sense of teamwork, attention to detail, communication skills, desire to learn, and leadership skills…. can mean for your desire to increase the health of your organizational culture. Today we have the pleasure of visiting with Deb Limb, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of CRISTA Ministries in the greater Seattle area. CRISTA has seven individual ministries and more than 1,200 employees.  The mission of CRISTA is to love God by serving people. Find the full show notes at http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s3e2-how-to-avoi…orah-limb-crista/

As a leader, what’s one of the hardest things you face at work? What’s the one thing you put off, the thing you avoid, the thing you absolutely do not look forward to?  If your answer is “having difficult conversations,” then you’re really going to get a lot out of today's episode. You may have also seen Sheila present at last year’s Global Leadership Summit. And if you missed her there, be sure to catch her at the Church Culture Conference, hosted by Willow Creek Community Church. On October 17-18, 2016, join us to sharpen your skills and network with top human resource professionals in the church world. Find the full show notes at http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/encore-episode-give-receive-feedback-well-sheila-heen/

Embracing change in any environment is never easy. And yet, as church leaders who are inviting others into life-change, it’s critical that our lives are changing too. Looking at the good and the bad in your workplace culture can reveal that God wants to grow and sanctify us – personally, as teams, as a culture, an organization, and as followers of Christ. Here to talk with us about this today is Jeff Lockyer, Lead Pastor at Southridge Community Church in St. Catharines, Ontario. Southridge has such a healthy culture that they land in the top 1% of churches that have surveyed with the Best Christian Workplaces Institute. Let’s find out what they’ve done to embrace change and build a healthy culture. Find the full show notes at http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s2e27-jeff-lockyer-southridge-community-church. 

Few churches have made a long-term impact on New York City, like Redeemer Presbyterian Church under the leadership of Tim Keller. As Redeemer had begun to prepare for Tim Keller’s transition from Senior Pastor, they have embarked on a journey to improve the health of their organizational culture to better position them for the future.  Today we have the pleasure of visiting with Brian Stanton, Chief Financial Officer, and Chris Dolan, co-chair of the culture team and also Director of Information Services.  Find the full show notes at http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s2e33-chris-dolan-brian-stanton-redeemer-presbyterian-church. 

Over the last 5 years, Pantano Christian Church has experienced a 200% increase in employee engagement. Today, 9 out of every 10 staff love coming to work. That’s 90% employee engagement vs. 52% engagement for the typical Christian organization.  Here to tell us how they did it is Glen Elliott, Lead Pastor of Pantano Christian Church in Tucson, Arizona.  Tune in to hear how their team has pulled together to create a catalytic force for good in the world.  Find the full show notes at http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s2e32-glen-elliott-pantano-christian-church. 

How can an incoming leader rebuild trust after a longtime, well-loved lead pastor retires? That’s the story of today’s guests. The two leaders you’re going to meet have shown a remarkable track record of achievement. They’ve worked together to move their church staff culture from critical condition to a flourishing workplace. Joining us today are Shan Moyers, Lead Pastor, and Linden Kirby, Pastor of Operations at Rocky Mountain Christian Church. Rocky has two campuses in Longmont and Frederick, Colorado and 55 staff. Their mission is to know Jesus and love like him. Listen in to today's conversation to hear their inspiring story of culture transformation. Find the full show notes at http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s2e31-shan-moyers-linden-kirby-rocky-mountain-christian-church. 

What can a ministry's Senior Leader and Board Chair do to better their working relationship and thus increase the health of an organization’s culture? "A well-functioning board is the single-most important variable for any ministry that wants to achieve its mission." So says Bob Andringa, who has made a career out of helping boards and executive leaders succeed simultaneously. Today, he’ll help us identify and optimize the best possible relationship between a board chair and the senior executive of a Christian ministry organization. As Managing Partner of The Andringa Group and Network Life, Bob has worked with more than 300 faith-based organizations. He and his colleague Fred Laughlin are co-authors of the book, Good Governance for Nonprofits: Developing Principles and Policies for an Effective Board. Bob and his wife, Sue, make their home in the sunny community of Scottsdale, Arizona. Find the full show notes at http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s2e30-bob-andringa. 

Is your organization facing a major leadership change on the horizon? How can you create a healthy transition at the CEO level? And how might having a flourishing culture help in the process? Today’s guest is Vince Burens, the new President and CEO of the Coalition for Christian Outreach (CCO), one of the most respected organizations involved in student ministry on university campuses. Over this past year, we've had the privilege of watching Vince transition into becoming the CCO's third president in its 46-year history. It’s been inspiring to see the planned process and smooth transition, as well as to watch the CCO’s culture continue to maintain its flourishing status under his leadership. What were some of the key steps that Vince, the outgoing president, the Board, and the organization took to help create the positive transition they have experienced so far? Find the full show notes at http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s2e29-vince-burens-cco. 

You only have one chance to make a good first impression. And nowhere is that more true and relevant than in onboarding new employees. Research has proven that an employee’s first impression of an organization has a significant impact on their future engagement and commitment to that organization. In addition, it’s important to the organization’s performance to get new hires up to speed in their job as soon as possible. Our guest today knows this by heart. Today we have the pleasure of visiting with Cate Given, Vice President of Human Resource Services at Joni and Friends in Agoura Hills, California. Joni and Friends reaches out around the world to people and families affected by disability with the love of Christ and the practical help they need. Listen in to this conversation to learn Joni and Friends' impressive step-by-step onboarding process. Find the full show notes at http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s2-e28-cate-given-joni-and-friends. 

Have you ever had a conflict with another person in your organization? Well of course; we all have. But how can a leader effectively manage conflict? We have found it is  especially difficult in Christian organizations because people are so often afraid to face conflict directly. So today, let's talk about key ways to look at conflict. To help us address this topic, we're talking with our very own Giselle Jenkins, BCWI's Human Resources Consulting Director. Giselle is a conflict coach and board member with Peacemaker Ministries, as well as a former Vice President for People Development with Prison Fellowship. Find the full show notes at http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/encore-giselle-jenkins-bcwi. 

In this episode, Al has the great pleasure of talking with longtime friend, colleague and board and leadership consultant John Pearson. Join us for this fun and far-reaching conversation that covers everything from great leadership books, to board governance best practices, and even how to infuse fun (or as John likes to call it, "hoopla") into your workplace culture. John's fingerprints are all over the founding of the Best Christian Workplaces Institute. Yet, he’s known for so much more than that. For 25 combined years, he led Christian Camping International/USA (now Christian Camp and Conference Association), the Willow Creek Association, and Christian Management Association (now Christian Leadership Alliance). Today, he’s a management and board governance consultant whose clients read like a who’s who of respected ministry organizations. Find the full show notes at http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s2-e26-john-pearson. 

Every once in a while, we run across a leader who has helped create such a remarkably flourishing culture, that we have to ask, “How did your people pull it off? How did you do it?”  Our guest today is Paul MacDonald, Headmaster of Crossings Christian School in Oklahoma City. He’s worked incredibly hard to diagnose and improve the organizational health of the school he runs. As a result, the school you’re going to learn about was already in top 10th percentile of comparable organizations from the get-go on our BCWI Employee Engagement Survey.  Crossings Christian School’s mission is to partner with parents and the church to develop students into Christ-centered servant leaders who are academically and spiritually prepared for college and life.  In addition to his responsibilities at Crossings, Paul has also shared his experiences in a variety of leadership capacities, including service on the board and accreditation commission with the Association of Christian Schools International, also known as ACSI.  Find the full show notes at http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s2-e25-paul-macdonald-crossings-christian-school. 

How can you transform a workplace culture from healthy to flourishing in the course of just one year—and experience organizational growth at the same time? Today, we’ll hear some practical tips from a leader who’s had his hand on the culture levers at his church with over 100 staff. We have the pleasure of visiting with Jeff Abshire, Executive Pastor and Elder at Antioch Community Church in Waco, Texas.  Find the full show notes at http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s2-e24-jeff-abshire-antioch-community-church. 

One of the top drivers of organizational success is the quality of your employees. But how do you attract and select outstanding talent that will be successful in your organization? Wouldn’t it be great if we could predict hiring success?  Today we are going to address this very topic with Chad Carter, the chief human resources officer at The Gideons International. For the past five years, Chad has instituted a predictive hiring process that has significantly improved the quality of their new hires. In this episode, Chad shares both what to look for in your next hire, and how to go about the process.  Chad has also written a helpful book called The Five Attributes: Essentials of Hiring For Christian Organizations. Let's get started on today's important conversation.  Find the full show notes at http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/encore-chad-carter-gideons-international. 

There is little question about the significant influence Willow Creek Community Church has had on leadership development in the Christian world. A key to Willow Creek’s healthy, flourishing culture has been developing outstanding talent. How do they do it? The answer just might benefit your organization. Today, Tara VanderSande, Willows’ Staff Development Director, will give us the inside scoop on their leadership development strategies. Find the full show notes at http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/encore-tara-vandersande-willow-creek-community-church. 

Jesus calls us to be all about love. But how do we practically live this out in our workplaces – in what we believe about others, how we treat others, who we hire, and so on? In January 2014, Cherry Hills Community Church faced the reality of a weakened and toxic staff culture. How did they go from siloed teams, low trust and suspicion of motives among staff members to a “flourishing culture” in the top 10% of churches that have surveyed with BCWI? Here, to tell us about this remarkable transformation is Executive Pastor Rebekah Layton. Find the full show notes at http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s2-e22-rebekah-layton-cherry-hills-community-church. 

How can you make significant changes in your workplace culture? Action planning and follow up is one key element. One action planning strategy is to designate individuals – called Engagement Champions – who can take ownership for your culture at the departmental level. This is where the rubber really meets the road if you’re serious about building a healthy, flourishing culture. But not too serious, as today's podcast is not only informative but fun too. First, we're going to introduce the Engagement Champion concept and listen in as Sue Hood from Willow Creek Community Church explains their approach to it. Then we'll hear from Jenn Repaci at Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale as she introduces seven rules and tools to equip and empower Engagement Champions. Find the full show notes at http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s2-e21-jenn-repaci-calvary-chapel-fort-lauderdale. 

"It's great to work in your area of passion, but it can become toxic if you don't have some boundaries." These are the words of today's guest, Dave Ferguson, the Lead Pastor of Community Christian Church, with 10 locations across the Chicagoland area. Often ministry staff are deeply passionate about their organization's mission, and they're willing to work so hard toward it that life can sometimes get out of balance. Tune in to this conversation to hear the innovative ways Dave and his leadership team are encouraging and even incentivizing healthy habits. When Community's staff are able to flourish at home, their ministry outcomes have soared as well. The evidence? In 2016, they celebrated more baptisms than ever before. Dave is the author of five books, including Finding Your Way back to God: Five Awakenings to Your New Life, and his most recent book, Staring Over: Your Life Beyond Regrets. Find the full show notes at http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s2-e20-dave-ferguson-community-christian-church.