The longer I’m in leadership the more I’m convinced that my primary job is simply to create an environment where other people can flourish. #leadership

God is more than worthy of your time this morning. 

I’d rather watch kids playing a t-ball game than an MLB game, they are hilarious 😂

I love this - instagram.com/p/DZEGAXXsigR/…

Let’s talk about the remnant. TikTok post - follow me here tiktok.com/t/ZP8pKPsgB/

Family thoughts. instagram.com/p/DY8OXdoxJRv/…

In other words, don’t be stupid. :)

Check out this TikTok I posted! tiktok.com/t/ZP8pnNdTR/

Surround yourself with smarter people. That’s always been my philosophy. So it was neat to come back from vacation and see the two of my friends had sent me their newest book. These are gonna be great resources for pastors and the church. Pick yours up today. #MattRusten @markdance

Few people are as helpful as nucelar-submarine-engineer turned church planting calayst @toddwilson in understanding how the road that brought us here helps us better discern where to go. I’ve personally benefited from Todd’s analysis and writing! You can download a free pdf copy of Todd's latest book “How Did We Get Here” church-growth.org

If as a leader I could ONLY make one change - - - I would change the culture of accepting change.

Working on an upcoming message. Help me out here. What are some “blessings” (even think benefits) of being a follower of Christ people don’t initially see. Another way to think about this - how has being a believer helped you personally that you couldn’t explain to someone - they’d have to experience it to understand it. Share any examples of stories that help make your point (or simply share one word.) Go!

My friend @toddwilson wrote another book. It’s a book about the history of church growth. It’s a book you need to read. amazon.com/How-Did-We-Get-He…

Check out this TikTok I posted! tiktok.com/t/ZP8pYJxWd/

Check out this TikTok I posted! tiktok.com/t/ZP8pNL4wb/

"If I told you there was one free thing you could do every Sunday that would make your kids happier, healthier, smarter, and closer to you, you'd think I was selling something." Take your kids to church regularly. I don't care if you believe. The data is so lopsided that skipping it is the parenting equivalent of refusing vegetables because you don't like the taste. Grades. Religious teens get As at almost twice the rate of nonreligious teens. In a class of 100, that's 24 A-students instead of 14. Church gives a kid the same academic boost as being born rich instead of poor. College. Working-class religious kids earn bachelor's degrees at double the rate of their nonreligious peers. Middle-class kids do it at 1.5x the rate. For families without a trust fund, this is one of the most powerful forms of upward mobility social scientists have measured. Character. Religious teens are far less likely to lie, cheat, or do things they hope their parents never find out about. They're more likely to care about racial equality, the elderly, and the poor. They reject the idea that morality is whatever works for you in the moment. That kind of kid doesn't happen by accident. It's built. Closeness. 60% of parents of religious teens say they feel "extremely close" to their kid, compared to 50% of nonreligious parents. The kids report the same thing back. They get along better with their parents, talk about hard stuff, and actually want to spend time with their family. Despair. Religious teens are dramatically less likely to be depressed, anxious, lonely, or feel that life is meaningless. 90% of devoted religious teens never binge drink, compared to 41% of the disengaged. Economists named the modern epidemic "deaths of despair." Regular church attendance is one of the strongest known buffers against it. Parents are spending fortunes trying to solve teen mental health. The most evidence-backed intervention is free. Purpose. Religious young adults report higher purpose, gratitude, life satisfaction, and resilience. These are the exact traits every parent says they want their kid to have. Here's why it works. Affluent families already surround their kids with networks of stable, accomplished adults through neighborhoods, schools, and parents' colleagues. Working and middle-class families usually don't. A congregation is often the last institution in American life that puts your kid in weekly contact with dozens of stable, employed, sober adults who know their name. It used to be called "a village." Now it barely exists outside of churches. "But I don't believe." Your kid doesn't need your theology. They need you to show up. "But church is boring." So is sitting through a kindergarten music recital. Parenting is the deliberate choice to be bored on purpose for someone you love. There's a church within 15 minutes of nearly every American home. You don't need money, connections, or credentials to walk in. Nothing else in this country will surround your kid with engaged adults, teach them moral seriousness, and give them a stable weekly rhythm at zero cost. You already drive them to practices that produce far less. The free thing on Sunday produces more, on more dimensions, than almost anything else you do as a parent. You don't have to believe anything. You just have to take them.

Chapter books. I love you. I read you. Sometimes 2 chapters in one day. But this morning my chapter had 86 pages. That’s too many. Keep it to 12. Or 15 maybe. But never 86. So, there. Rant over. And problem solved. (Hopefully.)

7 ways to know it's not really a team: 1. One person makes all the decisions. 2. Everyone doesn't have a key role. 3. There are multiple agendas. 4. Communication is controlled. 5. Conflict is seen as a threat. 6. Every person is for themselves. 7. Individual celebration trumps collective.

Someone once told me I’ve never met an idea I didn’t like. They weren’t wrong. I love big ideas. I love leading with - yes. I love helping people take a dream and make it real. But leadership is a paradox. Because the more you want to say yes - the more you have to learn to say no. And I’ve learned this the hard way - The quality of your yes is determined by the discipline of your no.

I’ve learned in leadership - it takes both vision and execution. You don’t have to be naturally wired for both, but you do have to value both. Because both are essential. If all you have is vision - with no discipline of execution - people may get excited about the ideas, but nothing actually happens. And yes, you can delegate a lot of execution, but you can’t delegate responsibility for it. If there’s no discipline there, nothing meaningful ever moves forward. On the other hand, if all you focus on is execution - but there’s no vision - things may get done but they won’t go anywhere. It gets routine. It gets boring. The good leaders leave. And eventually, growth stalls.