I’ve dedicated my life to helping churches define, embrace and experience the benefits of stunning, God-given clarity. As a pastor turned vision coach, I’ve spent the last two decades facilitating church teams toward breakthrough clarity—from unlocking the great aspirations inside each of us, to unleashing the “get-r-done” spirit on every good team.
Recently, I’ve had the opportunity to collaborate with Exponential, specifically my friend and Exponential Director Todd Wilson, on several resources to help church leaders pursue a multiplication vision with boldness and intentionality. Few projects come my way that align so well with my mission and goals for church leaders.
In fact, in all my years of working with churches, I’ve never seen a group develop a more integrated set of tools to accompany a conference. These tools take the Exponential conference from simply a great experience to a transformational experience that you can begin to walk out. I continue to ask conferences to develop a process beyond the event—and now we have it!
I’ve written one of these resources myself. The Dream Big Workbook is a supplementary resource to Exponential’s Dream Big, Plan Smart book. It follows the same outline of the book. I designed the workbook as a toolbox that includes personal illustrations, individual exercises and team exercises. It’s not a quick read, but a practical guide to help you engage with your leadership team. I basically show you how to create your own playbook on the journey to Level 5 multiplication.
But just as I wrote in the workbook, the value of this resource lies in collaborating with your team through these questions, conversations and exercises. Only through actual implementation can we move from a culture of subtraction or addition to a culture of multiplication. I like what Mac Lake NAMB’s Send Network says about our tendency to champion church growth over Kingdom multiplication. He straight out calls it an “addiction to addition.” Mac doesn’t mince words.
Only through actual implementation can we move from a culture of subtraction or addition to a culture of multiplication.
Where were you when you realized your addition addiction (if you have yet to realize yours, dive into the library of “Dream Big” resources)? I was living in downtown Houston, serving at a church there, when I realized I was leading in a culture of addition. My awakening started by reading The Shaping of Things to Come by Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch. I began to see my pastoral work through a new lens. Before that, I had been happily clueless.
I think so many churches are living in that same state of happy cluelessness. That’s why I’m particularly grateful for Exponential and Todd Wilson’s passion for the multiplication conversation. I encourage you to read Dream Big, Plan Smart and then check out Dream Big Questions and the Dream Big Workbook. All are available for free download.
You can use these resources alone, but I fully believe that you’ll see the power in combining them with a live Exponential gathering. I invite you to join us at the upcoming Exponential East conference in Orlando (April 24-27), where I’ll be putting into practice the tools detailed in the workbook. I’m excited to be there where we can roll up our sleeves and put the concepts into practice. You’ll come away with real-time insights from this time together with other leaders and planters.
See you in Orlando!
