What we've learned from 24 leaders of various ages and different races all serving in scattered places

In this talk we divide the content from the past 23 talks into 7 "buckets," that is, 7 repeating themes we saw. #1 = Be you (not a knock-off of some other leader). #2 = Take care of you. You can't pour from an empty cup, serve from dry well, run on an empty tank… you get the idea. #3 = Race relations are tough— and are worth the work. And they're tough. And they're worth the work. And tough. And worth it. And they are part of bringing the presence of the Kingdom. #4 = The pandemic happened. Regardless of where you stand politically or medically or on any other issue, culture shifted and that radically changed how we do church. #5 = One of the changes is that church moved out of the building. For sure, we don't want to stay out of the four walls— as if it's an either-or decision. We want to do both, gather and scatter. #6 = Look back to the past— not to see failures and frustrations but to see the faithfulness of God. When we see our history with Him, and where He's brought us, we gain confidence to keep stepping forward. #7  = Coach-ability. It matters. Never underestimate the value of an outside voice to speak into your life and give you perspective, unleash new potential, and push you beyond what you dreamed possible. Finally, tie it all together… A lot of people think the church is in trouble, that it's going to disappear. Don't believe it. J.I. Packer was asked years ago, "Who's the best preacher?" He replied, "You don't know him." When pushed, he replied that not even he knew him because God has people all over, everywhere— just like Elijah didn't realize there were 7,000 more besides him… that is true today. Join a tribe. We'd love to have you.   Learn more at www.CourageousPastors.com/blog/024