The Slow Killer of the Non-Urgent

There’s a ridiculous scene from the movie, Austin Powers (which the corporate office does not recommend nor condone), where a man stands a long way away from a pavement roller yelling, “Stop” from afar, yet it eventually still runs him over.

The scene is painstakingly long, and therein lies the joke.

I’ve often used this scene as a metaphor for the topic of launching a church residency. The question of who’s the next you? is a slow-moving roller that really does not demand your attention right now. There are dozens of more pressing issues on your plate than thinking about who you’ll hire next on your team.

This issue moves much faster after the staff leader has left your office having handed in their letter of resignation.

This is the very reason we began Leadership Pathway in 2017.

We have a vision for 1,000 churches to launch a residency. In the past few weeks, we’ve launched residency programs in churches that are…

• a sizable church in a small town where people struggle to move in from the outside

• a megachurch in a large city that has tried to use head hunters only to be disappointed

• church plants that desire to multiply beyond themselves through other planters

• churches of all sizes who can’t seem to find a kid or worship pastor and know they must grow their own

There are many fast fixes to your staffing issues, but the best fix is a long game of an ecosystem feeding itself. The first resident is the hardest one to launch. That’s why we do what we do.

So, take a lesson from Austin Powers and address the slow killer of residency in your local church. Book a call now. Carve out one hour to begin this conversation and avoid the slow killer that is coming for you.