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Triple-Threat Leadership eBook $9.99

The purchase link is at the bottom of the page. DESCRIPTION Triple-Threat Leadership is about understanding and developing three skills that are absolutely necessary for effective leadership: casting vision, creating strategy and fostering relationships. All leaders want to succeed and leveraging these three skills gives leaders an edge. The book includes an assessment, but it [...]

Marketing In The Social Media Revolution

Organizational leaders are aware of the social medial phenomenon. They know it’s not a trend. They know it’s a fundamental shift in the way people interact with one another, with businesses, with products, with services…with everything! Organizational leaders know that they are tired of traditional advertising. They know they are tired of flushing money down [...]

Speaking Audio and Video

Invite Alan to speak at your conference, event, church or company. Here are some video and audio files demonstrating Alan’s fun and engaging style. This is a clip of Alan’s talk at the RightNow ’09 conference in Dallas. The entire message is available in .mp3 audio format below. ————————————————————————————– This video is a short preview [...]

Coaching: A Great Leadership Choice

In my line of work I’ve learned there are three primary reasons people don’t hire coaching consultants: They think they can’t afford a consultant. They think they don’t need advice from someone who isn’t living in their shoes. They don’t think they have time to mess with consulting. Here’s why these three assumptions are wrong: [...]

Small Group Curriculum Videos

Alan is an experience video communicator. Here are some examples of teaching he’s done in studio. This is a sample from a curriculum called “What If…” that Alan taught for BlueFishTV. The entire 4 part series can be purchased at www.bluefishtv.com Below are some small group curriculums that I taught while at LifeChurch.tv. Lord, Wake [...]

I Don’t Like Pastors

August 18th, 2010

alandanielson

Someone found my blog by searching the phrase, “I don’t like pastors”. I wonder why this person doesn’t like pastors. Maybe this person knows a pastor who committed sexual sin. Maybe one who manipulated people. Maybe one who was arrogant. Maybe one who seemed fake. Whatever the case, it’s sad.

Having two decades experience as a pastor and knowing many pastors I’ve learned a little bit about them. Now that I’m an independent consultant not working at a church I feel like I can share my thoughts on this subject without being self-serving. Here are my thoughts.

The Bad About Pastors:

Pastors Are A Mess – Just like the rest of us they have flaws, quirks, hang-ups, and sins that they struggle with.
Pastors Are Stressed- Due to their work load and the fact that their spiritual enemy wants to destroy them, they are a pretty stressed out bunch.
Pastors Have A Hard Time Financially – It’s not that pastors are underpaid (although many are), the problem is that many pastors don’t manage their own money very well. Many have too much debt and they don’t save well for the future. Tons of pastors live in parsonages (homes owned by the church) which saves them from having to pay rent or a mortgage. Yet those pastors, more often than not, don’t build any equity in a home of their own.
Pastors Are Lonely - Leadership is lonely. Pastors often feel like they don’t have anyone to talk to. They love their parishioners, but are afraid to let people see who they really are. The expectations for pastors are so high that no pastor can truly live up to them. The result is that churches are led by broken, sinful people who feel like they have to portray perfection.

The Good About Pastors:

Pastors Work Hard – While there are always exceptions, the vast majority of pastors I’ve known have a profound work-ethic. They spend hours and hours preparing to preach and teach. They supervise staff members and volunteers. They counsel the hurting, and visit the sick. Most pastors I know put in at least 60 hours per week.
Pastors Are Honest – again there are always exceptions, but in my experience pastors have great integrity.
Pastors Are Creative – coming up with a new and fresh sermon is no small task, yet pastors find a way to do it. They are funny, compelling, motivating, convicting, and inspiring week-in-and-week-out. This requires a vast reserve of creativity and energy that most people are unaware of.
Pastors Make A Difference – I can’t tell you how many thousands upon thousands of people I’ve met who are grateful for the impact their pastors have had on their lives. Sure, plenty of people have been hurt by pastors, but far more have been helped by them.

I hope what I’ve written will inspire you regarding your pastor. Go out this week and forgive your pastor’s flaws, trust your pastor’s leadership, try see things from your pastor’s perspective, tell your pastor “Thank You”, and most of all be grateful for your pastor’s ministry in your life.

Suck It Up And Ask!

August 17th, 2010

alandanielson

“Bear one another’s burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ.” ~Gal 6:2 (NASB)

This is a fun verse of scripture for me to read when I’m the one helping bear someone else’s burden. It’s not so much fun to read when I’m the one needing the help. I have to confess, I have a pride problem. I’m honored to help others, but embarrassed to ask for help.

I’d love to blame western culture for this aspect of my personality by saying, “We live in a society that expects people to pick them selves up and succeed by their own merit, so that’s why I don’t like asking for help.” However, the sad truth is that no matter how humble I want to be, I’m most often too arrogant to ask for help. It’s not the culture’s fault; it’s mine.

There’s something in my own life I’ve been needing help with for some time. I’ve felt God urging me to ask a particular friend for help, but I’ve been too proud to do it. That ends today. After I finish this blog post, I’m picking up the phone and calling my friend.

What burden are you carrying unnecessarily? God has put others in your life to help. He’s put them there so you can see God’s work being done through them. Will you be humble enough to ask for help?

Hot Dogs & Eternal Life

August 16th, 2010

alandanielson

People need Christ more than they need food and shelter. They need Christ more than they need water and air. It is our responsibility and privilege to reach them. For years most of our churches have used the attractional model of evangelism. This approach creates an environment at the church building or an event and then encourages members to invite their friends. This model has been very successful but it only works with a portion of the local population. Relational evangelism is the key to reaching the rest.

Today, and the next two days I’m going to share stories that demonstrate relational evangelism.

Chris The Artist

When I was in High School I took every art and photography class I could fit into my schedule. In one of my classes was a guy named Chris who was a very talented artist. During the first few weeks of class we struck up a friendship and I became burdened with the desire to share the good news of Jesus with Chris.

We had an open campus at lunch time and Chris didn’t have a car. My grandmother’s old 1965 Chevy Impala had been passed down to me so I asked Chris if he’d like to start going out to each for lunch. Given the choice between cafeteria food and anything else Chris excitedly said “Yes!”

Over the course of the next few months we went to lunch every day and I quietly but consistently lived my faith out before my friend. In fact, one day we were eating at a place called “Pup ‘N Taco” and we saw a homeless man outside reach into a trash can, pull out a half-eaten hotdog and finish it off. Chris said, “Dude, that’s sick.” I ask Chris to wait at the table for a second.

I went outside and invited the homeless man to come in and I’d buy his lunch. I had $3 and hot dogs were on special 3 for a buck, so the man ordered 9 hot dogs! He chose not to sit with Chris and me, but instead sat a few tables away and began to feast on his pile of hot dogs. Chris sat wide-eyed. He didn’t know what was more surprising, seeing a 17-year-old feed a homeless man, or watching a guy put away 9 hot dogs without taking a breath. I just acted like it was totally normal.

A few weeks later we were in Arby’s and Chris asked why I’d fed the homeless guy. I opened up and told him about how Christ had rescued and changed me. Somehow God gave me the right words to say and right there in Arby’s Chris made the decision to become a follower of Christ! We spent the rest of the school year together praying together and looking for opportunities to serve people like the homeless guy.

Have a relational evangelism story you’d like to share? Tell me about it!

Originally posted 09-09-2009. Reposted 08-16-2010

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People need Christ more than they need food and shelter. They need Christ more than they need water and air. It is our responsibility and privilege to reach them. For years most of our churches have used the attractional model of evangelism. This approach creates an environment at the church building or an event and then encourages members to invite their friends. This model has been very successful but it only works with a portion of the local population. Relational evangelism is the key to reaching the rest.

When I was in High School I took every art and photography class I could fit into my schedule. In one of my classes was a guy named Chris who was a very talented artist. During the first few weeks of class we struck up a friendship and I became burdened with the desire to share the good news of Jesus with Chris.

We had an open campus at lunch time and Chris didn’t have a car. My grandmother’s old 1965 Chevy Impala had been passed down to me so I asked Chris if he’d like to start going out to each for lunch. Given the choice between cafeteria food and anything else Chris excitedly said “Yes!”

Over the course of the next few months we went to lunch every day and I quietly but consistently lived my faith out before my friend. In fact, one day we were eating at a place called “Pup ‘N Taco” and we saw a homeless man outside reach into a trash can, pull out a half-eaten hotdog and finish it off. Chris said, “Dude, that’s sick.” I ask Chris to wait at the table for a second.

I went outside and invited the homeless man to come in and I’d buy his lunch. I had $3 and hot dogs were on special 3 for a buck, so the man ordered 9 hot dogs! He chose not to sit with Chris and me, but instead sat a few tables away and began to feast on his pile of hot dogs. Chris sat wide-eyed. He didn’t know what was more surprising, seeing a 17-year-old feed a homeless man, or watching a guy put away 9 hot dogs without taking a breath. I just acted like it was totally normal.

A few weeks later we were in Arby’s and Chris asked why I’d fed the homeless guy. I opened up and told him about how Christ had rescued and changed me. Somehow God gave me the right words to say and right there in Arby’s Chris made the decision to become a follower of Christ! We spent the rest of the school year together praying together and looking for opportunities to serve people like the homeless guy.

Have a relational evangelism story you’d like to share? Tell me about it!

Triple-Threat Conflict

August 12th, 2010

alandanielson

Now that my Triple-Threat Leadership eBook has been out for a few months I’m getting valuable feedback from readers. Something my readers have noted is related to conflict. They’ve noted that, more often than not, conflict occurs between people on opposite sides of the leadership style spectrum. Here are some things people think about those who are their leadership-style-opposites:

Supporters think that Achievers are too competitive and “hard core”.
Achievers think Supporters are too soft.
Energizers think Organizers are too controlling and rigid.
Organizers think Energizers are non-committal unstructured.
Theorizers think Connectors are too busy with people to make future plans.
Connectors think Theorizers are too conceptual and need to get out more.

Leaders often think that conflict is the result of differing opinions about what should be done, but most often conflict is simply the result of different values. A person’s leadership style is directly tied to what a person values. Thus, it’s probable that any conflict your team experiences is not really about what each party wants to “do”, but about what each party believes.

Achievers value accomplishing goals
Supporters value helping people
Energizers value generating momentum
Organizers value building systems
Theorizers value developing ideas
Connectors value developing people

It’s vital for leaders to understand that people who don’t value what we value are not dumb, mean, or manipulative; they are just different. When you experience conflict on your team, identify the leadership styles of the people in conflict. Then have each party talk openly about what they “believe” rather than just what they want to “do”. Once we are able to see why a person is so passionate about their side of the conflict we are more likely to understand their position and reach an agreeable solution.

More information about the six leadership styles and an assessment for identifying a person’s leadership style are available in my Triple-Threat Leadership eBook.

90 Days To Change Your Life

August 11th, 2010

alandanielson

I was thinking today of a friend I’ve known for a few years. When we met, his marriage was falling apart. He and his wife came into the church for marriage counseling. He was ready to walk, but she was begging him to stay.

Now I’m not much of a counselor. I’m not a professional in that field, so I try to only do crisis intervention counseling. When I do counsel people, I keep it short-term and quickly try to help them find ongoing professional help.

When my friend and his wife came to see me, my goal was simple: give it 90 days. I asked him to stick it out for 90 more days. For the sake of the kids, for the sake of the years he’d already invested in his marriage, for the sake of obeying Scripture, and for the sake of his own pocket book, I asked him to give it just 90 more days. Once he agreed, I immediately helped them find the right marriage counselor.

Today, he and his wife are happily married and God is doing great things in their lives. I’m no longer a part of the church where this couple attends, but I recently got a message from his wife on Facebook thanking me for my help. She reported that things are the best they’ve ever been all because of 90 days. I’m honored that I played a small part.

Perhaps you want to bail on something. Maybe it’s your marriage, your job, your church, your family, or your education. If you feel like giving up, let me encourage you to give it 90 days. Don’t make any drastic decisions unless you’re willing to put off the decision for 90 days. During those 90 days do the following:

Fast
Pray
Seek advice
Consider the outcome if you give up
Consider the outcome if you don’t give up

At the end of 90 days, you’ll be much better equipped to make your decision. In the grand scheme of things, a short 90 day investment could make all the difference.

The Mission of Small Groups Matters!

August 10th, 2010

alandanielson

Here’s a set of interviews shot at November 2009′s Right Now conference about the importance of small groups being on mission. Take 5 minutes and listen to the different approaches and perspectives in the video. Then consider coming to the Right Now Conference in 2010. There’s a special small group track that begins early and you don’t want to miss it!

Success Defined

August 9th, 2010

alandanielson

Success in ministry is a touchy subject because it is defined differently by many. If success is defined by numbers, then I have had great success in all of my ministry positions, except one. Recently at LifeChurch.tv, I led one campus from 181 small groups to 485 groups in two years. Then when I was overseer of groups on all campuses I led the ministry to grow to more than 1000 small groups.

If success is defined by the number of people coming to Christ, I’ve been successful. When I was a youth pastor at a small country church that ran 50 on Sundays I was able to lead 19 kids to Christ in two years. At two other churches I was able to lead hundreds of kids to Christ through personal evangelism and preaching. As a revival and camp preacher, I’ve led many to Christ. At LifeChurch.tv, I preached one weekend to 18,000 via “internet live” and more than 150 became Christians. I recently was the evangelist in a city-wide crusade sponsored by 23 churches in Tracy, California, when hundreds came to Christ.

Numerical success is not all there is.. I feel that my greatest successes in ministry have names. Vince Moreno became a Christian in Santa Fe, New Mexico, at the church where I had the least numerical success. Vince was baptized and soon 1/3 of our church was related to him somehow. Vince was a simple guy who sold parts for a living at a car dealership, but he had massive impact. He died of pancreatic cancer at age 42 and I preached to more people at his funeral than I ever had preached to in my Santa Fe church.

Another success is named Curtis. Curtis also came from Santa Fe. He was a follower of Christ when we met, but he really began to grow as our friendship deepened. When I left Santa Fe, he became the pastor of the church. Today Curtis is planting a church in Kansas City.

Dave is a success. He was a homosexual man in Santa Fe who came to know Jesus. His life was utterly changed and transformed.

Greg is a small group leader in Oklahoma City. Greg was ready to give up on his faith, but through God using me in nurture and friendship he was drawn closer to Jesus. Greg now leads an amazing small group that has birthed six other small groups.

Jim is a salesman in Oklahoma City. Jim had been a member of LifeChurch.tv for years but never had been invited to lunch by a pastor. I took Jim to lunch and he soon became a small group coach. Now Jim is involved passionately in missions through an organization called “4 Him.”

Chris was an atheist whose wife was cheating on him. We met, talked, and became friends. Now his marriage is restored and Chris is a Christian.

Others are named John, Sam, Tommy, Molly, Misako, Miles, Darren, Darrin, Marcus, Cameron, Mike, and Sara. It would take long to tell their storiesOrig

Originally posted 10-07-2009. Reposted 08-09-2010

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Success in ministry is a touchy subject because it is defined differently by many. To many people success is defined by numbers because it’s easy to measure. There have been times in my ministry where. numerically speaking, I’ve had a lot of success, but numerical success is not all there is. I feel that my greatest successes in ministry have names.

Vince: I’ve written about Vince before and you can read his story in detail here. The short version is that Vince became a Christian in Santa Fe, New Mexico, at the church where I had the least numerical success. Vince was baptized and soon 1/3 of our church was related to him somehow. Vince was a simple guy who sold parts for a living at a car dealership, but he had massive impact. He died of pancreatic cancer at age 42 and I preached to more people at his funeral than I ever had preached to in my Santa Fe church.

Curtis: Curtis also came from Santa Fe. He was a follower of Christ when we met, but he really began to grow as our friendship deepened. When I left Santa Fe, he became the pastor of the church. Today Curtis is planting a church in Kansas City.

Dave: Dave was a homosexual man in Santa Fe who came to know Jesus. His life was utterly changed and transformed.

Greg: Greg leads a small group in Oklahoma City. Greg was ready to give up on his faith, but through God using me in nurture and friendship he was drawn closer to Jesus. Greg now leads an amazing small group that has birthed six other small groups.

Jim: he’s a salesman in Oklahoma City. Jim had been a member of LifeChurch.tv for years but never had been invited to lunch by a pastor. I took Jim to lunch and he soon became a small group coach. Now Jim is involved passionately in missions through an organization called “For Him.”

Chris: he was an atheist who was having marital problems. We met, talked, and became friends. Now his marriage is restored and Chris is a Christian.

Other successes are named John, Sam, Tommy, Molly, Misako, Miles, Darren, Darrin, Marcus, Cameron, Mike, and Sara. I’d love to write about them all, but it would take long to tell their stories.

Who are the successes in your life?

Love I Don’t Deserve

August 5th, 2010

alandanielson

Originally posted 11-11-2009. Reposted 08-05-2010 in honor of our 16th Wedding Anniversary

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Stacey and Alan Danielson

I don’t write enough about my family. Some blogers may write too much about family, but sometimes I feel like I just don’t tell you enough about the people who are most important to me. So today I’d like you to meet my wife. This is Stacey Lynn Danielson of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and I’m honored to be her husband!

Stacey and I married on August 6, 1994 and every day I’m reminded why I don’t deserve her. Here are some of the sacrifices she’s made for our kids and for me so that I’m able to serve God in full-time ministry:

She married me!
She lets me sleep in our bed rather than the Doghouse!
She managed to maintain her sanity while helping put me through seminary.
She gave up a career in Physical Therapy and Rehab.
She moved with me to Santa Fe, New Mexico to plant a church.
She birthed our three sons.
She continually puts our kids needs and desires above her own.
She seeks God regularly and loves Jesus more than anything!
She puts up with the crazy hours, travel, and stress related to my career in ministry.
She maintains and manages our home, bookkeeping, meals, our pets, kids homework and communication with teachers.
She mows the lawn and lets me just do the edging.
She sews holes in my pockets.
She watches sci-fi and Star Wars stuff with me.
She listens to me better than I listen to her.
She tolerates it when I embarrass her by doing things like writing blog posts like this.
She eats well and exercises so that she’ll be healthy and around for a long time.
She cuts and colors my hair.
She does all of this for a salary of $0.

I love you, Stacey Lynn Danielson. I’m overwhelmed that you chose me and 16 years later you still put up with my job and my nerdery! Your love language is words of affirmation so this one is for you, babe. You are my precious bride!

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Who can find a virtuous and capable wife? She is worth more than precious rubies. Her husband can trust her, and she will greatly enrich his life.
~Prov 31:10-11 (NLT)

Are The People You Lead Doing What You Ask?

August 4th, 2010

alandanielson

Are the people you lead doing what you ask? If not, it’s probably because you’re neglecting one of the following three essential types of leadership.

Up Stairs Leadership (Creating Strategy)

 Private Leadership

 Systems

 Metrics

 Goals

 Calendar

Up Front Leadership (Casting Vision)

 Public Leadership

 Bulk Emails

 Training Events

 Running Events

 Bulletins

 Big Announcements

 Newsletters

Up Close Leadership (Fostering Relationships)

 Personal Leadership

 Phone Calls

 Lunches

 Coffee

 “Thank You” Notes

 Encouragement

People need to be led up stairs, up front, and up close. Great leaders know how to do all three. I explore these three leadership arenas more fully in my Triple-Threat Leadership eBook.

Pool Hall Evangelism

August 3rd, 2010

alandanielson

Today I want to tell you about Vince. Vince was a married father of three girls who sold parts at a car dealership. He became a Christian at my church in Santa Fe and his life was radically changed.

It was important to Vince to play pool with his buddies on Monday nights at a local bar. Pool was important to Vince because he was really good at it. He and his friends would take a team to a state wide tournament each year and one year they won first place! Although he loved pool his wife wanted him to stop hanging out at the bar because it didn’t seem very “Christian” of him.

He asked me what to do and I said, “Make your pool team your ministry. Become the designated driver on Mondays and don’t drink at all. Tell your friends you want to make sure they are safe and that you are going to stop drinking so you can drive them all home on Mondays.” He did it and his friends were dumbfounded but grateful.

I’d like to say that all of Vince’s friends also became followers of Christ, but I don’t really know how it turned out. Here’s what I do know: Vince made a huge impact. He lived a different life in front of his friends. He became the lead servant of their group and it left a mark.

How do I know this? Because, sadly, Vince lost a short battle with Pancreatic cancer at age 42 and I had the privilege of speaking at his funeral. He died a couple months after I moved from Santa Fe to Oklahoma City, and I traveled back for the funeral. When I arrived I was amazed! The parking lot was PACKED!

At the funeral Vince’s friends stood up and said things like, “Vince was one of the best guys I ever knew, but then he started doing the whole Church and Jesus thing. After that he became even better. Whatever he had was real.” Person after person after person stood up and said almost the exact same thing.

When it was my turn to talk, I stood up in front of the crowd and with tears in my eyes realized that I was speaking to more people at this funeral than I had ever spoken to in the church I pastored there. Vince’s relational evangelism had impacted more people in that city than my preaching ever could. I cried and praised God for Vince’s life.

Originally posted 09-10-2009. Reposted 08-03-2010

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Today I want to tell you about Vince. Vince was a married father of three girls who sold parts at a car dealership. He became a Christian at my church in Santa Fe and his life was radically changed.

It was important to Vince to play pool with his buddies on Monday nights at a local bar. Pool was important to Vince because he was really good at it. He and his friends would take a team to a state wide tournament each year and one year they won first place! Although he loved pool his wife wanted him to stop hanging out at the bar because it didn’t seem very “Christian” of him.

He asked me what to do and I said, “Make your pool team your ministry. Become the designated driver on Mondays and don’t drink at all. Tell your friends you want to make sure they are safe and that you are going to stop drinking so you can drive them all home on Mondays.” He did it and his friends were dumbfounded but grateful.

I’d like to say that all of Vince’s friends also became followers of Christ, but I don’t really know how it turned out. Here’s what I do know: Vince made a huge impact. He lived a different life in front of his friends. He became the lead servant of their group and it left a mark.

How do I know this? Because, sadly, Vince lost a short battle with Pancreatic cancer at age 42 and I had the privilege of speaking at his funeral. He died a couple months after I moved from Santa Fe to Oklahoma City, and I traveled back for the funeral. When I arrived I was amazed! The parking lot was PACKED!

At the funeral Vince’s friends stood up and said things like, “Vince was one of the best guys I ever knew, but then he started doing the whole Church and Jesus thing. After that he became even better. Whatever he had was real.” Person after person after person stood up and said almost the exact same thing.

When it was my turn to talk, I stood up in front of the crowd and with tears in my eyes realized that I was speaking to more people at this funeral than I had ever spoken to in the church I pastored there. Vince’s relational evangelism had impacted more people in that city than my preaching ever could. I cried and praised God for Vince’s life.