Tag: vision driven leadership

11: Cal Rychener – Northwoods Church, Peoria IL

11: Cal Rychener – Northwoods Church, Peoria IL

Breakthrough ideas with Cal:

  • What does church planting look like 30 years in?
  • How does a church move from program driven to presence driven after years of ministry success?
  • It’s possible to go deep with your weekend sermons and still be responsive to those who are not in a relationship with Christ.
  • If someone is visiting your church these days, they are looking for something meaningful, do not hold back on the presence of the Lord in worship.
  • Pastors, you can teach for maturity and still talk toward salvation.
  • Listen to your desert – when the desert is happening in your heart, the Lord wants to teach you there.
  • You can be a balanced church in the Word and the Spirit.
  • It is possible to be charismatic without being weird.
  • Never be without a swing coach, you need somebody who knows what you don’t and sees what you can’t.
  • We are the only church in the world that has our mission statement, and that is how it should be.
  • Your mission should roll off your tongue with excitement and speak life in every word.
  • What does it look like when a church truly believes Jesus came to break the chains that are still holding you?
  • Is there life in every word and passion in every syllable when you speak the mission?
  • Leadership gets tough when you are not clear on the mission that God has called you to.
  • Why is it important to have your team in the room when developing the vision, isn’t it easier to do it on your own?
  • What does visionary collaboration look like?
  • Collaboration builds a team that will fight for your values and your culture, not just own it because they are told to or paid to.
  • We shouldn’t be afraid of surfacing the misalignment on the team.
  • Don’t be afraid to find out if you have someone on the team who doesn’t share the vision.
  • What does it mean to cast your faith forward and your fear backward?
  • In staff transitions or seasons of change, the tendency is to cast our fear forward instead of casting our faith forward.
  • Your fears can keep you stuck.
  • Making the church planting shift – here’s one pastor who would instead look back at 20 pastors he raised than 20 locations that lower a screen.
  • What is the difference between a church planter and a campus pastor?
  • What happens when the multisite model becomes an obstacle to pastoring in the local context?
  • What might a hybrid model of church planting and multisite campusing look like?
  • Be who you are not who someone else is. Do not deny who God has called you to be.
  • Spend time with the Lord in personal practice, not pastoral theory.
  • If you were not a pastor, would you still live as you live?
  • Refuse to sacrifice your family to lead your church.
  • Are you the same person at home than you are on the stage?
  • Live out of your heart what God has called you to live and your legacy will take care of itself.

Breakthrough resources in this episode: 

Northwoods Community Church

God Dreams by Will Mancini

All Hail the Power of Jesus Name

The Hour That Changes the World by Dick Eastman

Originally from Archbold, Ohio, Pastor Cal Rychener graduated from Fort Wayne Bible College and went on to earn a Masters of Divinity degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. In addition to his love for the local church, Cal has two other great passions. First and foremost are his wife Susan and their family: Kathryn, Andy, Avery, Madilyn and Blake Rogers; Jonathon, Michaela, Arianna and Joanna Rychener; Victoria and Kody Pinson; and Nathan Rychener. Running a distant second is his love for the Green Bay Packers, for whom he has been a guest chaplain. He has been the senior pastor of Northwoods Community Church since its beginning in 1990. Cal is also the author of the books Living at a Higher Level of Faith and God Can.