David Kenney

America’s Top 15 Most Innovative Churches of 2008 according to Outreach Magazine and The Church Report.

1. LifeChurch.tv (Edmond, OK) :: Craig Groeschel
2. Mars Hill Church (Seattle, WA) :: Mark Driscoll
3. Granger Community Church (Granger, IN) :: Mark Beeson
4. Flamingo Road Church (Cooper City, FL) :: Troy Gramling
5. Seacoast Church (Mt. Pleasant, SC) :: Greg Surratt
6. Saddleback Church (Lake Forest, CA) :: Rick Warren
7. Mosaic Church (Los Angeles, CA) :: Erwin McManus
8. Fellowship Church (Grapevine, TX) :: Ed Young Jr.
9. North Point Community Church (Alpharetta, GA) :: Andy Stanley
10. Willow Creek Community Church (South Barrington, IL) :: Bill Hybels
11. National Community Church (Washington, DC) :: Mark Batterson
12. NewSpring Community Church (Anderson, SC) :: Perry Noble
13. Community Christian Church (Naperville, IL) :: Dave Ferguson
14. Elevation Church (Charlotte, NC) :: Steven Furtick
15. Healing Place Church (Baton Rouge) :: Dino Rizzo

In 2007 it was…

1. Willow Creek Community Church (South Barrington, IL) :: Bill Hybels
2. Saddleback Church (Lake Forest, CA) :: Rick Warren
3. Fellowship Church (Grapevine, TX) :: Ed Young Jr.
4. North Point Community Church (Alpharetta, GA) :: Andy Stanley
5. LifeChurch.tv (Edmond, OK) :: Craig Groeschel
6. Granger Community Church (Granger, IN) :: Mark Beeson
7. Lakewood Church (Houston, TX) :: Joel Osteen
8. Mars Hill Church (Seattle, WA) :: Mark Driscoll
9. The Potter’s House (Dallas, TX) :: T.D. Jakes
10. Seacoast Church (Mt. Pleasant, SC) :: Greg Surratt
11. Mosaic Church (City of Industry, CA) :: Erwin McManus
12. Mars Hill Bible Church (Grandville, MI) :: Rob Bell
13. North Coast Church (Vista, CA) :: Larry Osborn
14. First Assembly of God (Phoenix, AZ) :: Tommy Barnett
15. The Church of the Resurrection (Leawood, KS) :: Adam Hamilton

“Uncertain Times” are not going to go away

1. Uncertainty is job security
   1. uncertainty is why we need leaders
   2. leadership is a gift and God wants you to use it
   3. life is uncertain, always – but God is not uncertain

1. Uncertainty is not an indicator of poor leadership
   1. uncertainty is the arena of leadership
   2. uncertainty is uncovered in the everyday stories of the people and your church

1. The cross was the epicenter of uncertainty
   1. God got maximum mileage out of the most uncertain event in human history
   2. You don’t learn anything when things are going well.
      1. when something goes wrong, I ask my staff, “what did we learn?”
      2. surely this is all going somewhere

1. Practically speaking:
   1. You need to be Clear
   2. You need to be flexible.

1. Clarity
   1. it’s ok to be uncertain – but it’s never ok to be unclear
   2. When uncertainty strikes – pull back to the start.
      1. why do we exist
      2. what is the bottom line
      3. what is our purpose
      4. what is the vision

1. Moses trained Joshua to wander, but when Moses left…Joshua’s marching orders changed.

Joshua 1

¹⁰ So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: ¹¹ “Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Get your provisions ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you for your own.’ “

Joshua wasn’t trained to take a land, or to fight a war, but he was trained to get people to pack their gear, trained to get them in line, trained to get them to follow, so that was the “fall back” position.

How are we going to fight a war Joshua?

            I don’t know, but we need to trust God to take the part we don’t know about.

• What can you do?
• What has God trained you to do?

1. Flexibility
   1. plans change, but the vision stays the same
   2. don’t confuse the “plans” with the “vision”
      1. we love our plans
      2. but we need to abandon the bad plans
      3. where do plans and vision conflict?
      4. no plan is ever sacred

Best line:

“A good leader does not make plans on their own, but he owns them once they are made.”

VII. Pray like crazy