In this episode, I got to sit down with Pastor Lee Kricher, Pastor of Amplify Church in Pittsburgh. Lee was referred to me by Jay Passavant. Lee’s story is amazing. He planted Amplify Church, left it to work for a world-renown leadership development firm, and then returned to the role of Senior Pastor of Amplify Church. During the ten years that followed, the church not only experienced significant growth, but the average age of the members and attendees decreased from approximately 50 to 35 years old.
He recently wrote a book, “For a New Generation” on how his church did this. I am giving away 5 copies of that book today. To learn how to receive a free copy, see the details under the “Book Giveaway” section of this post.
Lee’s experiencing leading in the church and in the business world made this interview excellent! I know it will add value to your life! Enjoy!
Episode #038: Lee Kricher
Bio:
Lee Kricher has 36 years of experience in Pastoral Ministry and Leadership Development. His dual career gives him a unique perspective on how to apply proven leadership principles in the church. He has earned a Master’s degree from Fuller Theological Seminary and an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh.
Lee is currently the Senior Pastor of Pittsburgh East Community Church, the church which hefounded with his wife, Linda. He became Senior Pastor of the church for the second time in 2003. At that time, weekend church attendance was under 200 and the average age of attendees was approximately 50 years old. Lee set out to transform the church into a “Next Generation” church implementing major organizational change from staffing to succession planning. Currently weekend attendance is over 1200 and the average age of attendees has dropped by approximately 15 years.
Prior to returning to the ministry, Lee was the Executive Coaching Practice Leader for Linkage, Inc., an international executive development firm. He also served as Vice President of Leadership Development for Development Dimensions International (DDI), one of the largest leadership consulting firms in the world. During his years with Linkage and DDI, Lee developed expertise in the areas ofexecutive coaching and leadership team development. He is a Master Coach who not only coaches Executives and Executive Teams, but also certifies others as leadership coaches.
Lee’s clients have included the Federal Judicial Center, Scientific Atlanta, Citrix Systems, Sanofi-Aventis, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Baptist Health Systems, University of Kentucky, Ernst & Young, General Motors, Pitney Bowes, Moen, NASA, Dow, Chick-fil-A, K. Hovnanian, Caterpillar, Celebration Health, Yves Roche and NIKE. He recently spoke at North Point Community Church’s DRIVE Conference on the topic of church transformation.
Connect with Lee:
Website: http://leekricher.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lee.kricher
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leekricher
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Leekricher
Church: http://www.amplifychurch.ac/
Book: For a New Generation
Book Giveaway:
I’m giving away 5 copies of Lee’s book, “For a New Generation”. This book is for pastors and church leaders who want to reach the next generation. If you are involved in church leadership in any capacity, I recommend this book!
Andy Stanley, who wrote the forward, said, “Any church leader or member, no matter the denomination, can benefit from working through the challenging questions posed in For a New Generation.”
To get a free copy of this book:
- Leave a comment below. Tell me why you want this book.
- Fill out the special form:
[contact-form][contact-field label=’Name’ type=’name’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Email’ type=’email’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’E-mail Subscription’ type=’select’ options=’Subscribe to the Learning to Lead Newsletter,Do not subscribe’/][contact-field label=’Street Address ‘ type=’text’/][contact-field label=’City’ type=’text’/][contact-field label=’State’ type=’text’/][contact-field label=’Zip’ type=’text’/][contact-field label=’Website’ type=’url’/][contact-field label=’Comment’ type=’textarea’ required=’1’/][/contact-form]
Once filled out, I will select the 5 winners and mail you your copy of Lee’s book.
Questions:
- Introduction (0:00)
- Tell us about you! (2:48)
- Tell us about your book, “For a New Generation” (4:43)
- Give us a teaser from the book. What are two things church leaders will come away with after reading it? (6:28)
- Tell us about your leadership journey. How did you become the leader you are today? (8:32)
- Who are one or two people that have made a significant impact on your life? (11:00)
- What books have influenced you and what books are must reads for leaders? (3:17)
- What do you do to continue to grow and develop as a leader? (15:12)
- What have you learned about failure? (16:22)
- What are some things you did to adjust your life and leadership to prioritize your family and other relationships? (17:37)
- How did you learn to say no to stuff? (18:41)
- What do you think is the biggest challenge facing leaders today? (20:00)
- What can church leaders learn from business leaders? (22:33)
- What can business leaders learn from Church leaders? (24:55)
- What does it take for a leader to lead leaders? (26:30)
- What qualities do you look for in young leaders? (29:20)
- Where do you see young leaders missing it most often? (31:50)
- If you could give any advice to young leaders, what would it be? (33:30)
- What are you most proud of accomplishing up to this point in your life? (34:30)
- Where do you see yourself in 15 years and ultimately, what do you want to be remembered for? (36:20)
- How can we serve you? (37:43)
Key Takeaways:
- 3 Deep Leadership -> Who are the 3 people you’re mentoring that can run things when you’re done? Things should not fall apart when you leave!
- The best leaders have tremendous focus!
- Don’t be so focused on ministry that you miss “the whale” – the big picture!
- Characteristics of young leaders: someone with a heart for the vision, not their agenda. Intuitive, they speak up, handle conflict well, very direct, they grow from feedback.
- Let leadership ability grow naturally
- Keep your eye on the goal and the vision. What’s the purpose of the place you work? Build your life around that!
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