Show Summary

In this episode of the Build Groups Podcast, host Adam Erlickman interviews Nick Edwards, a seasoned ministry leader and consultant who is newly joining the Build Groups team. The episode explores the unique, often misunderstood role of the Executive Pastor (XP). Drawing parallels to Biblical deacons in Acts 6, they define the XP as the "chief operations officer" of a church. Edwards highlights how a healthy XP takes the operational weight—such as HR, finances, and facilities—off the senior pastor, allowing the lead pastor to focus purely on vision and preaching. They discuss the critical need for alignment across all ministry departments and emphasize that a successful XP must care for the staff’s hearts, essentially acting as the "pastor to the pastors."

Key Takeaways

• The Biblical Blueprint for Operational Support: The role of an executive pastor echoes Acts 6, where leaders were appointed to manage administrative duties so the apostles could remain dedicated to preaching and the Word [08:11].
• When to Hire an XP: While under 250 members might not require one, churches typically experience a strong need for an Executive Pastor or a director of operations once they reach the 700 to 1,000-member mark to create leadership margin [10:42].
• Vision vs. Mission Strategy: The senior pastor is responsible for casting the long-term vision (where the church is going), whereas the executive pastor's job is to build the roadmap and execute the movement to get there [12:10].
• The Danger of Bad Hiring: A bad hire is one of the most expensive mistakes a church can make because its negative impact outlasts their termination—eroding volunteer trust, staff alignment, and overall church culture [26:01].

Best Quotes

• "The executive pastor is the person who really acts as the chief operations officer... so that the pastor can focus on vision, preaching, and being able to communicate the word of God." [08:56]
• "You never tell me anything I don't know, you just ask the questions I would never ask myself. And I think that's the role of a coach and consultant." [16:28]
• "We are calling you executive pastor because you have to have the heart of a pastor. We are not looking for an operations person; we are looking for a pastor who God has wired on the administrative side." [26:30]

Host Adam Erlichman welcomes small groups expert Bill Donahue to The Build Group podcast, where Bill shares his background from Philadelphia through marketplace work, seminary, and leadership roles including Willow Creek, and his current consulting with churches. They discuss Donahue’s 30th anniversary edition of his small group leader manual, how it originated, and why it has remained widely used with over 250,000 copies in print. Bill frames small groups theologically through the Trinity as the “first small group” and connects community to Imago Dei, addressing the modern loneliness epidemic and how groups can help people be known, healed, and supported. He identifies unhealthy leadership motives like pride and “fixing,” emphasizes apprenticeship as a biblical pattern, offers practical ways to start developing an apprentice, and outlines principles for naming reality and working through conflict, concluding that love is the key shift for life-changing groups.

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