In this episode of the Unseen Leadership Podcast, Chandler Vannoy and Dan Iten are joined by Vance Pitman, President of the Send Network, and former pastor of Hope Church in Las Vegas. This episode explores the theme of leadership in the context of church planting and ministry. Pitman shares his insights and experiences, emphasizing the importance of succession and focusing on the kingdom of God rather than personal success. He also discusses his journey as a church planter in Las Vegas and the unique challenges and opportunities he has faced in ministering to a non-Christian population.

QUOTES FROM EPISODE 79

“Jesus focused more on succession than He did on success. And I think that’s an issue in the church and American leadership in America. Today, we focus on success without even thinking about succession. Jesus was just the opposite. If you look at His public ministry, it was not even successful. 120 people after three and a half years wouldn’t get him any book deal or invitation to speak at any conference, but that 120 became 120,000 because He focused on succession knowing it was bigger than just His life. I think that’s something we got to get focused towards.” – Vance Pitman

“The church is just a temporary tool established by Jesus for the expansion of the kingdom. The real end game is the kingdom of God around the throne of Jesus for every tribe, tongue, people, and nation.” – Vance Pitman

“The primary call on my life is not to do something for Jesus, the primary call of my life is to be with Jesus. And everything Jesus wants to do through my life, He’ll do out of the overflow of what He’s doing in my life.” – Vance Pitman

“The greatest thing you bring to your role as a leader is your personal intimate relationship with Jesus because everything that He wants to do through you as a leader, He’ll do in you. The key to learning about being a leader is before I can be a leader, I must be a devoted follower. The key to my success as a leader is the devotion that I pursue Christ with as a devoted follower. And as a follower of Jesus, He then begins to lead through us in ways that we would never dream possible.” – Vance Pitman

“As much as you schedule appointments, as much as you schedule time with the family as much as you schedule time to sleep at night, you have to build rest and whitespace or margin into your calendar.” – Vance Pitman

“We will never, never grow healthy churches with unhealthy leaders.” – Lance Witt

“We have neglected the fact that a pastor’s greatest leadership tool is a healthy soul.” – Lance Witt

“I think one of the reasons that the church in North America is struggling today is because we have spiritually unhealthy leadership. When you look at the kingdom of God, globally, there are only two continents in the world where Christianity is declining. One of them is North America, and North America has the most resources, the most buildings, the most budget, the most staff the most degrees, and the most education the most. Why are we not seeing the kingdom expand? I think it’s directly related to the spiritual health of those who are leading.” – Vance Pitman

“Starting a church service is not planting a church. Biblical missiology is that planting a church starts with the city. You engage that city with the gospel, you make disciples, and churches are born as a byproduct.” – Vance Pitman

“Leadership is lonely, but it cannot be done alone. Leadership demands that we bring other people to the table to lead alongside us.” – Vance Pitman

“You cannot lead what you do not live long term. You can fake it in the short run. Authenticity in leadership is important and if you’re not living it, you won’t be able to lead it over the long haul. – Vance Pitman

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

Replenish: Leading from a Healthy Soul by Lance Witt

Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers by Dane Ortlund

The Stressless Life: Experiencing the Unshakable Presence of God’s Indescribable Peace by Vance Pitman