Recent Articles

Transform Your Presentations: From Data Dumps to Dynamic Dialogues

Effective presentations go beyond merely delivering information; they require dynamic engagement and interaction. Preparation is key, involving understanding the audience and clearly defining objectives. Presenters should be adaptable, reading audience reactions and encouraging active participation. Clarity, authenticity, and storytelling enhance communication, transforming lectures into conversations. Ultimately, an impactful presentation inspires action and leaves audiences with actionable takeaways. By focusing on connection rather than content alone, presentations can become dynamic dialogues.

How to Lead with Calm in a World Full of Chaos

In a world full of noise and uncertainty, effective leaders know the power of staying calm. Leading with a non-anxious presence helps create stability, boosts team confidence, and drives better decision-making. Learn how to cultivate inner calm and lead your team through chaos with clarity and resilience.

Transforming Teams: Essential Culture Rebuilding Strategies

  Taking over a new team is never easy, especially when the culture is in shambles. Whether it’s due to previous leadership, internal conflicts, or external pressures, repairing a broken culture requires intention, patience, and perseverance. Over the years, I’ve...

The Dynamic Duo: Why Your Church Needs Both a Website and an App

In the digital era, churches must utilize both websites and apps to effectively reach and engage their congregations. Websites act as a welcoming front door, providing new visitors with an overview and access to services and information. Apps, conversely, deepen engagement for established church members, offering tailored content and resources for community involvement and spiritual growth. Together, these platforms create a vital, integrated system for newcomers and returning visitors alike, supporting a seamless transition from curiosity to committed involvement.

Unpacking Accountability vs. Ownership: Fostering an Ownership Culture in Your Workplace

Taking insights from leaders like Scott Cochrane, it’s clear that real ownership in a business goes beyond accountability. Owners foster culture, spend wisely, and act unified as “us” not “them.” They’re proactive, driving results without waiting for direction. To cultivate ownership, leaders must grant authority, allowing teams to make decisions and truly invest in the company’s success.

The Ripple Effect of Contagious Positivity in Teams

Some people possess a remarkable ability to emanate contagious positivity, uplifting their environment even amidst adversity. These ‘positive energizers’ enhance team dynamics with virtues like kindness and gratitude. Conversely, ‘de-energizers’ drain energy and morale. Successful leaders cultivate positivity, recognizing its pervasive benefits across professional and personal spheres, improving well-being, relationships, and productivity. Harvard research underscores the transformative impact of these individuals on organizational culture and resilience, advocating for leaders to nurture such an environment for greater success and fulfillment.

Unlocking Success: Investing in Your Own Growth and Development

Yesterday, I received an interesting question from one of my leaders in a large team meeting. She asked, “How much do you spend each year for your own professional development?” I quickly had an amount in my mind but also knew that that number would likely terrify...

No More Shrinking from Success — Spread Your Wings and Fly

“There’s something I haven’t told you,” said the horse. “What’s that?,” said the boy? “I can fly, but I stopped because it made other horses jealous.” (The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, and the Horse, C. Mackey) Hiding. We’ve all done it. Our reasons are vast, but the...

If You Can’t Be Honest, Are You Really Loyal?

Adam Grant said in a recent post, “In toxic relationships, you're forced to choose between honesty and loyalty. You bite your tongue to protect their ego. In healthy relationships, honesty is an expression of loyalty. You speak your mind to help them grow. When you...

What Meteorology, Fog, And The Kingdom Have In Common

Recently, I was speaking to a group of interns at our church when I found myself glancing out the window briefly. It was hard not to notice that a dense fog had descended over the Pacific Northwest.  Being a meteorological nerd, I’m always aware of what is...

How To Guarantee Happy Teams And Create An Amazing Culture

If you haven’t already figured it out, leaders wear lot of hats. Sometimes it’s difficult to determine which hat we should be wearing and which is the most important in the moment. Due to several team transitions, I’ve spent a lot of time recently wearing the “hiring...

My Hatred for Mistakes and My Struggle to Love Them

I have a love / hate relationship with mistake making ... errors ... failures. I try to teach others that mistake making is the only way we truly learn. Yet, I still hate making mistakes. Worse yet, I hate to admit them. But I have tried to remind myself how important...

Following a Life of Generosity

Thanksgiving was my dad’s favorite holiday. While the rest of the family favored Christmas, he always loved Thanksgiving. One of those reasons was likely rooted in his profession as a farmer, and Thanksgiving was the natural culmination of his year-long efforts. Many...

Leadership & the Enneagram

ENNEAGRAM + LEADERSHIPAPRIL 24, 2020 • 12PM PDT How do you lead others well? Especially when they are not motivated the same as you? Join us as we dive into leading with the Enneagram. Register to join us and get the Zoom link HERE.

Work and Life Free of Lanes

Over the years I’ve heard the phrase “stay in your lane” a few times. The first time was as I first sitting in the driver’s seat of my dad’s truck as he was teaching me to drive. More recently, I’ve heard it said when I’ve taught my daughters to drive ... and in the...

Bravery in the Midst of Change

As I end 2019, I am reminded of my word for 2019 — “be brave.” Little did I know that I would need that word throughout the year .... little did I know that I would pack my family and move a little further west. Little did I know that a few steps of bravery would lead...

When you’re told “you suck” … with a smile

Working in the customer service industry is one of the most challenging and most rewarding experiences. While I’ve had a lot of different roles throughout my career — from education to pastoral ministry to software and technology — they’ve all had this thread of...

Life Update: We’re Moving!

Time for another LIFE UPDATE. If you’ve stayed up to date with the Plotner Happenings, you know that I quit my job at the end of 2018 not knowing quite what the future would look like. Yet, I was confident there was something promising ahead. I was totally surprised...

Punching Fear in the Face

I was walking into the building as fear gripped me like it often has. In that moment of panic, deep within my soul, I heard this phrase . . . “Be strong and courageous.” If you’ve read the Bible you might recognize that as as scripture from the book of Joshua, Chapter...

Are You a Leader Others Will Follow?

“Our ability to be daring leaders will never be greater than our capacity for vulnerability.”Brene Brown, Dare to Lead Vulnerability … that feeling of being exposed; none of us really like it. Without vulnerability, we hold back. We protect parts of ourselves so that...

The One Thing I Hate to Admit

It happened about ten seconds after it came out of my mouth. I wish I could have grabbed the words that I had spoken and return them from whence they came. But it was too late. In front of a group of my peers I admitted, "I feel stuck." I've been leading in some...

Take a Moment and Smell the Coffee

While heading back to the office after lunch this week, I dialed Mom as I often do while driving. Sunday is Father’s Day, and I could tell that she was having a hard day thinking about another year without him. It’s been 8 years since Dad was with us. In some ways it...

Our First Ever Commercial!

Our adoption story has recently been featured as a Chick-fil-a commercial that is getting airtime as we speak. Take a look! https://youtu.be/AhK-TbISZuQ  

Ten Reasons I Love My Church

This month my family and I are celebrating five years since we made the decision to leave our Indiana home and relocate to Colorado Springs. On our first Sunday here in June 2012, we attended New Life Church and have been here ever since. At that time, we had no idea...

If I Were to Assign a New Year’s Resolution

It's that time of year when New Year's resolutions are made. It's also the time of year when those same resolutions are already being broken. One of the pastors at our church made this statement on Sunday. "What if your spouse or your pastor made your New Year's...

Big Givers 2016

My family and I are excited to be a part of a wonderful event this holiday season. Help a family in need by sponsoring them, shopping for their Christmas gifts, and then delivering them to their home — all in the matter of one afternoon. Watch this video and visit...

A Few Thoughts about “Anti-Social” Media

If you've been on social media for more than five minutes, you know that it can be hotbed for lively discussion. Particularly in the last few weeks it seems that conversations have become more heated. More volatile. More opinionated. More political. More personal....

When It Just Doesn’t Go Your Way

Let's face it. We've all had days where things didn't go quite like we expected. We had a plan and that plan was in motion. Suddenly everything gets changed. I had a week like that recently. Things were moving along when suddenly the brakes got applied by someone else...

Flawed and Imperfect . . . but Beautiful

As summer was coming to an end, I realized that it was time for a short trip away before Charlene and the girls headed back to school. I kept postponing the planning but finally began searching for a close vacation spot that didn’t break the bank. After a few back and...

What Happens When You’re Finally Alone?

This week has been like any normal week. Today was like any other normal day — a day filled with meetings, projects, and emails. Until I got home. I walked into an empty, quiet house. Even the dog seemed to recognize that something was "off." My wife left for a...

Better Together: A Reflection After a Week at Kids Camp

We just finished a week of New Life's Kids Camp. It's that week-long crazy madness with kids of all ages, all kinds of activities, and sleep deprivation. As a short-term former children's pastor, I remember these weeks well. Weeks of planning finally all pays off as...

Setting Priorities in the Midst of Chaos

Life is busy, and we’re all trying to juggle work, family, finances, etc. We hear a lot about setting goals, being productive, and prioritizing work. It can get really complicated. So yesterday I felt compelled to break it down and simplify the whole process. So here...

Ski Slopes, Snow Days, and Facing Fear

This week my family took a “snow day.” It wasn’t because the weather was bad, and we couldn’t get out the driveway. My niece was visiting from Indiana over her college spring break. So what does every midwesterner do when they visit Colorado in the winter? They go...

Leaders Should Make You Feel Safe

Christmas Letter 2015

It's been awhile since we've sent a family Christmas letter, but this year has been filled with so many changes that we thought we should update all of you on the latest on the Plotner's in Colorado. After almost three years working at Church Community Builder, I left...

The Game Changer in Creating Community

Community. It’s a buzz word in the church world these days. Leaders are doing everything within their power to create it. Whether it’s a small group strategy or guest follow-up, as church leaders, we are attempting to do a better job in order to make a safe place for...

The Power of a Great Question

My youngest daughter is the master of asking questions. I often find that she uses it to make conversation when she doesn’t know what else to talk about. At times, it can become annoying; however, at other times, it can be a great way for us to share our stories. She...

What Can the Church Leader Learn from Apple?

Last week, I made my latest visit to our local Apple Store here in Colorado Springs. I wasn’t there to look at the newest iPads or the oversized iPhone 6 Plus. I was there to visit a Genius. You know — those guys that are really smart and can use language that make...

Every Meeting Ever

If you've been in meetings over the years, you've probably seen all of these things happen at one time or another! Enjoy this video by Tripp & Tyler.

How Millennial Are You?

If you're like me, you hear a lot about millennials these days. You hear that they are different. That they have tattoos. That they have stopped going to church. And the list goes on. However, often times when we hear things like this, we judge rather than attempt to...

Let’s Take a Journey — Are You Ready?

Some of you have wondered over the last two years, "What does he do anyway?" This video, in general, pretty much summarizes it.

Are you chasing that . . . SQUIRREL!

You probably can recite the scene if you’ve watched the movie, UP. It’s a classic scene where the dog is easily distracted by none other than . . . a squirrel. If you’re like me, you can be fully engaged in a conversation when someone says, “squirrel!” We all know...

Thirty-Some Years Later

I was up early that day. Putting on my new clothes while smelling the aroma of a home-cooked breakfast was part of that ritual. On this particular day in late August, my mom was up early making her usual spread of morning goodness which typically and always included...

Are You Too Busy?

If you’re like my wife and I, there are events on your family calendar to which you have committed. It includes date nights, birthday parties, weddings, etc. Personally, while I see the value of these planned events, I appreciate a calendar that isn’t overwhelmingly...

Did that Worship Leader Really Say “LECHOR?”

Just last week I received a post on my Facebook timeline for someone that I spent many years with leading worship together. She said: Hi! Thinking about you this morning. I work at a place where we have chapel once a week. I think of you most weeks when we get to the...

What I Did for Myself in 2014

It was my gift to myself for the new year. I'd been wanting it for a long time. I'd talked about it with my closest friends for over a year. But I failed to take the leap, spend the money, and just do it. But when Christmas came and went and 2014 arrived without this...

Just When You Thought You Weren’t a Leader

Enjoy this short video that we watched recently at our Church Community Builder staff lunch.

A Conference Call

Everyday I'm in a conference call with the churches I coach. It's not surprising that this video is all too familiar.

Let Them Do It Wrong

I just sat down in the chair with my MacBook on my lap to do my nightly installment of homework. I'm nearly finished with a two-year process of earning my master's degree so this is my typical evening agenda. However, I sometimes get a slow start as I'll begin by...

Maybe It’s Time to Layoff a Few Circus Jugglers

I am confronted with this issue every single day of my life. I have been for quite a while but this one seems to get bigger rather than smaller. Here's my observation — we're all busy; too busy. American is filled with more to do. We have endless entertainment...

My Character is More Important than my Capability

Tonight I was reading an article that I marked on my reading list several months ago. It was basically a summary of how Americans are dissatisfied with their jobs, and the majority of those reasons are based upon dissatisfaction with their boss. Upon my initially...

I’m a Good Kid — Really I Am

Well, this blog has been awhile in the making. I've thought about sitting down and writing this so many times but didn't quite know what to say or how to say it. Many of you know that a little over a year ago God began to stir something in our hearts to move to...

Leading is Letting Go

Serving in a local church for many years, I was always looking for ways to be a better leader. I was constantly in search of secret clues to uncover the mystery of what makes for a good leader. Now serving in a broader role as coach for churches, I am still looking...

We Already Do That

I've heard it what seems like a hundred times — "we already do that." In an age of leadership information overload, there is no lack of information on leadership. Simply subscribe to a dozen 'leadership gurus,' and your Twitter feed will be filled with today's list of...

Really . . . I’m Out of Control

I've often thought about it and wondered . . . what really is faith? I hear it used in so many different ways in today's culture. Yet, the Bible is pretty clear about what it is . . . it's the "confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see"...

It Just Doesn’t Come Knocking on Your Door

Today I was meeting with one of students that I am teaching at Living Stones in our School of Worship Arts. This young lady is growing into becoming an amazing songwriter and worship leader. As we sat down again to discuss where this session will lead us, we...

Changing Seasons (repost)

Earlier today I happened to read a post that I wrote on this blog over a year a half ago. As I read it again, I am a bit freaked out that I actually wrote this. So much has happened since that time (including an actual trip to Maui that I referenced in the post). AND,...

Out of The Big Box

I haven't always been a Starbuck's fan but in the last year or so have grown more accustomed to hanging out there and having an occasional meeting there. It's only two blocks down the street from the church so it's a convenient alternative location to meet with people...

Are You Kidding Me?

“The ultimate reason God assigned me to any position was because he could best use that position, at that time, to accomplish his purpose of shaping me into the image of Jesus.” - Jeff Iog When I first read this, I must admit that I was a bit shellshocked. I sat there...

The Leadership Laboratory

Our leadership lifeGROUP at Living Stones recently began a new series based on a book by Jeff Iog titled The Character of Leadership: Nine Qualities that Define Great Leaders. I'll be sharing some of my thoughts in the coming weeks based on our series. “In my...
Transform Your Presentations: From Data Dumps to Dynamic Dialogues

Transform Your Presentations: From Data Dumps to Dynamic Dialogues

Effective presentations go beyond merely delivering information; they require dynamic engagement and interaction. Preparation is key, involving understanding the audience and clearly defining objectives. Presenters should be adaptable, reading audience reactions and encouraging active participation. Clarity, authenticity, and storytelling enhance communication, transforming lectures into conversations. Ultimately, an impactful presentation inspires action and leaves audiences with actionable takeaways. By focusing on connection rather than content alone, presentations can become dynamic dialogues.

read more
The Dynamic Duo: Why Your Church Needs Both a Website and an App

The Dynamic Duo: Why Your Church Needs Both a Website and an App

In the digital era, churches must utilize both websites and apps to effectively reach and engage their congregations. Websites act as a welcoming front door, providing new visitors with an overview and access to services and information. Apps, conversely, deepen engagement for established church members, offering tailored content and resources for community involvement and spiritual growth. Together, these platforms create a vital, integrated system for newcomers and returning visitors alike, supporting a seamless transition from curiosity to committed involvement.

read more
What Meteorology, Fog, And The Kingdom Have In Common

What Meteorology, Fog, And The Kingdom Have In Common

Recently, I was speaking to a group of interns at our church when I found myself glancing out the window briefly. It was hard not to notice that a dense fog had descended over the Pacific Northwest.  Being a meteorological nerd, I’m always aware of what is...

read more
How to Lead with Calm in a World Full of Chaos

How to Lead with Calm in a World Full of Chaos

In a world full of noise and uncertainty, effective leaders know the power of staying calm. Leading with a non-anxious presence helps create stability, boosts team confidence, and drives better decision-making. Learn how to cultivate inner calm and lead your team through chaos with clarity and resilience.

read more
Unpacking Accountability vs. Ownership: Fostering an Ownership Culture in Your Workplace

Unpacking Accountability vs. Ownership: Fostering an Ownership Culture in Your Workplace

Taking insights from leaders like Scott Cochrane, it’s clear that real ownership in a business goes beyond accountability. Owners foster culture, spend wisely, and act unified as “us” not “them.” They’re proactive, driving results without waiting for direction. To cultivate ownership, leaders must grant authority, allowing teams to make decisions and truly invest in the company’s success.

read more
No More Shrinking from Success — Spread Your Wings and Fly

No More Shrinking from Success — Spread Your Wings and Fly

“There’s something I haven’t told you,” said the horse. “What’s that?,” said the boy? “I can fly, but I stopped because it made other horses jealous.” (The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, and the Horse, C. Mackey) Hiding. We’ve all done it. Our reasons are vast, but the...

read more
Transforming Teams: Essential Culture Rebuilding Strategies

Transforming Teams: Essential Culture Rebuilding Strategies

  Taking over a new team is never easy, especially when the culture is in shambles. Whether it’s due to previous leadership, internal conflicts, or external pressures, repairing a broken culture requires intention, patience, and perseverance. Over the years, I’ve...

read more
The Ripple Effect of Contagious Positivity in Teams

The Ripple Effect of Contagious Positivity in Teams

Some people possess a remarkable ability to emanate contagious positivity, uplifting their environment even amidst adversity. These ‘positive energizers’ enhance team dynamics with virtues like kindness and gratitude. Conversely, ‘de-energizers’ drain energy and morale. Successful leaders cultivate positivity, recognizing its pervasive benefits across professional and personal spheres, improving well-being, relationships, and productivity. Harvard research underscores the transformative impact of these individuals on organizational culture and resilience, advocating for leaders to nurture such an environment for greater success and fulfillment.

read more
If You Can’t Be Honest, Are You Really Loyal?

If You Can’t Be Honest, Are You Really Loyal?

Adam Grant said in a recent post, “In toxic relationships, you're forced to choose between honesty and loyalty. You bite your tongue to protect their ego. In healthy relationships, honesty is an expression of loyalty. You speak your mind to help them grow. When you...

read more