Episode Details

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

Episode #263: Charlie McMahan - How To Build A Tribe From 50 To 5,000

Charlie McMahan has been the Lead Pastor of SouthBrook Church since 1992. He is driven by a deep concern for those who may feel like they don't belong in a church and a sincere hope that anyone who struggles with faith can end up with a life that looks like the life of Jesus. He is focused on developing future leaders and spends many hours a week mentoring others (including me!).

Charlie has led SouthBrook from a small church that originally met in an elementary school to now hosting more than 5,000 members per weekend. He has a deep understanding for how to build a loyal tribe of people.

The Learning Leader Show

"The Process: Teaser, Tension, Truth, Take Home, Together."

Show Notes:

• Sustaining excellence:
  • Integrated people - They aren't chasing a bunch of different things
  • Consolidated on the self mission
  • Focused - Not distracted
• Family
  • Charlie's dad was gone 25 days a month (he later found out he was in the CIA)
  • The reason he turns down big opportunities is because he doesn't want to travel and wants to be with his family
  • Levels of communication with kids
    • Don't spend money on stuff, spend money on experiences -- Their place is Hilton Head
• Process for Charlie's performances (his speeches/sermons)
  • The word entertainment means "To hold people's attention"
• The Process:
  • Teaser - Something that grabs you
  • Tension - The inductive part of speaking that you have to do today. So the listeners know "this is important." If you don't do this, people will leave
  • Truth
  • Take Home - The practical "do"
  • Together - "Isn't this the kind of person we want to be?"
• Most preachers were trained to be deductive... You can't do that now. You need to help them draw their own conclusions.
• Finding a way to weave stories and science together
• The Medici Effect - The renaissance happened because seemingly disconnected entities were connected.
• "I'm always figuring out how disconnected entities connect"
• "The upside of stress"
  • "Emotions are like waves. You can't choose which ones come, but you can choose which to ride."
  • Choose to embrace stress, it can have a positive impact on you
• Create a habit of how you look at life:
  • How long did it take you to put this message together? "30 hours and a lifetime."
• The intersection of the reality of the struggles with Charlie's kids and applying it to the lives of the people you serve
• What is it like to be the children of someone as successful as Charlie?
  • "Our kids had so much pressure on them. We didn't appreciate how much it was."
    • "The Famous Father Syndrome" - Kids choose to differentiate from their parents because they can't win that game
  • Advice give to parents:
    • "When you walk in the room, the temperature will go up for them. Kids need stress to grow."
    • "The stress free life is the dying life"
    • "When we walked in the room, the temperature went way up for my kids. The same heat that drove me, burned them." --> "Most parenting things you learn 5 minutes too late"
    • PLAY - Personality type, Learning style, Ability level, Yes factor -- "You don't have to cave under the pressure. It doesn't have to destroy you"
• Growing a church from 50 people to 5,000 per weekend. How?
  • Has to be a commitment to excellence that is YOU -- Has to be in ALL areas of your life. "Excellence is a habit."
    • "Excellence is expressing my worth... Ennobling others because I care. Perfectionism is trying to earn my worth by being perfect... And